Christmas ~ The Hemisphere Party

SOMEbody has a small Santa obsession.

Our kids are super lucky to be invited to several Christmas parties every year. The first party Sydney attended this year was my Mom's work party. She is will a small company so they always invite employees children and grandchilden. The party could not be at a worse time of day so unfortunately Henry didn't get to go. Sydney and David went and had an awesome daddy, daughter day together. She obsessively ran to Santa and gave him a million hugs. 

When Sydney and David came home they brought Henry's gift. The first one of the year! It was so fun seeing him excited and involved this year. Christmas morning is going to be amazing. 

Mrs. E

Christmas Has Arrived at the Eliuks

I love this time of year so much.

There is something so warm and inviting about a house filled with lights and Christmas music. The kids are old enough to get really excited about Santa and Christmas and they want to be a part of all of the decorating and prepping.

Our decorations have been up for about three weeks now. We had one free day to tackle everything where both David and I were off. Shift work sometimes make scheduling fun days like this difficult, but we managed to do it. Both kids wanted to help with everything this year. Sydney was in charge of helping her Dad fluff up the Christmas tree and Henry was all over the ornaments. He would say "more!" and when I gave him one he would shove his hand in he tree and let go hoping that the branches would catch it. Surprisingly we only broke one!

Mrs. E

Our Phoenix Getaway

I don't know about you, but when I am going thorough some pretty emotional stuff all i want to do is get away. 

When the shit hit the fan with Oliver I just wanted to run. I wanted to pretend that none of it was happening and I wanted to be with my family. A month after he was born I got my wish. David and I hopped a plane to my parents house in Phoenix for four days of sun and relaxing. My parents generously took the kids for us while we were gone and we were able to enjoy time for the two of us. We needed it. We needed to take the time to reconnect with each other. 

We spent every afternoon drinking apple crisp beer and eating home made paninis by the pool. In the evenings we enjoyed each others company and did a bit of shopping. We even managed to get in an Arizona State football game and spend some time with my Aunt and her family (we had the best afternoon at a hot yoga class followed by sushi back at their place). We bought a mountain of clothes for the kids and Dave got in a couple of good runs while I picked up fabric at Joann's. 

It really was the perfect opportunity to recharge.... I can't wait to do it again. 

Mrs. E

Last Night in Yoga

It's all about the little accomplishments. 

This is what I have learned in yoga. My teachers are constantly reminding me that it is called yoga practice and not yoga perfection. It is all about trying to push yourself a little bit more each class.... to open your body so that you can twist and bend into different poses.

Last night I went to my first Yin yoga class in years. I have been going to flow (or fast paced) yoga for years and I have been very reluctant to slow myself down and hop into a more passive practice. In Yin you tend to hold poses for up to 5 minutes. It is a test of concentration and a way to get further into a pose and allow your body to really stretch. I liked the class enough to maybe go again.... but what I loved was that my head now almost touches my feet when we are sitting in butterfly forward old pose! I know that this might not seem like a big deal, but I am not flexible at all! I also noticed that by the end of my hot flow yoga classes my heels are now flat on the ground when we are in downward dog... major accomplishment!

I am really enjoying spending time by myself four times a week to focus on regaining control of my body. 

Mrs. E

Big Kid Lunch Time

It's true what they say about second children wanting to grow up fast so that they can keep up with their siblings. 

Henry is now insisting on eating like a big kid. He hates sitting in his high chair and will scream and cry if we even attempt it. He also decided he was done with bottles after these pictures were taken and only wants to drink out of a regular cup. *sigh* I am so proud of him for wanting to grow up but at the same time it's terrifying! 

Sydney and Henry now like to eat lunch together at their little table when we let them. It is so much fun to watch them have little lunch dates.... especially when they are this cute. 

Mrs. E

Modern Quilting ~ A Remembrance Day Mini

Some of you may know that I have joined the Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild.

I have been so excited to join for a while now and in August my neighbour Ronda and I went to our first meeting. She is also an avid quilter and it was nice to walk into a meeting with a friend. We generally meet to discuss charity projects, organize swaps, talk about our current projects, show and tell and listen to the occasional guest speaker. It is a great open forum to ask questions or look for suggestions and I love that I get to be a mega quilt nerd once a month. 

We generally organize swaps each month and try to theme them based on the time of year. Last month we created Remembrance Day themed items to trade. I put together this beautiful 12 inch squared mini quilt complete with hanging pockets on the back. I hand cut each of the poppies and appliqued them on using a straight stitch so that they would have a rough edge. I finished it all up with some echo quilting and hand binding. I found the fabric for the back while I was in Phoenix with Dave and I think it its perfectly! 

Here is the only problem about making something you love so much for a swap... you don't wait to part with it! I ended up deciding not to take part in the swap... so this beauty is now hanging on my wall in the studio... oops! Maybe when I make the frozen/ice themed item for December I will able to let go of it. 

Mrs. E