Stop and smell the hibiscus!

Last Sunday, a pleasant and unexpected surprise occurred. I was feeling more tired than usual after putting the girls down. Marc usually covers this part after dinner while I clean up or take a moment on facecrack. I then go up and do the easy part (tuck them in, sing 2 songs and kiss them goodnight). It works for us. That particular Sunday was rough on the husband so I took over. I'll say this. Our kids really get wired and hyper as they get tired. We see the early signs around 5h00pm and things decline fast from there. By 6h00, we call it "the pumpkin hour". If I can manage to get dinner on the table before that, great! A blessing. The truth is, it rarely happens. We usually grind our teeth and count the minutes till bedtime. We're not bad parents, it's just that phase we're in. Right?

It doesn't matter who puts them down or if we do it together, getting the girls ready for bed is the equivalent of herding cats! The "get undressed and put on you PJs" followed by the "brush your teeth" routine is just so mind numbing. Every. Freaking. Night. That's 2920 nights of practice with our 8 year old!! Yet she and her sister always act as if it's their first time! It's like Groundhog Day again, and again, and again! So we repeat, raise the voice, physically guide them, remind them of what's going on, rinse and repeat till they stop straying or goof off and end up between bedsheets.

I don't know where his expression comes from but Marc usually confirms the accomplished mission by saying: "The girls are planted!" Like I said, I usually leave this to him. He has stronger nerves and Seargeant Bé (that's me), isn't pretty.

Back to Sunday, I'm getting to the point here. The girls were hyper and us adults were drained. It was still sounding like a zoo when I left their bedroom as I dragged my feet into mine. My plan was to resist the bed, recover for a minute, change into cocooning clothes, maybe grab a book and escape into a world of deep ocean, ragged island, secret passages and pirate treasure. Unfortunately, an annoying voice inside my head was nagging about the messy bathroom, piled up laundry, neglected dishes... You know the drill. I was sensing the pressure. Tension was rising. I just sat in my chair in a corner of our room (the only uncluttered one at the time), with my eyes closed and took a moment before deciding on my next move. I should specify that this corner, when tidy, is like my personal oasis. When sitting there I'm surrounded by plants that don't fit anywhere else, there is also a vintage pole lamp, a bit of artwork, a side table and lots of books. A cozy nook!

So there I was, zoning out, eyes still shut. When I opened my eyes, to my surprise, this beautiful red flower was staring at me right in the face and somehow went unnoticed! It came from my hibiscus who had seen better days during the summer. A gift from my father.

Stunned, I just sat there and stared at the beautiful bloom for a while. I even smiled. How could I not? My hibiscus was recovering from a bug infestation, it had lost so many leaves since the indoor transition and was slowly healing in our room. This flower was far from subtle. Not only it was repaying me for the care I gave, it was a sign (as clear as daylight), telling me to chill the fuck out (pardon my French). I studied it in the low light and eventually felt relaxed. From there I moved on to more comfortable clothes, went downstairs to join my husband on a cluttered couch and watched what we considered a fun flick before heading to bed. I guess that was my moment to stop and smell the roses. To enjoy what I had (quiet time with my guy) instead of stressing over obligations and building resentment. Plenty of time for that later! I just hope my tree reminds me more often.

Also, hibiscus don't smell but they sure are pretty! Here it is in it's full bloom the morning after. Such a gift! :)

Advent calendar fun

When I look at the girls' advent calendar, I won't lie, I get stressed. All those little open windows remind me that the days are just flying by! In fact time is flying so fast that this new pic below is already dated by 2 days. I started this post 2 weeks ago but pushed it to the side for other activities. Some were good, some were me just having issues. I'm recovering from a long and nasty depression and I'm still feeling fragile. I'm slow by nature but now I'm even slower. I struggle with focus, simple decisions and block things out when I have too much on my plate. Great timing for the Holidays right? It's okay, I take it slow! ;) Maybe too slow but based on the many notes I wrote in the last few years to future me, I'm right on time with things. I feel like this calendar is rushing me and rubbing it in but it's a busy time of the year and keeping track of the dates is important so I'll let it go. I'm ok. Go ahead calendar, keep me up to date.

Of course, focusing on a blog post instead of shopping, or making pie crust sure doesn't help but somehow it makes me feel better. I wanted to talk about this advent calendar. It is a very special present we received 5 years ago from a really close friend of the family. I love getting surprised by the fun note that came with it which we taped in the back. It's a good thing we did because somehow we always forget. I was pregnant with my youngest when we received this and she could only be referred to as "Peanut" but I forgot about that. I like that this note reminds me. Thank you Jo-Ann for what will surely become a heirloom.

The truth is, as much as we loved it, we would often forget to use it or kept struggling with last minute ideas to fill it. We were so used to the cardboard ones with the little chocolates inside that it was hard to get into the habit of this design. We decided that this year would be different. Marc pulled it out of our basement early enough and after the holidays are done, I plan on storing it ceremoniously on the top shelf of our pantry right next to the other treasures I save for the holidays. Before December first, we bought little bags of good chocolates. For a low cost there was enough to fill this calendar with leftovers for the next year! Except, I should have known better. After the girls were sent to bed, Marc opened the bags to sample... Doom. We managed to save the Kinder-eggs and saved the girls a few good Lindt chocolates but the rest went in our bellies. The shame.

Back to the store. This time I saw an opportunity to do it the fun way and headed to the brand new local Dollarama to see my options. I have mixed feelings about that place but the wallet decided to embrace it. I knew I would find variety without spending too much. I admit I had a lot of fun shopping for it and kind of got lost in there for hours. I'm slow! In the end I was quite pleased with my selection, the bill and the fact that I have extras for next year! ;) Some items were chosen specifically for hanging in the tree on the day that we would decorate and some were chosen for crafts on the weekend. I tried to diversify to break the monotony, to cheer up Monday mornings or the middle of the week.

The loot included: Rainbow sugar canes, 2 Hello Kitty mini-figures, a craft kit to make 2 felt snowmen, 2 glass snowmen ornaments containing styrofoam snow, jiggly/rubbery bears that blink and shine when hit, squishy snowmen stickers, candy rings, fun erasers, fancy tapes for crafts or to decorate, 2 Lego mini-figures, gold coins and other chocolates.

I found the mini Lego and Hello Kitty figures at the local pharmacy of all places. They were between $3.00 to 4.00 each and were considered a splurge (especially when bought in pairs). I could have gone without and I don't think I'll do that each year and the girls know it but it was fun! Homemade items would have been just as nice and little love notes too. The girls would have loved it but my nerves, not so much. Did I over do it? Maybe but so far the reactions were worth it. It's amazing how an eraser or one sticker can brighten a morning and start a conversation. I made sure to alternate the trinkets with chocolates. The result, a fun box full of surprises with no more last minute stresses to fill them. 

Most of this will be forgotten but a few will be remembered. Like these little snowmen the girls had to put together while Marc and I slept in. What a sweet deal that was! When we came down that morning, our little Évangéline was proud to show us what they discovered and created. Geneviève her older sister helped her figure what to do with it and as much as I would have loved to be there to see it, I like that this was their little moment. It was worth eating all the chocolates for that! ;)

Just like the merry expression on this little guy's face, I'm wishing you all a good time (with a good side of crazy), at getting ready for the big day. It's time for me to jump on my list of things to do so if I'm not back here soon, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy New Year! :)