Santa love...

Found this under the tree sometime BEFORE  presents were opened on Christmas morning

Yes kiddo, there is a Santa Claus

I had a long talk with my eldest in the wee hours of this morning.

He kept me company as I sat feeding his sister while the rest of the household slept. He looked like he was turning something over in his mind, some puzzle he was trying to figure out on his own.

Mom. I want to believe in Santa Claus, but Daddy is making me feel like maybe... He's confusing me! He tells me he exists, the he says things to make me think maybe he doesn't exist!

My husband, as it turns out, isn't very good at keeping his story straight. Clearly there must be some kind of coordination between Santa and the 'rents, but it seems the Santa-Parents connection has been less than consistent of late, leaving my son to wonder if he's being "led down the primrose path". Did I get that Polar Express reference right?

Just like the little boy in the Polar Express, my son is at the age where the magic could be at an end. We've known this day was coming, and while we have no intention of fooling our son... how can I tell him Santa doesn't exist?

I can't take that magic away from him when I... I still believe in the magic.

That's right. There's a part of this grown-up that still believes in Santa Claus.

The way I look at it (and the way I explained it to my son) what's Santa about?

• Generosity of spirit
• Justice
• Hope
• Sharing
• Community
• Love
• with a dash of Miracle

If that's what Santa represents, I don't see any harm in keeping the faith alive in a little corner of my heart.

I mean we all know the media can blow things out of proportion, don't we? Stories take on a momentum of their own and details get fuzzy... distorted... blown out of proportion.

Maybe instead of travelling the world, Santa only travels a small portion of the world and hopes to inspire by example.

Maybe he isn't around in flesh and blood anymore. But who's to tell me that I can't take comfort in knowing that somewhere, in some time, Santa exists.

Nobody. That's who! Because I know for sure he exists. And I hope he always lives right here in my heart.

Close... but no cigar

Meant to post this yesterday but had 2 kids down with stomach flu, and REALLY had to concentrate on getting them better before Christmas!


Hi all my wonderful, darling bloggy peeps. Guess what...

We didn't win. On the last day, we took over 3rd spot from what I can tell, but PBD wasn't bound by number of votes, and awarded the 3rd prize to someone else. It's all good though, because we did WAY better than I thought we would and I am so so grateful to you for making it as fun and exciting as it was.

And don't go hating on PBD either because I knew up front that the ultimate decision was hers, (but I was kinda hoping that votes counted.)

Top 5 doesn't exactly suck, ya know! Give it up for TOP 5! Yay!

Anyhoo, so remember that thank you gift I had for one of you lucky peeps?

Well I got a winner for ya....

That would be none other than...

Being Me from Mothers Always!

I am so happy to be able to send these to you (all the way in Singapore!) with gratitude and the warmest Christmas wishes.

Being Me visits me every single day and I love hearing from her by way of her heartfelt comments and our exchange of emails.

There are so many of you that I would really love to send something small from my heart to yours, but unfortunately finances do get in the way.

But to all of you, Thank You, for being awesome company and for making me laugh and think, and encouraging me this past year.

Happy Holidays!

Sundays In My City - Trini Christmas (Part 2)

What Christmas would be complete without a trip with the kids to the local mall to see the gorgeous decorations?

Their Christmas tree is spectacular every year.

I love that the design incorporates local elements such as the stately palm trees...

...alongside the gorgeous poinsettias. (I guess the reindeer do make it this far south?)

And look! On exit, there's the roadside vendor selling Sorrel.

Sorrel is a local flowering herb, and these purplish flowers are harvested late in the year and used to make a delicious drink that is inextricably linked to Christmas.

The flowers are boiled with ginger and cloves and,

after being left to steep for some time, the liquid is drained off and sweetened.

In a word... Delicious! In another word, Refreshing!

I love the childrens' Christmas Pageants every year...

On Christmas Eve, it is customary to attend one of the many church services (not everyone can make it to Midnight Mass.)

And on Christmas morning, we wake early to just spend time as a family - sharing time, sharing presents and of course, good food!

What's Christmas like in your City?

Happy Holidays!


Wishing you a season filled with 
Love
Joy 
and Peace!

Did I ever tell you...

Did I ever tell you about my little boy?

This one

He's a crafty lil fella. And by that I mean, he keeps stacks of these around the house.

Because he's constantly making these

which turn into these

(that's a crown, made of wrapping paper, fit for a Queen thankyouverymuch)

Sometimes he sits quietly making these

And sometimes he asks you for a straw and returns with one of these

(For the uninitiated that'd be a straw, masking tape, and shoebox paper he's recycling)

This Christmas he wants one of these

and one of these

Maybe one day he'll be designing one of these

We got the first one covered. If you'd like to help us win the Crayola Set for him, please go here and leave a comment voting for Number One!

Vote for Me! Up to Once a Day!

Come on peeps - I don't make demands of you, and I'm fairly easy-going.

So THIS ONE TIME would you do me a HUGE favour and

VOTE FOR MY KIDS!

That's right! The kiddos are entered in parenting BY dummies Merry Effing Christmas Contest. Boy the Younger would love to win 3rd prize for an awesome Crayola set. But really, a decent top 5 showing is all I ask.

All you have to do is

• click on this link and 
• leave a comment voting for NUMBER ONE! (See, we're already number 1! We just need to make sure PBD knows it too!)

You can vote ONCE PER DAY between now and December 18th. (All votes must be in by 6pm on the 18th!)

HAVE YOU VOTED TODAY?

Of Tortoises and Hares (not really) and other stories

Boy we are getting run over in this race. First and second place is all but set in stone and, well clearly they have a plethora of readers, and they keep coming back every day to rub it in our faces! BOO! Shhhhhh. I mean... Boo!


It's all in good fun though, and I thank all of you who voted for saving us, well ME, from the embarrassment of getting no votes I was sure I was going to face.

We actually haven't done that badly, and up to yesterday we seemed to be in fourth place. So thanks again to everyone who voted, and remember you can still vote once a day until Friday afternoon. I'm still going to need your help to stay in fourth place!

*****

And in other news... In case you missed it, go here, and put your name right there if you want to be the one selected to win two lovely necklaces from Happy Haven.

*****

I feel so domesticated these days having taken back up crochet! I decided way too late that I would give some handmade Christmas presents. There's no way I'm going to be able to juggle everything and get any big projects completed now, but it's ok because now that I remember what's involved I'm going to start planning much earlier next year. I stumbled on Ravelry.com and am loving the patterns and tools they offer. Yarns and threads are so limited here, I decided to check out eBay and found such gorgeous stuff! They should arrive on Friday and I am sooo excited for them to get here!

*****

My brats darling boys are going to sleep later and later, and the only way I'm getting them to actually fall asleep at a decent time is to pretend to be mad and be all stern and mean. Sigh. Even bribing them with "Santa's not going to stop at this house if yall can't make it to bed on time..." - nada.

How are you dealing with pre-Christmas excitement? What are you doing to maintain bedtime?

With thanks

As I think about all that my family has been through in the past year, I know that we have so much to be thankful for.

We've lost the security of full-time jobs, but we've managed to keep going, keep the bills paid, and keep the family happily going strong.

We've had a son diagnosed with Aspergers and experienced the shock that comes with that initial diagnosis. But we've found support that works for us.

We are thankful for good amazing friends, and great family, and we know that we are truly blessed.

I feel personally blessed to have found the community and creative outlet that I have found in blogging and to all my bloggy friends - I want to say a special Thank You to you this holiday season.

I love that you guys follow me not because there's a chance to win something, but because there is some connection you feel to the experiences and sentiments I express here in my little corner of the blogosphere. To you, I offer a little token of my appreciation during this season of thanksgiving and sharing. I'd love to give something to each of you, but my little pockets don't run quite deep enough. Yet. :-) 

So to one of you, I will be sending two beautiful necklaces from 

Happy Haven's Etsy store.

She has lots to choose from, from inspirational thoughts

 

to the whimsical

 

the beautiful

 

and popular characters

 

Keep them for yourself, or give them to a special friend, or to a child on your gift list.

Whether you follow in your reader or by twitter, subscribe by email or read in facebook, you're eligible. Whether you're in Singapore, the UK, the US, Trini... Wherever! You're eligible.

If you're interested, please leave me a little comment below letting me know you're a good sport. :-)

I need to have you post a comment confirming you're interested, because you will need to share your address with me. Me choosing from you on my own might make that a little awkward!

Special request: Not necessary, but my kids will thank you!

Vote up to once per day for my kiddos' photo in PBD's contest, where they have the chance to win great Christmas prizes. (Boy the Younger has his heart set on the Crayola set.)

HOW?

* Just leave a comment on PBD's site, saying "Vote for #1!".
* Then come back here and leave a comment so I know.

Each comment counts as an extra entry.

I will choose an entry using Random.org on Friday 18th Dec at midnight so you have until then to leave me a comment or comments.
(I will make every effort to get the items to you by Dec 24th.)

Happy Holidays everyone!

More Trini Christmas Spirit!

This video makes the song even funnier, and I think it's already hysterical!
If you can't make out the accent (it gets pretty fast in places) just let me know and I'll put up the lyrics for ya...

Enjoy!

In case you didn't catch it, he's complaining that no matter how good he is, every year he only gets socks and drawers (underwear)!


Don't forget to vote for my babies! Click HERE and leave a comment saying "I vote for #1!" Thanks!! :-)

Sundays In My City - Trini Christmas (Part 1)

It's Christmas in Trinidad!

My favourite time of the year. I kid you not, there are some decorations that never come down because my husband (who may love Christmas even more than I do) tries to keep the Christmas Spirit alive in our house all year round...

There's so much tradition here that surrounds this time of the year. You get wrapped up in food and music and friends and family. Even though the seasons don't change for us... there's just something special in the air!

Pastelles and Ponche de Creme

No self-respecting Trini household can be without pastelles at Christmas. Because as soon as your guests walk through the door - it's the first thing they're looking for!

It's basically a small cornmeal pie, wrapped and steamed. The filling is cooked minced meat (beef, chicken or pork) mixed with capers and raisins and olives - or any variation you like. Wrap that all in a cornmeal "skin" and steam it. Keep it from drying out by steaming and storing wrapped in a banana leaf, and you can freeze these babies for months.

And to wash it all down - a nice glass of ponche-de-creme. Depending on whether you're a believer in the French or the Spanish origin of this yummy spiked egg-nog there are different variations on the name (punch-a-creme, punch-a-crema, punch-a-cream) but any way you say it, it means delicious!

My mother's aunt makes the best pastelles EVER! Don't even come try to test, cos you're going DOWN Bobby Flay Throwdown style! These are not hers, these are my darling husband's. Have I mentioned that he's the best cook and keeps our tummies nice and happy all year round? Oh yeh!

You start off with strip of banana leaf, and roll out the cornmeal mixture in the middle.

Spoon in your filling. It doesn't have to be meat, although it traditionally is.

Growing up I hated raisins in mine and used to pick them out. Now I LOVE them. Still not fond of the olives. :-(

Once your filling is in, fold one side of the banana leaf  over, so your cornmeal begins to make a little pocket for the filling. Kinda like a cornmeal envelope.



Do the same thing on the other 4 sides so the filling is totally enclosed in cornmeal.

 Wrap the entire pastel in the banana leaf and steam in a colander over a pot of boiling water. (Some people tie them with twine and boil them).

These accompany breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are BELOVED.

Next time around I'll tell you about our homemade wine and sorrel. But for now, I'll leave you with a local song telling you all about Christmas in Trinidad - Trini Christmas is D Best!

Okay one more... A favourite of mine. I absolutely love this song. Sung by Sharlene Flores (but not originally by her) it's called Burbujas de Amor, and it's on constant radio rotation during the holidays.

This is part of Unknown Mami's Sundays in My City. Go visit her and travel the world to visit Sundays in other cities!

Merry SITSmas!

May the warmth of the holiday find you, 
bearing gifts of peace and love to you and yours, 
no matter where you are…

Merry Christmas 

I only wish this was the view from my house! 

To all my readers, and to all my peeps stopping by from SITS, I hope that this holiday season brings time for reflection... May you find moments to warm your heart in the midst of all the commercialism, and may the memories you make be ones to treasure always.

TAGGED!

I was tagged by my girly Momma Such over at RaisingMy4Sons.com...
Since she's such a sweetie, I thought I'd give it a try. So here goes.

1.) Have you started your Christmas shopping? 
Just barely. I'm usually pretty good about shopping early, but this year I'm just so BUSY!
I remember being done with ALL my shopping by the time December rolled around. This year, I will probably find myself in the Mall on Christmas Eve. :-(

2.) Tell me about one of your special traditions.
We light Advent candles in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Every Sunday we light the Advent candle for that week, and read a story together about the theme for that week. I think we'd be lost in the sea of commercialism that Christmas has become if it wasn't for this. Thank goodness the kids are still into it. I hope they always will be.

3.) When do you put up your Tree?
Well we don't have Thanksgiving here, so our tree usually goes up at the end of October. It's definitely up by the end of November. Now as for when it comes down....

4.) Are you a Black Friday shopper?
Online, yes. While I lived in the States, I never made it out to Black Friday sales, although I did take part in the sales the week right after Thanksgiving.

5.) Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
Home, home, home. I love to be home for Christmas. I'd love to not leave my house for Christmas. I think it's a time for making memories, and I love spending it with my kids.

6.) What is your funniest Christmas memory?
Don't have one. Or.. can't think of one. NEXT!

7.) What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
LOVE ACTUALLY! (Polar Express for the kids) NEXT!

8.)Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?
YES YES YES! I always bake Christmas cookies. All kinds of Christmas cookies. From scratch.
And we always bake fresh and leave some out for Santa on Christmas Eve. (Yum).

9.) Fake or Real Tree?
Fake. This is the tropics.

10.) What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Nah, I don't panic about it. What doesn't get done doesn't get done. But I usually manage to get the key stuff done without too much stress.

11.) Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Every. Single. Year. (Yawn)

12.) What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
I love Christmas morning. I love to see those little sparkly eyes when they open their presents, and when we all sit down to breakfast together. Ahh good times. Til somethin' breaks.

13.) What Christmas craft do you like the best?
I have to confess I am very lame at getting the Christmas craft done. I depend on whatever they do at school and that gets put on the tree. We do bake together though. I think that should count. :-)

14.) Christmas music. Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?
YES! Depends on the mood. Don't have a favourite.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping?
Pffff. Not like it's a plan, but I'll probably be done on Christmas Eve just cos I won't have finished it all before then!

I have to tag 5 more people, so I think I'm going to pick on these 5 ladies and hope that we don't become fast ex-bloggy friends. :-)

1. Peeling an orange with a screwdriver. 
2. this blessed life 
3. Adventures of WannaBe SupahMommy 
4. How to Become A Cat Lady... Without the Cats 
5. I'm Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor 

Come on ladies - humour me a little and let me see your answers!

Don't forget to say Hi to Momma Such!