A Little Gift

This morning I met up with my friend Mandy for coffee while Syd was at school.  Mandy and I worked together at Mackenzie Financial for years before I left to have Syd.  Though neither of us are still with the company, we have stayed friends and in touch and have a long history and share many common acquaintances that we love chatting about! 

Mandy never comes for a visit empty handed.  She is such a sweet soul and came today with a pretty pink package for Sydney knowing that she'd just celebrated a birthday.

How exciting it was for Syd to find a present waiting for her when she got home!  She gleefully ripped it open.

To discover all things Hello Kitty and a new 'Go Fish' game which we played at least a dozen times together tonight before bed time.

Syd has been my right hand gal in the kitchen these days, helping me make the main course:

And making up some pretty awesome appetizers of her own:

We took some time this afternoon to make a little craft to give as a gift to her preschool classmates, popsicle stick Mogen Davids which we tucked into a bag along with some Hanukkah gelt and a card. 

It was a fun little project and I loved the end result.

Just noticed today that for the fifth year in a row my Christmas cactus is starting to bloom.  My sister brought it to me in the hospital a few days after Syd was born.  It bloomed then and has every year since.  Always makes me smile!

Speaking of blooming, my friend Christina brought me the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers a few days ago to thank me for watching her son Jack for the evening.  They smell so amazing and are such a welcome pop of colour at this time of year.  I took them down to take some photos of them the other day and Little Miss Syd decided to photobomb my shots....cheeky monkey!

This past weekend we had the pleasure of celebrating Sydney's friend Allegra's 5th birthday party.  Her party was a ballet theme, so beautiful and girly!

Her Mom even hired a live ballerina to do some dancing with the girls who all showed up dressed in their tutus. 

It was such a fabulous party and fun time!  Sydney's first all girls party, shades of things to come perhaps???

Happy Hump Day!

School Days

I've written many times before about how special Sydney's preschool is.  There is a warmth and loving feel to it that makes it such a wonderful place for children to spend their day.  I can honestly say that Sydney has never had one unhappy day at preschool and I owe it all to her amazing teachers Jen and Carmen!

This week it was Carmen's birthday.  The parents all pitched in to get her a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

It was such a pleasure seeing her face light up when I walked into class at the end of the day with a gift and card for her.  She has become a dear friend to me and I know that our relationship is going to last far beyond these fleeting years while Sydney is in preschool.

One of the Moms came in this week to make cookies with the kids, a healthy version of chocolate chip cookies that had chick peas in them! 

Here's the recipe for them from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook:


Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margerine (soft spread kind in tub works best)
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl beat the sugar and butter until smooth.  Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips.  Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet spreading the cookies about two inches apart.  Press gently with a fork to flatten.  Bake until the cookies are golden brown, 11 to 13 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

The kids had such a blast making cookies and were so excited to get a little treat at snack time too!

On Friday morning Sydney's class led the Shabbat service which included all the children in the preschools and daycare.

Sydney and her friend Julia sang a duet, "Shabbat is Here".  It was very sweet seeing them up there singing into the microphone!

I feel so fortunate and blessed to have found such an amazing place for Sydney to spend her mornings.  I am willing this year to go slow and steady as we savour the last year in this magical place!

Long Weekend

We are at the tail end of a long weekend.  It was a much needed quiet and low key weekend after all of the excitement of Halloween and Sydney's birthday parties.  We got a few things sorted and organized around the house, did some cooking and enjoyed not having to be anywhere at all!

Here's a few snapshots of the past few days:

Little Ballerina

Sydney decided that she was going to wear her dancing outfit as her clothing for the day on Saturday.  It was pretty cute, especially seeing everyone's reactions to her while we were out, all those sweet glances and all-knowing smiles from other Mamas! 

She wanted to show me her spins on her bed in her tutu, girl's got some pretty good air time!

Christmas Shopping

My office is looking a little more like Santa's Workshop every day.  I've been slowly amassing Christmas gifts and ticking people off my list left, right and centre.  Feels good to be so organized this early!

Circle Craft

Spent an entire day and one afternoon last week at this year's annual Circle Craft Market.  This amazing event houses over 300 artisans who are selling the most amazing jewellery, pottery, clothing, food and artwork. 

My friend Sarah and I spent the entire day there on Thursday and came away with some beautiful things both for ourselves and as gifts.

I returned on Friday afternoon with Sydney in tow to get a few more things.  Ended up getting this very cool name puzzle for her with some of the birthday money that Grandma and Grandpa sent.

There was a balloon man there making beautiful twisted balloons for the kids, Syd waited patiently in line before deciding that she wanted a rose bouquet and he was only too happy to oblige!

Princess

Sydney got a beautiful gift bag filled with all things princess from her friend Alexis' birthday party last weekend.  She dug out the foam tiara and decorated it with the sticker jewels one morning.  It was so sweet, she loved it!

Symphony

The highlight of our weekend was a very special Sunday afternoon spent with Louise and Sophie at the Orpheum theatre for the kids show put on by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

The lobby was open an hour early so the kids could try out the instruments, Syd loved the cymbals and snare drum and even tried to belt something out on the tuba to no avail!  Think she need a little more lung capacity before she'll be taking up that instrument!

The show was amazing, so lovely listening to the live music and the kids did well sitting through the show.

It was a very special time together!

Pumpkin Waffles

Early this morning I got up and made a batch of pumpkin waffles with a recipe that I've had literally forever!  They were so delicious, moist and flavourful, loved them!

Pizza Party

The end of last week was marked with Sydney's preschool's Parent Council pizza party fundraiser.  Sydney and I volunteered to help again this year and a fun time was had by all.  The kids so enjoyed doing some Israeli dancing with Marla again this year.

Remembering

We did take some time today to stop and remember the reason for this day off is to pay homage to those who gave their lives so that we can live in an amazing, free country.  I am filled with gratitude for those brave souls who gave their lives so that we could live ours as we do today.  It felt right to remember today.

Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter!

So the past few days around here have been about seasons changing.  Indoors that is.  All of our fall leaves, pumpkins and gourds have been quietly packed away and in their place is a bowl of silver and blue glass balls, our homemade menorah and a stack of Christmas presents that makes even me proud on November 6th.

Today would have been my first day back at work.  I felt it a little today, that sting of something that didn't quite turn out the way that I had hoped.  So I turned to Winners where I merrily wandered their overflowing aisles happily shopping for people on my holiday list.  Always lifts my spirits.

Then I got home after picking Syd up from school and we hauled up in my office and decided we'd wrap said presents just so they're all ready to go when delivery day comes.

It's feeling festive around here and I love it!

Generosity

I am always struck at this time of year, more than any other, at people's generosity towards us.  We have many amazing friends and family in our life and around Sydney's birthday when they go out of their way to make her day a little extra special it really touches my heart.

Every year Sydney gets what's going on around her birthday more and more.  We often spend months talking about the theme for her party and specific details that she would like to incorporate into her celebration.

Then comes the gifts discussion.  She'll wonder if someone is going to get her any My Little Pony stuff, or see a toy in the store and ask me if I think someone will give it to her for her birthday.  She loves giving gifts and receiving them equally!

After Syd's party this past weekend we settled on the living room floor and she gleefully ripped through a small mountain of gifts to discover the treasures that her friends had given her.  Watching her reactions was priceless, she gushed over most everything and certainly had favourite gifts that I know will become meaningful toys in the months to come.

Here's a little peek at the amazing bounty she received:

Kaitlyn gave her some owl jammies, a lacing shoe so she can practice learning to tie her shoes, a Fancy Nancy Tea for Two book, some cupcake decoration bits and nail art stickers.  I love how thoughtful this gift was, we have had some pretty amazing playdates with Kaitlyn, one where we did some baking and one where we went for high tea.  Her gift was a nod to our great memories together!

Weston gave her some of her first Lego ever, the Lego friends Adventure Camper!  She has been dying for some Lego and I am excited to see what she does with it!

Emma gave her a beautiful pink sparkly purse stuffed with hairbands and hair accessories.

Marcus gave her a Pink Lego Suitcase filled with Lego bits, I love that it's all self contained in the suitcase!

Jack got her a very special Little Mermaid themed gift, an Ariel stuffed doll, nightie and sparkly slippers all from the Disney store.  She loved them!

Sophie gave Sydney a very special gift all made by her Grandmaman, a hand made apron with little  pockets filled with wooden utensils and measuring spoons and a beautiful sunshine fleece blanket.

Alexis gave her the Playmobil Cafe, her first Playmobil to date and a Tell the Time book, very handy as we've been talking a lot about how to tell time these days.

Myrtle gave Syd a set of magnetic unicorns and a Magnetic dress up doll.  The fridge in Syd's little kitchen is magnetic so she is only too happy to have some new things to stick to the front!

Beatrice gave her the Rainbow Hello Kitty and a new book.  Sydney was thrilled with the new stuffed Hello Kitty, she wrapped her arms around it and gave it a hug immediately!  Loved seeing her reaction to it.

Declan gave Syd the most beautiful handmade skirt!  I absolutely adore it and can't wait to see it on Syd!

Auntie Liane and family got Syd a My Little Pony and the My Little Pony Crystal Palace.  Sydney had been asking for some pony stuff for quite some time and was pretty stoked when she opened Auntie's gift!

Ollie gave her the most beautiful Corolle doll and an extra outfit for her to wear!  I wanted to steal her for myself, she is gorgeous!

William gave her a Strawberry Shortcake hooded towel which she has decided will be her new swimming towel and a Hello Kitty scrapbook which I've promised her we will work on together in the new year.

Aaro gave her a gorgeous princess handmade apron and a book of placemat art where she can colour and design her own placemats.

Zach and Danielle gave her a heap of gorgeous clothes and some Hello Kitty colouring books.

I let Syd open all her gifts at once but then tucked them all away and have been pulling one out at a time so that she can take some time to really enjoy and savour each gift.

We will, without fail, think of each special person that gave us the gift, as we did last year, as we spend time enjoying them in the year to come.

Thank you to everyone for your generosity, you've made my little girl so incredibly happy!