skating party, with a side of teeth and birthday love!

January 8, 2012 by mama lola

today our city’s mayor hosted a party with skating, and music and treats, and lots of fun.

bear donned his skates for the first time, evah and off we went. it was excruciating holding him, but after a couple of rounds around the rink he wanted to do it on his own. i was bursting with pride — even though he kept falling, he would smile and pick himself up and try again. what a guy!

the zamboni came along and gave him a well deserved break!

lion was happy to watch from the sidelines.

he is riding a massive teething wave, which i don’t think has crested yet. he is constantly rubbing his gums with a finger, or toy, or furniture or his beloved soother! it looks like his gums are going to explode. they are so red and bulbous (ugh, hate that word), with tiny speckles of white teethy pearls shining through. our teething experience has been so different this time with lion, compared with bear. i just hope my little lion’s teeth come sooner rather than later, because the constant whining and super sensitive state he is in, is painful to watch and live with. If they don’t come soon, we’ll be taking a trip to Dentist Greenbelt for future support! Hopefully it’ll be sorted then and he won’t be in so much pain. I can not wait until his teeth come through, although, from what I can see peeping through at the moment, I am feeling quite jealous. No, not because of the pain he’s experiencing but because of how white they look, its amazing! This has prompted me to do some research on teeth whitening products so I can have some good looking nashers of my own. I’ve already searched up questions like “how long do crest white strips take to work” and “reviews on teeth whitening toothpaste”, so I know I’m bound to find the perfect solution soon. Anyways, lets focus on my son’s growing teeth for the time being…

one of our sweet little friends turned ONE on friday and i wanted to share a picture of her eating her birthday cupcake! happy birthday sweet girl! xoxo

hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

christmas rage: what’s that you ask?

January 5, 2012 by mama lola

is it too late to write about Christmas?

now that the holidays are a warm, fuzzy memory and I’ve had a chance to decompress i can share something personal with you, my faithful reader: i lived with some serious Christmas rage! Christmas rage is exactly what it sounds like, rage experienced in-and-around Christmas. for me, the trigger revolves around dear hubby as it (sadly) has for many of my friends!
it’s that whole forgetful, fumbling, mumbling, procrastinating, a slow-moving disaster that dear hubby becomes around the holidays. I will admit that I knew I was marrying a mumbler and procrastinator, but the Christmas obligations really exaggerate these qualities in him, and combined with the stress I feel, it creates the rage. Unfortunately, this can cause some tense moments in the house. When you’re stressed, people can begin to irritate you easily. This causes an unhappy mood within the house. As it’s nearly Christmas, it’s important to be festive and happy, however, I find myself to be quite stressed and angry. When talking to one of my friends about this, she suggested that maybe I need to consider trying some of the black diamond weed strain. Apparently, she’s taken that before the Christmas holiday and she was completely relaxed and uplifted throughout the whole day. Maybe that’s the sort of thing I need to consider. I’ll have a look into that. Christmas is supposed to be fun and happy, so I need to try and be less stressed out.

one of our biggest problems is that i think Christmas is a season and not a day or two in December, as he does. during one of my rages this year dear hubby admitted to thinking x-mas started on the 24th and for me, it started a few weeks before. this is a huge difference in how we view and experience Christmas, and hopefully, we will take the lessons we learned in 2011 and apply them in 2012.

christmas is magical and i love all the music, traditions, smells and tastes that come along during this special time of year. but on the flip side, it is a lot of work too. there is a lot of pressure on me to remember all of the finer details about the holidays, who to shop for, make for, what to get, what to make, when to do it, making cards, deciding on the concept, etc etc.

it’s January 8th and I am planning next x-mas already. think what you may, but I don’t want to find myself in the same rage this year. I have suggested to dear hubby to get his shopping done by September, seriously, because then he can focus on the fun stuff around the holidays. and as the kids get bigger there will be more fun, winter, holiday activities to participate in, but if hubs is out doing last-minute shopping or wrapping or whatever, then his time will be limited with the family. plus, with bear starting school in the fall, he too will only have limited time during Christmas to romp and play.

and, finally, I want to clear up that Christmas rage wasn’t an ongoing fight at our house. we did have lots of fun, beautiful moments and created lots of warm memories as a family, dear hubby included.

i’d love to hear about your Christmas rage experiences and ways you’re hoping to combat the problem this year.

2012.

January 4, 2012 by mama lola

WELCOME 2012, NICE TO MEET CHA!
it’s time to start new and fresh, it is a new year after all. 2012 arrived in full glory with snow and rain and storms, but here we are safe and sound at home coming down from the holiday high.

we spent a glorious new year’s extra-long weekend with our dear friends at the cottage getting into all sorts of shanighans! kids of all sizes and generations had fun tobogganing, building forts and lumilyhty’s; we sat by the fire sipping various drinks and cocktails and munching on a lovely variety of festive treats; the conversations flowed easily, opinions were debated and ideas developed. it was fantastic!

there was a spectacular fireworks presentation thanks to papaD. unfortunately, bear was growly and little ozFire (almost 2yrs) was terrified and cried the entire time. there were also some fancy extra long sparklers for the big kids and they were such fun, even for the grumpy bear!

the big kids were really in their element enjoying all that mother nature had to offer. no matter what kind of precipitation was falling from the sky, the kids were out in full force. we did have to call them in to dry off and eat every few hours. check out the fancy snow fort below!

here’s a quick slide show of our winter fun!

“Picnik Show“

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

our drive home took an unusual 7 hours due to some weather related difficulties. first we got stuck for an hour on the cottage driveway, which was incredibly frustrating. it had all iced and since we were the last car to leave we had to back up over tons of ice. finally after trying branches, wood blocks, salt, the ashes worked and got us on the road.
then after driving for about 2 hours we hit a major snow storm and had to drive at 30-40km/ph. slow going, but safe i suppose. eventually we got home and quickly went to bed.

looking forward to all sorts of adventures that 2012 has to offer!
my motto or mantra for this year is (stolen from friday night lights):
“clear eyes, strong hearts, can’t lose“.

another year has come and gone… welcome 33.

December 28, 2011 by mama lola

i love my birthday.
i especially love spending it with my boys.

i used to share my birthday with my mummo before she passed away. here’s a picture of our first shared cake and the 66 candles that sat on top; one for me, 65 for her! denzel washington also celebrates his birthday with me. lucky me! or him!

my first birthday as a mama with my sweet bear.

as i enter 33 and 2012 i am hoping life will roll a little more easily and smoothly for myself and my family this year. i feel like we deserve a break from all of the turmoil that has been thrown in our faces in the past two years. i want to discover fantastic adventures with the kids, explore life through their eyes and travel this great land we call home. i would like to return to school and finish what i have started, sooner rather than later.

lion trying on my first pair of specs. he LOVED them!

perhaps with 33 i will discover the fountain of patience. although mothering has been easier this past month or so, i know i will be tested tremendously in the coming year. i want to be so much more than just a “good mother”, but fulfilling those expectations of myself are pretty much impossible. and not just patience with my kids, but more so with myself.
i want to grow more as a person and find who i am again. i am so often only seen as a mother, but i am so much more. but i only have my self to blame for that, i have allowed the other parts of me to disappear under the exhaustion, the busyness and the oh-so predictable routine that has become my life. and not that those things are unpleasant, but they make it difficult to feel free, creative or curious.

********
we are heading up north to bring in the new year with some of our bestest friends! lots of good talkin’, good food and good booze! it looks like there will be snow, so the kids will be delighted to be able to go tobogganing and build snow people and the always popular lumilyhty!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!
see you on the other side.
xo

aaah, it’s done.

December 27, 2011 by mama lola

christmas is officially done for another year. whew! we are all tired and burnt out from the holiday marathon of excitement, but now we need to get recharged for two days of birthday celebrations. first mine (28th) and then my MIL’s (29th). i’ve always loved having my birthday in between x-mas and new years, but since moving from the big city and having kids it’s complicated things.

last x-mas dinner. (please excuse the weirdness with the frame, cannot be fixed).

tomorrow we are heading to the art gallery in the big city to see this with my parents. i am excited to see some beautiful art with my kids and explore the paintings through their eyes. chagall’s paintings are so whimsical and full of magic; he’s one of my favourites. but, there’s a winter storm coming so we’ll have to eyeball the weather and see if it’s reasonable driving weather.

right now at 13:39 it is snowing heavily outside, with big flakes accumulating, but the temperature is supposed to drop down to -18c tonight, which means any water will freeze and the roads might be a mess tomorrow.
fingers crossed…

on the 30th we are heading up north to the cottage with our usual new year’s posse of partiers! so, counting down the days to that!

joulu!

December 26, 2011 by mama lola

wishing everyone a happy holidays!
we are in the midst of our christmas celebrations. last night with my folks, tonight at home, tomorrow with dear hubby’s family. so far santa has been very impressed with the kids and they have received lots of wonderful new toys and books and things!

here are a few pictures from our jouluaatto with my parents. it is tradition in finland to celebrate x-mas on the 24th, so we always enjoy a beautiful meal prepared by my mom. after dinner santa comes and while i was growing up he actually came into our living room and i would sing or dance for him. he then passed out our gifts. for our boys, we always seem to just miss joulupukki, he knocks on the door or window, but by the time we get there he’s gone. luckily however, he has left gifts under the tree for us!

tonight we are all heading to bed early, so that we can celebrate lots tomorrow!
g’night!

joulu!

December 26, 2011 by mama lola

tonight we are all heading to bed early, so that we can celebrate lots tomorrow!
g’night!

ho! ho! holiday traditions!

December 18, 2011 by mama lola

i am desperately trying to incorporate finnish christmas traditions into our canadian holiday season. i find food is an easy and fun way to do that..

on the weekend i made some joulupuuro, translated as christmas porridge, which i think is basically rice pudding for all you english speakers. i also made some kiisseli to go with it. it’s like a thick fruit soup and you can use any ol’ fruit (fresh or dried), but for this time of year i use dried plums, apples, apricots and raisins. (in the warmer months i sometimes make rhubarb soup and my mom makes a wicked blueberry soup.)

for iltapala (bedtime snack) we each enjoyed a bowl of warm joulupuuro with a big heaping of kiisseli on top. the cinnamon smells wafted through the house adding to the holiday magic at our house.

the instructions are in metric as that’s what the finns use. easy enough to convert if you need to thanks to google!

this is where i got the recipe and directions from.

kiisseli.

200 g dried plums
1 l water
3/4 dl sugar
place plums (and other fruit), water and sugar into a large pot. let it simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes* or until fruit is soft. add water if needed.

1/2 dl water
21/2 tblsp potato flour/ potato starch
mix water and potatoflour/ potato starch in a bowl. add slowly to pot with steaming fruits and let it simmer for a few minutes.

the amounts are a starting point i find. i didn’t measure my dried fruits, but just grabbed a handful of each and threw them in. i also increased my water and potato flour amounts slightly. the potatoflour is a thickening agent, if you want the soup to be thicker add more potato flour. i also threw in a cinnamon stick and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

* this time may vary depending on how hard your fruit is.

also, we made some more reindeer cookies using chocolate chip ready-made cookie dough. they tasted delish and looked adorable!

time to go and wrap gifts. we haven’t done any yet! yikes!
also, just wanted to mention that i am loving the sirius radio and the all day x-mas music we get to listen to! fun! fun! fun!

the exquisite house of ginger.

December 18, 2011 by mama lola

dear hubby may not be a carpenter who can build me my dream home, but he sure is smart in the kitchen with his gingerbread house building skills. he’s a master of the gingerbread house, like no one else i know. each year he closely follows the recipe from the joy of cooking and voila, a house forms from the mess of ingredients. real holiday magic!

this year he had two lovely helpers. yesterday they got the dough done. today they measured and cut the structure, baked ’em, put them together and then i get to join in the best part, the decorating! bear has been waiting for a long, long time for this day. check out helper fraulein.
*****
GINGERBREAD HOUSE OR COOKIE (from the joy of cooking p. 781)
recipe and instructions:

in a medium (2 quart) saucepan, melt
1 cup or two sticks of butter
add and strir over low heatuntil sugar is disolved and the mixture no longer feels gritty:
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsulphurred molasses
remove from the heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm. in a large bowl, whisk together:
41/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tblsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the lukewarm butter mixture, and beat to blend everything together. work in
1/2 cup all purpose flour
beating until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl:
remove the dough from the bowl and knead 3-4 times on the counter, until smooth and pliable. wrap well and refrigerate until the dough is thoroughly cook. (the dough can be prepared several days in advance.)
after refrigerating, if the dough feels too soft to roll out, work in a tiny bit of flour.
*****

to create her own holiday magic, mother nature let it snow those big ol’ fluffy flakes all morning. while lion snored away dear hubby and bear headed to the park to romp around for a bit. dear hubby also got our sirius radio set up so we’ve got a new variety of holiday music to dance and sing too! woot-woo!

after the sun had set and our sushi dinner devoured, we headed to a local park to see a colourful display of holiday lights. with cookies in hand, dressed in our holiday jammies we drove through the park ohh:ing and aah:ing at the fabulous light show. bear was in awe.

ho! ho! ho! holiday magic!

my little dancer.

December 16, 2011 by mama lola

this afternoon there was open house at bear’s ballet school. it was the first time we had ever seen him dance and it was one of the best moments of my life. seriously. he was the smiliest, happiest little ballet dancer i have ever seen.

when the little ballerinas entered the studio and my eyes met with bear’s my heart filled with incredible pride and love and my eyes filled with tears. he was probably the youngest and the smallest and obviously the only boy in his class. the little girls in their pink attire were lovely and darling to watch as they skipped around the studio.

there were two helpers and a teacher. bear was careful to listen to instructions and tried so hard to gallop across the floor, but his steps were a little off. lucky for him he is three and doesn’t quite recognize how (im)precise his steps are yet.

tin soldiers from the nutcracker with a helper dancer.

what i didn’t know and learned today, is that my little shy bear loves to perform and loves the audience. he looked confident and proud and just so joyful, that all i could do was smile.

*******
found this on my way to bed the other night…