February and March

Here's what I missed blogging about in February and March. Definitely very exciting things that I wouldn't want any of you to miss out on :)

Aidan had a tournament out in Clairmont and while they were out there, he won a Storm gift basket! He was so excited! It had a jersey, 4 tickets to any regular season Storm game, a hockey stick signed by all the players, a Storm mug, a Storm shot glass, a junior sized glass Storm beer mug and I think there was also a puck in there. Aidan and Keira and I went to a game using the tickets and had a great time. Keira wasn't so sure about all the noise, especially after a home goal was scored, but she soon got used to it and clapped and cheered too.

For Valentines Day I made the kids cardboard hearts filled with candy. Next year I'll have to pick something a little easier and less frustrating to make! Here you can see Aidan's hockey touque and hoodie. I think it makes him look so much older than 5!

Also in February we hosted a Grey Cup party. Michael installed the projector in the living room and put our tv in the kitchen so he could watch the game while making wings for everyone. Sadly, BC was not playing, and the team he wanted to win lost, but he still had a great time. The kids also enjoyed all the excitement, especially the music during the halftime show. Jakob 'asked' Keira to dance, and although she wasn't sure about it at first...

...in the end she liked it and had a good time :)

March was less eventful than February, but sometimes it's nice to just stay home and relax...

...have pancakes with strawberries and hot chocolate for dinner...

...and attempt to make some casings for Keira's sausage legs :). I decided that making leggings for Keira might be less expensive than buying them, especially the ones with lace on the bottom that are so cute and like the ones I wore back in the 80s. Further, I thought that it wouldn't be that difficult to make a pattern...but the end result was not as I had imagined. They were skintight and very low, especially in the back. I had to laugh though, Keira looked so funny running around in them!

Aidan took this picture of me and Keira and I think he did a pretty good job! He got a Little Tikes digital camera for Christmas in 2007 and he loves it, but I think a better option would have been to get him a cheap low mega pixel regular camera. He loves taking pictures of anything and everything, so I'm trying to find a cheap one on eBay for him.

I took this one - I didn't think Keira should be trusted with the camera :)

Then I tried to get one with all of us, but since Yo Gabba Gabba was on, you can see why they were distracted!

Hockey Superstar!

This past weekend Aidan had his very first hockey tournament. It was in Grande Cache, 2 hours away, just 1 day and he had 2 games, so pretty manageable for the little guys. I was babysitting so Keira and I stayed home with the little monsters I babysit. Before he left I packed him a little backpack with some snacks and treats, his iPod with some tunes, a book and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace which he watched intently all the way to Grande Cache. He also had his own Batman thermos with hot chocolate just like Daddy. When he came home he was SO proud of himself and showed me his medal that he got. All the kids got medals and treat bags with a Hot Wheels car, can of pop, chocolate bar, post it pad, pen, pencil, keychain and other assorted goodies. He had such a great time and he's really looking forward to the next tournament he gets to play in, here in Grande Prairie sometime in February!

Yo Gabba Gabba

Keira is obsessed with the Nick Jr show Yo Gabba Gabba. Like completely obsessed! When she watches the show, it's like she's in a trance and gets really annoyed if you disturb her. For our Christmas trip I made her some cardboard figures of the show's characters and they were a HUGE hit. From left to right is: Brobee (the little green one), Muno (he's tall and friendly), Plex (the magic robot), Toodee (she likes to have fun) and Foofa (she's pink and happy). We have had no luck finding any Yo Gabba Gabba clothes or pajamas in town, but we did find some stuff on eBay.

She was SO thrilled with her new Foofa shirt, of course she had to put it on right away. The pajamas we ordered were a size 3T, but fit more like an 18-24m, so I ordered a 4T shirt and it actually fits better than I anticipated.

Look at those eyelashes!

Foofa shirt, soother and listening to Yo Gabba Gabba tunes, what more could a girl want?

COLD

I just about froze my legs off this morning walking Aidan to school! I checked the weather network website when I got home and they said it was -33. Thankfully there was no wind to make it feel even colder!! I hadn't had time to check before we left so I just had jeans on and Aidan didn't have snowpants either - he shivered all the way there. Thankfully Keira was all bundled up with an extra scarf around her neck/face but she was about done 2/3 of the walk home and started crying. Usually I drop Michael off at school and then I've got the car to drop Aidan off and pick him up, but Michael only has school until lunch today so he's got the car. I'm definitely glad January is almost over because that means only about 1 more month of super cold weather!!

Michael is currently working on his first year of Electrician Apprenticeship school. It's only 2 months, but there's still tuition and books and of course he's not working, but I'm really glad we've been able to make it work right now! Next year we'll have to be a little more prepared :) He's doing so well and very rarely gets a test score below 90%, I'm very proud of him.

This Saturday Aidan has his first hockey tournament. It's in Grande Cache and just 1 day and 2 games on that day, but it should be pretty exciting! I'm babysitting all day Saturday, so I can't go - maybe next time. The kids I babysit have started coming Saturdays as well because their grandparents have decided that they (the grandparents) are getting a little old to be looking after three crazy kids. I can fully understand why they feel that way, but it's sure nice to write up the invoice every 2 weeks!

The other thing Michael and I have been doing is Guest Services for the Crystal Center - anything from Storm hockey games to concerts and other special events. We've been doing this on and off for the past 5 years and it's a great casual job! Michael also got on as a supervisor recently and he enjoys that. It's fun to be able to work some of these events. I'm supervising a line up for a wedding show or something on Sunday from 6am to 9am - should be fun :P

Cat

On Thursday, we got a cat named Cat. She's a small adult female cat and extremely friendly. She loves the kids and is very interested in being friends with Keira. It's funny to watch the two of them interact. I wasn't sure I wanted to get a cat, but I think this one will be a good addition to our family.

She's never happier than when she's cuddling with someone and she seems to really like my polarfleece blanket. She can't even spend the night alone and will come sleep with Michael and me and then go cuddle with Aidan. Aidan always makes sure to ask me to leave his door open so that Cat can come in if she likes, he loves waking up with a kitty in his bed!

She came named as Cat and we haven't been able to think of any other name that would suit her - do you have any suggestions??

Christmas in Kitimat

We're back from our big trip and settling back into regular life. Here are some pictures from our time up in Kitimat:

The car was packed as full with our bags, the playpen, skating and skiing stuff and most importantly - presents!

Aidan and Auntie Amber built the most beautiful gingerbread house ever

A quick family picture before heading off to the Christmas Eve service. Uncle Corey styled Aidan's hair for him, he looked quite spiffy! Keira was not co-operating so Uncle Corey made her Foofa doll dance around Grandpa's head as he took the picture, and as you can see she was quite excited about it!

Every year we give the kids pajamas on Christmas Eve. This year Aidan got Spiderman jammies complete with Spiderman hood! Sadly, we forgot Keira's at home, but she opened the little polarfleece outfit that I made her, and slept in that.

This was one of Aidan's favourite presents. He wore it constantly

Keira got 4 train cars with Yo Gabba Gabba characters and she was SOOO thrilled

The excitement was just too much for her, but after a milk break she was good to go again!

After opening our presents we went to go visit Nanny in the hospital. Since we left she's been doing much better and has been able to go home for up to 6 hours at a time which is wonderful news. Aidan enjoyed going with Grandpa to visit Nanny at mealtimes - probably because he got to eat most of the meals! He's holding his Leapster, that he got from Nanny and Grandpa in this picture. He played it so much before we left that he completely drained its batteries!

Keira claimed Grandpa's Canadiens toque as her own and bestowed Michael's Team Canada toque on me

The best part about going to visit Nanny and Grandpa is that you have your own couch and tv and can lounge around down there eating chocolates as long as you want! Aidan's favourite channels were 12, 50, 53 (all kids channels) and 44, the cooking channel.

Aidan and I made cupcakes for New Years Eve as a surprise for Auntie Amber and Uncle Jordan who were due to arrive back in Kitimat that evening. Aidan and Grandpa hid the cupcakes and Aidan drew this sign so that Amber and Jordan wouldn't discover the surprise. It's supposed to read 'No looking behind the door at the cupcakes!'

Keira finally nodded off in the car after listening to some Yo Gabba Gabba tunes on our way back home

The Big Trip

This year we're going to Michael's parents house for Christmas in Kitimat. I'm sure I've probably mentioned that in previous posts, but just in case anyone forgot, there it is again :) Usually I'm super organized about trips. I have packing spreadsheets with lists of what to pack for me, Aidan and Keira organized into categories, plus lists of snacks to bring (for airplane or car) and the best toys to bring along on trips. Before any trip I usually spend a couple hours researching various travel sites, finding tips about travelling with children, making notes on what people recommend bringing for kids or for snacks or whatever. As time goes on though, I have noticed that I am less paranoid, probably because I've realized that it doesn't matter how much research I do, it's not really going to affect the behaviour of the kids.

This trip kind of snuck up on me. I've been so wrapped up in getting Christmas presents, finishing Christmas baking, getting Christmas cards out etc. that it's now 3 days until we leave - 4 sleeps! - and I still haven't gone over my packing spreadsheets! I can remember times when I had my list finalized a week before we planned to leave and the actual bag was packed 3 days prior to leaving - although that was also probably before we had kids!! I'm crossing my fingers that we have enough room in the car for everything we're bringing - presents, snow gear, hockey gear, skis, playpen - and then of course our bags!!