Left Coast Mama » Christmas

Hello World, I’m Back

Gwen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:36:08 +0000

In the last few days I have been extremely busy. I am not sure it is any busier than November was, but I have a lot of writing tasks upon me at the moment as well as the usual hubub of our daily life. We had school, preschool, swimming, ballet, and the last week of piano. I also managed to get to Metrotown to get nose pads for Aidan’s new glasses, a coat for me and boots for Quinlan all between the end of swimming and time for school pick up. We have also been experimenting with having Quinlan in underwear. So far, mostly good. It would be better if he were not a little bit sick. We also managed a trip to Ikea without breaking the bank too much. I did buy myself a beautiful rug that is so soft that the boys play on it as much as they can. All this and real meals, early bedtimes and putting together my December Daily book. So far it is only letters to the boys, but I have been making sure to take pictures. Now I just need to print them out.

We haven’t really decorated for Christmas yet, but we have started. The kids have their Advent calendars and I got them some cheap window clings so they could decorate the windows. I discovered we need new lights for the windows, unless we just use the tree lights that we no longer need. Come to think of it, I think that may be the best idea. The mantle is decorated, but that is only because the mantle garland is never un-decorated and therefore takes only a couple of minutes to put up when we find it. I think we will try to find enough time this busy weekend to put up the tree.

I have a couple of things that I need to write in the next couple of days and I promise to get Aidan to get his video log finished by this weekend. Just FYI Oz is selling out so if you want tickets you need to get them soon. It is a fabulous production.

How is your December so far?

Do You Believe in Santa? I do.

Gwen — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:54:24 +0000

When I was growing up we were poor. I look back now and I am not sure how my mother and father managed as well as they did. I think for the most part my brothers my sister and I did not notice how poor we were. We had clothes and we never went hungry. My parents never let us know, until much later, how close we came to losing the house. If there were nights when we had pancakes many days in a row we didn’t notice or for that matter care. Pancakes for dinner was a treat. I understand why we had regular milk mixed with powdered milk.

One year when my dad lost his job and my mother was at that point still home with us, things must have been quite bad. I didn’t know how bad things must have been. I remember being asked to help out a family at school. All classes brought all kinds of canned food for this family and we did as well. What I didn’t realize and neither did my parents that the family they were supporting was us. I remember the surprise and I admit a little excitement when there was a knock on the door. Our pantry, well the shelves on the stairs going down to the basement was filled to over flowing.

I am not sure if it was the same year, or another when there were three deliveries to our door. One was anonymous where someone rang and ran. I still remember that there was a huge Christmas colouring book that kept us well occupied. That year there was also a visit from a Santa’s helper in a Santa suit bringing wrapped presents for all of us. The most surprising was when the doorbell rang and Papa Smurf was at the door helping out Santa.

When we were better situated we were happy to help out other anonymous families who were in the same situation at Christmastime. Being a helper to Santa was a big part of feeling good about Christmas for our family. Even when we didn’t have much, we always found a way to help others. I am not saying this to brag, but it helped us to feel less guilty about having things when we knew there were other people in bad situations.

My back story is part of the reason I want so badly to get Aidan and Quinlan to understand that since we are in a better situation that we need to help as many people as we can. Donating to the food bank with money and canned goods is our biggest focus for the season. There are so many families who are not making it in BC, especially in the lower mainland. I want them to see that we are in a very good situation and it would be really good to help other people. Aidan really gets it. He has a philanthropic plan for the Aidan company already. Quinlan is starting to get it and by the time he is Aidan’s age he really will as well.

My hope is that by helping others my boys will grow up to be empathetic and enlightened men. That they will not look down on people for their monetary situations. That they will be generous human beings. I think we are on the right track.

Guess What We Did Today

Gwen — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:09:20 +0000

For weeks now Quinlan has been afraid of Santa Claus. He said he did not like his moustache at all. He did not like that Santa came into the house down the chimney. He was not sure about this Santa person at all, and he seemed to want to be as bad as possible so Santa would not come. Today that all changed. After preschool today we went to Oakridge to do some playing in the pit and a few walk bys of Santa Claus. The first walk by Quinlan said he seemed like a nice Santa and his beard and moustache were . . . ok. After the second walk by he thought that yes he was a nice Santa and maybe he might like to go see Santa. After playing a little longer Quinlan decided that it would be nice to visit Santa before we went home for a nap. Quinlan was very brave and after a couple of minutes he was on Santa’s lap and talking about eating vegetables and what he wanted for Christmas. This afternoon after picking up Aidan from school we were able to get the picture.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Advent

Gwen — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:12:03 +0000

This was the first rehearsal for the Advent Carol Service on Sunday. Advent, the sacred (as opposed to secular) countdown to Christmas, consists of the 4 Sundays previous to Christmas. This year because Christmas is on the Sunday, Advent is the longest it can be. The next five weeks to Christmas are filled with both secular and sacred activities.

On my list to do, in no particular order:

Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens. We usually go somewhere in the week before Christmas.
The Christmas Train at Stanley Park and Bright Nights
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge
The Wizard of Oz at Carousel Theatre
Church for at least the 2 weeks prior to Christmas plus the carol service.
Picture with Santa, as long as it doesn’t traumatize Quinlan.
Baking cookies, including a cookie exchange with good friends.
decorate
Advent calendars. Lego Star Wars for Aidan and regular for Quinlan, plus the felt/velcro tree calendar.
CBC Food Bank Day
Santa Claus Parade
Maplewood Farms (warning link has music)

This are just the things off the top of my head and don’t include making the calendars or my December daily scrap-booking project. Or the Advent letter I write to the boys everyday in December letting them know what we are planning for the day. I fully plan to blog the letters this year and take more picture and actually print them out. Our little HP should get quite the workout.

What are the things you like to do in December?

CBC Food Bank Day Challenge

Gwen — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:24:29 +0000

A week from Friday CBC has its annual food bank day where people around the province give generously to the food banks of the province. Every year since Aidan was 8 months old we have gone to the food bank day for part of the day. It feels like the real start of Christmas to me. I love that Aidan is learning that it is good to be able to share with others. He has a philanthropy plan for The Aidan Company in the future including a work program that pays poorer people better. Quinlan isn’t quite there yet but I am planning some of the same things we do each year to make it more of a reality for him.

This year I thought I would put out a challenge to my Vancouver blogging buddies, make a donation to one of the local food banks this year. I will be making a donation. Aidan decided to take some money from his piggy bank this year. Together we can make a huge difference.

Confessions

Gwen — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:51:39 +0000

I have a confession to make. I listen to Christmas carols all year round. I sing Christmas carols all year round. My sons have listened to Christmas carols almost everyday this year.

That my sons listen to Christmas carols to go to sleep is not entirely my fault. My youngest son Quinlan got very attached to the Veggie Tales Christmas album and the Barenaked ladies. From advent last year I set up a playlist to help the boys go to sleep and it stuck. I am willing to fight a lot of battles, but what they listen to at night to get to sleep is not one I am willing to fight. When I was singing to the boys to get them to sleep on the trip, it was a mixture of campfire songs and Christmas carols.

When I am feeling at all blue I might put on the Christmas Oratorio or Nana Mouskouri’s Christmas Album on, or I might sing some of my favourites to myself. That is it, I am a Christmas carol lover, anytime of the year. I just will not make anyone else listen to them before the beginning of Advent.

Shutterfly: A Review and Giveaway

Gwen — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:14:38 +0000

Last year I was given the opportunity to make our Christmas card at Shutterfly and for the cost of shipping I received 50 cards. I worked really hard on the cards and I think they turned out really well. They certainly reflected us and I was impressed by the quality of the cards and how easy they were to make. They still cost about the same as if we bought some store made cards when you took in the shipping costs to Canada but they were so much more personal and beautiful.

This year we still need to take our family picture and I am not sure which card I will use. I am partial to folded cards because I like to have room to make each of the cards personal. While all of them will have the same sentiment inside, I also like to take the time to write a bit of a letter to the people we send the cards to. It is one of the best things about the Christmas season for me. I love that people take the time to actually write to each other. My boys love opening cards from back east and the letters that I write every day for advent.

I have a few cards picked out and I am hoping that you will help me choose a style. I love our card from last year but I am hoping for something a little different.

I like the black and that the card has room for a few different pictures. It works as a card to go to friends and family with different religous views and it should be meaningful to everyone.

I like the simplicity of this card and it also has room for lots of pictures. I have cute kids and a tonne of pictures I can use.

This is also a simple card with room for lots of pictures. I think I like it better than the previous one because of the square picture format. I think this would be great for my instagram pictures.

This card appeals to me for its design. I love the red and the way the banner scrolls over the pictures.

Lastly this card is simple and beautiful. If we can get a good picture of either the boys or all four of us I might choose this card.

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If you would like a code for 25 free cards, I have 3 to give away. Simply leave me a comment on this post by November 7th and I will choose 3 winners at random. The code can be used for any 25 cards on the Shutterfly site. They do not need to be holiday cards at all.

I recieved a code for 50 free cards again this year, but all the opinions are my own. I was very impressed by the cards we received last year and even more impressed with the photobooks we had made (at our own expense) to commemorate our big roadtrip this year.

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Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

Merry Christmas!

Gwen — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 06:29:11 +0000

Merry Christmas From The Floyds Both East and West

Christmas Eve Tradition: Tourtiere

Gwen — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:53:32 +0000

There are a few Christmas Eve traditions we have and like most traditions they have to do with food. I like to make something my mother made and our boys absolutely love, Tourtiere. Tourtiere is a French-Canadian spiced meat pie.

Warm from the oven, Tourtiere. YUM!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs lean ground pork

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

small diced onion

2 grated potatoes

2 diced cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1-2 tsps cinnamon

1/4-1/2 tsp allspice

salt and pepper

water

2 double pie crusts

egg wash

Instructions:

In a large sauce pan saute the onion in a little bit of oil until it is softened then add the meat and spices and enough water to cover the meat. Stir until the meat is no longer pink. Add the grated potato and simmer, stiring occasionally. Simmer for at least 1/2 and hour, longer is better. If you want you can add grate carrot and diced mushroom to the meat mixture. If the mixture seems not spiced enough you can add a bit more.

Once you have finished simmering you should put the meat mixture in the fridge overnight or at least until the mixture has gelled. Skim the fat off (you can leave a little) the gelled mixture. Divide into the pie shells and cover with a top crust. Vent the top and brush with and egg wash.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown. The filling should be bubbling.

I will update the post with pictures of the process and finished pie when I make it this week.

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Related: Christmas, Healthy Eating, Holidays, Menu Plan Monday, Recipes.

Santa Cheese

Gwen — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:01:40 +0000

This morning we headed off to Oakridge to get our annual picture with Santa. Quinlan was a little shy and to forestall the hysterics I sat with Quinlan on my lap and Santa had Aidan. It is a little cheesy, but the more I see it, the more it grows on me.

Yanta!

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Related: Advent, Adventures, Aidan, Christmas, Gwen, Quinlan, Santa Claus.