Portable North Pole

A friend of mine forwarded this to me and I have to say I am so impressed. It sets a high standard for Santa to continue for years to come :)


http://santa.sympatico.ca/watch/21f250577baf8608bdcc0c95734d0742

Pulling an all nighter of a different kind

Yes I remember the days of studying into the wee hours, thinking how smart I was and how great the test would go but forgetting the part about the eyes burning because they were so tired and actually an allnighter never really garnered any fantastic marks that I can recall...well those days are long gone thank ali but tonight I am up late once again making cookies for my kids classroom parties tomorrow. I do this every time, instead of being organized and making something ahead of time I leave it til the last moment and boom ba da bing it's midnight and I am still in cookie/cupcake icing mode.

When will I learn???

Here is a peek at the late night creations I speak of...Gingersnap cookies..very tasty if I do say so myself, of course the first batch I made I misread the instructions and baked them for 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes...those little gems were as hard as a rock. Hailey was pretty cute about it though..as she was trying to chisel her way through one she exclaimed how great they were and yes she was being serious...too funny. I am happy to report the next two batches turned out just right :)

Mom you make me sad

Last Saturday Greg and Logan were off at a hockey game while Hailey and I relaxed at home. After the boys got home Greg decides to tell me that Logan and him had been off shopping for my xmas present and had bought it. Which is good and all but maybe he shouldn't be telling the person who he has been married to for 14 years and knows good and well that I hate not knowing what is under the tree for me...I will peek into gift bags if the urge strikes me when no one is watching. So in true Nicole fashion I corner Logan once Greg has headed back downstairs and ask "what did you and daddy buy me for Christmas?" His little face just completely drooped and these sad eyes looked up at me and he said "mommy why are you asking me this"? Well I instantly felt like a heel...I gave him a hug and told him that he should keep that secret and I wouldn't ask him again. With that he continued on his way but I was left feeling like a real jerk and I think that maybe just maybe in that one short instant he has cured me of my bad habit for good.

On a happier note we did get the tree up and decorated for 2009 :) Now if I could just get all the baking done I would be one happy camper.

Seattle Seattle Seattle...

After just spending a week in beautiful by the sea city of Seattle I am torn at being happy to be home or not. I missed the kids but wished I could have stayed longer...I did consider taking the kids with us but with the upcoming trip to Cabo we are taking in February, the kids will be missing school then as it doesn't fall during the school spring break...cause we are smart like that. So Seattle was kinda of out the question.
What did we do in Seattle you ask???
Well while Greg slaved away at his Microsoft course I happily shopped at Borders, Barnes and Noble, Coldwater Creek, Nordstrom, Macy's, Loulou Lemon, Helly Hanson, Romas, Souvenir shops, Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee. I am sure I missed a shop or two but you get the idea.

When Greg's course was over for the day we would walk around downtown looking for a great place to eat...some of the places we found were:
The Taphouse - over 160 brews on tap...wow!
Rock Bottom Brewery -lots of home made beer
Ivar's Fish house - best fish and chips in the world :)
Sazerac's - our hotel's restaurant
Tulio's - great Italian food
Palamino's - great hummus

We did take in a few touristy views also. The Space Needle, Ride the Ducks, walked along Pier 54 and the Science Fiction and Hall of Fame Museum.

My one regret was not taking in Irving Berlin's White Christmas production at 5th Avenue Theatre, don't know why we didn't but there was just so much to see and do. Maybe next year we will take in a show.

Halloween howls again

Could not let October pass by without showing a few pictures of the kids from Halloween night. My little ghostbuster Venkman and a monach butterfly. Logan is usually a hard sell when it comes to dressing up as anything other than a super hero but luckily this year he was on board with the whole ghostbuster theme...probably did not hurt that we watched the movie and got him all pumped up about it. Hailey actually thought she might like to be a ghostbuster too but we had already bought the butterfly costume. Oh well there is always next year.

What to do on a snowy day

Not sure what you do but this is what I did...




and this




and this



and finally this



and I couldn't resist this animation :)



Hope the sun comes out tomorrow :)

Stargazer lilies and Baby's breath

Fourteen years ago today I wed my closest friend , I use the word closest because I feel like the word "best" is over used.
The one man in this world who can make me laugh so hard unnatural sounds squeak out of me. Not too sure if that is a good thing or not :)
Two kiddos and a lifetime later we are still holding on with both hands and in this mess together and by mess I mean life :)
Love you babe