Traditions - Part 2

Another special holiday tradition is the making of the famous gingerbread house. Last year Madelyne & I made the gingerbread house together so this year it was daddy's turn. Paul, Shawna and the boys came over and the festivities began. The daddy's took over the majority of the house building while Shawna & I entertained the kidlets and snacked on the decorating supplies (don't tell!).

Paul turned their lovely house in a Starbucks mansion and Matt and Madelyne created a snow covered cottage.

Both Matt and Paul decided that next year it will not just be a tradition but a competition! Since then I have researched many gingerbread house options and next year we will make one from scratch with homemade icing and "glue"!

Traditions - Part 1

One of my favourite traditions around the holidays is spending time in the kitchen doing some good ol' fashion baking. Shortbread, nanaimo bars, almond bark, bird's nest (or thumbprints), spiced nuts.....mmmmmmm yummy treats to fill our tummy's while visiting with family and friends.

This year Shawna and the boys came over and we spent the better part of one day making two different types of cookies - keep in mind we were also taking care for four kids ages three and under. We decided to try two recipes we had sampled at our Happy Housewives Christmas party: Chocolate Espresso Coffeebeans (a shortbread cookie) and Chestnuts (peanut butter balls). Both batches made a crazy amount of cookies - I think we averaged around 200 coffee beans and 250 peanut butter balls.

It was a fantastic day and a great tradition...as the kids get older it will be fun to see them get involved too.

A Visit With Santa

This year Madelyne and Emma (along with a number of other friends) got a very special visit from Santa. We were celebrating the Christmas season with some friends at a Christmas Brunch and what to our wondering eyes appears? But good old Saint Nick!

Both girls thoroughly enjoyed their visit with the big guy in red.......Madelyne received a Dora Alphabet game and Emma received a Veggie Tales DVD - good choices Santa!

The Spirit of Christmas

Okay, let's face it, sometimes when you hear about a free "family-friendly" holiday event you wonder........what am I getting myself into? Is this just going to be a cheese-fest with one dude dressed up as Santa on a stage strumming a guitar and playing a harmonica?!?!? Or, is it going to be an event done in excellence, celebrating the true meaning of Christmas with tons to do and the opportunity to make some family memories.

Well, I am so glad to share that The Spirit of Christmas @ TWU was most definitely the latter. A fantastic, FREE, family event with tons to see and do. And did I mention FREE?!?!?! We enjoyed a beautiful snowy Saturday afternoon taking in all the Trinity had to offer: crafts for the kids, free snacks (oranges, popcorn, candy canes, hot chocolate & apple cider), musical entertainment of all sorts, a petting zoo, a parade of trees & a live nativity scene.

We made the most of the day and spent a better part of four hours wandering around & with everything covered in a blanket of white it made everything feel that much more festive.

Madelyne getting her face painted as a lion.

The boys and the kidlets attempting the zoo!

Crafting it up - Matt & Madelyne make a snowflake crown.

Daddy and Emma-Bema! (the pink marshmellow)

Madelyne enjoying the bunnies at the zoo (This is my new favorite pic of Miss M)

Let's Celebrate! MB Style

Our first event to welcome in the Christmas season happened to be Matt's Christmas work party. For the most part, Mercedes does a huge sit down dinner in a ballroom with live entertainment, gift give-aways and dancing.....but not this year. This year found us at the Marriott hotel downtown Vancouver enjoying a more modern lounge style reception. The room was sectioned off into a few different zones all comprised of different food and various styles of seating.

Here's a few pics:

At one end we had: roast beef, buns & the fixin's, a mashed potato martini bar & a pasta buffet. The middle of the room had skewered chicken and lamb (with dipping sauces), assorted fine cheeses and crackers & fruit kabobs. The other end has Asian inspired dishes...sushi, spring rolls, spicy shrimp in pita bread & a few other appys. And last, but not least, my personal fav......the dessert buffet.....really, who could ask for anything more. Who needs dinner when you're got every kind of dessert a girl could every want?!?!

Even though we didn't walk away with any great prizes, it was a great date night with delicious food, a fun reason to get dressed up and a night out WITHOUT kids.

Showers of Blessings

With only days to spare before Auntie Jo was heading "up the creek" for pudding season, and only days after Cole's arrival, we were celebrating with a shower of blessing for Shawna and Baby Cole.

It was a fantastic night of great food, games, cuddles with Cole and lots of girl talk. The house was full of a wonderful group of ladies who all love Shawna and value having her in their life. Cole was blessed by his multiple "aunties" who hopefully will keep him dressed in style for the next little while. And Shawna's baking supply was bumped up as guests were asked to bring some holiday baking to help stock her freezer (and ease the holiday to-do list!).

Thanks to all who came to bless Shawna and celebrate the safe arrival of the newest Laderoute Lad!!!!

(I must share...the banner in the photo on the top right was made by Baker&Baker Creative Co. That's right ladies, my husband and I crafted it together - how 'bout that for a date night at home!!!!)

Mommy & Me Movie Night

As Madelyne gets older the things we can do seem to get that much more exciting!!!!!! Being that most of the time she has energy to burn, it's not too often that we find ourselves being able to relax and watch something on TV or even a movie. Just in the past while has Madelyne actually been able to sit still enough to watch an entire movie....so, one Saturday night early in November Madelyne & I had the first of many....

"Mommy & Me Movie Night"

The feature for this occasion was Charlotte's Web, which Madelyne and I both thoroughly enjoyed. Madelyne was careful to make sure we both had a buddy and a blanket with us on the couch. It was a night full of popcorn, fun, giggles, wide eyed wonder and a few cuddles (snuck in by mom here and there!). What a great way to spend the first part of a cold Saturday night.

I love you dolly, thanks for a great date!