Christmas Chronicles

A very strangely exposed family Christmas tree shot.  We'll get a better one later, when the light isn't so harsh.

Christmas and Solstice have been (mostly) successfully pulled off once again!  It was with much regret that we  said goodbye to the heaps of magic bestowed upon us during December... the solstice fairies are gone for another year, Starlight disappeared on Christmas Eve, and Santa made his much-anticipated scheduled appearance.  I, however, *might* have given one ever-so-slight sigh of relief come Christmas night, when I was responsible only for tidying up and hauling my very tired body off to bed.

I have compiled a few photos to share, detailing likely exactly what you would expect from the lead up and execution of Christmas.  Twinkling tree, colourful presents, PJ-clad kids, and even a little snow in the days that followed. With every expected picture, however, comes a slightly more nuanced reality....

Trimming the tree!

Ah, the magic of tree decorating!  I adore getting out the decorations every year, and seeing them displayed so beautifully amongst the fragrant branches and glimmering lights.  This year was no exception. In fact, it was oh-so-much more satisfying owing to the fact that we waited until the last minute to get our tree, which means we paid $5.00 (FIVE DOLLARS!) for a $35 tree. (I'm sorry - my genetic pre-disposition did not allow me to leave that particular fact out of the story). That IS the real savings, folks.

Anyway, this year, we very successfully trimmed the tree, and then Juniper and I whisked ourselves off to a local production of Mary Poppins, the musical.  When we got home much later that evening, we walked into the immediate aftermath of our very first Christmas tree calamity -- only minutes before, the entire tree had toppled over and crashed to the ground, depositing water, needles and (a few broken) ornaments all over the place. I have no pictures of that particular event, but the tree has remained upright since then, so hopefully it was the first and last time that happens.

Truth.

Christmas Eve was slightly more subdued than usual, owing to the fact that Juniper was not feeling well.  She had a headache and body aches all day (or as Linden would say, head eggs and body eggs), which I'm sure was some version of what Linden had suffered from a couple of days earlier.  There had been plans to make some cookies for Santa, and execute some last-minute gift-making, but in the end we just put out some chocolates, and Juniper wrapped up some "treasures" she found lying around the house.  That works too, I suppose.  She did, however, leave the above note, warning santa about the lack of available space for leaving presents.  I'm not entirely sure why she felt the warning necessary, but he wrote a note back, which thrilled her to no end.

The boys making Christmas breakfast

Christmas Morning involved everything we've come to expect:  a decadent breakfast, followed by a flurry of stocking and present opening, and then some devoted playing with all the new stuff.  It was a very strange beginning, though -- Linden woke up and came into our room at 7-ish (as you might expect), and then I had to spend the next HOUR AND A HALF putting him off while Juniper slept, and slept, and slept.  For the first time in my life, I actually had to go wake her up at 8:30am, so we could get started with the festivities.  On any other day of the year, I would have just let her sleep and enjoyed the quiet, but - of course - that was not to be.  The plus-side was that she had slept off whatever had been ailing her, so she was able to enjoy Christmas day to the fill extent.

Presents!

As the note to Santa suggested, the kids had a relatively obscene amount of presents to open this year, which met with no complaints.  There was a snow-fun theme that seemed to emerge (sleds, snowshoes, x-country ski gear), which will be incredibly awesome at some point in the near future, but was relatively anticlimactic in the 17°C weather.  Here's what you don't see on this smiling face: one grey front tooth.  That's right - Linden's little face-plant into the front steps has resulted in a legitimately (and perhaps permanently) grey tooth.  Hopefully it won't abscess or cause him any more trouble until he loses it at some later date, but we'll just have to see.

Down to work on Christmas morning

Juniper got a lot of reading and writing-related gifts this year, including a lockable journal (an absolute necessity for a young girl, let me assure you).  She spent much of Christmas morning much like this picture - either studiously writing, or reading one of her many new books.  What you don't see in this shot, however, is the aftermath of a "game" she instigated playing with Linden, entitled "I'm going to cut your hair!"  Apparently, it involved wielding a pair of scissors, and "pretending" to threaten to cut the other person's hair.  When it was Linden's turn in the lead role, however, he took the game to the next (inevitable) level, and took a nice healthy chunk out of the back of Juniper's hair.  So much for her plan of growing it all out.  Sigh.  I guess she'll just have to sport some very lopsided layering as the growing out progresses.

Oh my goodness - we got snow! (sort of)

And finally, there was a light, sticky dusting of snow yesterday, which meant some very joyous (and wet) sliding in the backyard.  It is not what you would call prime outdoor fun conditions, but it was certainly a taste of the wonders yet to come this season.

I hope you all had a very merry last week as well!

Life with Ziggy

Family shot... in late December!  Are we even back in Canada?

As we roll into the inevitable Christmas finalé, things are trucking along over here at a mad and slightly comical pace.  We are, for instance, currently visiting with Deborah and Yvon (Clark's mom and stepdad), who flew in for a before-Christmas visit. This is, of course, super fun - there is nothing the kids enjoy better than having their grandparents for an extended sleepover.

Hanging with "Deb and Yvon"

Also, however, we found out when Linden came home from school on Thursday that we have been tasked with hosting Ziggy.  "Who's Ziggy", you ask?  Well, folks, he is a stuffed zebra, who takes turns visiting with kids in Linden's class over the year.  The families are then tasked with taking pictures of Ziggy integrating into their daily activities, and they send along the photos and the stories that go along with them to share with the class.  Usually, Ziggy only visits for a random weekend.  But we have been honoured with hosting him over the entire Christmas break.  Would you like to see what he's been up to? 

The solstice fairies brought planting supplies one day (as Linden has been obsessed with planting carrots).  Ziggy helped.

I placed Ziggy on a Zebra tissue box, and told the kids to pretend they couldn't find him.  Juniper was up to the challenge.

Clark and Linden constructed a car for Ziggy's personal use while here.

Ziggy joined us for a nature walk...

... and took an unexpected swim in the icy cold stream. 

He was unimpressed and a little freaked out by the whole ordeal.  He needed a bit of alone time.

After warming up a bit, however, he was into the photo shoot again.

Other than Ziggy and visiting grandparents, we have also been keeping up with the daily shenanigans involved with our gnome in the home,  and the Solstice Fairies.  Usually, this is a point of extreme joy every morning when the kids rush down to find Starlight, and see what the note from the Solstice Fairies says.  Sometimes, however, there is a bit of drama.  I leave you with a few pictures detailing the ups and downs of December magic:

Exhibit 1: Starlight enjoys his new friend... maybe a bit too much?

Inappropriate relations between Starlight and Lucy?  

Exhibit #2: The solstice fairies brought some Sculpy, because the kids had REALLY wanted to make ornaments.  At one point, however, when I suggested that Juniper might not want to put long, precarious limbs on them (due to the fact that they would burn and break), she developed a VERY bad attitude.  After calming down a bit, she felt it was appropriate to write the solstice fairies a note asking for forgiveness:

"To: the solstice fairies.  We had such a fun time playing with the clay. But... I had a bad attitude.  But I promise I will not....

...do that again so please forgive me.  From Juniper"

Exhibit #3: One of the rules of Starlight is that you are not supposed to touch him, lest he lose his magic.  One day, however, Starlight  had been hiding on the railing, and Linden (in true Linden fashion) gave him a good accidental bump as he rocketed up the stairs, limbs flailing.  He completely lost his s%&t.  As in, I've never seen him so upset.  He actually went into the living room, sobbing, and started PRAYING to the solstice fairies to come and return Starlight's magical powers.  "Solstice fairies, please don't be mad at me!  It was an accident! I didn't mean to!  Please come fix Starlight!"  In the end, I suggested that if Juniper helped him write a note, it would be probably all be fine.  It was.

"To: The solstice fairies.  Linden touched the gnome but I hope you guys can fix the gnome.  It was an accident.  Love Juniper and Linden"

Phew.  One adventure after another around here, I assure you!  Next week's post will be on the other end of all the excitement, so hopefully there will lots of pictures and stories to share.  Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and see you next week!

One-liners, anecdotes, and some holiday merry-making

Post-office party, all fancied-up and full of love

Here we are, riding the crest of mid-December. At present, we are trying our very best to keep up with the many festive demands and traditions that come with this action-packed month. This has all been carried out while under the influence of varying degrees of snot and sore throats and whatnot -- annoying conditions that might slow us down in measly old November, but certainly not now.  Not with so much at stake.  But first, let me back-track, as I realized I never did post the golden annual school shots!

Juniper, Grade ONE. 

So, Juniper.  Let's analyze this photo shall we?  

Point #1: Check out that razzle-dazzle background we've got going on.  Was that our only option?  Hell no.  There were any number of different choices, ranging from tried-and-true blue to "at one with fake nature".  But Juniper would settle for nothing but the fanciest choice - and in this case, that meant the glimmer and sparkle of jewel tones.  It is now on record for an inevitable discussion, years hence, when I get admonished for choosing the crazy psychedelic backdrop. I had NO SAY in the matter.

Point #2:  The outfit.  Oh, the outfit.  Juniper and I went on a special trip to a relatively upscale consignment shop one day in the lead-up to photo week.  We perused her size section for EVER, and proceeded to take about 6 dresses to the change room, tried them all on, and debated for some time about the best choice.  It ended up being a heavily sequinned, frilly, short-sleeved black number, appropriate for a 6-year-old piano lounge or some such.  But it was very important that this be the dress for photo day.  Seeing as it was short sleeved, Juniper grabbed a heavy brown sweater as she flew out the door, putting it on inside out, no less.  Then - guess what? She forgot to take the stupid sweater off for the actual photo.  I #$*t you not.

This photo (and its back story) really sums up so much about Juniper.  She is highly opinionated, frequently obstinate, and very passionate about most things in her day.  This has led to many a "For the love of God, Juniper, just STOP arguing for the sake of arguing!" , and the exasperation that goes along with it.  Nothing really matters all that much in the end, but it sure does matter in the moment.

And just when I think I have her pegged, she confounds me.  We just finished reading Anne of Green Gables, for instance, which she LOVED.  But we got to one of the very last chapters, where (SPOILER ALERT!) Matthew dies, and I just couldn't get through it.  I knew what was coming, I'd read it about a million times myself, and I just bawled my way through.  Juniper, who usually feels every story she's ever heard with crazy intensity, waited dry-eyed and somewhat impatiently for me to get on with it.  At some point about half-way through, she said

Juniper: "so, is Matthew going to come back to life?

Tara: "ummm - no, sweetie, he's dead"

Juniper: "is he going to turn into a Zombie, then?"

Tara "----- ? What?  Are you - what?  No.  He's dead."

Juniper "Oh."

And that was that about that.  Juniper did not shed one tear for poor old Matthew.  I'll be interested to see if the same is true when we watch the movie.  I'll keep you updated.

Linden, JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN

There isn't really much to analyze about this photo.  There is, if you look closely, a mark on Linden's face, that would have been a VERY evident scrape  had the photo been taken a few days prior.  Likely there was another to take its place somewhere else a day or two later.  So the fact that this is a relatively unblemished school photo is a small miracle.  Currently, Linden is nursing some cut gums and sore front teeth from tripping on his way in the front door and smashing his face into the steps.  But he keeps on truckin'.

Linden is... well, Linden.  Hilarious and frustrating; incredibly sweet, and a downright devious imp.  Some quotes from the last week or so:

Scene: Driving home one evening.  It is dark.  I notice Linden has his eyes closed - a relatively common occurrence these days.  He tends to fall asleep 4 minutes before we get home in the evening, and then becomes a bear to try and get to bed.  (Or he stumbles sleepily inside and then smashes his face into the stairs, as detailed above)

Tara:  (loudly) Linden!!! Wake up!!  We're almost home!

Linden (nothing)

Tara: (shaking his shoulder as best I can from the front seat)  Wake up!

Linden:  Shhhh, mom.  I'm awake.  I'm just imagining what I would do as a superhero.  I can only imagine the best with my eyes closed.

------

Scene:  I hear some loud words coming from downstairs.  Clark is clearly frustrated with Linden for something or other.

Tara:  Linden, it seems as though Daddy was upset about something you did - is that true?

Linden:  I just don't know the truth anymore.

-------

Scene: Linden emerges from the playroom, and comes to the table for supper

Linden: (proudly) I am an ARTIST!

Tara:  That's true, Linden -

Linden: (interrupting) and a LEGO-IST!  An artist AND a Lego-ist!

--------

Scene: In the car, after school

Tara: Linden, how was your day?  Who did you play with with?

Linden: Oh, I don't like playing anymore.

Tara:  What do you mean, you don't like playing anymore?

Linden:  It's boring.  Sooooooo boring.

Tara:  Is that so?  Then what do you enjoy doing instead?

Linden:  Tidying up.  It's the best. 

(bulls&*%t)

--------

Anyway,  I might as well also detail the crafty, holiday merriment that has been going on this week.  Exhibit #1:  Erin treated me to an early birthday present, in the form of a felting workshop with some lovely ladies.  Here is the end result, whom the kids have christened "Lucy";

Lucy: she has a big nose, but a warm heart!  (she's about 24cm x 12 cm or 8.5in x 4in)

Exhibit #2: The annual gingerbread house.  This is quite a labour-intensive tradition, which, from candy selection, to dough-making, to shape-cutting, to assembling and decorating. takes about 3-4 days.  But yesterday was the big finalé, and we invited our friends Tim and CarolAnne, and their 1-year-old son Oli, to help out.  This meant that there was always a large decorating contingent at the table, and 1 or 2 others following Oli around in his exploration of the house.  It was, as Juniper declared, the "best day ever".

Oli: lounging, munching on a drill, contemplating life, and keeping it real with a small paddle

The last stages of house assembly 

Linden, carefully decorating his very own house

The finished product: One *sweet* gingerbread villa (complete with a little graham cracker house Linden made at school)

Important close-up of a VERY creepy snow-man

Juniper's innovation: a pretzel soccer net.

Old grandma giantess (with a candy-cane walking stick), who stands by the clock-tower, and shouts the time at the villagers below.  I did not make this up.

And finally: the kids nestle in as Clark reads them our brand-new book:  CarolAnne's Oli's Ocean Adventure, hot off the press!

 See you next week!

Gnome in the Home

Meet Starlight: your friendly neighbourhood house gnome

Ahhh..... December.  Truly, one big, long, magical marathon of a month.  Ever since Juniper became old enough to understand what was going on, it seems as though we have had to up the December ante every single year.  This year is no exception.  At some point toward the end of November, Juniper came home, with the newfound knowledge of "Elf on the Shelf".  Oh, Elf on the Shelf.  I had been purposefully and blissfully avoiding this holiday tradition, for a number of reasons:

1. We have SO MANY magical beings that frequent this house already, especially this time of year.  We had just made it past the Hallowe'en Fairy and the Soother Fairy, and were about to go deep into the Solstice Fairies and Santa Claus.  Likely the Tooth Fairy will also make an appearance at some point in the not-to-distant future.  Elf on the Shelf seemed like a little too much magical goodness to handle on top of all that.  

2.  With apologies to all those who have and love their Elf on the Shelf, they have always struck me as more than a little creepy, with those huge eyes and the Big-Brother-esque warning of watching you AT ALL TIMES. 

3. They are (ahem) a little pricey.

But Juniper was, as you might imagine, beyond excited at the prospect of our very own Elf on the Shelf, and - to be fair - it is pretty fun to have a tangible little being appear in a new hiding spot every single morning.  So the solstice fairies pulled through with a pretty brilliant compromise (if I do say so myself): our very own "Gnome in the Home".  (He ended up looking a little bit like a "Lumberjack on a Cooling Rack", but it didn't have quite the same ring).

"Hi Guys!"  (hanging by the rock salt crystal). Is it just me, or does he look a little like Clark?

So, the rules were that the kids had to choose a name for him, promise to love him, and not to touch him (lest the magic disappear), and that while he was here, he would protect the house.  There was some pretty serious discussion the morning he arrived, with both kids bandying around name ideas (including "Solstice Man", and "Big Beard Face", if a recall).  They settled on Starlight, which is pretty cute, I think.  Here are some of his "hiding" spots throughout the past week:

Hanging from the chandelier on a home-made swing 

Downward Dog on his very own sticky mat

Sticking some teeny tiny snowflakes on the window

Hanging with his friends, the decorative owls

Studying up on the constellations (his name is "Starlight", after all)

Besides the daily activities involving Gnome in the Home, and the Solstice Fairies, this week was also a very social one.  We did some visiting, hosted some brunch, and even had a surprise visit! Now who, do you suppose, my uncle Bill looks like?

Bill and Catherine stopped by!

 And though we have no snow yet, there was, of course, also some very fun times outside.  Nature walks, park visits, and taking the horses for spin. This is Linden's "Engineer" outfit.  He didn't specify, but I assume he means "train engineer".  (Not to dash your hopes that someone might follow in your footsteps, mom and dad!)

Reunited with "Brownie", who had been temporarily put away after Linden had taken the scissors to his mane and reins.

That's all for this week! Happy December, and may you have as many magical beings inhabiting your house this crazy season as we do!

I'm baaacckkkk (or, a week in retreat)

Highschool posse with the beautiful bride (l-r: Christie, Jane, Me, Meghan (the bride!), and Erin)

I can hardly believe my retreat week has officially come to a (reality-filled) close.  It wasn't, I suppose, what you would call a "retreat" in a typical sense... no relaxing massages or days spent blissed out meditating and doing yoga and journalling or reading satisfying novels by the beach.   BUT, it was an entire week on my own schedule.  I ate when (and what) I wanted; a SLEPT IN as late as I wanted, and I had an entire, (huge, lonely, and lets be honest - sometimes a little spooky) house to myself.  

On my arrival last week - I took this picture for the kids, but aren't my parents cute?

 I arrived on a Friday, and then had an action-packed Saturday.  It began with some pre-wedding yoga that Meghan generously treated a bunch of us to  (what better way to start your wedding day?).  Then a trip to the Fredericton Market with Jane and Mike.  Then a long nap.  Then, in the evening, a beautiful and extremely fun wedding.  It was soooooo lovely to be able to celebrate with Meghan and Barry and so many of my oldest, dearest friends.

Sunday, I laid low with my parents, as they puttered around with some last-minute packing and preparing for their trip to South Africa.  Then, on Monday morning, I waved them out the door, and sat down to get to work.

The scene that greeted me on Monday morning: my first snow of the year!  It seemed like fitting weather to hole myself away. It was slushy and icy (and therefore not good to be out and about), but beautiful to observe from the inside.

And work I did.  I basically did not leave the house from Monday until Friday.  OK, that is not entirely true - twice, I rallied just before it got dark to get in a bit of exercise, and fresh air.  That's right, folks - I WALKED!  My foot has not completely healed, but it was good enough that I left my cast behind in Ottawa, donned some ugly (but functional) hiking shoes, and even managed to slowly (and with a distinct hobble), take myself out for some walks.   Things are looking up for ole' fracture-foot.

Anyway, the upshot is that I have now written everything except my concluding chapter, which I hope to get to this week.  At that point, I will have one complete draft of my never-ending PhD thesis.  I imagine it will still be a relatively long road from that point on, but to have something so tangible out of the way will be a pretty satisfying Christmas present to myself.

Also, I felt that by Friday, I had worked hard enough that I deserved some down time.  That meant I got to pack all my favourite Fredericton things into one great day:  wandering around downtown, getting a manicure from my lovely aesthetician niece, Taylor, visiting with my sister-in-law Liz, and hanging with my sister Kelli, and niece Ali.  What a nice bookend to the week!

The Saint John river, as the sun is getting sleepy. I would have been very disappointed if I hadn't been able to at least get in one or two beautiful Fredericton strolls. 

And now - I'm back!  I arrived on Saturday, right around suppertime, and was immediately on duty that evening, as Clark took off for a show.  As it so happened, our friends Alana and Ian (from our Halifax days) were playing that night, as part of the tour for their new album, Dream Magic. (Here is a link to it on soundcloud).  It has been on constant repeat around here ever since it came out, and Clark was absolutely able to call dibs on being the one to get to go to the show that night - not only had he just solo parented for the week, but he use to play in Alana's band back in the days before Juniper.
Here is a little clip of Juniper, dancing to "Anthem" - it is not particularly good quality, but I shot it one night because it is just incredibly cute that she can't sit still when this song comes on - she MUST move.  Even if it is in the middle of supper, as it was that particular evening.

The next morning, we all got to hang out for brunch (and an album signing, of course).  Juniper also gifted Alana and Ian with a pretty awesome picture, showing them both rocking out behind their respective keyboards.  If only I had snapped a shot of that before she gave it to them!  Ah well, you'll just have to imagine.

Outside the yummy brunch diner in Hintonburg

Everyone checking out our newly signed album cover :)

OK - that is plenty for one week.  Off to go take care of all the things that need to be taken care - the list is particularly long today, as you might imagine!  See you next week!

Parades, Museums, and a week without Mom

Clark here this week. Tara has skipped off to NB for a week for a wedding and to hunker down to get a thesis draft completed. We had a pretty jam packed weekend though -- including the Santa Claus parade, an extended Saturday afternoon Museum visit, and a great visit with Simon and Judith. I'll let the photos tell the story. See you next week!

The Help Santa parade -- Lots of old firetrucks because it was organized by the Ottawa Firefighters.

Also, the Garlic King. Because: REALLY Lebanese food.

Post-parade snuggles for warmth.

Reading about insects at the Nature Museum.

Drawing moths and butterflies

Linden's butterfly!

Juniper's butterfly!

Just chillin', talkin' 'bout home renos and other such things.

Sunlit story time.

And checkers!

Linden was pretty proud of this drawing of me. He even came over to me once to see what my teeth looked like. "They're square, ok!". The reason he has no pants on is because he got filthy outside, and S&J have lots of nice light-coloured furniture.