HAPPY DECEMBER 20!

Due to birthday phone calls, visits, messages, etc.......and due to procrastination in general.....Phil and I didn't really BEGIN to pack for our trip until 9 p.m. the night before our flight.  This is SO much UNLIKE us that I can't so much explain what the heck went wrong with the preparation aspect of our holiday.  Oh well.  We got the job done by ten, had a good sleep, and were off to the airport at 4:30 a.m. on the 20th....DRESSED LIKE THIS:

Matching purple Juicy's!  We've been saving these track suits for MONTHS! :)

Our flight was broken up into two parts.  We flew from Kuwait to Istanbul first (about a four hour journey) and then from Istanbul to Copenhagen (a three hour journey).  Our layover lasted for four hours and - let me try to say this as nicely as possible - we are happy to report that Istanbul was NOT our final destination.  We have been wanting to go to Turkey for years, but after our brief stint at their international airport, I think we can wait a few more years before trying it out.  Ugh.  We ran into istanbully after instanbully and if it weren't for the great company - and Irish coffee - the entire four hours would have been plain awful.  Thankfully our next flight left on time and we made it to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH - DENMARK!

Nory was a real trooper on both flights.  Generally, she could be seen on the aircraft looking something like this:

This sort of smile attracts all kinds of new friends!

In the weeks leading up to the flight, we were worried that she'd have trouble sitting relatively still the whole time, but with Ergo naps and storybooks and Cheerio's and people-watching, we made out A-OKAY!  This ACCOUNTS for the fact that we took two small planes with zero room to play at the back!  Everyone was so impressed :)  (We were too!)

On the taxi ride to the hotel, it was clear that Nory had finally had enough.  The minute we walked into our hotel room, I placed her on the bed and she cuddled right into the blankets.  It was the cutest thing!  She sure was exhausted and ready for SLEEP.

December 20th was the final day of our family advent calendar.  The fun continues though HERE, in Copenhagen.  I can't wait to share more with you!

THREE SLEEPS until CHRISTMAS!!!!!! xo

HAPPY DECEMBER 19!

Today's advent was about making Ninjabread men.  After last night's party, though, there really is no need for any more sweets in this apartment.  So - Ninjabread men are OUT and.....PACK-MEN?.....are IN!  The funny thing about this is that we haven't started packing yet and we leave the house in 13 hours for the airport.  WHOOPS!!!  This brings me to Phil's new revelation in life.  It all happened when he was on a shuttle bus at the airport.  He told me that he looked around the bus and thought to himself, WE ARE GOING TO BE JUST FINE!  Ever since this "AH-HA" moment, he has been so calm and cool about EVERYTHING.  I'm the one who's been the stress case, uptight, freaking out about little things.  He's been so laid back and easy going.  Heck, we get on a plane in the morning, have not packed a single thing, and he's happily watching a tv show at the moment.  OPRAH - how proud are you?!!!!! Haha.

Nory is having a nap.  I should take this time to go through some of her things.  You know, pick out the most quiet, yet stimulating toys for the airplane, etc. 

Before I say GOODBYE, though, let's talk about how sweet my wake-up call was this morning.  Mini cupcakes and coffee in bed.  Two cuties singing "happy birthday" and smiling by my bedside.  Then we laid in bed and stared up at the stars all over the ceiling.  REAL ONES!  Compliments of Nory's new ladybug light!

Hooray for AGE TWENTY EIGHT!  Goodbye to AGE TWENTY SEVEN (and thanks for being so good to me)! 

XOXO

HAPPY DECEMBER 18!

Last night, S, Hails, Gem, and Uncle Steve came over for an early Christmas gathering.  We didn't want to pack all of the gifts in our suitcases, so an early celebration was our answer to lighter (ha!) luggage.  What this really means is that we can bring multiple pairs of boots, coats, mitts, etc. to Copenhagen/Malmo.  However, we like to pretend that we have achieved something MAJOR and will be zipping through the airport carefree!  (This is nothing what our traveling roadshow will look like.  But it all sounds very nice.  And I tend to "bubble" myself whenever possible.)

The early Christmas party was lots of fun.  The food was great, the company was STELLAR and the gifts were GALORE.  You wouldn't believe the beautiful things our family received from these four people.  And - we were ALREADY SPOILED prior to the arrival of any of these guests.  Yes, our darling neighbours across the hall were here with EXTREMELY thoughtful presents just before the party began!  We witnessed a huge explosion of generosity and we are VERY LUCKY AND THANKFUL for these people that love us so much. 

Here we are taking a "SELFIE WITH AN ELFIE"!

This one is more of a photo bomb!

 Thank you to everyone who stopped by our place last night!  We love each of you so much! xo

HAPPY DECEMBER 17!

 Grandpa (Douglas) and Eleanor Douglas - catching up!

HAPPY DECEMBER 16!

Miracle on 34th Street is one of my FAVES.  Cheesy or whatever, but it really does make me feel WARM & FUZZY on the inside....

How many more sleeps?!  (Haha, OBVIOUSLY I know the answer!)

HAPPY DECEMBER 15!

Sorry this advent day is coming to you late.  I've managed to get behind in the blogging world and I was too tired to complete the job last night!  (Emily remarked "how late" I was awake when she messaged me at 8:45 p.m.!)

Anyways, on this day we made a donation to cancer research.  There are so many worthy causes to support, but when you have to choose JUST ONE, it comes down to the ones that have affected the people you love most.  Perhaps Santa will bring a CURE ALL in his sleigh this year.....

HAPPY DECEMBER 14!

We really did have the FULL INTENTION of attending the annual pantomime with Nory this afternoon.  Emily reserved front-row seats for us, near the door, so we could easily exit with Nory if necessary.  We got all dressed up in reds and greens, I wore a long necklace with a really-fun-to-chew-on charm, and the diaper bag was loaded with distractions.

But then....

We learned it was a whopping THREE HOURS long.  And we didn't think that would go over so well with the littlest Parkinson.

So.  Instead.  We altered our plans, picked up some groceries, and headed home for a continuation of this happy, happy "Christmas" Day.

Santa DID, in fact, come to our house last night.  You can bet we've had a jolly old time with all of the gifts he delivered.  More on that later, though :)

FAMILY SELFIE!

HAPPY DECEMBER 13!

I really dislike that this December day fell on a FRIDAY.  You know me - super uneasy about any Friday the 13th for no logical reason whatsoever.  I blame this superstitious part of me for reading the advent activity and then dressing Nory in something NOT RED.  I realized I had messed up RIGHT BEFORE we left the house and my mind said, "OH WELL, NOT HAPPENING TODAY"!  It's tough enough getting out the door some days and my main mission was to get through THIS day without any major hiccups.  So - instead, we wore red TODAY!

Yesterday, while we were NOT wearing red, we took Cathy (an American!) to Tim Horton's for the first time, did some Christmas shopping, played "salon" with Auntie Gem (Nory and I, not Phil), and played two basketball games (Phil, not Nory and I).  I am relieved that it is now a non-superstitious day.  And that it is ONE SLEEP closer to our HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY DECEMBER 12!

It was a REALLY, REALLY fun time.  I have some cute videos of Nory getting her groove on, but after five attempts at uploading them, I QUIT.  The internet is RIDICULOUSLY slow and I think it has to do with all of the dust in the air.  

In other technology news, I went to use my iPad tonight and it says that it has become disabled.  WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!  I'm trying to download an update for it at the moment and the computer tells me it might take MORE THAN A DAY to complete....

We could also tear up about the fact that my daughter is now 10 months old.  Where did the time go?  

I think this calls for a tea. STAT! 

HAPPY DECEMBER 11!

Add to the list of things that I don't so much like to post are ACTUAL bath pics.  So, instead, you get a sneak peek at some of the fun things that were in tonight's special bath time!  The foam sticks to the walls of the tub when wet, making it even MORE amazing.  (The glitter also does a pretty good job of AMAZE-IFYING this advent activity!)

Our little gingerbread pal reminds me of that gingerbread chocolate I received from a student this week.  That stuff is DELISH!!!!  Perhaps we should take a side trip to Finland to pick some up......

HAPPY DECEMBER 10!

(When you don't have one, this requires you to make it first!  Thank goodness we found that craft store weeks ago!)

It was a nice little smooch.  But - I've got to say -I don't need a mistletoe to kiss this dream boat of mine ;)

HAPPY DECEMBER 9!

From the moment we pulled this out of the advent calendar this morning, I have been brainstorming different things we could do after school.  On my way home it came to me:  HOT CHOCOLATE DELIVERY!  It's getting a little cooler in Kuwait (like the kids are wearing winter coats some days), so we decided a nice warm treat was a great way to bring some holiday cheer to the neighbourhood.  We made four stops total.  Here they are:

STOP #1:  PHIL'S BARBER

STOP #2:  OUR LOCAL PHOTO STUDIO

STOP #3:  THE BAKALA (or "CONVENIENCE STORE")

STOP #4:  OUR MAINTENANCE PEOPLE

You know, it really feels good this whole RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS THING.  On the way home, the following conversation happened that made me laugh...

Linds:  Nory, that was SO KIND of you!

Phil: (raises his pointer finger) AND RANDOM!!!!!

Haha.  Indeed it was.  I think we should do these sorts of things more often - not just during the holidays!

HAPPY DECEMBER 8!

We decided to go with Elf on a Shelf :)

HAPPY DECEMBER 7!

Remember me talking about the joy of making your own advent activity calendar?  How you can choose to stick to the activity mentioned, alter it as you please, or get rid of it completely?  Well, today was one of those days where the follow-through of the activity wasn't precisely as described.

You see.....we've made arrangements with St. Nick to come on my birthday (the 19th) rather than on Christmas Day.  (I know what you're thinking - best birthday EVAAAA!!!!).  We leave for Copenhagen very early on the 20th and it has been discussed that sometimes Santa has difficulty accessing hotel rooms around the world.  You know how security is these days!  So, because Christmas is happening a little bit early - on my birthday to be precise - Phil told me today that my birthday could come a little bit early too!  So, although we DID in fact do some Christmas shopping (the proof is in the picture above), we also did some BIRTHDAY SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!  I really didn't need any presents because Christmas on my birthday is already a DREAM COME TRUE!  I will try to post a picture of my gifts later today :)

In regards to the REAL Christmas Day, Santa remarked that stockings are a possibility.......(he's such a crowd pleaser!). 

HAPPY DECEMBER 6!

Conveniently on this advent day, we were invited to a "Middle School Science Christmas/Dessert Party" last evening.  And because my science colleague is married to the KG principal, Emily was also invited to join in the fun!  YAHOO!  I immediately thought to make "cake balls" - a staple dessert in other gatherings attended/hosted by Emily and myself - and decided to pursue it for real even though Emily was unable to come over and be the co-baker. 

I learned a serious lesson here.

Cake balls are WAY more difficult when your 30 year old cake-ball-companion is exchanged for a 10-month-old-that's-not-so-much-an-assistant.  I think the entire process took me four hours to complete and I wasn't overly holly-jolly throughout.  I'm certain that Phil heard some choice words coming from the kitchen and I burned about four fingers from start to finish.  Making matters worse was the deadline I had to get them done and every time I looked at the clock, my anxiety levels skyrocketed.

Whatever.

They got done.  They aren't the most aesthetically pleasing cake balls around, but they were equally as tasty which was the most important thing....right?   

On the way to the party, I remember feeling exhausted and very ready for it to be bedtime (ha!!!!).  We stopped by the local grocery store to pick up a friend who was purchasing his dessert for the party.  His enthusiastic "HEY GUYS!" as he hopped into the backseat of the car made me realize just how brilliant he really is.  When it comes to holiday parties attended by parents, I'm fairly convinced that store bought goods are the way to go.  Criteria fulfilled and energy saved!  Win/win/win!!!! 

The party was super!  Arriving home to ZERO DISHES and a sleeping baby was also SUPER!  Have we mentioned how much we love Kumari lately?