OUR DAY THREE MISSION: TO FIND FISHIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

So to the aquarium we went - to find FISHIES and hide out from the WIND that made the day so darn chilly (#desertfamily).  I would say that we are THE WORST Canadian family around, but I think our low tolerance for cold weather is offset by our entire Christmas vacation being dictated by the World Junior Hockey Tournament.....for a second time...with children.

 
^^^  Here's Nory and I freezing at the tram stop.  With Nory being up since 5:30 that morning and also having a runny nose for what feels like FOREVER, things were starting to take a serious turn for the worst.  Thankfully, tram stops and convenience stores go hand-in-hand.  A lollipop was secured and the day was saved!  Juliet was just as happy as a clam to come along for the journey :)

 ^^^  The aquarium was small, but it was incredibly impressive for the girls.  Nory was so full of glee, that she was all over the place and returned to the same tanks multiple times.  She especially liked the little peep hole that she ventured into with Uncle Steve.  It was hard for Juliet to get out and crawl around because the floors were rough, but she ergoed along and seemed to enjoy it :)

 ^^^   With it being way too cold to continue, we sent Uncle Steve and Auntie Gem on a grocery store mission and we returned home to relax and warm-up.  Both girls napped on the walk back to the flat (WIN!), and then we were able to facetime Nana and Grampy before tackling dinner.

^^^  Em, Jettie and I played chef last night and we rocked out to the Biebs as we cooked.  In other food-related news, Jettie LOVES to eat and she LOVES to sit in a high chair.  It's weird and foreign and I am still in disbelief at how TRULY RELAXING mealtime is with her.  And then there's the NORNADO. 

^^^  Nory would GO CRAZY if she knew what Juliet was up to in these pictures.  But whenever Nory is otherwise occupied, we make sure Jettie gets to play with Nory's big girl toys.  ALSO, we solved the no-bathtub dilemma.  The trick was getting Juliet into the shower first and then Nory followed suit.  Nory couldn't stop laughing at the runaway SLIPPERY SOAP!

^^^  A quick cookie-decorating party before bedtime.  We have dreams of gingerbread houses too and hope to achieve them on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

HELSINKI DAY TWO! :)

With Santa Claus checked off the list, our goal for Day Two was to find dinosaur bones (#familytravel).  Nory has been interested in dinosaurs since the summer and so the phrase "dinosaur bones" got her moving at times when she would rather say NO.  Here are some pictures of the day's adventures:  

^^^  Our first stop was the Chapel of Silence in the downtown core.  Anyone can go in if they need to escape from the chaos of life and just take a minute to themselves.  Well, after some serious hesitation at the front entrance, the lady working there finally said, "BRING IN THE CHILDREN!  It's FINE!"  And so with fingers crossed we went inside and....GUESS WHAT?!  Nory didn't say a PEEP!!!  That being said, the minute we walked out of the chapel she exclaimed, "THAT WAS NOT DINOSAUR BONES!!!!"

^^^  The Museum of Natural History must have known we were coming because they put the dinosaur bones RIGHT SMACK by the entrance!  Nory was thrilled to be able to touch some of the bones (three cheers for interactive exhibits!) and she was just as thrilled to see bones of ALL SORTS.  I strongly dislike MOST museums, but Nory has PERHAPS changed my viewpoint on them...

^^^  The excitement continued once we stumbled upon the wooly mammoths!  I love Nory's excitement and all of her jumping up and down :)  Jettie was happy to clean the museum floors with her fleecy peach pants ;)

^^^  The museum appealed to Juliet too, with all of the ground exhibits :)  In the bottom left picture, Nory is trying to trap creatures using the round pool noodle.  Juliet survived all of the extreme swatting like a pro!  In the bottom right picture, both girls are crawling through a "snow tunnel".

^^^  A picture of the sunset on our walk home...at 3 p.m. :)  It's SO STRANGE having only 6 hours of daylight, but it means we can always catch both the sunrise and sunset :)

^^^  Nory playing peek-a-boo with Jet before bed.  In matching jammies, of course :)

WE MADE IT!!!!

After an early morning wake-up with two girls (and parents!) that didn't sleep the night prior....and after surviving the seat-less, sardine-like situation on our layover in Istanbul.....and after a flight that seemed as though every single child on board was screaming at some point.....WE FINALLY ARRIVED IN HELSINKI!  So, to those of you who've call us YA-HOO's for gallivanting the globe with two little ones.....I mean, you SOMETIMES have a point.

COFFEE and CHRISTMAS NAILS make airports much, much better :)

But then REALLY, REALLY wonderful things happen too.  And it makes all of the just-wants-out-of-your-lap-to-crawl-around, ALONG WITH THE there-are-no-pink-dresses-in-the-carry-on MELTDOWNS worth it, times a billion.  (I'm 30 now and still excel in the EXAGGERATION and OPTIMISM department.  At the same time, I'm 30 now and - almost 3 years into the motherhood game - I can't understand my reasoning behind NOT putting a pink dress in the carry-on.  SO SILLY.)

Eeeeee!!!!!!!!  I have the feeling of Christmas ALL YEAR LONG :)

Back to the good stuff.

Our Helsinki apartment is darling and MUCH BIGGER than it appears in the pictures.  (You can check it out HERE.)  This place will be our home for the whole two weeks, which means we've got to unpack and settle in and NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT SUITCASES for days.  There's lots of room for the girls to play (sanity saver!) and we are walking distance to parks, supermarkets and the downtown core.  It's PERFECT.  A big thank you to Gem and Phil for finding this place!!!

The days here are short, with only about 6 hours of daylight.  The sun doesn't rise until 9ish and yesterday morning, Nory kept telling us that it was too early to get out of bed.  Alas, she was convinced (#gottafindsanta) and we all got ready for our first day of exploring.

^^^ Side Note:  A serious shout-out to all moms who regularly get their children dressed for cold weather.  I mean....the hats, the mitts, the boots, the layers......OY.  Nory wasn't so sure about bundling up in the beginning, but we did make some progress throughout the day!

We had a really exciting (and LUCKY!) first day.  Here are some more tales from Day One:

^^^ The main goal of the day was to find Santa.  But first, STARBUCKS!  Em has become a Google Maps Guru and she led the way, through beautifully-decorated Christmas areas, to some much-needed warm beverages. 

^^^ After hot drinks, we made our way to one of the main Christmas markets in the city, where we did some stair-climbing (for scenic - not fitness - purposes) and some more hot drink drinking. 

^^^  And at this very Christmas market, we FOUND HIM!  SANTA!!!!!!  Nory was beyond thrilled and didn't want to leave him.  Thank goodness there wasn't a line and she was able to get an extra few minutes with St. Nick.  He even gave her his business card - HA!  Jettie had just woken up from a nap and was not quite sure why she was sitting on a random man's lap.  That ended in a snap. 

^^^  After our Santa sighting, we had a TEAM CANADA sighting at the Hard Rock Cafe!  Steve saw them walk into the restaurant, which obviously made our lunch decision EASY PEEZY.  Once inside, I was voted as tribute to walk up to their table and ask for confirmation of their WORLD JUNIOR status AND ask if we could be in a picture with them.  I was SO NERVOUS!  But ultimately, I think they were more surprised and nervous than I was :)  They were such gentlemen :)

 ^^^  Since Nory slept through our Hard Rock experience, we felt compelled to visit the toy store immediately after ;)  She had a great time making music on this "running piano".  When we got home, we let her sugar-it-up with a "Christmas lollipop" that we got from the Christmas market. 

 ^^^  Jettie was a trooper about her winter gear, but she sure enjoyed the freedom of being back at the apartment to cruise and crawl.  She's been sporting some TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS onesies to model her continued support of ALL-THINGS-CANADIAN.  

^^^ Before bed, Uncle Steve and Nory had a hay-day playing with Brio trains.  It was a great way to end an AMAZING first day :)

So that was what we were up to on Day One.  It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, of course.  There was the meltdown about getting mud on the shoes and not having an extra pair in the back pack.  There was the meltdown about wanting/not-wanting to climb the stairs to see the view of the Christmas market.  There was the meltdown about the thumb not being in the proper part of the mitten.  But, HEY, we survived and are all stronger for it ;)

HOORAY FOR TEAMWORK!  AND AUNTIES!  AND UNCLES!  AND.....it's CHRISTMAS, y'all! XOXO

THE VIDEO!

A big thank you to Islen from #thehouseofnorules for putting together my new favourite video of all time (sorry, Legally Blonde).  I have yet to watch it without full blown crying OR, at the very least, getting teary-eyed and goose-bumpy.  THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who helped to make my dream come true!

Changing Lives in a FLASH!

Somebody PINCH ME.  

For YEARS and YEARS, I have hinted at, asked for, begged for, not-so-kindly asked Phil and Emily and ANYONE WHO WOULD HEAR ME OUT, for a Flash Mob.  And it's not that I wanted to be IN ONE.  It's that I simply wanted to "happen upon one".  Easy, peezy, RIGHT?! ;) 

Here are some posts in which I have referenced my love for flash mobs:

We Like Big Bubbles and We Cannot Lie

WWRLD

Who doesn't love a good mob?

Happy Un-Birthday, Hunnie!

Local News @ Home

Here are some reasons I'm obsessed with FLASH MOBS:

1)  They make people HAPPY.  There's no way you could happen upon a flash mob and NOT SMILE.  Just like there's no way you could BE APART OF a flash mob and NOT SMILE.  Flash mobs have been proven (I'm sure of it) to improve mood and spread JOY.

2)  The are on the CONSTRUCTIVE, rather than DESTRUCTIVE, end of the "mob spectrum".  The more you flash, the more the spectrum disappears.  To the point where mobs are only recognized as a well-received class of society.     

3)  They are the ULTIMATE gift.  The ULTIMATE "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH."  The ULTIMATE "THIS IS FRIENDSHIP."  AND the ULTIMATE COMMERCIAL IDEA for MasterCard.  #priceless

WELL.

Yesterday.  While my family was headed to the courtyard - (embarrassingly) dressed up like characters from "WHOVILLE".............

(Here's some photo evidence, although I know you already believe me because.........I'm me....)

MY DREAM CAME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I, Lindsay Parkinson (age - ALMOST 30), happened upon a FREAKING FLASH MOB!!!

 My heart is still bursting!

YOU GUYS.  The thing is.

They didn't just do ONE SONG.  THEY DID THREE.  

And they didn't just have matching dance moves.  THEY HAD MATCHING T-SHIRTS.  WITH MY FACE ON THEM!  Or under them.  (Errr.....pictures of that to come!)

And it wasn't just like there were 4 of them.  It was like there were 40 of them.  And they came out in groups, surprise after surprise!!!!!! 

I am still in awe that it happened.  I'm hoping to see some videos today, and then perhaps you will catch a glimpse of the AMAZING PEOPLE that make our community REALLY FEEL LIKE HOME for us here in Kuwait.

Thank you to everyone who participated in making MY DREAM COME TRUE!  I can't thank you enough.  I feel so, so grateful.

Love,

Your ALMOST 30-year-old, writing to you from Cloud Nine, KUWAIT! 

XOXO

TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR

You guys, we have a ONE YEAR OLD.  A ONE YEAR OLD!

(And an almost-three-year-old.  AND A ONE YEAR OLD!  And......have we really been a family of four for 12 months?!)

Juliet checking out her 4-pound self in the NICU :)

Although the beginning was scary and sleepless and HARD, Juliet is the sweetest addition to our family.  She adores and is adored by all of us (cats included!) and we're all amazed by her happy, easy-going, quick-to-forgive spirit.  She handles Nory in ways we would like to (ha!) and wants to be around her sister and playing together, even when the NORNADO is out in full force.  She's pretty much a SAINT.  (And Nory has won the lottery).

In the past couple of weeks, Jettie has started to use her walker and she's made it very clear that she wants to be independent.  She gets frustrated if you try to help her stand up or take steps and has even developed a high-pitched squeal to tell you when to BACK OFF.  That being said, she loves her pre-bedtime snuggles.  We love (understatement) when she crawls over to us and puts her head in our laps as if to say, "CUDDLE ME, MAMA/DADA!!!"

She's still a fan of markers (chewing purposes only), although a toothbrush has also been introduced into the rotation.  She likes to be outside, scooting around with Daddy and Nory in the courtyard, and if you need someone to do a house inspection, she'd find every last piece of ANYTHING on your floors.  The girl can make even the most spotless of homes seem dirty....and unsafe.  It's a bit of a confidence-squasher to be honest (just ask K-POP).

To celebrate Juliet's big day, Em planned a "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" party.  It was, as per all of Emily's events, beautiful and creative and PERFECT.  Thank you, Auntie Gem, for all of the hard work and effort you put in to making Juliet's 1st birthday so special.  You are AMAZING.  We love you so much!!!!!! XOXO

With that, here are some photos of our Little Star's birthday bash.  The girls looked adorable in their dresses and Grandma, K-POP, and I wore matching star sweaters!!! 

We love you, Juliet Tyko!!!  We are so lucky to be a family of FOUR with you!!!!

XOXO

Things I haven't done, but really should have done by now:

1)  Embrace our "Elf on the Shelf".  The only person who has used "Crimson" the Elf is Juliet - and that happened in the days leading up to December, when she used her new set of teeth to tear his little elf hat right off of his little elf head.  The hat has yet to be hot-glued back into place (whoops!) and the elf has yet to make his December appearance (bigger WHOOPS!).  With only one week left until we travel, we're right on track for an ELF-ON-THE-SHELF-LESS Christmas. 

2)  Maintain the daily ritual of the advent calendar.  We have four of them.  One of them is quite simple, involving the simple movement of a felt tree from one day of the month to the next.  The other three are chocolate ones - gifted to us by three wonderful people.  You'd think that remembering to eat three pieces of chocolate every single day of December would be easy.  Especially when your toddler is a chocolate lover too.  Pffft.....WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!

3)  Blog about Juliet's 1st Birthday Party.  That happened last Friday afternoon.   I wonder if the post will get done by this Friday afternoon.  OY. 

4)  Respond to Christmas party invites......for parties that have already passed (GASP!).  I feel terrible.  Super terrible.  Now I am not just feeling guilty about not attending, I'm feeling guilty about NOT responding to the thoughtfulness of an invite.  I kept meaning to, but it didn't happen.  Let's hope the season of forgiveness works in my favour :$

5)  Re-string the lights on our Christmas tree.  Why would one have to repeat the process of stringing lights on their Christmas tree?  Most likely because they have a cat who devoured the previous cords....

6)  Invite people to a small, Christmas gathering at our place this Saturday.  Yep, the Saturday that happens two sleeps from today.  At this point, it might just be Phil, Dana, Em, K-POP, the girls and myself.  MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!!!!!! :)

Now that I've admitted my failures, I'd like you to know that the month of December hasn't been a complete bust in the productivity department.  I've written Christmas cards and thank you cards.  We've cheered on our student athletes in their soccer and volleyball playoffs.  We've spent time with Grandma (whose visit has gone by all too quickly).  We've written semester exams and study guides and progress reports.  We've marked.  AND MARKED.  AND MARKED.

So.

Overall.

I think we earn a pass.  Or at the very least........a participation ribbon. 

And if the girls get rid of their runny noses and fevers, we might just get around to the rest of that stuff this weekend :)