A Photogenic Season

A new year has arrived with brilliant sunshine, crisp snow, blue skies and friendly trees.

The days leading to January 1st always force me to reflect on the previous year and to start making plans for the new one.

I decided to tackle this year by seasons and write out simple intentions that I plan to follow. Not only is it a much more realistic accessible method than yearly resolutions (or intentions), but it's also a shorter commitment and can be adapted/developed/scratched off for the following seasons.

Winter Manifesto 2013 for the Khouri-Parham trio:

-Chill in the living room 30 minutes before Margot's bedtime. No computers. Reading, writing, knitting, music allowed.

-Once a month: visit a museum or attend a cultural activity.

-Once every two weeks Twice a month: walk/hike in the snow in Gatineau Park or other conservation area.

-Once every two weeks Twice a month: make soup.

Simple enough.

I'm still formulating my own intentions and will share if you wish to read them.

Note: All pictures were taken on the Sugarbush Trail in Gatineau Park on this chilly and cloudless morning (Jan.1, 2013). Going for a walk is such an invigorating way to begin the year (and I'm sticking to my Winter Manifesto!)

When it's cold outside...

We go to the museum!

The National Art Gallery:

The Canadian Museum of Nature:

A Happy Solstice to All!

Waking up to snow

Oh! Jack Frost! You came with a bang in all your glory today. SNOW DAY!!! Even though I'm done teaching for the semester (hence, I don't have to drive to work), I still get excited when I see snow in the early morning and can't get back to bed. To top off the enthusiasm, Simon worked from home. YEAH!!!

Shovelling with a rake goes twice as fast... hum...

Frosty

Hug in the snow

Lunch for the birds

Extra food for the chickadees.

Amazing socks! Stood outside taking pictures for about 3 minutes and did not feel cold at all. Truly!

 My moment: Doing a meditation practice in the early morning (before 7am) with Margot quietly sitting on my lap. Bliss!

Casse-Noisette

Went to see The Nutcracker yesterday. With Margot. It was the first time she ever attended a live performance. It was a success!!! I am just so impressed by her ability to sit and watch and be attentive and applaud. Wow! Who knew the attention span of a 2.5 year old could be so long? I certainly didn't.

Here's what we did right:
-Picked the right time: 4:30pm show (not too late)
-Chose a small theatre (instead of the "oh ever so popular NAC") with good seats, next to the aisle.
-The nature and length of the ballet (2 hours with intermission)
-Willing to leave after the intermission. We really kept that option open, but didn't need to leave.
-Brought snacks.
-Invited Noa, Jason & Eve. With company, everything is more exciting! (especially when Noa exclaimed to Margot "C'est Batman!" when some guy in a bat suit danced across the stage and gets killed a few moments later by the nutcracker. There was no rat fighting scene in the version we saw.)

The magic: watching Margot's face during the ballet. Priceless.

(unfortunately, I didn't bring the camera so I didn't capture the pre-show and intermission moments)

Tree and Pomegranates

This is our tree, decorated Margot-style. Awesome!

Wrong season, Margot!

My favourite Winter fruit. I grew up eating pomegranates (patiently peeled by my dad) at least a few times a week. Back then, it was an unpopular fruit (I was the odd kid out). And now, pomegranates have achieved celebrity status.

When we went to Granada (Spain) in 2006, we actually saw pomegranate trees. How cool is that!

J'aime Gymnastique!

Margot finished her gymnastics course yesterday.

The facts:
-A 11-week course, once a week, from 3:30 to 4:10pm on Thursdays.
-Offered through the City of Gatineau and Unigym Club.
-Her group, Les fourmis (the ants), was a parent and child group (18 to 30 months).

My thoughts:
-It's a loud activity. Do kids really need that much stimulation at the end of a day? Hum...
-The instructors were excellent. High school-aged girls who were enthusiastic and great with young kids.
-Some parents are really annoying: too involved in their child following the "circuit", not butting in line,  doing things properly,etc.   Others are relaxed and laissez-faire (I fit in the latter). Surprisingly there were as many moms than dads.
-When I signed up Margot, I naively believed that she would join in right away and follow instructions. I was wrong. I learned on the first class to go with the flow and not expect her to do everything (or even half!) of what was planned.

Margot:
-Margot loved gymnastique before and after class more than the actual time there(!) She would talk about it every day leading to class and excitedly explain what she did in gymnatsics to family members.
-Margot was really reserved and passive at first. It took her about 8 weeks to warm up. She observed a lot and was a bit distracted by all the excitement around her.

Margot's favourite activities:
-The big trampoline - she excelled in fearless jumping!
-The "poutre" (high beam) - the tallest one was the best one.

Receiving her certificate

Advent

We are starting to get into the festive season.

Decoration for our door. A wreath bought at the Carp Christmas Market:

The Gingerbread House is out:

And look what's inside: (Margot-style)

Seeing Santa Clause up-close and personal at the Aylmer Parade. A cold cold evening to be standing and waving for more than an hour!

And, like the past two years on the same date, the little Advent elf dropped off a calendar (without chocolate - we know who that is for!) Thank you lil' elf! ;)