Read to me



Read To Me

Read to me riddles and read to me rhymes

Read to me stories of magical times

Read to me tales about castles and kings

Read to me stories of fabulous things

Read to me pirates and read to me knights

Read to me dragons and dragon-book fights

Read to me spaceships and coyboys/girls and then

When you are finished- please read them again.

By Jane Yolen

How did you celebrate Literacy Day?

We decided to go to a local school today and have Sophie participate in the schools Literacy Day activites.  They had crafts, games, writing centres and a read aloud.  They listened to the story "Sneezy The Snowman" by Maureen Wright and Stephen Gilpin.
I picked up a lot of tips as the teachers were on hand to give us information packages as well as discussions about developing literacy skills.
Here are some things i have learned...

• Read and Re -read your childrens favorite stories.  Although you want to introduce a variety of books and genres to your children, re-reading stories is the best way to promote language development.  Just like they say, practice makes perfect- repitition allows the child to really get a grasp of the words that they are hearing often.
• Talk abou the story while reading.  Look at the pictures and predict what will happen on each page before you read it.  Talk about what you think will happen on the next page before you turn the page.
• Read shopping lists, street signs, print ads in magazine and newspapers (look at the pictures first and have them tell you what you think they are trying to sell, then look at the words and read them the ad).
• Dress-up and role palying is one of the best tools for language development.  Have them come up with a role playing scenario and have them take the lead in pretend play. Puppet plays and using  building blocks where they can create castles, forts or anything also enhance vocabulary.  The language that children come up with during imaginative play is fascinating.
• Provide writing tools within hands reach in different areas around the house.  They should have easy access to pencils, papers and  crayons to draw, write or doodle. 
• scribbling is early writing- encourage it!  Don't think that if it is not actual practice of writing letters it is not important.  Scribbling actually develops their fine motor skills necessary for writing.  Use this time to teach them how to hold a pencil, but don't focus on the mechanics of writing...let them just write/scribble/doodle to their hearts content. 
• The most important tip is to let your child see you reading.  As simple as Monkey see, Monkey do. 

I have to create a list of our favorite book lists by genre.  Here is a recomendation for poerty and for counting books.

Poetry:
There are so many popular nursery rhymes.  Go on the internet and print off a few of your favorites to have on hand to share with your children.  We like to read poems in the book Jelly Belly written by  Dennis Lee.  This is an exerpt from the book, and one of the first poems from the book that my daughter learned.

Mrs Magee

Climbed up a tree

And she only came down to go shopping

A branch was her bed

With a leaf on her head

And whenever it rained she got sopping.

Counting books:
 Best way to learn numbers is to read counting books.  There are so many fun counting books.  "One Hungry Monster" by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe is a fun one we like to read.
I recently came across a great find at a bookstore.  The book is called "How Many" and it is a counting book that can be used from K-Highschool.  Teachers can easily place this book on a table for when students complete their work early.  Individually or in groups, i think it would be a fun challenge to see who can correctly answer the questions in this book
We love looking at this book and counting the different pop up shapes. Pictured are some sample pages.

The Triangle page:  some questions include-How many triangles can you see through?  which colour has the most triangles?  How many triangles are at the border? 

Circle Page:  How many circles are hollow? How many are solid?How many have coloured borders?How many circles are there within the spirales?

Star Page: How many stars have 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 points? How many stars contain just two colours?

Seriously, so many more pages and questions that stimulate the brains of kids and teachers alike.  So glad i scored this book at an amazing price at a neat little book shop in Toronto.

Stay tuned for some posts about our playroom dress-up area and our little place to create our own masterpieces of art.

Fitness challenge

I have to admit that January has been off to a slow start in my workout regime.  The boot camp classes that I have been doing are not starting up again until February due to a change of location.
I will get back to it full swing on my own this week until the classes resume.
I decided I needed a fitness challenge.

12 consecutive Pull-ups. Simple right?  Not for most people i know, definitely not  in my age group.  This is why i think it is the perfect challenge.

No expensive equipment needed...other than a cheap pull-up door mount and yourself (the door mounts are super cheap...of course you are priceless!)

I will give myself a few months at least. I think i can do 2-3 at most right now.

The plan is simple for now.  3 sets of maximum push-ups in the morning and before I got to bed (every night).  Push ups strengthen the muscles that you need for a pull up.  Since i can't perform a lot of pull ups right now I am going to start with the negative pull up routine.

Grab a stool, lift yourself up to the chin up position and slowly let yourself back all the way to the ground.  I will do 3 sets of 12 for a few weeks.  Trying a few pull-ups on my own along the way too.

Will post a progress video soon!

Oh let's go back to the start

Looking back at my childhood, i remember so many hours being spent on playing board games.  Getting your siblings and friends together to play games like Sorry, Connect Four, Stratego, Battleship and Guess Who to name just a few. These games were so much more about just playing.  It was about getting together with friends and sitting closely together trying to win a game...or having fun trying to win.  It was about learning rules, and following them (you would be called out right away if you tried anything sneaky).  It was about sportsmanship and learning it is okay to lose (I can't say i ever left a game not crying, but i always made peace with the winner and challenged them to another go at the game).

Monopoly went on forever.  It lasted hours, and you could not stop until someone was finally declared a winner.  I remember taking dinner breaks and counting my money and doing an inventory check on my property to make sure nothing was tampered with during the break.  I remember calling out 'Banker' first, as it was a privilege to be the one to handle the money.  Addition and subtraction skills were worked on without any fuss...and you became good at it!

I am not one to oppose the technological advancements of the games of children today.  It is the world we live in, and i do believe the advancements have a benefit to this generation.   I am not going to preach about how it was so much better when we were children and that these new games take away from the real fun we had growing up (maybe just a bit of preaching).
It is a new fun that i have to embrace and not challenge so much. One day, i know my daughter is going to want a Nintendo DS where she will  have her head down, playing games on her own...or playing on her own with others who are also playing on their own (at least they are playing on their own together right?). The changes are inevitable, we grew out of our games too.

Some of the classic games are still around. You may not recognize them as they have a whole new look to appeal to this generation of kids.

Lite Brite now looks like a mini tablet, not the big monstrous unbreakable white machine that gave you lots of space to be creative.  The new look is streamlined and classy like an Apple Ipad.

'Guess Who' is a lot more compact too.  I miss the big windows you would flick down every time you had to eliminate a face.
Monopoly has gone through a drastic change.  Now there is an electronic version. No more Monopoly money.  The banker is not needed anymore. Just like how we use currency today, counting cash has been eliminated. Now there is a debit machine that calculates your profits or losses.
I don't know about you, but handling the Monopoly money was the whole fun of the game. I remember keeping a neat pile of all my currency and tucking a bit under the board to keep it in place. Those kids that piled up their money in disarray, those were the ones you knew you could beat. They had no chance, they could not keep track of their money let alone their property. Sometimes you would land on their property and they would not even realize it. You would hurry the next person in line so that you would not have to pay rent. Serves them right for not organizing their cards for quick assessments. That was how ruthless our games got. Usually a chuckle would follow once the next player took their turn. It served as a friendly reminder that you needed to pay attention to the game...and get your stuff organized!

My husband said that my almost 4 year old was looking at a Leap Pad when they were at the mall this weekend. We agreed not to get it. She does not need it, and frankly I enjoy playing games as a family. Maybe when she is older we will purchase a video game for her. For now our collection of games are reminiscent of the past. Good old classic face to face games.  Actually, i lied.  She does have a console.  It is an older Leap Frog computer console that my friend past on to her.  I like that it teaches her how to use a computer though.  There are games which help them figure out where the letter keys are, and ones where she has to use her mouse.  She has really learned the basics of computers, which i think is still as useful skill.

I don't know if the new age games really appeal to the kids as much as it does to the game makers. Packaging costs less now (games are smaller, lighter,more compact) yet sales price is as much or more higher than before. More accessories and spending is required for the new electronic games. If you don't need batteries, you need controllers, headpieces, cartridges and lots of 'extra's' to make the game playable (oh and times that by 2 or 3 depending on how many kids you have). Lastly, there is always an updated version that comes along shortly after purchase. You are just making purchase after purchase to keep up with the latest technology. Sounds familiar. My iPhone 5 is so much better than the 4.

I don't want to come across as the sanctimonious mom who judges those that buy video games for their children.  Video games are not something we were immune to. Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong and many others were played a lot too.  I just found that back then, games and their consoles lasted longer.  There was not a new version every year. I love WII and we have an XBox in our house where we play Rock Band (I don't think it is even the it game anymore).  Recently I went to a party where the kids were having tons of fun playing the dance games on WII.  

I just want to delay those games until our daughter is older.  I love looking at all our board games.  Takes me back to my childhood days.  I see her having just as much fun as I did.  Thank goodness they still have those games around (even though updated).  There has not been much of an advancement in board games.  The classics are still the favorites.  I will have to check out Ebay for some of the older versions.  I wish my old games were kept.  Maybe I will dig through my moms basement, but somehow I think they got lost through the years.  Too bad.

I think tonight we will have a Hungry Hungry Hippo match.  Perfect when I was 3 years  old and still perfection for my 3 year old daughter.

Ode to my Brother

Today is my brothers birthday.
I think 2013 and his ____th year (I wont fill in the blank and disclose his age) will be a great one for him.
He has always been someone i look up to.
We may have different personalities, and may differ on our opinions on certain topics, but i always feel like i can go to him if i ever need him and he will be there.

The qualities i most admire in him are his loyalty to his friends/family, his generosity and sensitivity.  He is not afraid to show his emotions.  Weddings typically bring out his emotional reactions..did i say emotional, i meant allergic reactions.  No he is not crying again...someone get him some Claratin and a tissue for his allergies stat.

These are the qualities that i continue to work on, and continue to look to him for inspiration.  I hope one day some lucky children get to see these qualities in a father.  For now, my daughter is lucky to see them in her uncle.

So instead of the usual 'Oh Brother', this is my ode to you brother.  Happy Birthday...wishing you many more!

Reader's Digest still lives on...

When I was young and spent time at my grandmothers house, I would look for anything to read. She had a subscription to Readers Digest and kept all of them piled up in her office. I loved reading all of the stories. I found them fascinating for some reason. It is the best compilation of adventure/drama stories for a young child. I still remember a story I read about a boy getting struck by lightning. Had me scared for a while about having the same thing happen to me.

This week I was reminded of how much I used to love reading Reader's Digest. Not only did I see some Readers Digest magazines lying around at my Uncles house this week when we visited, but I also saw some at my in laws house too. It seems like everyone in that age demographic had a subscription to Reader's Digest.

I took two copies to bring home to see if I could still be fascinated by their stories. While I don't think I will get a subscription ( I actually went online to see if this magazine was still in production, and yes Reader's Digest is still going strong), I will still steal some moments to enjoy a good fast read from older editions I can borrow.

They even have a fun vocabulary quiz called "Word Power" that I loved to take. I tried again yesterday and scored a 17 out of 20. A good prep for anyone taking the SAT''s, I think.

Good ole Canadian subscription. I can see why so many subscribed to it. Little hand sized magazine, packed with a lot of goodness.

Maybe she's born with it?

or maybe it's makeup?

Brush cleaning day!  I have committed to every other Thursday being my makeup brush cleaning day
I usually use a gentle organic shampoo to clean my brushes, but this time tried a mixture of warm water, apple cider vinegar (great antibacterial cleanser) and dish washing soap. Worked well, bristles are nice and soft and have not lost their shape.
I  tried out a new trick I found on Pinterest on drying makeup brushes.  After washing, tie your brushes together with any hair elastic and attach that to your faucet.  Your brushes hang with the bristle facing down to prevent any water getting inside the metal portion of the brush.  Brushes last longer as it does not disrupt the glue adhesive that attaches the handle to the brush.  Furthermore, mold can build up if water gets inside.
Today as i was cleaning my makeup brushes, i decided to look through my makeup bag to evaluate some of the purchases i have made.

I have to admit that i am still very much a newbie in the makeup department.  I really did not start wearing makeup until after University.  My makeup "case" contained three items from Shoppers Drug Mart- a tube of  Marcelle tinted moisturizer,  Physicain Formula's bronzing powder and L'oreal Voluminous mascara. Most days i would not wear makeup, but had these for night outs.  

 Not because i thought of myself as a natural beauty, but I just never felt I could apply makeup properly. I thought a natural face was better than a badly made up face.  I also was very involved in running, and really did not have a chance to wear makeup.  I would have to wash it off anyways before training, so there did not seem like a point in even applying it when i woke up.  Being in the sun for training, and working at the gym where i had access to a tanning bed (which i don't do anymore) in the winter,  i always had a sort of tan foundation that covered up any blemishes, redness, imperfections. Plus youth was on my side, we all have a natural glow in our 20's. 

I would say that not until about a year ago did i finally start learning a bit about makeup.  When i was downtown one afternoon i visited MAC store, and a lovely makeup artist spent the time going over makeup with me.  Luckily, i went on a day when it was not busy and got one on one service to help me understand what to pick. This was in contrast to a very intimidating experience at Sephora where there was too much to look at, and not enough help.  I feel like Sephora is store for someone who knows what they want, or at least knows the basics of makeup where they can try products out for themselves without the help of a beauty consultant...that was not me! 

So we picked out a variety of essential makeup items and the start of a real cosmetic collection began. I have slowly started treating myself to makeup along the way.  I now have a cosmetic bag that contains more than 3 items...in fact, quite a few that my makeup bag is now filled. 

Here it is:

I have a rule that i can't have more than one product that does the same thing.  So i have to wait until one is finished before i try another.

Face:  All MAC

• Foundation: Studio Sculpt SPF Foundation. Will try Nars Sheer Glow foundation once this is finished.
• Select cover-up concealer. 
• Sheer Pressed Powder
• Mineralize Skin Finish bronzer in dark
• Melba blush.  I Like this one for casual everyday.  It is a great introduction colour into the world of blushes. I want to get MAC Springsheen next and will purchase it for the summer.  It was instant love when i tried it.  Gave me more of a wow factor than Melba.  I also hear it is the best dupe for NARS orgasm, but after trying both, i like Springesheen better.

Eyes

• I got a custom MAC eyeshadow quad with Jest, Ground, Coral (I love this and it was my first "looks intense, but it really is not that intense when put on" colour) and Deep Damson.  The camera did not pick up the coral colour.  It looks so much brighter/intense in person.  It is only sold in the Pro Mac stores, try it if you are there.
• MAC Blanc Type eyeshadow- for inner eyes
• MAC Sable eyeshadow for crease
• Smashbox Brow Tech in soft brown
• Stilla liquid eyeliner- treated myself to this after i cut off my hair.
• L'oreal Voluminous Mascara (classic)\
• Free MAC zoom mascara

Highlighter

• Benefit Watts Up and Miss Popularity
• Smash Box photo op eye Brightener- came in a set i got cheap at Winners -see below)

Primers- got a smashbox set at Winners for 19.99 and it included

• Photo Finish Primer
• Photo Op Eye Brightener
• Lash Primer
• Lip Primer
• Eyeshadow Primer

Lips

• MAC Sheen Supreme in Ultra Darling
• MAC Twig
• Nars Orgasm lipgloss
• Lola Jacqui- i love this one, but i think this may be my last tube as they don't sell them at Sephora anymore. Found it for my wedding day, and it has been a favorite ever since.
• Nars Red Lizard- Eeek, a RED lipstick.  Have only worn it once while we went out for dinner in California.  I need to be more brave and wear it out again...for my next date night.

So there it is!  Maybe i was not born with the natural-no need for makeup face, but that does not mean i can't fake it. I am still learning, and hope to get a lot better this year.

My favorite site for makeup application is

Maskcara

Pinterest- i have pinned some great tutorials to try.  Do a search, you will find lots of info.

I like this site for looking at different makeup swatches and reading reviews:

My favorite GTA makeup artist is Heather Snowie

The right to privacy

From time to time I will be posting about parenthood and of course that comes with sharing a bit of my daughters life. I am trying to find a balance of how much to share. Mommy blogging can be difficult. You want to share, but that sharing of information should never be to the detriment of your child's privacy. I don't want my daughter to ever look back at posts and be embarrassed that I let everyone read about something she wanted to keep just between us.

Over-sharing of parenthood is the reason why this Facebook group was created. Not a small group either, they have over 31,000 members on Facebook and an even bigger following on the blog page.So why the need for such a group? I think with all the social outlets available, it seems that over sharing has become a lot easier. One click of a button and you can send information out via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter ..sometimes before you have the time to think about how much it can impact you or your family.

As a parent, I understand that feeling of wanting to share the joys of parenthood.  It is quite the feeling when your child accomplishes something, or in most cases when they are just being cute.  You get so excited, that you can't resist posting pictures/videos you've taken of them. For some,  Facebook is the easiest way to share with family members that don't live close by or that you don't see often. How can you deny them the joys of seeing all your cute pictures right?

The STFU group (which does comprise of parents) doesn't take aim until it becomes too much, inappropriate , and something that should be kept private.
I will walk you through a basic example .  Posting a video of you little one taking their first steps is cute.    However, once you post a pic of your little one doing #2 on the toilet for the first time (or anytime), you may get called out.   A big NO to posting what is inside said toilet. You would think that last one is a no brainer, sadly their is a category dedicated to this on the site.
I could go into detail about some of the other faux pas, but you can read about them on her blog (mommy jacking is one of my favorites)
To be honest, i don't care what my friends post on Facebook   There is an easy fix for me, ignore it, or unsubscribe to their status updates.

Recently,  pictures posted by a parent on a popular social media have received some negative attention.  I will not post it here again as i think it has made the online rounds enough. You can see for yourselves on The Mule site (one of many bloggers that took offense to the picture).   First look at it, and you may think it is pretty funny and clever of the parents.  Take a step back and see it from the children's perspective.  Do you think it could be embarrassing  for the children that everyone is getting a good laugh at their expense? They are old enough where someone who knows them is going to tell them that the picture is circulating on the internet...possibly one of their classmates. It will teach them a lesson though, right?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  The only certainty is humiliation.  The act itself is not in question.  The controversy is why is it OK to publicize for all to see.

Liza Long also received negative backlash on her blog post titled  "I am Adam Lanza's Mother".  This blog post was am honest account of her feelings after the Sandy Hook tragedy and how she could relate to raising a child like Adam Lanza.  Although she used a pseudo name for her son, she did post a picture of him and it was written under her name.  It would not be hard for anyone to figure out who her son is.
  At first it was met with sympathy and positive reactions. That is, until readers exposed her other blog posts as undeserving of that sympathy.  Liza was candid about the difficulties she feels parenting her son, but many feel over-shared details that should have been kept private in her blog ""The Anarchist Soccer mom".  Liza stands by all of her blog posts and feels this type of honesty is needed to help many families that otherwise feel they are alone in dealing with similar problems.  Furthermore, she said that her son who is now under the care of a mental health facility also supports her blog posts.  He takes the position that if it can help others, it is a positive thing.

So are mommy bloggers supposed to only write about the bright and cherry side of parenting? Is a blogger only able to be open and honest under an anonymous guise, for fear of experiencing the backlash that Liza Long received. We cant enjoy the humorous side of parenting anymore?  I for one enjoyed a laugh or two at the popular Jimmy Kimmel video in which he asked parents to videotape their children's reaction to being told that they ate all their Halloween candy.  If we cant laugh or have a sense of humour about the difficulties of parenting, well then i think that is sad.  Yes, we need to respect the child's right to privacy, but i don't think those  examples will have the children scarred or thinking they are the victim of cyber bullying by their parents.

They will most likely laugh along or sympathize with us when they are having the same problems with their own kids. Perhaps, even making a blog post/picture/video/shirt of their own.  

Were your parents drunk when they named you?

Have you read the recent news of the Icelandic teenager who is suing the government over the right to keep her birth name?
Read it here

A small part of me thinks that Iceland is actually on to something. I won't list any names here, but I have run in to some peculiar names...you know the ones where you have to think about how to even even spell it.  Common names are being spelled so phonetically odd, that you wonder what the parents were thinking.
Celebrities get a pass for this.   With the lifestyles some of them lead, the children will have other psychological worries more pressing than their name.  They  also won't be ridiculed.  If your mom is Gwenyth Paltrow and your dad is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who cares if your name is Apple.  You pretty much will have everyone wanting to hang around you.

I  like names that are non gender specific- Taylor, Jamie and Jessie are prime examples.  Recently two people that i know have named their own daughters Charlie (one went with the spelling Charley).

I really like the name that the Icelandic teenage girl is fighting to keep. I think it is a strong, classic name that can be used for both  male and female (i like it best for a female).  Remember the rich, spoiled and snooty girl from Facts Of Life?  More recently,  Blair Waldorf of the now ended series Gossip Girl (i have yet to watch an episode).

The name thing is something i have dealt with.  With Margarita as a name, i constantly heard "Were your parents drunk when they named you?".  Although a very unique name choice here, it is actually common in other parts of the world (Spanish speaking countries, Greece, Russia and Bulgaria) .  In Greece, the meaning of my name is Pearl.   In Russia, Bulgaria and Spain it has the meaning of the flower Daisy.  I have learned to love my name, and as an adult have been getting more compliments on the uniqueness of my name.  I have even met other Margarita's, so it does not feel as odd as it did when i was younger.

I do hope they win their case.  It is not an outlandish name for a girl, and it is Icelandic.  Afterall, they did allow Elvis on the list due to the popularity from the King of Pop.  Perhaps they can add Blaer to the allowed list of female names.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

It is a sick day today.  It was bound to happen, just glad we dodged it during the holiday season.
All my daughter wants to do today is cuddle, watch movies and for me to read books to her.
With the lack of energy on both parts (last night was not a good sleep for the whole family), I decided to reach up to the higher shelves and dust off some of our older picture books.
They were a blessing today, and I was reminded how important they are to still include in our reading routine.
Picture books are the building blocks to language, reading and comprehension skills.  They sometimes take a backseat to the fun word filled stories that i usually read to my daughter.  However, They should not be forgotten.  The language is diluted to rich, necessary text which actually enhances vocabulary.
Simple, yet effective.  Kind of reminds me when my English teacher taught me about the acronym  K.I.S.S.  (keep it simple stupid!).  The illustrations are also more meaningful than the regular children's books  Just like the text, simple yet appealing to the imagination.
We have lots of favorite picture books, both from our own collection or from reading at the library.  I will share some of my favorites, and be sure to update once in a while.

• Wave, Suzy Lee  My most favorite wordless picture book.  The illustrations are amazing.  You will find your little one making up so many stories to go along with the pictures.  A picture is worth a thousand words is the only way one can describe this one.  Takes you right to the beach.  I can almost feel/see the waves while reading this book.
• Say Hello, Jack Foreman Simple, yet effective picture book that can be shown to such a wide age range.  Elementary teachers could easily use this book in their K-Gr8 classrooms.  Great teachable book about inclusion and sensing the emotions of others through body language.
• No David, David Shannon Kids will love reading the one tag line of this book-"No David". Kids will be be laughing out loud as they explain on each page what David is doing wrong (running outside naked, putting too much food in his mouth just to name a few). It always ends off nicely with his mom saying "yes" and giving him a big hug.  Hard not to fall in love with this curious boy. Look for all the other David books too.  
• Go Away Big Green Monster, Ed Emberley  Each page reveals one part of the face of a big green monster.  Don't worry, the monster goes away one by one as you vanish each facial feature.  This is a fun one that teaches colours and shapes.  I read a review that some kids may get scared.  Sophie usually scares pretty easily and just found it amusing.  
• Goodnight Gorilla, Peggy Rathmann  Silly Gorilla sneaks the key away from a zookeeper and opens up the cages of each animal and they all follow the zoo keeper to his home. It takes the zoo keepers wife to notice the animals in their bedroom and lead them back to their cages...with the exception of one animal that outsmarts even the smart wife.
• Press Here, Herve Tullet while not so much a traditional picture book, i decided to end off with this book, due to its fun interactive nature.  Got my daughter smiling through her sick day, and we read it more than once.  They suddenly become magicians as pressing, tapping, blowing shaking the book makes magic appear at each turn of the page.  At the end, it asks to start again, and trust me your kid will happily oblige...much to your dismay.

I am in the process of updating the little reading nook in the basement.  I found an idea on Pinterest on turning a crib mattress into a seating area.  I decided to use my nursing pillow, and a few older decorative pillows and a baby blanket to make the area more comfy.  The bookshelf is just off to the side and it has a nice window to let in natural sunlight.  I have to dig through storage to find all of the nice crib sheets that we rarely ever used to make it look appealing.  

Tis The Season 2012

I loved Christmas this year with Sophie.  The whole magic of Santa was much more evident this year.  My daughter got really excited to make her list and find a way to give it to Santa.  We have started a tradition in which she chooses one item to ask Santa.  We are hoping to continue this throughout the years.  

We thought that we were going to have a hard time figuring out what my daughter wanted from Santa; each week it changed.  She wanted a singing doll, then changed her mind to slinky dog from Toy Story. We actually bought the slinky dog and had to return it when she finally settled on a game called Red Rover. We waited until the letter was finalized and handed over to Santa before we bought her gift from Santa (lesson learned for next year).

S has yet to take a real picture with Santa by herself.  We got one on her first Christmas by tricking her and having Santa do a quick scoop in before she could really notice and cry.  The 2nd Christmas she would only take a picture with Santa if we were sitting with her (she was on our lap and Santa was behind us.)  This year, after proudly writing the letter all by herself she was determined to give it to Santa and take a picture with him.  
We could not have picked a better Santa to make this happen.  We went to the Christmas Market at the Distillery District on a weekday.  I don't know if he heard my daughter talking to me while we were in the front of the line, but he (Santa) just knew/sensed her anxiety/nervousness hidden.  He took the time to really talk to her and make her feel comfortable.  Most kids just went up, took their picture and left but somehow he knew that she needed more.  After a nice conversation, we got this picture.  It's a start.  I don't know if we will ever get her on Santa's lap, but who cares, she talked about her pic with Santa the whole holiday. Christmas Market is such a fun time, and will be part of our yearly activities. 

Distiller District Christmas Market train.

For Christmas on my side we decided to try something a little different.  We always spend Christmas Eve at my moms house and this year we decided to spend some quality family time together on a two night trip to Blue Mountain.  It ended up being really fun and we got the white, snowy Christmas that we would not have had if we stayed at home.   

The two nights were seriously nice and relaxing. We went out to eat dinner in the village on the 23rd and we all made dinner on the 24th for Christmas Eve. No Griswold family disasters, which is surprising considering the strong personalities in my family . We just came together to make this a nice getaway.  This was my moms first time visiting Blue Mountain. She loved it, and our cottage had the most perfect view of the mountain which my mom soaked up.  My sister even made the effort to stay over, which she absolutely hates sleeping at other places, unless it is a nice hotel.  My brother was celebrating his first Christmas as a married man, so it was extra special for them.

The most fun was watching my daughter ski for the first time.  We all gathered at the bottom of the slope to witness her first ski lesson.  She looked so cute in her ski gear and just loved the whole experience.  From riding up the magic carpet to the top of the hill (which was pretty high), to skiing and showing us how she could turn her skis into a pizza to stop.   We have a local hill and will make sure to take her this year.  We plan on waiting until August (we heard of a great sale) to purchase ski gear for the whole family.  I have not skied since early high school and Alan has been on the slopes once in his life.  Perhaps we will follow my daughter to the bunny hill for a refresher.

Up I go

Assume pizza position

Getting the hang of it

Ski Instructor

Hope you all had a great Holiday season.   Christmas was so much fun this year.  Hope to create just as many memories next year.  Special thanks goes out to her grandparents, Ninang, Tita, Aunts, Uncles and cousins that made it such a memorable time.

Happy New Year

2013 Resolutions
I have decided that it is time to start documenting my resolutions.  Success of resolutions requires one to write it down and document the goal attaining progress.  I am going to start with my blog and have also created other non online reminders that will stare me in the face daily. I wont bother writing down an explanation of all of my goals here, but maybe go into a bit of detail on some of them.

Start a blog- Yes, i have started and finished the first step of one of my resolutions!  Still in my pajamas on New Years Day and i created my blog and wrote up a first entry (I hope Blogger does not show time of post entry because it would be embarrassing that i admitted i am still in my PJ's at this time of day).
Before i started researching templates, designs, images, fonts and layout i decided to just write!  So this blog is just in its initial simple form...nothing fancy, but it is up and running and that is all that matters.
I did not even know what to write in the About Me section.  That will be edited with more on the meaning behind the title of my blog and what i hope to accomplish by writing a blog.  I found these funny cartoons that depict what i hope others don't think about my blog endeavor.  I really don't have any expertise in a specific area.  Just looking to create an online journal for my own use and to share with those that want to read it.  It may be more interesting than myself in person. I tend to be a listener, this will be my outlet to release some of my knowledge or lack thereof.  

    

Work on home organization- I have always had a problem with organizational skills.  I am not disorganized where everything is a mess. I loathe clutter, mess and things not put in their right place.  You would think that would lead to me being obsessed with organization, instead it makes me procrastinate in this area.  I am always trying to find the PERFECT method of organization, that i get overwhelmed and stick to what is working right now (just using the same organization strategy i have been using over and over again, the one that has not been 100% efficient for me ).  So i am starting off with room by room and finding new ways that will help me be more efficient. Pinterest has been amazing, and i have already bookmarked (pinned) doable projects that will help me in this area.
Journey to resolution:  I have started step 1 of many in this area with the help of my husband.  He went to Solutions to pick up a bin that we could use to organize our Christmas decor.  This bin was perfect and it was honestly a fun task packing away the decorations neatly.  The bin was specially designed for packing away ornaments and had compartments that made packing so much EASIER and EFFICIENT (see my two goals of organization was met with this one bin).  No more packing them in a bunch of random boxes and newspapers and piling them in a corner in the basement.

 I know unpacking the Christmas decor will be so much more fun next year.  Pretty bins make me happy...cluttered cardboard boxes should never be used to organize anything.
One check off the organizational to-do list for Christmas decor. All other rooms of the house need to be checked off one by one this year.

Conversational French:
I have a love affair with the french language.  I love hearing the language being spoken and enjoy listening to french music.  In fact one of my favorite CD's i purchased for my daughter is a French CD by Carmen Campagne. She loves it too, that she has learned most of the songs on the CD and can sing en Francais.
I was part of the Extended French program in elementary school (starting in grade 5 where all of our subjects were in French with the exception of  Math and Religion).  I continued in High school and received a bilingual diploma.  I took one university French course and after not doing as well as i wanted to, I dropped it and never continued any more formal training in French. Although my understanding of French is actually not a problem, i lack in the area of French conversational skills.  My written is not bad and i know i have to work on that area too (proper conjugations, articles, and feminine/masculine) .  I have to research what will enable me to accomplish this goal. Going to look into night classes, or perhaps Rosetta Stone to help. I think finding a meetup group where i am forced out of my comfort zone to speak French is the best way to attain this.

Photography:
Simply put, i want more pictures of all of us in the photos and to stop shying away from pictures.  I also want to make sure that my pictures don't remain in digital format.  I am going to start printing pictures, putting them in frames and albums.  Once a year i am also going to create a hardcover coffee table type album in order for us to have a yearbook documentation of previous years we can look back on.

Of course i have fitness and cooking goals that i want to accomplish this year. Going to dust out the food processor, and juicer i have stashed away.  Early last year our family started blending green smoothies,  and i have seen a lot of benefits.

Last but not least, i am always on the journey of self improvement. I find that i used to look for complicated ways to fulfill this goal. Setting volunteer goals that were too difficult for me to accomplish due to various reasons.  Now, i have realized that i need to start off with simple, yet meaningful ways on how i interact with people in my inner circle first.  I have some clear goals ahead that focus on my relationships with different members of my family.  I do have some goals of extending myself to others in need as well, but still need to do some contacting and research on how best to do that on order for it not to simply be a stated resolution, but one i can put in action.

I am hoping that putting it out there will be a motivator to accomplish my 2013 goals.  If you need a good daily reminder of your 2013 goals, may i recommend  creating your own real life goal board, much like Pinterest.  A painted cork board,  framed fabric board or for non DIYers i found some great ones at HomeSense recently.


All the best in 2013 to anyone reading this.