That was a quick December

Wow... Did December just come and go in a snap of a finger? Sure seems like it to me!
Or maybe it's because of the lack of sleep I'm getting that every day seems like one big long day to me??? :)

There were a lot of fun and interesting things that happened in December, hence why the lack of posts.

First, our wonderful friends Pat and Jim Crichton were married at the end of November. Norm and I travelled to Windsor to celebrate the day with the lovely couple. It was the first time we left Evan overnight (at my sister's) and the first time Norm and I would have a 'night' together in a long time.



My dear sister was gracious enough to watch the kids from Thursday evening into Saturday afternoon. Evan still hasn't mastered the "sleeping through the night" thing so that's two nights of broken sleep for her and my BIL Terry. Haha  Poor Karen and Terry... but they were such troopers. We truly appreciated their kindness in watching our kids for us.

My wedding date. Classic bathroom pic!

Jim & Patricia Crichton!!!!

Then on the Sunday of that wedding weekend, we had our work Christmas party for the kids to go to. This is the first time Ericka saw Santa and didn't cry while on his lap. We have some classic photos from years past of her doing just that.  Not this time! Hallelujah!  Well, we do have to give special thanks to Santa for coming down to the floor and making it a bit more comfortable for Ericka to get close to him. Evan was SO good. Didn't make a peep.  It's just that in this photo, he's going after Santa's bells, so he was more interested in that than having a good picture snapped.

A somewhat happy Ericka around Santa this year!

So, I've never ever made shortbread cookies before ... until just a couple of weeks ago! Wow, why didn't anyone ever tell me it was super easy? Mine had 4 ingredients. Holy! Just 4!!! I will post a recipe soon. I know shortbread cookies are designated for the holidays.. but seriously, these are so good that you should be able to eat these delicious things all year round.

whipped shortbread cookie

December means holidays and parties and here is a photo of Norm & I at our work Christmas party (for adults).  My sister and her family came down from Kitchener to watch the kids for a couple of hours while we had dinner and caught up with co-workers at the party.

work Christmas party

But don't let this photo of us fool you.. we look happy and healthy, but hours later, I would be spending most of my night next to the toilet puking up all my dinner + whatever else my stomach wanted to reject. I thought I had food poisoning because Norm was fine... but then the wee hours of the night, Norm ran to the bathroom and started puking. Actually, the whole house was puking something. We ended up getting the 24 hour bug. After the Sunday passed, we were all back to normal and eating normal things again.

Speaking of eating.. I tried a new sushi place with my friend Jennifer (@labtech67) called Conception Sushi on Wellington Rd in London. FANTASTIC sushi!!
My mouth is drooling looking at this picture! Yum!

I can't get enough of sushi. More sushi please!!!!!

And continuing with food... I also tried these holiday treats. Pretzels, hershey kisses and smarties (or use M&M's as toppers).  It was so quick and easy to put together and a nice sweet & salty treat!

Pretzels + chocolate=heaven in my mouth

Christmas day was a great day! We spent the morning portion of our day opening presents at home with the kids. I think Ericka still felt a bit overwhelmed with the whole gift opening and all the new toys as she's still pretty young to understand the whole Christmas thing. She knows Santa brings good girls and boys toys but I just don't think she "gets it". Ah, next year!!

In the afternoon, we went over to my sister's place to hang out and of course, the kids got into "Gangnam Style". These 3 cousins love dancing to the music video. It's always a good time watching Alexis and Emi dance with the video while Ericka jumps around pretending to do the moves.

Oppa Gangnam Style!!

And dinner time is hosted by my mom at her place (just 4 doors down). Prime rib beef, delicious ribs, shrimp, noodles, and lots of other yummy foods were had by all.

I start back at work later this week so I have mixed emotions about it. It was my choice to go back early but I think in the end, it will help me be a better mom to Ericka and Evan. Daycare has been a blessing for the kids and I can't wait to see them thrive more as they attend more through out the year.  We started daycare at the beginning of December for Evan so he could get use to it while mommy was still home and he just loved it. So happy to find an awesome daycare centre with such wonderful teachers in each class.

As 2013 arrives, we'll be busy planning Ericka's 3rd birthday and Evan's 1st. I don't think we're going to go all out on birthdays. They're still very young to understand. Norm and I have discussed the idea of going to Niagara Falls again and checking out another water park for Ericka's birthday.. and for Evan, just a low key family get together... if that. I know it's important to celebrate a child's first, but it can get overwhelming. Not for the parents, but for the child. After experiencing Ericka's 1st birthday party, clearly parents are just doing these parties for themselves. We still have a few months to decide how to go about Evan's birthday... so we'll see what we come up with.

Until the next time... Happy New Year's and wishing YOU a wonderful 2013!!

The kids playing with one of their gifts from Santa.