December 2009

Tue 1 Dec: Kids start their Advent calendar. Every morning they open one of the little pockets to find a clue telling them where to look for their surprise, or a coupon for a special activity that day. They will be doing lots of activities – like going to see Christmas lights, taking a moonlight walk, getting a Christmas tree or shopping for Mommy’s present – as well as lots of baking & cooking – making shortbread cookies, rocky road bars, lemon tarts, mini quiches, layered jello desserts, etc – to make this more about fun and less about gimme.

Fri 4 Dec: Another PD Day. I go in for my surgery. There by 9, in the OR by about 10:30. Done by 11:20. Home by about 1pm. Because they’ve frozen my optic nerve I can’t see a thing. Once home, rest in the story chair while kids wait on me. (Nice!!) Gradually vision returns as the freezing wears off. But everything is veeeeery blurry (and will stay so for some time, I am told to expect.) In the evening, I try reading a few pages of my book. With three pairs of my strongest reading glasses, one on top of the other, I can manage to puzzle out the words, but it’s very slow going. After 5 minutes and about ¼ page, I give up.

Sat 5 Dec: Laolao and I take the kids shopping to buy each others’ and my Christmas present (or did we do this next Saturday? Not quite sure.) Of course, they want to give it to me right away, but we say it has to wait until last Advent, at least. At bedtime I try to read again. Slightly improved, but not much.

Sun 6 Dec: Second Advent. This year I’m giving the kids each books and a little something else for each Advent Sunday. All my gifts will be given by the time Christmas day rolls around (except for the little goodies from Santa); they get enough stuff from Laolao & Laoye and a few friends to have plenty on Christmas Day. By spreading out the gifts (from me at least), there is not such a huge pile of stuff on the Day, which can get so overwhelming that things get lost (or inadvertently thrown in the trash, as happened a few years ago to us). And I like to think that it helps to keep some of the focus on Christ, not just on “what am I getting?”

7-16 Dec: While the kids are at school (and I’m off work ‘cause I can’t read worth beans), I spend my time organizing. Put some order in the toy shelf. Put some order in the sewing room. Put some order in my office. Basement. Kids’ rooms. Loft – go through my bookshelves and pull out at least half the books to take to the second-hand store. Move some of the kids; books upstairs.

Meanwhile, Laolao is putting up the border in the kids’ rooms and rearranging furniture. In October I’d moved back into the master bedroom, but left the double bed upstairs as it’s too big for me to handle. Now Laolao & Laoye move it upstairs, move the upper bunkbed into Button’s new room, put the single bed from downstairs under the upper bunk, rearrange Mustang’s bed & bookcase.

Sat 12 Dec: Dress rehearsal for the pageant. At church from 9:00 to noon. In the afternoon we join good friends P, M & A (D is down south at university, believe it or not!) to get our Christmas tree at a local cut-your-own place. Take Lovely as we’ve seen dogs there before and friends have in the past taken their dog (and do so again), but when we get there we are told “no dogs” so Lovely has to stay in the car. Guess we’re not likely to go there again. Post-tree, go to friends’ house for Christmas fellowship and exchange gifts.

Sun 13 Dec: Third Advent. Some beading supplies for Mustang, some wooden puzzles for Button, and a homemade calendar for each. Pageant show in the evening. Kids all excited. Goes well.

Sat 19 Dec: Take Mustang to see a matinee performance of A Christmas Carol. It’s a very sombre, darkly lit staging, very effective. Mustang loves it – not too scary; helps that she knows the story. Laoye drops us off and we catch the bus home.

Sun 20 Dec: Fourth Advent. Kids get their big prezzies from me – not that huge, some scrapbooking supplies for Mustang and some K’Nex for Button, as well as a computer game for each. Along with the obligatory book.

Mon 21 Dec: Start of school break. With tons of time off, and not much homework, I get the kids to start working hard on their knitting. Gotta get those scarves done! Or at least significantly advanced. For every row they knit, I knit one too.

Wed 23 Dec: Advent treat of the day is a skiing trip with Nanny (she comes early). They spend the day on the hill where they take lessons. Not many runs are open, but enough to make it a fun day! By now my vision is much improved. I can read quite well and driving shouldn’t be an issue either. But I’m booked off for one more week. Seeing as it’s Christmas, I’ll take it; any other time I might head back and save on sick leave.

Thu 24 Dec: Christmas Eve!!! Evening service at church, followed by fellowship around the fireplace at home. Neighbours come over with gifts for the kids, we invite them to join us for some snacking & games. After kids are to bed, Santa arrives and fills the stockings – even brings treats for Lovely & our guinea pig (who each have their own stocking). In our house, Santa has very strict guidelines: he has to put into each stocking (a) something to eat, (b) something to wear, and (c) something to do.

Fri 25 Dec: Christmas!!!! Kids are eager to get up (though actually manage to sleep until 6 or so) to look in stockings. Santa has brought Mustang a book all about dog breeds, which is one of the things she was asking for. Button got a doggie cookbook (as in making treats for your dog, not cooking the dog!) and I got a book about training your dog to do tricks. That fills the “something to do” category. Also chocolate and socks all around (eat, wear). After a late breakfast of hash brown casserole (the traditional Christmas breakfast meal), we open the remaining presents. Kids each get a bunch of Lego from Laolao & Laoye, and LL/LY admire their scarves that the kids have almost finished knitting. We just didn’t quite have the energy to get them done, but they’ve done yeoman’s work this past week, adding bout 50cm to the length. It’s almost long enough – another 3 bands of colour (20 rows each) and that should do it.

In the early afternoon our friends arrive for Christmas dinner: a refugee couple from Colombia with their 6-month-old son (the grown 20-year-old son has other things going on so he doesn’t come); a couple from church; a friend who lives on a small acreage north of the city; and our good friends L&W, who were going to bring two teenage Sudanese boys but the latter learned of a Sudanese gathering and preferred to go there. We chat and play until dinner is served around 4pm – Laolao has prepared us a turkey feast, with all the trimmings! After supper there is more chatting, some games, and finally the guests go home. All in all, a fine day.

Sat 26 Dec: Kids start their “Twelve Days of Christmas” calendar. Much like the Advent calendar, but this one has little bags with treats or clues in them. I initiated it to provide a “ramping down” of the Christmas celebrations rather than an abrupt post-Christmas blah, and also – primarily – as a way to keep the festivities going until (a) Ethiopian Christmas and (b) my birthday, both on January 7.

Mon 28 Dec: Go out to our favourite Ethiopian restaurant for supper, to celebrate Button’s second Family Day.

Tue 29 Dec: Say goodbye to Laolao & Laoye, who are flying out to parts south. Starting in Cancun, then working their way down through Central America. Wish I could go too.

Thu 31 Dec: Twelve Days calendar treat is a treasure hunt to party snacks and new movie, which we enjoy in the evening. Kids stay up until about 10:30, then zonk out.

Bye-bye, 2009!