I took a very long hiatus from blogging while I was busy with other things but two years ago I wrote a blog post just for Jocelyn for her birthday. It starts out with Jocelyn’s birth story because when I was growing up my mom started the tradition of telling us our birth story on our birthdays. I’ve tried to keep that same tradition with my kids and they love it. If you want to read my birthday blog post, and I highly recommend it, it’s linked to here. 

Jocelyn inspires me to be a better person because she is so thoughtful and loving. She helps remind me that being a great friend is one of our greatest responsibilities. I am lucky to be her mother and I hope to be worthy of the position.

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

I know that it’s Christmas Eve and we’re just barely getting to making our candy trains but the kids were just thrilled to see the bags of candy come out!

After all the candy consumption was over the kids were feeling a little nauseous and a little sleepy.

Once the collective nap time was over we were rested enough to open our Christmas eve gifts. The kids were SHOCKED to find pajamas in each of their wrapped presents. Who would haev thought that they would get pajamas on Christmas eve. Weird.

Today we decided to sing some songs and decorate our tree. The kids helped me lay the lights and garland on and then hang the decorations. It was super fun and I am so happy with how the tree turned out.

What is it about Christmas trees that make perfect back drops for pictures?

There is a traditional treat that Canadians can enjoy every year because it gets so cold here. Chuck has been wanting to do this with the kids for a very long time. I don’t know who was more excited, the kids to eat it or Chuck to do this for them.

If you boil pure syrup and then ladle it onto fresh snow, it will turn into a candy. You can press a popsicle stick onto the syrup and roll it up and then suck on it. Super delicious!

One of the kids’ favorite things about Halloween is the serious trick-or-treating we do. This ain’t no sissy trick-or-treating! This is serious business!

We eat dinner early, get dressed up and start knocking on doors by 5. We don’t stop until atleast 9.

We made one pit stop at home so the older kids could go to the bathroom and empty their pillowcases because they were too heavy to keep hauling around!

David and Laurelyn lasted only half a block before their bags were too heavy and their hands were too cold so I took them home to watch a Halloween episode of Backyardigans with their dad who was handing out candy to the neighborhood kids.

Laurelyn was a real hit. Moms kept giving her candy out of their kids’ bags! Laurelyn would stop and talk to EVERY SINGLE PERSON on our way to the doors and the other moms couldn’t get enough of her! She was so cute. It’s hard to translate without her voice but here are some of my favorite Laurelyn-isms from tonight.

I’m a hobo! (Very loudly!)

I have a hole on my bum but Mom said it’s okay because I’m a hobo.

I’m going to sleep on a bench because that’s what hobos do.

I have a beard but I’m still a girl.