One of my favorite Christmas songs!

The sometimes wonderful Land of Hand-me-downs

I just had the rare treat of walking into a living room that looked like a tornado ravaged Value Village. Purses, belts, clothes of all varieties... Oh my word! I didn't know ANYONE posessed this many clothes, and now we do... thus we call them hand-me-downs from a cousin in Medicine Hat. Sometime in the hours that I was at work some loving relative innocently deposited many garbage bags of these fun treats in the centre of our home. Therefore, when I arrived home I had one girl sleeping with the sheer exhaustion of overturning the entire living room and making it appear asv though it were carpeted in womens wear... I kid you not, there are winter garments, undergarments, over garments, sporty garments, dressy garments, and even some garments that I can not figure out. OH, yes and the other daughter sat amid the chaos with eyes glassed over and murmered somthing about sizes and piles. Well, well, well, another fun filled day at the epicentre of fun. Now I really need to go and find some room for my new finds, I should also lead Tannis toward the light and towards her closet as well, all this sorting has made me kind of tired!

Are these yours mam?

It is not every day that you get to spend the wee hours of the morning idenitifying your feminine hygene products to the local constabulory. Last week In this order I embarassed myself by opening the door and anouncing "I surrender" in my pajamas to a perfect stranger policeman... who for the record was not the police man neighbor I thought I saw outside, and then was also treated to the grand adventure of identifying the contents of my purse which had been strewn down our sidewalk in some fiends mad rampage for cash. Really all that resulted was the loss of a few minor things a bit of cash (not enough to ruin Christmas) and the gain of a good story to tell. Word on the street is that they caught the theif after he terrorized the comunity with about 46 vehicles being rummaged through. All in all, I'm glad, and I've learned some lessons, which I will happily pass along to you...
1. Lock your vehicle
2. Don't leave your purse or feminine hygine in the vehicle... well, that one is debateable, due to this hilarious post I read a long time ago....
3. Always be polite, never atempt funny, when answering your door.
4. Never make assumptions
5. When the police want you to come out to their car they mean the back... however cool that may seem, it still makes one feel a little criminal.
6. Did I say lock your vehicle????
Anyhow, little Christmas lessons learned.

The Day After....

Today settles in the ahhh.... all of the chaos is over. Kids are still treating their new treasures gingerly, the house is still relatively assembled, and family is still all together. New toys are a novelty, as is a peacefull morning enjoying the quiet. As with any other holiday this one had it's Lampoon moments... some that arent funny until after.... well after... actually I'm still waiting :-). Nevertheless, settling into the peace and quiet of a morning at home... feeling acute pains for the poor sods who have to trek to work at the mall, it truley seems like a peaceful world. We have yet another Christmas to reminisce upon, gifts exchanged, food eaten, kids one year older, it astounds me when we come upon this seasonal hubub how fast the years go by. Just when did I graduate from buying tiny little socks and baby toys for stockings to blowing the budget on cell phones and motorized scooters? Just when did an Christmas afternoon of Turkey dinner followed by naps and colicky babys turn into a fun afternoon of games and puzzles. Each season has it's own charm and like anyone else there are moments when I dream of a Christmas by the beach or a quiet moment alone with my significant other (of the Rescue Hero variety :-) by once again I am drawn to the theme for this entire space... savor the moment! Therefore, I have come up with a new list... shocker, I know Here they are ... the top ten Unconventional things that I am thankful for this Christmas... these things may seem whacko to you, but to me... they are part of the moment!

10. The worlds most hideously decorated tree... sparse lights, a few scattered ornaments, needles everywhere.
9. The really LOUD moments.. ear drum splitting, floor pounding, kid squealing noise!
8. A wicked case of indigestion and bloating. - We really are a gluttenous society!
7. Garbage, Garbage and more garbage - wrapping, stuffing, bows, boxes etc.!
6. Stinky kids that haven't spared a moment from family time to .... SHOWER!!! - today is the day!
5. The brown mud outside that is evidence of the chinook that brought us some unseasonally warm weather.
4. Caffine induced halucinations that are a symptom of too much coffee in the morning.
3. Hyperactive bouncy, silly, giggly menaces to society, we call children on an extreme overdose of sugar.
2. Crumbs... and lots of them inbetween the couch cushions.
1. Early thoughts of broken new years resolutions... I really must be crazy, there is just something appealing about that whole fresh start, blank page thing that makes me want to.... start afresh, only to screw up I'm sure, but still, there is always hope :-)

So, there they are in no particular order, the crazy nutty, unconventional things that I am thankful for, now, off to laundry and in-laws... whew, good thing I had those few uplifing moments first :-) Cheers!

My very own Rescue Hero

So... Here it is! Some of you may have heard already since this happened last week, and well, I've talked about it alot!!!! Jamie saved someone's life!! I mean really! Not just figuratively, really!!! I know, I'm really lucky to be married to a real live rescue hero. It all came about one snowy morning after he dropped Ben off to school, he was meandering on home to enjoy some coffee and quiet time when he noticed an unusual site on the side of the road. There was a gentleman lying face down on the sidewalk and another standing over him. Being the super-hero that he is, he stopped the van assessed the situation, determined that the man had no vital signs and began CPR, telling himself all the while to keep on going that these situations rarely turn around, when suddenly.... they did! The man resumed breathing and his heart began to beat again. The rest happened after the ambulance arrived and therefore I can't talk about the rest, nevertheless, word on the street is... the man is going to make it, and I'm super duper proud of him.

Tis' the season

Life is full... no other words to describe it. As I sit here, on a very pretty wintery Sunday morning, I can hear Ben in the tub singing at the top of his lungs "It's the most wonderful time of the year....." and I'm thinking "If we could only bottle that enthusiasm, or even channel it!" I, on the other hand am coming off of another 14 1/2 hour day at work . Yesterday I worked from 4am (making sure everyone had their cake, pastry, sugar fix for the day ) till 6:30 when we delivered turkey dinner for 200 people to the MB church. After that it was home for an incredibly fast superhero type change of clothes and then on to the Firehall Christmas banquet.. to atempt to be polite about eating a turkey dinner, and trays of pastries that I'm sure were fabulous. Nevertheless, I have spent the last two weeks feeling like I've been hit by a mac truck, and now these feelings have manifested themselves in a mystery illness. I know whiny bloggers blabbing on about their health... it's just that... I'm sure I have tuberculosis... well, o.k, fine maybe it's just a really bad flu/cold, but for 3 or for days now I have been sick, my family enjoys the silence of my vocal cords on strike, but I'm pretty sure I just coughed up a lung. Even my coffee and muffin are not cheering me to the prospect of a guilt fueled trip to church today to get everyone to their christmas program practises and act like all is fine and dandy in the land of the "slowly colapsing as a result of christmas chaos" . Fact is I'm just bagged and need some time to re-fuel. I am probably more ahead of schedule than most years, I think I need to take care of presents for just a few more people, and there are a couple other things I'd like to bake, of course, a few decorations left to set out, and 10 thousand more dinners to cater... argh! If I see another Turkey, I think I'll cry. O.K, my tirade is over. I know, stop whining, make a list and get those kids out the door and put your smile on for cryin' out loud! O.k, here I go off to wash Ben's hair for the second time! Of all times for the four year old to go OCD on me! Wow, did I mention that my muffin is cranberry orange (one of my favorites)?... I think I need more coffee, and an attitude adjustment... maybe church will help.... I really do have an exciting post for the next time. I can't believe I haven't even mentioned it yet... hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow, I'll tell you the really great news!... oops, gotta go... disinfect/degerm my keyboard/monitor, and other stuff :-)