Merry Christmas!

Photo card by Jill @ EveryMomentMatters

It's Christmas Day!!! YAY!

No... I didn't get up this early to post this, I scheduled the posting .... but all for the sake of wanting to extend warm wishes to each of my faithful readers, including those of who are up bright and early. I hope this Christmas is extra to special to you... I know our first Christmas with E will be one to remember!

All the best to each of you and your families as celebrate Christmas TODAY!

Christmas Traditions

I found this Christmas meme while visiting over at Postcards from the Mothership, and I thought it was a fun one, so I copied it below... and I am going to play along!

1. Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning... all the way! As a kid, there was no present opening on Christmas eve... I knew some kids had that one standard gift that they could open before going to bed on the eve of, but not at the Bellerose household, my parents stuck to their guns and made us hold out until Christmas morning. I use to think I envied the French families that had the Christmas eve traditions, but in my adult life, being the true procrastinator I am ... I am so glad there is one MORE day to put the finishing touches on Christmas.

2. Donner or Donder?

Well.. I hate to disappoint DaniGirl from Postcards from the Mothership... but for me, it was always Donner, the 7th reindeer... not Donder! However after a few years of reading your research on Donder... I think I will raise my kids to believe its Donder!

3. Turkey or ham?

Turkey! All. the. way. I don't know what it is, but it just isn't Christmas without a turkey for me. PC's Mom this year announced earlier in the week that she going to cook a chicken in lieu of turkey this year... and while I love chicken too, my heart longed for a Christmas turkey. I am happy to report that she has since decided to cook at turkey (and she makes a good bird let me tell you)... so we will indeed indulge in my favorite Christmas meal tomorrow (but Mom I will still be missing your stuffing and jellied salads)!

4. Gifts opened all at once, or one at a time?

Well I am sure when I was a kid, I just ripped into them without so much as thinking about anyone but myself... but as I've grown up, I am definitely about one at a time. I love watching other people open their gifts and seeing their reactions, expressions, etc. I think it also makes Christmas last longer too... let's face it, we do all of this work, months of preparation for one day... and if you let it, it can be over in a matter of minutes - I like to drag things out.. for the fun of it!

5. Christmas tree: live or artificial?

This one is tough. Growing up I was all about the live tree... as was my Dad. I can remember going every year to pick it out, and we had some douzies over the years. No matter what shape it was in, we always got a pine tree... while our neighbours the Cooke's always got the spruce tree... and then it became the annual battle of trees - whose would last longer, look nicer, etc (which was always our pine tree according to my Dad!). But, enter PC 22 years later, and now my entire family and I have converted to the artificial tree, as PC is allergic to the real deal. I kind of like the artificial tree now, because you can put it up much earlier than a real one, and its virtually maintenance free.

6. Cards: boxed cards, family photo cards, or e-cards?

I love the family photo cards or just cards with a photo in it... this year I sent out my first photo card, and I have received quite a few as well. I also like the homemade cards too, they are so beautiful, and you can just tell that so much work has gone into them - so kudos to those of you that make homemade cards, its much appreciated!

7. Christmas lights: incandescent or LED?

We are LED people, mostly as its something we can do to help out our planet, but I do still love the old school incandescent multi-colour ones... you know the red, green, blue, yellow - repeat - strings of lights. I could go off about Christmas lights... and what some people are thinking when they put theirs up, but I will save that for another post!

8. Re-gift or not?

I am not a re-gifter... I guess in the case where I received two of something, I would then opt to re-gift (if its a good gift), but I do rarely have the opportunity to do that.

9. Gift wrap or gift bags?

I am all about the gift bags and tissue paper for all other occasions... but for Christmas, break out the rolls of wrapping paper and the pretty ribbon... and GO. TO. TOWN. I love nicely wrap gifts... just love them!

10. Best Christmas song?

Hmmm.... that's tough, at church its O Come All Ye Faithful, but outside of church, I love Christmas in Killarney by Bing Crosby and I have no idea why... probably because my Dad plays it 20 or 30 times on shuffle during the holidays, and after 28 years of hearing it, it just kinda sinks in as one I like.

11. Best Christmas movie?

Elf.. with Will Ferrell. I PVR'd it this year when it was on CBC ... I absolutely love it, and have watched easily 10 times already. I just love how excited he gets when they announce Santa is coming to the department store. "Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaanta"! It's the best, and I am surprised I don't own it (but it would make a good gift for me - wink, wink)!

12. Favourite family tradition?

Hmmm... there are a few for sure, but my all time favourite is going to church on Christmas eve. There is just something to be said about being with family, thinking of those you cannot be with, singing Christmas carols, and being reminded why Christmas occurs in the first place.

DONE!

I hope you enjoyed this ... feel free to play along in the comment section... answer one question or all them - its up to you, or copy this to your blog and play along there!

Enjoy your Christmas Eve... whatever your traditions may be.

Christmas the size of Texas!

Julie over at Abbily Ever After organized a blogger's secret ornament swap for the second year in a row. I participated last year, but after all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas I did not receive my ornament. I was kind of disappointed, but I did have so much fun sending my ornaments to my swap partner, that I decided to throw caution to the wind and do it again this year, in hopes of better luck.

The ornaments were to be mailed on December 1st... so that they would arrive in good time for Christmas... and with enough time to get overseas and across borders as the blogging participants are all over the world. My swap receivee (that I mailed my ornament to) lives in Texas, and by coincidence, my swap sender (that had me) also is from Texas. It was a big ol' Texas swap exchange for me, so I think its only fitting that the ornament I received have a Texas theme!

My package came today... just in the nick of time, and I was so excited. J from Musings in Leftfield (love the name) had me... and she really put together a nice package... when I opened it there was a lovely card, a photo snowman holder, and my TEXAS ornament.

Its pretty cute, and looks great on our tree:

Thanks so much "J"! You did a great job... I have a good friend moving to Texas in the New Year, so who knows our paths may cross in the future sometime!

I thought since I was snapping a pic of my ornament on the tree, I would also take the liberty to show you the entire tree, and our stockings hung by the fire with care (and Little E in front swinging away)! I think this may be the last year for a while that we have a half decent looking, non-kid proof, Christmas tree... next year, I don't imagine we will have any ornaments hanging under the 2 foot threshold!Now, enough with the blogging I have to finish wrapping the gifts for the big day!

Moby heaven!

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now... but of course needed a photo to go with it (and since my in house photographer is usually reffing or working, its been a real challenge to remember to have him take a photo when he is home!).

Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form getting paid or being given anything to write this post.

I, Sara Coleman, have fallen in love with the Moby Wrap.

If you are a new Mom out there... and you will be by yourself for much of your mat. leave, I encourage you to invest in a Moby Wrap... it will change your life (as a Mom).

I was going a little insane prior to my discovery of the Moby. PC's cousin kindly offered to bring me her wrap to try (shout out to Sarah)... and from the moment she left it with me (and gave me a quick crash course in using it) - I have been in heaven.

E is a baby that likes to be held a lot and likes to be on the move. If you are sitting still with him, he is not your friend! The first two weeks of being with him on my own, I thought there was never going to be time for me to do things around the house, wash a few dishes, or even make a piece of toast. Anything that required two hands seems out of the question... but enter the Moby Wrap and my world has changed completely.

If E won't go down for a nap in his crib or the playpen, I simply wrap myself up in the Moby, put him in it, and he is is so snug and secure that I can do anything from laundry to make lunch, wrap presents, check email, EVEN blog!

It has been amazing... the best thing is that within 5 minutes of putting E in the Moby, he is sleeping, and I am free to go about my business while still having that bonding time with him. He absolutely loves it.

See:
The best thing about the Moby is that it comes with an instruction book about how to wrap yourself up... and there are many different ways you can do it, so as your baby grows and his/her favorite positions change, the Moby can change too!

I swear you won't be disappointed. I love the Moby so much, I have decided to make it a shower gift for close friends, as I think they absolutely need to have it. I've ordered a few from Parenting by Nature... and can't wait to get them.

Have you used or heard of the Moby Wrap before? Do you love it just as much as me...?

Malls, strangers, and shopping with a baby!

This last week E and I (and PC too) have been out and about getting our Christmas shopping done. I have noticed quite a few things in this short time, that I somehow did not realize in my pre-baby days.

For starters... I have a new appreciation for malls. I never really paid much attention to the layout of a mall before, but now that I am pushing around a stroller with a newborn in it... I have discovered that I like some malls a lot better than others.

Take for instances the malls in Ottawa, I was a big Rideau Centre fan when I was working down town, and I really missed it in the last year and half, but with a stroller, I absolutely hate that mall - its 3 levels, has various spots where there is only 2 or 3 stairs, it is not stroller friendly at all! The one time I have been there, PC was with me and we were constantly being road blocked when trying to go to a store. You have to really plan your route out, there is no back tracking to another level when you have a stroller, and having to figure out where all of the elevators and ramps are makes for a very long trip! I have the exact same opinion of Bayshore... 3 levels and retarded! I have come to love St. Laurent and Place d'Orleans... because they are mainly one level... and have lots of room for strollers, and places to stop and calm a screaming baby relax!

For most of my holiday shopping I have been at the St. Laurent mall, and let me tell you it has been an experience. Shopping with a baby is not like shopping with friends or yourself. You basically have a short time frame to get into a store, look around, select items to buy, and get out. Long gone are the days where I will stay in a store for 3o minutes trying to decide should I or shouldn't I purchase something. I basically need to know exactly what I want when I go into a store... and if I can't see it within the first 30 seconds of arriving, I immediately find a sales associate to help me out so I can get in and get out without any baby melt downs.

AND forget trying on any clothes with a baby in tow... change rooms aren't big enough to bring a stroller into, so I have now become the ... 'like it, buy it, try it on at home, keep it or return it' - type shopper!

I find that certain stores have non-baby friendly ambiance. Take for example, Mexx Kids, PC and I were in there looking for an Xmas outfit for E, and the music was PUMPING like it was an MTV dance party... we could barely hear each other, let alone hear ourselves think. We bailed in under 5 minutes, just due to the thumping music. I swear I have been in Mexx before and never noticed their music, but with E in tow and the stress of holiday shopping, it was overwhelming to the point of annoyance.

My final observation at the mall was the number of random people who come and talk to you when you have a newborn. Strangers of all walks of life inquiring about E, his age, his weight, his moods, his eating habits, etc. I was eating in the food court with E in my arms when a woman from three rows over came to 'have a look at your beautiful baby'. I had no problem letting her have a little look, but then she proceeded to stay and chat for 10 minutes about her grandchildren, and how they never were as content and happy looking as E... the conversation went ON for so long that my Thai express yellow chicken curry was cold by the time her husband came over to round her up. Not everyone rambles on for 10 minutes, but a lot of people that would normally pass you by, do stop me and talk when I have E with me.

I will say... in all of my new mall observations, I really didn't think that at only 2 months old I would be out and about with E at any mall, so this has been a feat in itself for me. I think the New Year is looking good for E and I... now the only challenge will be to get my wallet in shape for the workout its bound to get!

You can dress up a catholic girl but you can't take her anywhere!

Yesterday, PC, E and I enjoyed a nice little brunch in honour of our good friends Erin and Barry who are getting married in Jamaica in the New Year Year. The brunch was held in Centrepointe at a beautiful home, and we enjoyed ourselves very much.

Now... what I should tell you is that our good friends Erin & Barry are Jewish. This really means nothing in terms of friendship, except that if I were to scan our list of close friends, they would be the only Jewish friends we have (that I know of), so its safe to say they are our favourite Jews!

Even further background on this friendship is that, Erin is a member of 130-O (University crew) and when I met her she was not Jewish. When she and Barry starting dating we learned about Judaism through her, as she experienced all of their traditions for the first time. In the last year, she has recently converted to Judaism, so please keep this in mind as this post progresses.

As I was saying, the Jewish thing is really irrelevant... but around this time of year, it becomes relevant given the difference between Hanukah and Christmas. Now, Erin, she and her family still celebrate Christmas, while Barry and his family celebrate Hanukah, and together, as couple they do both - Christmukah!

Yesterday, the lovely brunch was held at a brother of Barry's, and well pre-pregnancy brain would have immediately flag to me that they celebrate Hanukah and NOT CHRISTMAS. But of course, post-pregnancy I still have mush for brains, and while we were socializing with other guests at the brunch, the thought crossed my mind that the family hasn't yet decorated for Christmas. They have a beautiful spiral staircase and a very nice opening at the bottom... and the thought also crossed my mind that this would be the PERFECT spot for a 20 foot tree, with clear lights, and all the decorations one could imagine.

As the event was winding down, we decided we should hit the road. E had been the perfect guest... cute as a button, and didn't say boo the whole time we were there. I was quite proud of him. I think I must have been so proud that I didn't bother to turn on my common sense, as just before we were leaving I said to the Barry's nieces:

'You have a lovely home, where do you guys put your Christmas tree?'

And I was dead serious... until Erin was right at the door with me and gave me 'the eyes' sounding the dumb bells, and I went from 'I'm the cool women with the cute kid', to 'excuse me while I run outside and wash my face out with yellow snow'.

I KNEW that they celebrated Hanukah, I really did - so why did I say that? What baffles me even more is that I actually thought to myself 'my, they don't have their tree up yet' - knowing full well they don't. put. up. a. Christmas. tree.

My humble apologies to this family... as the title states, you can dress up a catholic girl up, but you can't take her out. It's been full-on Christmas for me since the day I was born... so please forgive me for not clueing in sooner that not everyone in the world celebrates the same occasions I do.

And just in case you are wondering, I am still trying to pry my foot out of my mouth!

So from the bottom of my heart... to Erin & Barry and their family: Happy Hanunkah!

Fragment Friday

Well I feel like its been a while since I have posted some random tid-bits about everyday life around here, so I thought I would do so this week, since I can't seem to find time to come up with a complete coherent post.

So here it goes... a few fragments from my thoughts:

*I couldn't be happier to be on maternity leave right now. All of this snow is lovely to look at, but this week I was so glad not to have to get up early in the morning and clean off the car, etc. to go to work. E and I have stayed comfortably in our beds and watched everyone else on the street slowly get out of their driveways. In addition to all of the snow and winter driving, OC Transpo here in Ottawa has decided to strike, leaving thousands of commuters out in the cold, and forcing them into their cars and onto the highways. I would imagine this would make for some major traffic jams in the city, but once again, I am watching all of this on TV from the comfort of my own home - I love maternity leave right now!

* Christmas is only 2 weeks away, and while I have my tree up and my house decorated, I am not done my shopping, and I am not concerned about it either. This actually concerns me that I am not concerned, because every year I usually have a little freakout about not being ready. In true procrastinator fashion, I just put things off until I absolutely have to get my ass to mall and get things done, and I figure this year will be no different, but I think I am just too exhausted to even get riled up about not being ready for the festive occasion!

*E was to the doctor on Monday for his 2 month needles. He was a pretty good customer... he cried, but not for long and PC was able to comfort him and calm him down pretty quickly. Before we knew it, he was sleeping comfortably in the car seat while we were strolling through the Timmy's drive-thru window!

*Slowly I am getting more untidy around the house. I think this is the result of being a new Mom.... I use to pride myself in having everything in 'its spot', but these days, I just don't have the time for that. I am slowly letting things go... and its really starting to bug me. Everyday, I say to myself, I should put this back and that away, but 15 hours in a day goes by really quickly and before you know it, I am exhausted and ready for bed, and things just lie around the house out of position. I know that no one but me really knows about where everything belongs, and if a stranger walked into my house they probably wouldn't say we are slobs, but it still gets to me that I don't have the time or the energy to keep up with my self imposed standards around here.

*The EASY routine that I reported on a few posts back, seems to be working better these days. E is going longer stretches at night and he sleeps in his crib now all the time, so we are definitely making progress around here. There are some nights where he will go 6 hours on his own, and when this happens I wake up in a panic thinking that something is majorly wrong, only to go into his room and see him still fast alseep. Other nights he goes about 4.5 hours on his own, and if I would just go to bed when he goes to bed at night I think I be a better functioning person too!

*I am loving the fact that people think that when you are on maternity leave for a year, its like you are on vacation for a year. I have heard people make jokes about being off for a year ... and I have to laugh as being a Mom is definitely not a holiday. Yes, its fun and rewarding, and I wouldn't change it for the world, but I actually find it more work that my former day job. At least at my day job, I could schedule things and follow through with my intentions. I could say I am going to be productive and actually BE PRODUCTIVE! At home, I have a couple of simple things I would like to get done in a day, but sometimes I just don't get to them because E does not allow me to.... and I seem to be up later and later every night just trying to keep on top of laundry and standard household chores. While it is nice to be off and at home with E, its not the free and easy schedule some people might suspect!

*Two weeks ago E received a piece of mail from our Conservative MP, Pierre Lemieux. I was rather impressed as it was a hand written note from him. Normally MPs and other government heads have someone write these types of notes for them and then they just stamp them with a signature, but this card was in his handwriting, welcoming E to the world and wishing him well. I thought it was a nice gesture on his part, and given that I am not pro conservative, I am now pro Pierre Lemieux!

*I am happy to report that the we got our brand new hot water tank last Saturday afternoon, and all is well with the world again. The piping that we needed ended up only being $130, which was a pleasant surprise from the $300 estimate they gave us! Although the dryer is still acting up, I am hoping that we can atleast get through Christmas before having to deal with it and the necessary repairs it obviously needs.

Well.. that's it for now! Hope you enjoyed Fragment Friday... and I will try to get some decent posts together in the coming days. All the best for a great weekend ahead.

2 months and counting

Hard to believe, but tonight at 10:52 pm, E was exactly 2 months old. In the last two months lots of things have happened - yet I struggle to remember what they were! Mostly, my little boy has developed quite the personality. He is starting to make more sounds, is more alert, and is pretty particular about what he likes and doesn't like (already! I have no idea where he gets this from).

We are charging forward with the EASY routine, and it is getting easier... we are almost sleeping through the night, another hour each night and I think I would be a content woman!

Some days are definitely harder than others, but I wouldn't trade the opportunity, to be at home with E for an entire year, for the world! He is really the joy of my life (and PC's)... and at only two months old we are so very proud of him!

Here are a few shots from today on his 2 month b-day, and a few others from the month of November.

Enjoy!

Household Appliance Meltdown

Isn't life lovely?

I mean when things are going well... they are really going well, and then there is just the opposite - one unfortunate thing can lead to another and the next thing you know you are 2K in the hole.

The weeks leading up to E's birth, I noticed our washing machine was acting up.  It would wash things fine, but would not spin them.  Heavy items were always soaking wet and had to be spun three or four times, and lighter items would spin but not to the previous performance ability of the machine.

Our washing machine came with the house, and since our house was only a year old when we bought it (in '05) and the appliances were bought brand new by original owners, you would think this machine should have had another 15 or so good years left in it... but OF COURSE, the week E was born, the damn thing was really on the fritz, so we had an appliance guy come and assess the situation for $50. His recommendation was that we needed a $300 part + labour, so our best bet was probably to replace the machine, since there was no guarantees this repair would last for 5 years or even 5 weeks.

So.. week 2 with E in the house, we trucked all over the city shopping for a DEAL on a washing machine, and dropped $1200 on a good one! $1200 I could handle... I mean we have an emergency fund for exactly this, unexpected events that require money. I actually really like the new washer and chalked it up to: 'these things happen, could have been worse'.

Apparently, it really can get worse... as now the damn dryer is acting up, as our low heat setting (which I basically dry all of our clothes on) is on the fritz. On of the selling features of the super duper washer we got is that its suppose to super spin the clothes now at x more amount of RPMs, making the clothes virtually dry when you take them out of the washer... requiring less drying time in the dryer, but now my stupid dryer can't even keep up with reduced need for drying. It's upsetting because when we bought the washer there were so many washer/dryer combo deals, but at the time we didn't need a dryer so paying an extra $500 for something we didn't need seemed stupid.  Now... I am not definite that the dryer has to be replaced, but I am confident that something is wrong with it - and if we have to go out and buy a new dryer 2 months after the washer - heads will roll (somewhere!).

In addition to the washer/dryer issue... our hot water tank busted last night.  I had been home with E all day yesterday and finally when PC got home, we ate, and I escaped the house for 30 minutes to go to Shopper's Drugmart. I am not there 15 minutes when PC calls my cell and leaves an emergency message 'the hot water tank busted, and I need help at home with E'.  

HONESTLY!

The hot water tank... WHAT? I get home to PC mopping up water from all over our laundry room. We call our water tank rental supplier and they can't come to look at it until today at 2pm.  After the inspection today, the tank needs to be replaced which is free of charge, but since the tank was installed the piping needs to be redone as the building code has changed, which comes with a small fee of ONLY $300, and the earliest they can get here to do all this is Saturday between 12 and 4pm.

A month ago I had a hard time wondering what I wanted for Christmas, but with the appliance meltdown we've been having, my Christmas list is all taken care of! 

AND to boot our stupid Christmas lights that PC put up a month ago... well we turned them on this week and there are shorts in every strand, so PC had to rush out to Cdn Tire to buy new lights (or risk being the eye sore of the neighbourhood ... but that's a whole other blog). Apparently they don't make the same colour of lights we had bought 4 years ago... so we had to get all new lights - OF COURSE!

What a week its been... I think I need to get out of the house, but since I haven't showered today and won't get to until Saturday night, I don't think I am going anywhere soon!  

Oh the joys owning a house! Has anyone else experienced the 'when it rains it pours' with unexpected household expenses? What do you do to keep yourself sane in these situations?

The MAC or PC debate!

Well... for the last month or so I have been doing my research on whether or not to buy a MAC or a PC. We have been in the hunt for a new laptop, our first laptop, and PC (my PC not the computer PC!) and I have decide that this would be our Christmas gift to one another! 

The price point on the MacBook was a little steep from the get go, but when I started researching the PC laptops from DELL (I'm a DELL girl), the base prices were considerably lower, but when I added on all of the upgrades that we would want, we were into the MacBook price range anyways.

I will admit I find the MacBook confusing... I use to think of myself as fairly good with computers, especially PCs, but when I start playing around on a MacBook I am lost instantly. However, I still have confidence that we will be able to 'get the hang' of MAC with a few weeks of fooling around on it. 

The fact that MACs are so quick and relatively virus free... and just come with such advanced operating systems, I really wanted the MacBook, but was still scared to make the change.

Finally PC and I decided to take a trip to Future Shop to talk to the sales people and find out just what were getting ourselves into with the MACs. 

Well... the salesman was very 'pro' MAC... he said that obviously the PCs aren't as bad as the MAC vs. PC commercials indicate, but that the PCs were still behind the MAC technology.  He was also willing to knock down the price a bit, which was a bit of a selling feature, since DELL was not willing to budge on any of their prices.

We ended up leaving Future Shop earlier this week with a MacBook in tow, and I am happy to report that this post is coming from you via the new MacBook, from the comfort of my bed, with E lying next to me, kicking his feet and moving his hands about while I reread him this post! 

Yes... we are now proud new owners (FINALLY) of a MAC!

Let the learning begin!

What about you... are you a MAC or a PC user? Anybody out there a new MAC user with helpful hints on how to catch on quickly to the MAC way of life? 

2008: E's first visit with Santa

While in the mall the other day with my sis, I decide to stop by with E and have his first picture taken with Santa.  It wasn't busy, and they let you take your own pictures so it was the perfect opportunity!

At only two months old, I think he did exceptionally well!  I am pretty sure Santa was way more nervous about the meeting than E! I am betting in the years to come, E may not be this cooperative when it comes to visiting Santa, but ya never know.

Thanks St. Laurent Santa for offering up this photo op!