Older or wiser???

Not sure which I am but I know there was NO way I was gonna wait in any line to buy anything on the 26th!! I have friends who got 15$ jeans, cool electronics and all kinds of other stuff. Now to clarify I used to be that person, I've stood in like to get a $350 pair of Oakleys for $60, a $100 Habs jersey for $10 and even stood in line to get $1.00 mascara!! Perhaps it's having children, or being out of shape (lazy) with baby fat. or old & needing the extra sleep... whatever it is, the thought of standing in line for any discount on anything seemed like the last thing I wanted to do. For all those that stood in lines (inside or out) and shopped till your dropped, my hat is off to you. I hope you enjoyed your deals... I enjoyed spending the day playing with crash up cars, play dough & watching my baby girl start to roll over!

Christmas Eve

After too much eating & a delicious dessert which I will be proud of for weeks, Christmas Eve draws to a close. It was a great night! We entertained my in-laws, the kids are old enough to open their gifts and play with them while we chatted & drank, what more can you ask for?? And the icing on the cake was my mother-in-law got engaged after being with her boyfriend for 20 years!! And did I mention I made a kick ass dessert???

For those of you wondering about the dessert, I made a Croquembouche from my good friend Martha(http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/marthas-famous-croquembouche) it was fairly easy thanks to Martha's video & I highly recommend it! It's a french dessert & the name translates into 'crunch in the mouth' which I like. I like having something sweet and delicate yet delivering a surprising crunch too!



For those of you wondering about my mother-in-law there will be a wedding next summer when she turns 60 and we can't wait!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Why is enough never enough when it comes to presents???

Ok so it's Christmas Eve Eve or what maritimers call 'Tips Eve' - cause you are supposed to have all your holiday stuff ready so you sit back & have a few drinks & get tipsy! The key being 'supposed to' have everything ready.

Why is it that I think I have everything done then as I'm going over in my head what is happening christmas day I find myself thinking I should pick up a little something for this this cousin cause it's a speical Christmas, then what about the dinner hostess ... a little something might be nice for her too... then before I know it I have a whole other list of gifts I just HAVE TO get. Well not this year. I will no longer give into last-minute gift scrambling or be sucked into marketing tactics like those cool gadgets as you wait in the cashier line which are at eye level to suck you in to buy even more crap for people who don't want or need it! This year I will not buy anything else until Dec 26th - well excpet for wine so I can get a little tipsy!!

the perfect gift??

How do you chose a holiday gift for the person who is responsible for caring for your child all year? The person who makes sure they are well fed, learns (and uses) manners, are kept safe and so much more. This is an important gift, it's for the person who gives hugs & magic kisses on boo-boos when mommy can't.

In reality for most moms & dad's this is also the person who spends more time with your child than you. This person spends on average 10 hours a day with your child!! I am so thankful we have such a wonderful daycre, when I look at what we pay her I almost feel bad and we aren't even in a $7/day daycare that's availble here in Quebec. When I think of this I am so thankful my mother was able to stay at home when I was young!

Usually I start by asking other moms what they give. Then I think of what would help make her life a bit more relaxing. Let's see...after all day with 6 very energetic children, I'm sure she'd like a week away down south! But since I can't afford that (not even for myself) I'll give her an hour away all to herself with a massage. Hope she likes it!

Holiday Cookies - Gingerbread

Being a smalltown girl I was raised that you show your holiday love by baking treats!! This year I tried to make traditional Gingerbread men cookies. I love to bake, although it doesn't always turn out as I would like, I keep on trying. To my suprise this recipe from a baking whiz friend turned out amazing!!! To see her creations check out: http://www.wix.com/julesbakescakes/dessertcreations

You can find the recipe here (it also includes a yummy icing recipe for decorating the cookies): http://www.joyofbaking.com/GingerbreadMen.html

If you need any help getting into the holiday spriit, you shoudl give it a try. I made them with my 2 year old son who loved helping out & then my husband helped me decorate them.... opps I promised him I'd say it was my son who decorated them!

Tis the season

The snow is falling, it's freezing outside and my bank account is dwindling... the holidays are here!

This year while on maternity leave I thought FOR SURE I'd have time... time to get the pefect present for everyone... time to send holiday cards early... time to make homebaked treats... and time to get my house decorated. But here it is a few days before the 25th and nothing is completed! So I decided to step back & look at what is consuming my time. For example, every year I send out over 60 holiday cards - why? does a cousin or friend halfway across the country who our only communication is exchanging holiday cards really going to miss mine?? Am I that person who thinks that everyone MUST have my kids latest picture?? check one item off my to-do!

Is it all necessary?? Isn't the point of the holidays to spend time with friends and family, to help those less fortunate... and to not have to work?? When did it happen that it's so important to have more gifts than quality ones, to get new decorations than cherish older ones, and find time to make everything from scratch like Martha?? Is this just everyone going over board with the holidays or is this just being a grown up? If it's being a grown up I prefer to remain childlike! For this year I'm going to try to cut down on everything... just why does even that seem like so much work?

GUEST BLOG

I am very happy to have a very good friend, amazing professional working mom who has things to say about being 'just a woman'.

As a working Mom, I am in survival mode. I have to do more in less time because I have to leave at a set time to pick up the kids at daycare. I have to be good at what I do because in our increasingly demanding workforce, clients and an employer are counting on me to maintain the same level performance and even increase it. I have to make my husband happy because he could fire me too. The kids need to eat well, get enough sleep, be clean and groomed, have brushed teeth, learn how to make their beds in the morning, be dressed in stain-free clothes and arrive at daycare fresh and not tired having had a good nutritious breakfast and with pink ribbons in their hair. After all, all the other children look so happy and well-served! After a few weeks of sleeping less than 5 hours a night I'll go through a bout of laziness and not work from 10 pm to 2 am to catch up on emails and outrageous last-minute demands. And so the survival continues. They won't beat me, because the more I survive, the better I get at it. The better we all get at it. Don't let them win!