christmas is all about love and family.

January 6, 2014 by mama lola

i realize this is a little late, but we’ve been on the go this past week with birthday celebrations and an adventure up north at the cottage for new years! we had a wonderful christmas. there were some unexpected twists and turns, forcing us to be flexible, testing our patience, but after all was said and done, it was a wonderful christmas in the end. it was one that reminded all of us of what really matter in life, and how fortunate we all really are just because we live in canada. the 24th of december is traditionally when finnish families celebrate christmas. so, typically the boys, dear hubby and i head to my parent’s house for a beautiful christmas meal and evening. my mum decorates the house so nicely and she works hard to prepare traditional finnish foods for us to enjoy. it is very special. but, this year toronto and much of southern ontario was hit by a terrible ice storm. lots of people were without power for many days, my folks included. so, on christmas eve my parents drove about an hour to join us at out house. but, i didn’t have time to prepare much, because honestly we were all expecting the power to be restored more quickly than it was. this is where that flexibility and patience came into play; dear hubby baked some yummy treats and i made some quick appetizers with smoked salmon, baked a yummy gnocchi (recipe coming soon here) and we bought several delicious cheese; it wasn’t the kind of christmas meal my mum would make.

we started the evening with a glöggi toast cheering our family and health. we ate, while my parents shared stories of christmases from their childhood, which the kids were fascinated by. then, it was time to open gifts. oh, the kids had fun, fun, FUN! at the end of our evening it was clear that christmas is really all about love, family and being together. even though our plans were quite different, unexpected and even stressful leading up to christmas eve, we all still had lots to be thankful for. we had each other, we were safe, we had resources to get food, to drive and shelter (even if it was cold for some). eventually my parents layered up and headed back to their freezing house, deciding not to stay with us, as they had stayed with friends the night previous. they were worried about the house as a city owned tree was dropping branches right on their property. but, even though christmas wasn’t what we had wanted or planned, we were all grateful to be together and share in a warm, loving evening together.

the 25th we spent together as a family of four. we went tobogganing with neighbourhood friends to test out the fancy snow runner the kids received from joulupukki (santa claus). it was a quiet day of fun, games and love. again, reminding me of the meaning of chistmas for our family. spending time together as foursome, without any distractions or obligations, was truly special. then, on the evening of the 25th my mum phoned to say their power had been restored and we all hooted and cheered! it was a small, belated, christmas miracle!

on the 26th we headed to see dear hubby’s family. first we had a small tea party with his folks. we used dear hubby’s grandmother’s fancy tea cups, which was fun and special. we opened gifts and had a chance to play before heading to visit with extended family.

i’m not sure why, but i didn’t really take many pictures this christmas. i was more focused on being involved in all the special moments, i suppose. sometimes i feel like an outsider when i end up taking pictures from the periphery.

i hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family, celebrating whatever traditions matter to you.

i will share some wonderful pictures from our time up north soon!

winter branches.

January 4, 2014 by mama lola

i know many of you might be slightly crafted out from all of the holiday projects, but this is a super easy craft with big effect. my mum taught me how to make these gorgeous winter branches.

MATERIALS:

tissue paper

scissors

green branches (pine, balsam, spruce, cedar…)

white glue

glitter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. cut the tissue paper into tiny pieces. keep in a container.

2. place branches in chosen vase or basket.

3. add glue generously to branches and needles, sprinkle cut tissue paper onto wet glue. add glitter as desired to wet glue. ensure the tissue paper is evenly spread amongst your branches creating a realistic snowy effect. that’s it.

now that christmas is all packed up, these winter branches are a wonderful decorative touch for the first months of the year. i have received so many compliments on my branches!

hiya january.

January 1, 2014 by mama lola

well, hello there january! check you out looking all pretty and new.

a fresh new year, a clean slate, the start of something new… well, not really since all my baggage from previous years are still following me around where ever i go.

bah.

i will be posting about my resolutions soon! did you make any new years resolutions this year?

35.

December 27, 2013 by mama lola

i will be 35 on the 28th of december. happy birthday to me!

this is the first year in a while i don’t really feel like i’m getting older. turning 30 felt like a huge deal, and the birthdays proceeding that one have all had an aging quality to them. but, this year something is different. but, i’m not really sure what.

it’s been a year of great personal growth for me. i have come accept many qualities about myself rather than focusing on how to change things, i have learned to live with them. for some, i guess that kinda thing comes easily; not for me. don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of traits and quirks and details i would love to improve about myself, but there are some things that just are the way they are. which is ok.

in the past i have blogged a lot about focusing on myself and learning how make myself a priority. this is a skill that i have made leaps and bounds in this past year, clearly made easier as the kids get older. hard times forced me to really look at myself, how i make decisions, why i do the things i do, say the things i say and so on. i have come to understand that i have great deficits in my confidence, self-esteem and belief in my own abilities, but i trust that with time those will improve. to balance out the hard stuff, i have placed great efforts into my personal relationships. i have tried to be social and active within my community and make connections with people. i have tried to be good friend, giving more of myself to people outside my family. i am a work in progress, and some areas require more work than others.

source

as i enter the second half of my thirties, i feel optimistic. the first half was filled with babies, illness, tremendous worry, sleep deprivation, anger, and enormous stress. so yeah, as you can imagine, this definitely wasn’t fun. there were times when I actually thought that my life would fall apart. I just couldn’t see the end of this torment and emotional stress. luckily, I could speak to my friend who had experienced something similar. she said that she looked at how CBD oil UK could help her, and low and behold, she soon saw a difference in herself. a positive one. this made me feel better because I knew that something could be done if it continued to affect me. I came out of them in the end, but I definitely don’t want to experience anything like it again. i am hopeful that i can leave those aches and pains behind me and move on towards new, perhaps a slightly less bumpy road. i feel grateful for so much, especially after the ice storm that hit southern ontario. with so many people freezing in their homes for days (my parents included), surviving through the holidays in unexpected ways, i will continue to try not to take my life for granted. i have said it here before and i will say it again, and i will keep saying it, because taking ones family, friends, home, cars, food, running water and everything else for granted is so easy.

source

i love my birthday and this year my three guys have all sorts of secrets tucked up their sleeves. my mummo shared my birthday with me, and since she has passed there is a loneliness about it. even though my grandmother and i weren’t very close, because she lived in finland while we were here, and trying to have a telephone conversation with someone losing their hearing was next to impossible! i will remember her fondly on the 28th and share stories about her to my kids.

i am excited to turn 35 and look forward to the adventures this new age brings.

cranberry blueberry bars.

December 18, 2013 by mama lola

i found this delicious recipe from smitten kitchen, but tweaked it to fit the flavours i had in my cupboards.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg or egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
orange zest
4 cups cranberries and blueberries combined
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

INSTRUCTION:

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. in a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. mix in salt and orange zest using a fork to blend in the butter and egg or egg substitute. the dough will be crumbly, but that’s what we want! pat half of dough into the greased pan.

3. in another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. with a potato masher, crush the cranberries in a bowl, mix in the blueberries. then, pour the cranberry blueberry mixture evenly over the crust and spread remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

this is an easy recipe to complete. the cranberries are tart, so some may prefer more sugar in the recipe, but i decided not to add sugar. instead, i will add a scoop of ice cream or make a big mug of hot chocolate to go with my yummy bar.

enjoy!

christmas orange pomanders!

December 14, 2013 by mama lola

christmas pomanders are something i make every year. they are a wonderful gift for others and beautiful decorations in your own home.

they smell like christmas!

all you need to make these are oranges (or clementines) and cloves. i have made pomanders with different patterns; spirals or hearts, so pretty! adding a ribbon is a nice touch as well, just remember to add it first. some people suggest placing a rubber band around the orange to guide in making a straight line. just take a clove and poke it through the rind. it can get painful for your index finger after a bit, but it’ll be s worth it in the end… trust me!

i made a pomender three years ago and it tried beautifully and still smells yummy!

candy cane treats! YUM!

December 13, 2013 by mama lola

tis the season for candy canes! my kids are a bit little for just sitting and eating a cane; it tuns into a huge sticky mess, which i hate! so, instead i love to incorporate candy canes into all sorts of treats we like to eat. here is a round-up of super yummy candy cane treats of all sorts… from cookies to fudge to bark!

ENJOY!

chocolate peppermint bark cookies from recipe girls

candy cane cookies from foodless

candy cane hearts from glorious treats

candy cane joe joe’s from cake or death

candy cane marshmallow pops from liv life

which one is your favourite? which recipe will you be trying this season?

the marshmallow treats look perfect for a cuppa hot chocolate, so i think i will make some when we head up north to the cottage for the new year!

christmas cookie round-up!

December 10, 2013 by mama lola

the christmas season is full of yummy cookies. we love to bake all sorts of cookies this time of year. here is a round-up of decoration ideas from snowflakes to snow globes to hurt gingerbread men.

melting snowman cookies from simply stitched together

christmas ornament cookies from fresh cut flours

snow globe’s from hello naomi

christmas cookies from sweetopia

christmas cookie snowflakes from pasta princess & more

gingerbread cookie recipe from glorious treats

gingerbread men cookies from the national geographic

i am so inspired to roll up my sleeves and get baking! i love, LOVE decorating cookies!

what kind of cookies are you baking this holiday season?

do you prefer gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies, or do you bake both?

it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas!

December 5, 2013 by mama lola

counting down to christmas.. three weeks to go! woohoo!!

we’ve already crossed several items off of our x-mas bucket list. see the list HERE.

last weekend, my lion and i were still sick, coughing and basically feeling sorry for ourselves. blargh. so, to change the vibe and energy at our house we decided to get our christmas tree. we went to a local tree farm, found the most delightful tree and chopped down our own piece of christmas heaven! although the weather was freezing, drizzly and raw, the kids had fun! at home, we turned on some festive tunes and started to unpack the decorations.

now that, i think, we have taken a turn with our health, i am hoping to get back to my holiday crafts and projects!

is your tree up?

are you ready for the holidays?

december, the christmas month.

December 1, 2013 by mama lola

in finnish december is joulukuu, which when translated means christmas month.

and, at our house it sure is.

TERVETULOA JOULUKUU. WELCOME DECEMBER.

the advent calender has been hung up in our living room with great anticipation to see whether or not joulutonttu, the christmas elf, will leave any little surprises for the boys. joulutonttu is very discreet and the kids have never seen him. but, joulutonttu peeks in through the windows and from around corners to see how we’re all behaving, reporting back to his boss, joulupukki. speaking of him, the kids wrote letters to joulupukki with random wishes; bear asked for a hamster (as if) and 3 surprises (that’s easy). and, lion asked for a doll (again, easy).

dear hubby loves to bake during the holidays and after scouring pinterest he has bookmarked several yummy cookie recipes. this weekend he has been busy in the kitchen making lists, checking ingredients and just being darn cute.

we have been enjoying christmas music, as well. thanks to sirius radio, with it’s variety of different channels of holiday music.

and, then today joulu radio started in finland. i have been sitting, listening, feeling incredibly nostalgic for a finnish christmas.

it’ hard to sing along with this big ol’ lump in my throat.

christmas is a very special time in finland. it is not as commercial or based in consumerism, the way it is here in north america. there are traditions that are deep rooted in many families and i will write more about those later this month.

are you excited for december?

what are some of your holiday traditions this time of year?