Calvacade of Lights 2009

It is once again the Christmas season. We decided to take in some of the sights and sounds of the holidays here in Toronto. A couple of weeks ago, we went to our first Calvacade of Lights. Every year, the city of Toronto puts on a big show with the lighting of the Christmas tree at Nathan Philips Square (in front of city hall). The skating rink is all lit up and there is a free concert and fireworks show. We decided to take the girls downtown for supper and soak in some Christmas spirit.

We stopped by Dundas Square for the end of another winterfest. We caught the raptors show. (and no, not the basketball team). We saw a red hawk, a bald eagle, a great horned owl, a barn owl and another small bird of prey. It was very interesting but the girls were getting a little tired of standing around and having big kids butt in front of them so they couldn't see.

We went for a walk in the Eaton Centre and had supper at the food court. The place was packed! As we headed out on Queen St. to walk over to Nathan Philips Sq., we noticed a crowd of people over by the display windows of the Bay.

We continued on to Nathan Philips Square and found a spot behind the media baracade. We were there for the lighting of the Christmas tree, the concert and of course, the fireworks! The girls were tired after but we all had a great time.

check out the posted comment to a video link of the fireworks

Alia Loves Joke Books

We have a steady stream of jokebooks coming through the house thanks to Alia. Often she is telling us 'les devinettes'. This was last night's highlight!

Qu’est qu’il est en dessous l’eau, est vert et a des abeilles autour?

Un chou-marin ruche!

Words of Wisdom

Kyra helped me pull together the lunches this morning. Today on the menu: Fèves aux lards et saucisses. As I was filling the thermoses with hot lunch, Kyra was packing the other items I had laid out on the table.

Kyra: (referring to the edamame) 'Oh, j'aime ces haricots. Ils sont verts. Les fèves aux lards sont fait avec les haricots au chocolat.'

Maman: 'Les fèves aux lards sont fait avec les haricots au chocolat? Pourquoi tu dis ça?'

Kyra: 'Parce que les fèves aux lards sont bruns et délicieux, alors c'est au chocolat. Ces haricots (edamame) sont faits avec les haricots verts.'

Christmas is coming

This weekend we put up our Christmas lights outside. It was the perfect weather to do so. Definitely more pleasant than trying to string lights when it's -10. But don't worry. We won't turn them on officially until Dec. 1. Even I think Christmas lights in November is a little early. We are planning to put up our tree next weekend. Perfect timing for the beginning of Advent.

I can't believe how nice the weather has been this month. Usually I complain and complain all through November. I don't know if there have been records broken but the weather has been perfect. Not too cold. Just enough sun to keep one going. Only a handful of cloudy days.

Yesterday, the girls and I went shopping for winter boots. We are now officially ready for winter. Winter attire for family of 4 fits (for now)! Winter tires on the car. Sleds and shovels in garden shed for easy access. Extra gallon of windshield washer fluid in trunk of car. I hear that we might get flurries on Friday.

Crazy Forts -the best toy around

The girls this morning (along with papa) built a house, shower and cupboard included, using their Crazy Forts. Crazy forts is a fabulous toy. Santa delivered it last Christmas and the girls have fun building houses with them. I just realised we haven't taken them out since we moved in April.

Each kit comes with green sticks and purple plastic ball connectors. You then put them together anyway you like. All you add are sheets and covers from home and voilà! You have a fort. You can take it down and rebuild it in any shape you want. Both girls got a set last Christmas which helps make a bigger fort, perfect for a day of play for two (plus a Barbie or two)! They have already told me that they want to nap this afternoon in their house. Alia asked if they could have lunch in their house... I haven't decided yet if I will say yes.

If you are looking for a great toy that is battery-free and requires imagination and obvious assembly (!), Crazy Forts is awesome.

A Broken T.V.: A Curse or A Blessing?

Our t.v. is broken. I wonder how long I can keep it that way? The kids could use a break from Teletoon, YTV and Treehouse. (although I would like to watch this week's episode of NCIS.)

Maybe we will find some forgotten toys at the bottom of the cupboard this weekend!! Or maybe this will be a good weekend to clear out some toys from the house before Christmas!

'Low Fat Blueberry'

I would like to think that we are encouraging the girls to be curious about the world around them. We want them to explore their surroundings and ask questions. It is really interesting to watch them use their reading and reasoning skills as we go through our daily routine. Reading is not just for school or what one does with books. Reading is something we do everyday, whether we realise it or not. The girls are practicing their reading skills in the car, in the store, on the subway and on the cereal boxes (just to name a few).

This past summer, Alia was practicing her reading by reading all the subway stop names. She knows which stops to get off on the subway. (Not that I would test my theory anytime soon, but I think she could make it to Eric's work - nearest subway station - on her own!) She is also really good at reading street signs and directions. She has a natural built-in GPS and can often tell you which street we turned down to go to a friend's birthday party last spring!

Last week, the girls had their annual check-up (all's fine). On our way back to school, we stopped at Tim Horton's for a muffin snack to eat/take to school for recess snack. While I was standing in line, the girls were at the snack window deciding which muffin they were going to choose. Kyra sounded out and read for herself 'low fat blueberry'! Well, I was very impressed! She proudly announced that was the one she wanted. Not that she needs 'low fat' anything. I wasn't about to argue! You can read the label - you can have a low fat blueberry muffin.

All this to say, reading is fun! I am looking forward to our next wonder-full moment.

Where's My Coffee?

The girls have gymnastics on Mondays after school. Yesterday, after picking them up at school, I realised that I was missing some tortilla chips for the chili supper that evening. Figuring I had at least 20 extra minutes, we stopped at Longo's for a few items. Since they have a Starbucks in the grocery store, I figured this would also save me a trip to stop for coffee as well.

The lineup at the check out was a little longer than I had expected and so we were in a hurry leaving the store. I told the girls to quickly get into the car because we were going to be late for gymnastics. I had to wait to back out of the parking spot. Finally there was a break in the traffic and I pulled out. The driver waiting kept honking the horn.

"Look dude. I am backing out as fast as I can. Please be a little patient"

He kept honking.

"I saw you there. I didn't hit you or anything else. Ugh. Fool."

The crazy part of me started thinking what would happen if I had hit something and not stopped. I now had silly thoughts about the police showing up at the door accusing me of something I had not done. Whatever.

As we got closer to the gymnastics club, I felt around for my coffee.

Shoot.

"Girls, I think I lost my coffee. Alia, Kyra, is there liquid on the back windows?"

"Yeah! Maman!"

"Oh, Maman did a silly thing. I left the coffee on the roof of the car!"

There went my $5 Grande Espresso Chocolate Truffle light whip!

No wonder the driver in the parking lot was honking! Who's the fool now?

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Christmas is just around the corner. Yesterday, we all went down to see the Santa Claus parade make its way through the streets of Toronto. We were glad to arrive early enough to find a spot to plant the chairs we had brought with us. We were very surprised with the number of people already lining the sidewalks. It was a beautiful afternoon (cloudy but warm for November). We waited about an hour for the parade to start. Floats, clowns, marching bands, candy, horses (mounted police) and of course Santa himself!

Viva Las Vegas!

Eric and I are back from our weekend in Las Vegas. What a place! Today we are a little bleary-eyed and slow moving (they don't call it the red-eye for nothing)!! We had a great time sightseeing and people watching. We saw the Cirque du Soleil show 'O'. It was fabulous! It was just amazing to see not only the talent and skill but the technical genius of the show. Half the show was done in a pool with swimmers. The stage floor would rise and fall magically revealing the pool below, deep enough for the performers to dive, spin and twirl from the ceiling. Simply spectacular!

We were staying at the Bellagio. Eric had been attending a business conference at the hotel and extended his stay for our weekend.

We got to see the famous fountains during the day and at night several times. It was also nice to stay on the Strip since everything was walking distance (some sites involving more walking the others). During our three nights, we managed to walk the entire Strip, dodging the guys (and gals) handing out x-rated business cards. We visited all the main casinos and resorts and took lots of pictures. I now have 459 photos to sift through!!

The Bellagio also has a famous conservatory. We took a walk through and of course, took some pictures too!

During our second night, we timed our walk to coincide with the eruption of the volcano at the Mirage. There was plenty to see in LV.

Thanks Mom and Dad for taking care of Alia and Kyra this weekend! We love you! Thanks a million!

Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween!

We filled our day with pumpkin carving, toasting pumpkin seeds and making caramel apples!

After supper, we got ready to go trick-or-treating!

We started out as two cowgirls. Yiihaa! However, Kyra discovered that her hat kept blowing off and managing a lootbag and reigns were just too much. Since we were only three houses into our adventure, we decided to come home and make a quick costume change. Et voilà! Supergirl!!

Here we are checking and counting our loot! Yum!! Dentist appointment is in two weeks! Brush girls, brush!! ;)