A Wonderful Christmas

Special time with Grandpa Bill

We spent Christmas eve with the MacNeill / Brady clans and had a wonderful time with all the cousins together. Fantastic food, company and games were some of the highlights of the evening and we were very thankful that the forecasted freezing rain held off so the drive to and from was safe. We arrived home after 10:30 and Sid was still wired awake. We left milk and cookies for Santa and got Sid in bed.

Once again the pets are baffled by how He did it, but Santa made his special delivery Christmas eve. He seemed to enjoy the cookies and milk and ate all the brownies! We hope the reindeer enjoyed the carrots, we left one out for each of them.

Santa brought some wonderful gifts including a new tiger book for Benny, Sid's tiger. Sid was treated to an exciting morning of very thoughtful gifts from Santa, friends and family. The look in her eye and smile on her face as she opened each package was priceless.

It was a busy morning but the day was not complete until the Christmas dinner which turned out just perfectly. A well cooked turkey, dressing, cranberries, roast veggies, salad, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, buns, apple pie and ice cream oh my! It was so nice hosting Christmas dinner, we wish you all could have been here. Christmas for us is about having family around and just enjoying the day.

Boxing day was sleepy day here. With dishes still piled up a bit in the kitchen, we spent much of the day in our jammies just stretched out on the couches.

Lots of leftovers means lots of resting and relaxing. NO cooking here for a few days! We hope everyone had a nice Christmas filled with laughter, good food, good company and lots of love.

Yipppeeee Skating!

Saturday Dad discovered that we had a natural skating rink in the back. He shoveled a large section of snow where we usually get standing water and presto, an instant skating rink. Sid took skating lessons last year so I was very excited to see how she was going to do. When we told her Dad built a rink she was ready to get out there and skate! Without any hesitation she started taking strides. She would fall to the ground and just push herself back up. After about 20 minutes Sid was skating lengths of the ice (about 15ft) and turning in circles. Anytime her feet would go out from under her, she would smile and get right back up. We are starting lessons again the first week of January so I was really pleased to see her smiling and enjoying it.
Once back inside we warmed up with hot chocolate and the Caillou Holiday Movie. It was a great afternoon. A little later on, Dr Sid decided Maggie was a bit sick but she was fixed up in no time.
The house is decorated and we have made all our card and presents and started wrapping the gifts for the pets. Now we wait for the big night. Here is an awesome video that is in the holiday spirit and worth watching!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo

Santa Clause is Going to Town

World Junior Team Canada inter-squad game

Sidney got a Santa hat on Friday as part of her advent calendar. She has been talking about wanting a Santa suit so the advent calendar fairies (!!!???) brought her the hat. We went to see the team Canada Juniors inter-squad game on Friday night so she wore her jersey and new hat. Late last night while coming home Sid was still talking about Santa bringing her a Santa suit so I told her she had one now that she had the hat. She didn't believe me so this morning I put together her Santa Suit. Sid helped me make the beard.

We had hours of fun, especially delivering presents to the dogs over and over again. We had to go into town (to Chapters) and Santa came along. Talk about getting a lot of looks. We arrived in Chapters, Santa Sid stripped off her coat and went right to the kids section. The first book she saw with Santa on the front she shouted "Look it's ME!". Fortunately I had convinced her to leave the beard in the car so it was just the red outfit with black belt and Santa hat. One person said "Oh you are so cute! What is your name?" She answered "I am Santa!!!" almost defensively. She is currently trying to convince me that she needs to have milk and cookies before bed, she makes me laugh so hard every single day.


In this clip she is checking to see if the dogs have been naughty or nice

Groovy says - never naughty, ALWAYS nice!

Snowshoeing Season is here

We had a big storm yesterday dumping 35cm of snow then some freezing rain with a little more snow on top. Today was the perfect first day for the snowshoes to come out of the shed. Sid got hers from Granny and Grandpa last year and was a pro the first time out on them this year. She did well in the snowshoes last year but would tire out and want to be carried. This year there is no stopping her!

We spent 2 hours out in the yard today snowshoeing and then sledding down the hill on the side of our house. Sid had a great time and Mom got a great work out walking down the hill and pulling Sid back up, over and over again!

Tis The Season

We are gearing up for the holiday season. Decorations are slowly starting to pop up and the tree will go up next weekend. For the first time since moving here we strung Christmas lights outside on our pine tree in the front and on the little one way in the back yard by the train tracks. We bought the Noma solar powered lights and I really like them. No extension cords and no increase in the hydro bill either.



Sid is right into the festivities this year and her favorite activity is our new advent calendar from Auntie Shae, Uncle Greg and baby Addison. It is the most beautiful and creative gift and I am floored by Aunt Shae's talent. We are deeply thankful for the thoughtfulness and joy it is bringing. Siddy is convinced that every night fairies come and fill the cups with treats. I explained that it was Mom and Dad and thought it was a good explanation until she told her Dad that only the Mom and Dad fairies bring treats, the baby fairies stay home (lol). Every other day we put a couple starbursts or skittles in and then on the other days I draw basic maps and have her search for little gifts like a new toothbrush, stickers and books. It has been so much fun and a family heirloom in the making.

We heard that Santa was going to be in town last week so we made the special trip to a mall in the west end and can you believe our luck? Sid got to meet Santa (who she now calls The Big Guy). This was the first year Sid sat on his lap and told him what she wanted for Christmas. She even brought her Rudolph for the visit because he probably was missing Santa.

Today we wrote Santa a letter and hope to get it in the mail later today. We think it will make it to the North Pole in time!

The snow and winter chill has hit us and unfortunately for the dogs they finally got their fall haircuts which will carry them through until March. With the temperature -22 (-29 with the windchill) they need some protection outside so I have pulled out the dog coats. They were pretty happy to see them once they realized the purpose. The only problem is that Maggie keeps ripping Groovy's coat off then sitting on it. Sibling rivalry between dogs????

Santa is coming!

Saturday night we went into town and saw the local parade. What a hoot! Lots of floats and some very over the top. My favorite was the antique fire engine pumping out so much fake smoke that you couldn't actually see the musicians playing on top. Of course the hit of the evening was the big guy himself, Santa. He arrived about 45 minutes after the start of the parade and it was just in time because we were starting to get a bit chilled. The family center was open for hot chocolate afterwards so we warmed up quickly.

Despite all the promising and swearing that I was NOT going to bake this year (because I eat it all!) I caved and made a batch of the most delicious spice cookies. I added the candied ginger this time and it was a really nice touch. It isn't the holiday season without at least one batch of spice cookies. Sid was a huge help this year and was the official pourer and ball maker. She actually made her cookie dough balls without licking anything. I had bribed her with the privilege of licking the bowl at the end though!

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar(I skip this part) before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.
*** 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger can be added for extra flavour***
Bowl licker available free of charge upon request.

Tonight we hit a huge milestone in family life. We played our very first card game! Mom, Dad and Sid played Go Fish with Sid's alphabet flash cards and she completely got the game. She actually won twice too! It was such a cool moment for me to see the three of us sitting around the table playing cards. Ahhhh the things to come!

Let it Snow!

It was a beautiful snowy day and perfect for playing outside. We spent almost 2 hours in the backyard this afternoon making snowmen, snow angels and catching snowflakes. It is so fun being able to be a kid all over again!

Despite the fact that it is Mom's very favorite colour, Sidney eyes just glow in the right shade of purple, I can't believe our luck! Poor Ken all he needs is more purple in his life :0)

This morning we awoke to another photo opportunity. It is a good thing I keep my camera on the dock all charged and ready to go. Sidney really wanted to see how much snow had come down overnight and so I opened the curtains shortly after 6:00 a.m. Maggie was still enjoying a nice sleep and was not about to move unless food was involved. I caught this picture and I am calling it Chairedale!

Today was pajama party day at school and Sid didn't seem to mind wearing her jammies all day. I am sure it is what contributed to her spontaneous afternoon nap on the couch. Perhaps every day should be pajama day? Tomorrow is Sid's big show at gymnastics, another great day for pictures and daddy will be there too. Here is a picture of Sid and Dad after Sid's music recital.

It's Going to be A Good Day!

I am not sure what Sidney is trying to tell me but this morning she got out of her bed, rummaged through her dress-up box and then came into our room and crawled into bed. I woke up to a mini clown in a multi-coloured wig and a blinking clown nose. I laughed so hard and then she told me she was wearing her goalie equipment just like mom! I don't know what she is trying to tell me but dad sure is having a good laugh over this. We went into the living room and Sid got herself some skates (plastic play plates) and played goalie.

Yesterday it was Charlotte's birthday party and Sid got to meet Cinderella! She and the birthday girl had a great time together and are really becoming good friends.

Today Sid has her music recital in music class and Dad is coming to watch. It is going to be so cute! She is very excited to be preforming in front of Dad, I am anxious to see how she reacts when she realizes that all the Dad's and Mom's are going to be watching! I will post pictures this afternoon.

We Love Freecycle!

Dad came home from work early on Thursday to put together our latest freecycle find. This is ranked in our top 10 best freecycle finds. Our list includes our swimming pool, train table, lanterns, patio stones, kids toys and books, water dispenser, toy bench, hedstrom horse etc. etc. Our newest find is Sid's new climbing structure. A generous family posted it on freecycle because they wanted to build a skating rink this year and didn't have enough room in their yard with the climber.

Dad drove the trailer there on Monday and took it all apart. Luckily it all fit in one trip. It took a while to put together and since the sun sets around 4:50 now Dad pulled out the generator and halogen light and worked away at it in the dark in -8 degree temps. What a trooper, the things you do for your kids!!!


Friday, despite being sick and it being quite cold out, Sid was thrilled to play on her new play park as she calls it. We are so happy to have been gifted this and have already returned the favor by freecycling a big box of toddler toys that a non-profit daycare wanted to pick up. By re-using, and recycling we are saving a bundle of money and saving our landfills too!!

This week Sid made me laugh again with her logic. We were in the grocery store in the drink aisle and she informed a woman who was shopping beside us that if a skeleton drinks water it would pour out of his eyes! I laughed so hard and agreed that it could happen and then Sid mentioned "that's a good observation eh?". Oh three is such a fun age!

A conversation with Sidney

Sid: Mom, pee starts with P.

Mom: Yes Sid, pee does start with P.

Sid: What does poo start with?

Mom: Poo starts with P.

Sid: NO! Poo, what does poo start with.

Mom (chuckling under her breath): Poo starts with P

Sid: MOM! Are you making a joke?

Mom (now laughing): No, the word Poo starts with the letter P not the pee from in your body. P the letter like in Pig, Pirate, Pizza and Pickle. P

Sid: OHHHHH! Poo starts with P. What does Wax start with?

Mom: Wax starts with a w it makes the sound wuh, wuh, wuh.

Sid: Oh, like road (pronounced woad) and restaurant (westaurant)

Mom: No, road and restaurant start with the letter R

Sid: Pirates say Arrrr and they start with a P!

This was a conversation Sid and I had in the car on her birthday. It's a keeper!

Backyard Science

Today was backyard science day. It was warm and sunny again so we went exploring and searching for Bearadales (bears that look like airedales according to Sidney). We found two! We also spent a lot of time in the mud and water and even had a visit from Via!

"Bet you don't have one of those in your backyard!"

We took a moment to stop by one of the three trees we planted when Sid was in mommy's tummy. They were planted in 2005 so theyare 3 years old too. It is a weeping willow and we can't wait until it is big enough to sit under and swing from!

Three!!!

Sid was so happy to wear her new coat and boots. She was sure to tell everyone she met that it was her birthday and when they wished her a happy birthday she said "Happy Birthday to you to!"

We cannot believe three years have already gone by. Sid started her big day by opening some gifts from Mom and Dad then we had a big family pancake breakfast together. Next it was off to gymnastics and then a lunch date with Nan-Nan. Lucky for Sid the festivities actually began on Tuesday when Uncle Rick took her to the Calico Critter store for her birthday shopping. She also got a new calico critter tea cup ride today from one of her school friends so she is busy, busy, busy playing.

After meeting Nan-Nan for lunch Sid picked put her own birthday cake and chose a fruit flan. She really wanted a cake with strawberries and a horse so we made it happen! We had a nice family dinner and a delicious cake. Great choice Sid!

After supper and bath, Daddy, Mommy, Sid and Groovy spent a good hour playing with the marble run. It was such a super birthday!

Sid sends her thanks to everyone for the lovely wishes, gifts and cards. She really felt loved and celebrated today and we thank you for enjoying our little girl with us.

Help Airedale Rescue of Canada!

Airedale Rescue here in Canada is trying to win 1000.00 through the animal rescue site. If you follow the simple directions below you can vote once per day for AireCanada Airedale Rescue and we might win 1000.00 this week.

Here is how:

Step 1 http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Step 2 Click on the Big Purple Button to donate a bowl of food

Step 3 Look for the Shelter Challenge on the side of the page and click on it

Step 4 In the Search Box, type Airedale for the name of the shelter -- nothing else

Step 5 In the Search Box, choose CAN as the country

Step 6 In the Search Box, choose BC as the Province

Step 7 Click on Search - thenWait

Step 8 Right below the search box, you will find the Vote button - click on that

Step 9 Identify the animal that shows up on the next page -- keep it simple, i.e., fish or sheep or lion or cow or squirrel

Thank you for helping us!

Yesterday November 9th, Sid the Kid and I drove 4 hours round trip to pick up a surrendered 10 month old Airedale puppy and deliver him to his foster family. He was taken to the vet to be euthanized by his owner and when the vet refused, the owner said he was going to open his door and let the dog go. This poor pup has spent the first and only 10 months of his life in a pen in the garage. No training and very little socialization. Like most Airedales, this has not kept the joy of life out of this crazy spinny Aireboy named Taz. He is very underweight at 42 lbs and from a puppy mill in Montreal (where else???!!!). He will need to be neutered, and needs some deworming. His wonderful foster family will house train him, groom him properly and see what this little guy is all about. Life just got a whole lot better for little Taz!

The rest of the weekend was very relaxed and Sid and I went to the big park with her bike for likely the last time this season. She really wants to skateboard and she was getting pretty brave with her running bike on the skateboard ramps.

After several attempts to ride up the ramps Sid decided to climb them instead. This made me breathe a lot easier!
TA-DA!!

Then off to the big park to climb and swing.

A "cool" moment Sunday morning with the cat Nookie.