Pre-Christmas

It's almost here... A naked elf has been seen running around the snow-bound house causing all sorts of mischief.

Wine box inserts are turned into parking-garage castles.

Cuddles are warm and safe; the sofa is coveted by all.

Tape is to be pulled and pulled. Gifts to be wrapped.

We awake to the smell of preschool baking; bananas, rosemary, milk, water, flour, sugar and red food-colouring, of course. Mmmmmm.....

The biggest tree we could (not) fit in our house has been bought and now decorated.

More sleepy cuddles needed. (We don't see Daddy a lot.)

Lots of onions to caramelize and tenderloin and prosciutto wrapped asparagus to barbecue.

Good food, wine and friends to be enjoyed.

Happy Pre-Christmas Festivities to all!

My Baby is Two?

Dear Mia - you're two?

Where did these last two years go?

They whirled past in clouds of hope, love and joy.

You've only just begun to show us what you are

A loving, gentle soul with the wit of an owl

The roar of a lion, the impishness of a monkey,

the loyalty of a treasured dog,

the words of an admired parrot.

You entered our world quielty and calmly

And as you grow you teach us to be more

More kind, more forgiving, more loving.

How many kisses do I need before I sleep?

How many hugs do I get when I wake up?

You sense my holes and fill my need.

Always forgiving, always there.

Happy Birthday Hija.

Te amo.

Busy times...

As I mentioned in my last post, it's birthday season here and we are SWAMPED with it! nevertheless, we managed to get a way to Whistler for a quick family weekend. Rob slept much of the trip, which was much needed, and the rest of us just kind of hung out. The kids were really taken with the birds who fed right out of their hands. We had a little 'cangrejada' (crab pig-out) for Mom's birthday, got whooped by Rob at a couple of games of Settlers, took Mom on a wild, dark ride down the water slide after perhaps a little too much wine and had a good unwind.

On a side note, I bought these homeopathic tablets for Lucas to see if I could cure some of his daily irritable angst. Whether or not they are effective can be debated, but the package made me laugh (and dream) so I had to give them a go...

November Highs and Lows

November. What can I say? It brings a sense of urgency with it. Too many birthdays to celebrate and not enough time to do them all up with due diligence, in my opinion. It also brings the shadow that could be Christmas hovering on the horizon; the appearance of too many store flyers showing us what we lack in our already full lives.

The rain has come and beat down what was left of the garden and wreaks havoc on the beautiful leaves that our trees have fleetingly bestowed upon the world. It plays with my moods, my plans my hair. November's moods have also affected those of the kids. Lucas has been unpredictable most of the month. (Not that predictability is much of a child's characteristic in general.) He seems to feel the emotional energy of those around him and not quite know what to make of it. He has been asking for Chola for a few days now; asking questions about heaven, children with no parents, and the origins of humanity. (Not quite in those words.) He is such a perceptive and pensive little fellow that my heart aches when I need to tell him the truth about something that hurts my own sensitivities. But with inspiring clarity he also reminds me of the goodness of all that surrounds us. Tonight we prayed, something he has never been taught to do, but through questioning and conversation we got around to the idea that he wanted to say hello to Chola, to thank "God" for the sunshine and a playdate today and to ask for stickers for tomorrow. I wasn't so sure about that last one; I think he just threw it in for good measure or perhaps as a testing stick for this new concept. He made my heart pound with joy as I put him to bed and my senses reel with confusion as I thought back on all the angst we've had over power struggles in the last few weeks. Growing up is hard. It's hard for him and it's also hard for me. I'm learning every day; to be more patient, to seek more moments of unblemished happiness in whatever it is that surrounds me, to listen without judgement and learn from everything that occurs, be it good or bad.

This week I'm trying to wait longer before I answer. They say the average response time is three seconds, but that we should give it seven. I encourage you to try it. I've been quite astounded at how much more I'm hearing and how much more is shared with me from both children and adults alike.

Enough musing. Here is my joy. The smiles, however dirty or crooked bring a smile to me which is returned with another smile which in turn receives a smile, a laugh, a hug, a kiss... the circle repeats itself and so it should... until somebody steals a toy... then watch out!

Thank you for moths on a cold,rainy day.

Halloween

Halloween was busy, of course. We had an extended sleep over at Aba's house and lots of costume changes.

Lucas made a ghouly vampire and Mia a busy little lady bug. There wasn't a lot of posing to be had.

Mia's first "cognizant" Halloween was pretty funny. Her cousin Logan taught her to sing the "smell my feet" chant, of which she really only took to the feet-smelling part. Little independent Mia walked, candy bag in firm tow, singing "smell my feet, smell my feet" for three blocks. She refused to close that candy bag when a treat was deposited but instead remained stalwart with big pleading eyes while her brother and cousin raced off. This often resulted in an extra treat, but mostly in me pleading from the bottom of the stairs for her to say thank you and come with mommy now. Near the end of the excursion she plopped her sweaty little monkey self down in the wet leaves and sang smell my feet, smell my feet. It brought tears to my eyes. That and the amount of candy those two have eaten the last three days, but those were different tears.

So Proud

Voya, the restaurant Rob has been working so passionately on for the last year, is up and running. Very smoothly, it would appear, as judged by this amazing first review in today's Westender. Congratulations Rob!

http://www.westender.com/articles/entry/five-star-voya-is-worth-the-long-wait/

Pre-Halloween Fun

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

"Oh? Did you say that's a Christmas song? I never knew, and evidently the kids don't either..."

There is lots of spooky energy spiriting its way around our house. Not surprising for two very spirited kids, of course.

Today was "Daddy Day" (Lord, that makes it sound like we're divorced not just that I'm a restaurant widow!) We went to the pumpkin patch for a whole lot of fun; warm donuts being one of them.

It did not disappoint. The weather was fantastic, the pumpkins were abundant, the mud was deep and the line ups were manageable.

Oh yeah, and the hay was dry and oh-so-throw-able!

Until Mia had had enough. It's going to be a busy week!

Turkey day

I must admit, I have always loved Thanksgiving. I love the turn of the season, the change in the local harvests, the return to the school year and the celebration of family. To me, an occasion in which we get together simply to be together and count our blessings is itself, a blessing. There are no grand expectations except of a moist turkey, heaps of stuffing, pickles (of course), pumpkin pie and a house full of love. This year was no disappointment. In fact it was one of the best we've had in years. The kids are finally old enough to entertain themselves and each other fairly harmoniously and so we were able to eat and chat in peace.

And so with this strange virtual genre of blogging, I thank each of you; family, friend, reader or passer-by for all that you are and all that you do. May your days be filled with joy and your soul rest contented while you sleep. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you all.