Advent Activity Calendar 2012

We started Andrea’s 25 Days of Christmas last year. It seems even more in need this year, with the non-Christmas weather in Seattle and family far away.

First, we needed a place for our activities to be housed. E and I painted a Christmas tree.

Then she cut out various festive shapes, with cookie cutters as stencils. We all brainstormed ideas, and I wrote them on the back of our ornaments. I numbered each of the items, and sorted out a few scheduling conflicts. H helped me tape up the ornaments, and tomorrow they get to pick the first one.

These are the activities we’ve chosen:

1. Visit Santa
2. Write a letter to Santa
3. Have hot chocolate and a Christmas treat
4. Put up Snowman
5. Shopping for our Christmas charities
6. Make paper snowflakes
7. Visit Candy Cane Lane
8. Watch a Christmas movie
9. Visit Leavenworth’s Christmas village
10. Make a Christmas ornament
11. E’s 7th Birthday
12. Christmas dance party
13. Snowman craft
14. Build a gingerbread house
15. Christmas Boats or Wildlights at the Zoo
16. See the Seattle Centre Christmas Village
17. Bake cookies
18. Make a Christmas card
19. Deliver cookies to friends
20. School Christmas concert
21. FLY HOME
22. Christmas village at Place D’Orleans
23. Bake with Grandma
24. Visit Taffy Lane

Blank

Apparently some people have a hard time making their minds go blank when doing yoga or other relaxation exercises. I don’t really have that issue. When I’m asked what I’m thinking about, I often answer “nothing” and I’m not lying.

I couldn’t think of what to write today. My mind was blank. I think that’s okay. Sometimes just being in the moment is enough.

Or I’m sleeping with my eyes open, hard to tell.

Our Disneyland weekend

We just got back from a wonderful weekend in Disneyland. I have to admit that I love Disney. One of the first things we did when we got E’s school calendar was figure out when we could go to Disneyland, and then when we saw how reasonable the flights were it was settled. We went down on the President’s Day weekend (same weekend as Family Day). This is one of the busiest non-summer weekends at Disney, but it really didn’t bother us.

We flew from Seattle to Long Beach on JetBlue. The airport is about 35 minutes from Disneyland and the cab cost us $45. It’s a small airport, and looks like it’s from the 60’s. JetBlue is an affordable airline, but they have seatback tv’s, and free snacks. My husband was kind enough to sit between the kids, so I had a very relaxing flight.

Instead of booking on the Disney property, we stayed at the Ramada Maingate. It was literally right across the street from the main entrance to the parks. It wasn’t fancy, and the continental breakfast left a lot to be desired. The pool was great for kids, with a sloped entrance and a water play area. There are other hotels on the same block, but all seemed very comparable.

The first morning our plan was to be at the gates for the park opening at 8am. We woke up at 7 and E threw up. She then declared herself ‘good to go’ and hurried us all to get dressed. We’d both our passes the night before at the ticket plaza. There are 2 parks in Anaheim, Disneyland and California Adventures. The main entrances to both are in a large plaza, with the entrance to Downtown Disney on the far side.

We actually made it into Disneyland before the park opened, and were waiting on Main Street for the whistle that signals the park opening. Our first stop was the newly renovated Star Tours. I got the Baby Swap pass, and Dan and E went for a ride. H waited with me while I found coffee. Once they finished, we explored the gift shop and then I got to go on the ride. It was such fun, I really like the new 3D ride. It’s also pretty cool that there are different destinations, so you can go on it a few times without knowing what’s going to happen.

R2D2 from the StarTours Line.

Other highlights from the first day, were the Finding Nemo submarine ride and meeting Mickey Mouse. H wasn’t so sure about the line to meet Mickey, and the barn was a bit dark so that they can show the cartoons to keep people entertained. We ate lunch at the park, but went back to the hotel for a rest in the afternoon. We returned to the park for dinner at the Plaza Inn. When Dan and I visited Disneyland in 2003 we loved the meal there, and it didn’t disappoint. Meals were not too expensive, it cost about $45 for dinner. The kids meals came with fruit and vegetables and milk to drink. After dinner, we wandered down Main Street and found a great spot for the parade. There was singing and dancing and characters. The kids were enthralled.

E made a friend at the parade.

Snow White is H's favourite. I only found that out at Disney.

It was a full day, the kids crashed hard when we got them to bed around 8pm. E was so exhausted we couldn’t wake her to see the fireworks.

Our second day started off a bit slower. We didn’t make it to the park for opening whistle, but still made it before the crowds. This time we started on the right side of the park with Adventureland. We managed to see all the attractions before 9:30. One of my favourites is the original Enchanted Tiki Room, without the annoying Aladdin bird that invaded DisneyWorld. The day ended with the Autopia ride and a trip on the Monorail to Downtown Disney. We watched the fireworks from in front of our hotel room, and all fell asleep before 10pm.

We had two full days at the park, and enjoyed all of it. We used the MouseWait App, that provides real-time updates for line wait times, to help us avoid big lines and took advantage of FastPasses and the Rider Swap when we could. With H not being big enough for some rides, and E not wanting to go on some, we decided early to ride alone. One of us would take the kids on another ride, or to watch a show or to have a snack, while the other enjoyed the attraction. It’s not as fun to go by yourself, but it’s better than not going at all.

I find that there’s a slower pace at Disneyland as compared to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. It may be partly because it was cooler than when we’ve visited Florida, or the fact that people aren’t just in the area for Disney, but there seems to be less stress. I also really like the fact that it’s the original Park. It’s Sleeping Beauty’s castle not Cinderella’s, some of the rides were made in the 1950’s and 60’s, and all the main attractions are in the one park. Even the cheesy gift shops in the hotel/motels seemed charming to me.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle (or Aurora's Castle or Briar Rose's Castle)

All in all a fantastic weekend. I’m already planning on going again next year. Anyone want to join me?

I think they're up for it!

As seen in Seattle

It’s been a bit hectic around here and I have neglected my blog. I’m hoping things settle down soon and I’ll get back to blogging. A lot has happened and I’ll write more about Christmas, the move, getting E settled in school and my adventures in unpacking later. But until then I thought I’d share some pictures from our first couple days in the Pacific Northwest.

Flowers to plant. In January!!

An espresso hut at the gas station near the highway exit. Still haven't seen a chip truck

There are penguins at the zoo down the road. We'll visit often.

And chickens on the way to school. This may also be Dave Matthews house, but I can't yet confirm.

And of course, Seattle's Moving Super-Heroes.

Prompted

A lot of the writing prompts don’t resonate with me, but the one from a few days ago did. Do you enjoy being alone?  Would you rather be around other people?

My answer is yes to both. There are times when I crave being alone, when I just want to be by myself and do whatever I want. Even if all that I want to do is sit and do nothing. I enjoy the silence and stillness. This is probably why I stay up later than I should. Just to get that downtime.

But then again, I like to be with people. It energizes me to have a fun night out with friends. It’s great to connect with people, and know that others care about you and are there for you. I usually end up staying too late at these things too.

I guess the thing is I like being alone or with others as long as I don’t feel lonely. I guess the thing is, no what how many people are around I want to feel that it’s my choice.

Challenge for this week

Last week I challenged myself to sort through one box a day. Thanks to the great advice of Margarita, and some help from my sister, I was able to sort through more than 7 boxes. There are still boxes to go through, and I need to bring the donations to their intended recipients. Overall, I’m going to say this challenge was a success.

This week I’m adding something else to the challenge. I need to deal with the pile of ironing. There are shirts in the basket that I wore before I was pregnant with my 2 year old son. If I schedule this for 45 minutes a day, it’ll be gone by Friday. Wonder what else I’ll find in there? 🙂

Day 1

Fun on a Friday

This week seems to have gone on forever. During this incredibly long week, there was a lot of fantastic news going on around me. From baby announcements to good health, it’s been a good week.

To keep up the positive mood, here a few of my favourite things.

Catalog Living: More often that not I want to visit with Gary and Elaine, but it also makes me think of my aunt and uncle. This is kind of what I think living with them since they’ve been retired is like.

Suri’s Burn Book. It’s like Go Fug Yourself but about celebrity kids. I sometimes feel guilty about the fact that they’re kids, but then I laugh and get over it.

Delicious holiday food:

BEST ICE CREAM EVER!

 

I have followed this writer for a while, and love her take on pop-culture. It also makes me feel intellectual to be able to quote National Public Radio.

My friend Lara is describing people in her life in 50 words. It’s an honour to have been written about, she forgot a few descriptive words (ahem..awesome) but otherwise I like it. I may even start using it as my bio.

Anything brighten up your week that you want to share?

 

 

Good night in 50

I am tired. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. It’s my own fault because I’ve been staying up too late.  Instead of trying to get through everything this evening, I am going to tidy up and go to bed. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.

My not-so-secret secrets

Amy‘s list of small funny things and Lara’s expose on her shower habits, has encouraged me to share some of my quirks with the world.

1. I have an uncanny memory for details regarding television shows. Ever heard of Young Riders or TV101? I’ve seen them both.

2. I have a real bad memory for faces. When I was a camp counsellor, I would only remember the names of kids for the week they were with me. Even if they came back the following Monday, I would have no idea who they were.

3. I’m a NKOTB fan. I saw them once in concert when I was in Grade 8, and have seen them twice in the past 5 years.

4. My favourite dessert is brownies with ice-cream. I will pick this every time.

5. I feel that the majority of holiday baking should involve condensed milk. This is mainly so that I can eat it by the spoonful.

6. I once spent a summer reading nothing but Danielle Steel novels that my Nana got out of the library.

7. I was a lifeguard but deep water terrifies me.

8. I am stockpiling candy cane ice cream in my deep freeze, it all needs to be eaten by end of December.

9. I used to be able to recite the Senators rosters in numeric order.

10. I think Finns have the best names in the world. I had hoped to name my son Janne (Jani) but it doesn’t work so well with our last name.

11. You can actual see all four of the quad muscles on Daniel Alfredsson’s leg. I helped test his leg during his spate of knee injuries.

And that is all I can think of.

We remember

I attended the Rememberance Day ceremony at my daughter’s school. It was a simple yet moving ceremony. The Grade One students read and the Kindergarten class was also involved. There was a nice nod to parents in the school who served in Afghanistan. It was great to see them home safe. The one thing lacking for me, was a reading of In Flanders Fields by Lieutantant Colonel John McCrae.

So for anyone else who missed it:

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.