Last of the Catching Up Posts.

Dec 26th - Boxing Day

This took a whole new meaning in our house this year. A quite literal meaning. And it's all thanks to a little something we call ... Wii!!!

First Marley and Paige slugged it out - I can't remember who won. Does it matter?

Then Greg took on each girl.  This is him beating on Paige. Gasp!! But have no fear. We have clearly raised a couple of tough little girls because I think the record was 2-0. For the girls!!

LOL!!!

Still Catching Up ...

Dec 25th: Christmas Dinner at Ammee and Poppa's

After we worked through the pile of presents under the tree (taking a break so that LC could go down for a nap and I could put the Wifesaver in the oven) we had Brunch - Best of Bridge Christmas Morning Wifesaver (another tradition.) My parents were expecting us around 2-ish so we sort of relaxed for a bit, did some tidying of wrapping paper etc and let the girls play with their new presents. Greg got to work setting up the Wii!! Then we loaded up the van for the trek out to Abbotsford.
It was just our family, Greg's parents and my parents this year which was really nice. Not as crazy and chaotic as previous years and I sort of felt badly that there were no other kids for the girls to play with but at the same time it was really nice to be able to visit! Big family gatherings are a whole lot of fun but the noise/activity level aren't conducive to catching up with people!!
My brother and his family gave the girls a game for Christmas (Thank you!!!) that took a bit of set up but that the girls love. Here are two pictures of what happened while Ina and I worked away at setting up the game!

Poppa (my Dad) ended up on the bottom of a Marley/Paige dogpile but we only got a picture of Marley clambering over him!

Once the game boards were set up I read out the rules while Grandma and Grandpa teamed up with the girls to try it out. Isn't this such a fantastic shot of me?! Oh, and LC is making a play for the girls' new Vtech camera that Santa left them. It takes real pictures and is pretty cool. I've already downloaded about 300 pictures of the ceiling, the floor and the tops of peoples head - pretty much all blurry too!!

Then it was time to eat. Yay!!

LC was so excited about her first Christmas Dinner she decided to take a nap! Awww!!!

After dinner the girls went downstairs where Paige helped Poppa play some Christmas Carols ...

... and then joined in on the Crokinole fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

As you can see she is in her pajama's at this point. We'd had a long day and it was a long drive home so we didn't stay late. Home to bed and then spent a lazy Boxing Day opening more toys and playing with the Wii.

All in all and very good Christmas!

Today I am grateful for ...

... new dishwashers ...

... daughters excited to lose to their Mom in Mario Kart ...

... Safeway lasagne ('cus the cooks on holiday!!)

Catching up ... still.

Dec 25th - The Stockings!

Greg's parents came over from the Island on Christmas Eve and we had our traditional Appetizer Dinner. Forgot to get pictures of that though. Next morning ... and I use that word loosely. In MY mind, 5:50AM is still night time. Or should be anyway!!! Sigh. Greg and I are now wondering exactly how old the girls have to be before we let them come downstairs on their own to devour their stockings while allowing us a few more precious hours (?) of sleep! But I digress ...

Christmas morning Marley and Paige were a WEE bit excited that Santa had visited and once Grandma and Grandpa came downstairs we let them go nuts on their stockings.

And then LC woke up ... Greg only looks like that 'cus we were up at 5:50AM. Did I mention that already?!

LC was a little overwhelmed but luckily, Marley and Paige knew JUST what do with her stocking!

By the end I think LC had it figured out too!

Dec 25th - The Main Event!!

After a breakfast of Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns (Best of Bridge - you've really got to check them out!), we attacked the pile under the tree. Greg and I cashed in our Save-on-More points and got the girls a Wii this year which was supposed to mean that there would be fewer presents under the tree. Somehow our little plan had a minor flaw - our generosity to each other!! LOL! Oh well, could be worse!

Some other highlights were ... Greg's "Dad" pajama bottoms ... Marley's new Webkinz from Paige & LC ...

... Paige's new jewelry box from Marley and LC (she hasn't let it out of her sight since!! To say she loves it is a MAJOR understatement!) ... LC got the same spinny toy she loved to play with at her cousin Griffin's and her very own baby doll to chew ... I mean, LOVE ...

Somehow there are no pictures of me opening any of my fantastic presents (hmmm ...) but Greg very generously gave me (and the rest of the family) the Wii Fit along with Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum for the Wii. I realize it's traditional to make resolutions for the new year ON New Year's but I typically make them at Christmas. Or in the case of my on going battle with my weight, every day!! Hawaii and bathing suits are coming up quickly though so all the help I can get is appreciated! So far I love the Wii Fit! I haven't set up the Jillian Michael's disc yet but it looks tough enough to kick my butt back into shape. I did a workout on the Wii today and let me tell you ... I feel it!!

Well, it's late and I think I'd like to go to bed ... after I throw another load into the wash. I'll continue with the story of our Christmas day tomorrow. Hope you enjoy what I've posted so far.

Today I am grateful for ...

... Greg ...

... fathers-in-law that read my blog and see a Christmas present opportunity (coffee!! Lol!) ...

... time to play games with my girls.

Catching up ...

Dec 23rd - LC is 9 months old!!

In all the lead up to the Christmas mayhem, I totally forgot to blog about LC turning 9 months old. Sorry kiddo! Kid #3 and all!! Here are some pictures - we ALMOST forgot to take them! Oops!

She can now pull herself up onto anything so here she is at one of her favourite trouble spots - the fireplace - hamming it up for the camera.

And here she is with big sister
Paige ... and then showing off her crawling skills.





And last we have a picture showing off her first major wound! She fell while pulling herself up on a chair and almost gashed her eye out! Poor kid! But it's a week later now and she's almost fully healed. Kids heal so quickly!!

Card Packets

Alright, as promised a LOOONG time ago, here are pics of the little project I did for my two Aunties. They are little packets containing 6 cards.

Cute, no?

I was trying to think of what to get for my Aunts and came across a picture in a scrapping mag of a package of homemade cards. Now, I have been trying to stay away from card making to focus on getting my girls baby albums done but I know my Aunts like to write and send cards so I took the plunge! It was fun and I can see myself doing more cards in the future but I will still focus on the layouts for now.

I took a piece of plain cardstock, figured out the dimensions, made the neccessary folds and then adhered a piece of (cut to size) patterned paper to it. the pictures don't show it very well, but the inside folded over flap has also been attacked with a border punch. the edges were kind of raw looking so I got some coordinating grosgrain ribbon (at my new favourite scrapbook store in Surrey - Scrapbook City!!) and glued it around the edges. I also glued it around the middle to create the closure.

The pictures above and below show the cards that I included inside. They literally took me minutes to do! I have so many scraps of paper leftover from my Honeymoon Album and the few pages I've managed to do for Marley's album that this seemed like the perfect project to use some of them up. I'm usually not very good at abstract designs - I LOVE order and symmetry!! - but I think I managed to be a bit "free" with a few of the cards.

Well, there you go. My first foray into card making. I'm pretty happy with the results. My friend Sandra (Stamper on the Shore) gave me a little pack of cards she made as a hostess gift last night and they are AWESOME! And in their own little gift bag thing. SO very cute. Make my little effort pale in comparison but it also gives me something to strive for!

Thanks for looking. Hope you're all having a very good Christmas!!

Videos and more Christmas happenings.

As promised I have uploaded the two crappy videos I took of Marley's concert to my Picasa Web Album. You can view them here. Next year we should have better vids as we received a new digital video camera for Christmas from Greg's sister and brother-in-law. Thanks guys!!

I will add to this post a little later today but right now I am being completely harrassed by 3 little girls!!

... I'm back ... it's now 10:20PM and Greg and I are sacked out on the couch watching the Survivor Finale. Yay Natalie!! But that is not the point of this post. I am supposed to be updating you all on our Christmas adventures.

Yesterday we met up at Greg's sister's to exchange gifts as they will be out of town for Christmas. His Mom had been there all week and his Dad came over in the morning (stopping at our house to drop off gifts - our tree suddenly looks very festive!!) As I mentioned, Greg and I received a new video camera which I plan to set up tomorrow. Eee!!! Fun with techie toys!! The girls got (very generous) gift cards from Michaels for art supplies which I am going to have to be VERY careful not to spend!! Hee, hee, hee. Just kidding Aunty C!!!
Here are some pictures of the mayhem!

Yummy lunch ...

... playing with the cousins ...

... finally we let them open presents.

Jasper received fairly exclusively Thomas toys - obsessed much? Griffin was the only one the reindeer antlers fit! 

Oh, speaking of obsessed ... my girls got bubble bath stuff. Marley was given the Dora set and Paige the Tinkerbell set. You could just SEE Paige's face fall when Marley opened her Dora set. She wanted that one but a quick trade and both girls are happy. In fact, they had a bath tonight and used their new Bath Fizz Wands (don't ask) with great delight!

And LC loved her new Piano toy so much she tried to get into the box to play with it!

Last but not least, Marley and Paige with their new Dora I Spy. Do you think Paige is happy about it?!

Paige has mostly given up her fear of being photographed and instead insists on giving the biggest, cheesiest grins she can! Ah well, at least she doesn't hide when the camera comes out!! Marley still loves to pose and here we got Vanna White vibes!

Later in the afternoon Greg's cousins and Aunt came over and we celebrated the 2nd birthday of their little boy - um ... he's Greg's 1st cousin once removed which makes him the girls' second cousin. I think? Something like that. Anyway, he's the cutest little guy! They brought cake - Dairy Queen ice cream cake no less. Yum, yum!!!

Somehow Marley always seems to position herself in such a way as to be able to help blow out the candles!

That's all folks. Thanks for hanging in with me.

I am feeling serious scrapping withdrawal symptoms but need to keep our dining room as a dining room at least until Boxing Day. So no scrapping for me yet. Grr! I've been saving up some fabulous sketches though and once I can spread out my papers and other goodies, I hope to rock them all! Can't wait.

Tonight I am thankful for ...

... babies who cry JUST as I am finishing my post ...

... time to shop for "Santa's" presents ...

... my family.

6 More sleeps!

I can not believe it's less than a week until Christmas! Where did the time go? Are you wondering what has been going on in the Day household? Let me fill you in ...

We had our 3rd Annual Christmas Open House here on the 12th. Thanks to everyone who came and made it another big success! It is always hectic getting ready for it but seeing all our friends and family makes it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take pictures ... my bad! Maybe I'll remember next year!! I'm in total "hate" with our digital camera at the moment so it's doubtful any pictures would actually have turned out! Anyone have a great digital SLR camera they'd care to recommend? I've been looking at the Canon Rebel lately and my sister-in-law just got one for Christmas. I may have to revise MY list to Santa!!

On the 13th we were supposed to head out to Chilliwack to visit with one of my brothers' and his family but it started snowing here so we wimped out and stayed home. The girls had had two late nights and were showing signs of it (read: whining, tears, more fights than usual) so we figured fighting snowy roads for 2 hours both ways maybe wasn't such a good idea. I took a bit of ribbing from my brother - we grew up in Prince George so driving on snow shouldn't be a problem for me! And it's not. Driving in snow in the Lower Mainland with Lower Mainland drivers who don't know how to drive in snow IS a problem!!

Marley was in her very first Christmas Concert on the 15th so that was an exciting day! She normally attends Kindergarten in the morning but due to the afternoon performance got the morning off. Paige had preschool though so we picked her up, went through the McDonalds drive through and then it was time to drop Marley off. Is it insane to line up at 12:10 for a 1:00pm performance? Maybe, but we got good seats! Here are a few pics from my crappy camera ...

Paige, LC and I waiting for things to get going (along with one of Paige's friends) ...

After Marley's class sang their two songs (I tried to take video and will post a link to my Picasa site when it's up), the whole group of them (K-4) sang a finale song. Marley was so cute! She's such a performer!! She sang her little heart out, did the actions and was just 100% "into it". Maybe drama classes are in her future ...

So that was pretty exciting and I was looking forward to some quieter days but .... sigh .... that was not to be. Marley came down with a bad cold that kept her home from school the next two days. But we needed to get some Christmas shopping done so I took the girls to Richmond Centre (colds be darned!) Marley and Paige got to hang out with some Elves, join in on Santa's Elf Inspection and meet Santa up close and personal. Paige did so well!! She's generally terrified of anyone in a costume - especially Santa! - so to see her dancing a pirouette for Santa and giving him a high five really warmed my heart. And wouldn't you know it, my camera was safe at home! Grr!!

The rest of the day was not so much fun. We discovered lice in Marley's hair. Yuck! Ick! Gross!! We had been advised of an instance of head lice in her classroom early in the school year but she'd been checked twice at school so we figured we were home free. Nope! I initially tried a home remedy (trying to be a little Green and all) but it didn't totally work and just left Marley's hair greasy and smelling strongly of vinegar (to this day!) So I made a frantic phone call to a doctor friend (thank you, thank you, thank you!) which led to a late stop at London Drugs to pick up some medicated shampoo. Then the real fun began ... stripping of bedding, clothes, stuffies, jackets! You name it, it went into the washing machine. Poor Paige has had to sleep without her favourite stuffy these last few days but I think they can all come out of quarantee tomorrow! It was a lot of work and the Ick Factor was pretty high but we are all lice free now and feeling SO much better!!

Thursday the 17th was Paige's Preschool Christmas Party for which I was the duty parent. Santa stopped by and after an initial nervousness, she calmed down enough to go up to him to get her present and have her picture taken. What a trooper!! Of course, I forgot my camera again! That afternoon LC went for her 6 month shots (yes, I know she's almost 9 months but hey, she's kid #3 ... I'm busy!!) and the second half of the H1N1 vaccine. She was also a trooper!

Friday was Marley's Christmas Party for Kindergarten and even though she wasn't feeling 100% I let her go to school. I wanted her to participate in the party. She'd worked hard to make cards for all her friends so I didn't want to deny her the chance to pass them out. Her teacher said she basically crashed at around 10:30 but refused to let her call me. That's my party girl!! That afternoon we had quiet fun playing with these Imagination Kits I picked up at a craft fair in November. I'm not sure I'd buy them again - or at least, not until the girls were older. Considering all the stuff inside them, there seemed to be little they could actually make! I had higher expectations. The girls had fun though which is the whole point I suppose so maybe they were worth it afterall!

Here they are hard at work ...

And Paige's creations ... (don't ask me what they are, I'm sure only she knows!)

And Marley's ...

And I couldn't resist throwing this one of LC into the mix. She had fun crawling around under the table picking up old Cheerios and other crumbs. Who need a dog, I say?!

Today we were at Greg's sisters place for the Day gift exchange but this post is already way too long so I'll leave that post for another day. That'll give me more time to download the pics too!

Thanks for reading!

Today I am thankful for ...

... no more lice ...

... family ...

... cousins close by that my girls can grow up with.

Good night!