Relaxing Week

Yesterday and today have been two very laid back days. The girls haven't even gotten dressed! And really, why should I discourage that if we have no place to be and it's an at home day anyway? They're on school holidays for only a few more short days and then it's back to the early mornings, so I say .. let them veg in comfort.

As they sit watching the Land Before Time series on TV and muching on popcorn, I'm stealing a few moments on here, and then hope to work some more on the cards I'm helping contribute to the Cards for Soldiers campaigne running at 123-scrap.com.
This morning I worked at getting the Christmas toys put away instead of just plunked in on the girls bedroom floors where they had been. It's easy to toss a box of toys in amongst the other disorder of a bedroom, but to put them away along with the clothes the girls recieved .. ahh now they can actually spend time in a not so cluttered bedroom. I did a quick wipe of the bathroom too, and am calling it a day now. I'd like to enjoy some of this holiday too! ;)

So that's been our dreary day in a nutshell. :)

The calm AFTER the storm.

Ahhh we've had such a wonderful couple days. First C-Mas Eve was celebrated with our traditional light tour. We drove out to a small neighbouring town south of us to take in their light display along main street. It was spectacular as usual! Then we came home for lots of yummy appetizers and to watch some Christmas programs on TV. We've started a tradition to open up one gift C-Mas Eve. This gift is always a pair of pajamas. So after Dave, the girls and myself were donning our new pj's it was time to read "Twas the night before C-Mas" to the girls, and then tuck them safely into bed to await the arrival of Santa. Alissa secretly was trying to stay awake as long as possible by playing and reading books, but after an hour of being oh so quiet, she finally slumped over and fell fast asleep. Hailey was thinking totally opposite in that if she fell asleep right away, Santa could come that much quicker. She awoke at 1am thinking it was time to get up and start the day, but Dave quickly got her back to bed and we were able to sleep until 6. But after having taken a shower and started coffee and there was no sign of our little girls excited faces, we thought we better go wake them up. All the presents stacked under the tree and their ever so bulging stockings hanging on the mantle had them giggling with anticipation.

We only opened up the stockings and then had to head over to Uncle Jason and Auntie Sheila's for breakfast, to exchange gifts with them and to open up all the gifts Grammy had sent.
After all that was done, we packed up our "loot" and came home to our cozy little nest to get our turkey in the oven and to open up the gifts we exchanged with just the four of us.
Here are just a few pictures of the many we took.


We had many phone calls and chatted with several family members on the computer as well, and Dave even got a nap in while I prepared the rest of the dinner. The girls played with their new toys, and we had a really nice (laid back) afternoon. Then dinner was served and upon completion .. all tummies were stuffed.
After a bit of a pause to let the food settle and get the energy to clean up, we did up the dishes and then chatted some more with family members. The girls had a nice early bedtime after such a full and exciting day.

Boxing day was spent vegging and visiting with friends. Steve and Tanya came for coffee and goodies in the afternoon, and then Liz and Brad came for a leftover turkey, buns and salad supper. Of course this could not be consumed at the table while a hockey game was on, so we sat in the livingroom and watched the Finland/Canada hockey game. Don't ask Dave who one should cheer for when you're Canadian but come from Finnish blood. LOL He of course was happy Canada won 5-1.

Who said construction work is for guys?

Ahhh, one more tradition complete! We made our annual gingerbread house today. Auntie Sheila came by to help us because if you've ever put one of these kits together, you'll know that it's not a one person (read: adult) job. There must be four hands holding the walls and roof together until the icing can set. Why don't the manufacturers feel the need to be generous with the candy in these said kits? Sheila was a dear and made a quick trip to the store for more candy because we HAD to make sure we decorated the house to it's fullest capacity.

Here's a few photos so you can see how our gingerbread house turned out. I can't wait to scrap these pictures. :)


And .. (drum roll please!) the finished product!

Santa's little girls.

I can't believe I haven't shared this photo yet .. not with ANYONE .. not even my dear sisters. Bad Me!

We visited Santa on December 3rd .. yes that's right .. nice and early before the crowds of whining, crying children create LONG lines that force us to wait for hours to have a quick sit on Santa's knee. Not one soul was lined up behind us, so the girls had plenty of time to smile pretty for the the lady taking the picture, and then quietly and meekly tell Santa what they wanted for C-Mas. Both girls brought letters and a picture they had taken much care in making, into the mailbox set up on the outskirts of the Santa throne display. They giggled when Santa made some jokes and had such a good time. As we were leaving, Santa stood up and waved. He had Alissa's attention so much, that she nearly walked right into a sign. Oops!

So here's the picture of our most favourite Mall Santa (the "real" santa because he has a real beard), and our precious little girlies!

YAY!

That's the one word that comes to mind to sum up all I'm feeling at this very moment. If you haven't guessed why I'm so happy at this point, let me tell you.

The shopping is DONE!!!!!!!!

The girls and I managed to get the grocery shopping (including foods we'll need for C-Mas Eve and Day) and didn't even run into a long lineup or anything. I guess it pays to go early before the mad rush of people wakeup. hah!

And on top of getting grocery shopping done, we also have all gifts bought and there's only one left to wrap (that's Dave's problem since it's for HIS friend). I can now sit back and enjoy the next three days with much relaxation. There's only our anual Gingerbread House to make yet, but we're waiting until Friday when we can have Auntie Sheila over to participate in the fun.
You know I'll have my camera out for the kodak moments presented to me on that day. ;)

So now you can understand why I'm so happy! *big grin*

And it's the season to be SICK! UGH!

I should have known I'd finally succumb to the cold germs being spread around our home like wildfire. First it was the girls with coughs, sneezes and snotty noses, then Dave with a stuffed head and sore throat and now finally me with the same symptoms. ACK! Okay, so if I think about the pros here .. I have a few more days yet to get over this before C-Mas Eve and then finally C-Mas Day. Who really wants to be wiping a nose in the same moment the turkey needs basting? Not me!
Anyway, enough complaining. :P

The other day I talked the girls into (doesn't take TOO much talking into at this age still) a little photo shoot in front of the C-Mas tree. I couldn't resist using the b&w feature on my camera. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my camera? So it's not top of the line, but it has so many things on it that I just love to play with. So on with the Santa Hats, smiling pretty (and not so pretty), my squeeky clean girls charmed the camera with their sweetness.
Here's a few pics to show you.



And then I decided to take a few pictures of some meaningful ornaments. After all, this IS the time to do it, while they're on the tree and all.
This one is Hailey's "first christmas" ornament. She also has one with a photo of her at 6 months, but I didn't get a good picture of that one.



And here's Alissa's "first christmas" ornament. It's not the best picture, but I do plan on taking some new ones. I must remember to make a layout on these.



Well, that's all for now folks. :P

Here are my very talented Performers!

Firstly, I must confess I've raised a "clown". She hates being called that, so I must remember to only say it when she can't hear or read it. lol
This little Miss Hailey had me in fits of laughter when she hit the stage with her class. She had to adjust her slightly to large Santa hat a million times, and she noticed I had the camera pointed at her, so of course out came the tongue. (think it's a sign I take to many pics of her?). Then once they started singing, she bopped her head to hard to the "Ho-ho-ho" in the song, and oops down fell her hat over her eyes. What a silly girl!
So here she is! I have to say the photo isn't THAT great, but I was more interested in taking video of the performance so Dave could enjoy it too.















Then today, Alissa's preschool class had their little performance. Actually I can't say it was so little. In the four years we've been going to that preschool (Hailey for two years, and Alissa's second year now), it has grown from only 8 kids to many many more. I'm really going to miss Nicky and the gang, but we see them at the Elementary school too, so at least it won't be a forever goodbye in June. Anyway, back on topic. Here's my precious baby. Again, the picture's not great because I was quickly taking pics AND switching back to movie mode so I could record the songs too. (Ooo, what a multitasker hey? ;))



So now with these out of the way, we just have a couple kid C-Mas parties to look forward to next week, and my work party, and we can cruise into the last few days before Christmas with bells on. Have I mentioned yet how much I'm really enjoying the season this year? I really am looking forward to the "us" time we're going to have. :)

Concert Night!

We've been waiting for this night for weeks it seems. Hailey's been busy practicing all the songs she needs to know, and she's been anxiously reminding us that we NEED to come see her perform. I have to admit, I'm all tingly with the thought that my baby is going to sing her little heart out in front of a gym full of parents and grandparents. She's so sad Daddy can't be there because he's working the afternoon shift, but Auntie Sheila is taking Daddy's spot.

I'll definetly post pictures of the night once they're uploaded onto the computer. I'm even making sure to make a small video so Daddy doesn't miss out on TOO much.

Guess What?

I have YET to make more of that fudge for the bake exchange today. I hate having only one vehicle! Dave's out, but once he gets home we're heading to the grocery store. I HAVE to get this stuff done TODAY! Oh the fudge I tried yesterday .. OMGoodness it's melt in your mouth, wonderfully sweet, piece of heaven. It could be because it's really delish, or it also could be because I haven't indulged in many sweets due to Dr Atkins. Who knows!

I'm also babysitting today, so although Tuesday mornings are MY mornings because both girls are in school, I have Jonathan (5yo) for the morning. He goes to afternoon kindergarten, so soon I can feed him lunch and send him off. Wow, am I thankful I only have two children! lol

Bake Day

Today I'm supposed to be baking. I've conquered the big task of looking through and picking out the recipes I want to make, and that's half the battle. I've decided on peanutbutter fudge, recipe given to me by my friend Cindy. I've made it, now we wait and let it sit in the fridge for four hours to see if it really turns out right. I changed the creamy peanut butter for the crunchy that I had on hand.
I'm also going to make No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Squares. They sound super easy and OMG delish! I'll let ya know if they are in fact as good as they look in the picture.
I have a couple other recipes out too, but have to stop by the grocery store for some more ingredients. Dave's not home, or I'd whip out and get them now. Thing is .. I'm in a bake exchange with our old playgroup girls and we're meeting and exchanging TOMORROW night, so I best get my butt in gear.

A definition is in order!

I should probably start off by defining my blog name. I come from dutch blood .. both my parents come from Friesland, Holland .. so that's where "dutch" comes from. "Femka" means girl, in dutch .. so I'm a dutch girl, get it? hee!

A girls gotta get creative when coming up with a name for her blog. There's so many that are taken already .. so hence the "way out" name as well.

So as you can see, I've jumped on the "blog" bandwagon. I can't promise that I'll keep this up to date because quite frankly, I find it hard to keep a journal by pen even. Actually, I'd rather sit in front of the computer and type, then write by hand. It's faster, I can backspace any mistakes away, and well yup that's about my only reasons. lol
So here starts my blogging journey. Won't you enjoy the ride with me? :)