Awesome Christmas Holiday Awesomeness: Day 1

I love this Christmas holiday, you know why? I'll tell you: because Christmas was on Saturday. Two weeks off, Christmas on Saturday, means you get a week to get ready for Christmas and a week to recover.

Boxing Day was spent as follows: we went up to Yonge and Eglinton to shop — Blake tried and failed to buy me Life (with David Attenborough) on Blu-Ray, and I was more successful with my shopping, a picture frame and a tablecloth. Then we had dim sum at Cha Liu, and Delphine and I walked back home (stopping to see Charlie on the way). Delphine had Ursa over to show off her loot, and then we sent all the girls over to Ursa's house while Blake and I went on a grocery date and got some things set up around the house.

After groceries we rendezvoused at Ursa's house and pooled our leftovers for an awesome post-Christmas Christmas dinner: our beef and potatoes, pudding, cookies, and wine; their turkey, wild rice, (more) potatoes.

But this post isn't even about Boxing Day, which was yesterday — it's about today! The girls have big ambitions for this week: they want to go up the CN Tower, they want to go to the ROM and they want to go to the Science Centre. Since today was forecast to be the only clear day this week I decided we should go up the Tower today.

The Tower was great. Lots of lining up, sure, but then an excellent elevator ride and a fun view of the city. ("Oh, there's that thing! Oh, there's that other thing!") Then down to the glass floor (after rejecting the cafe as a lunch option — $17 hamburger!) which the girls loved and I walked on only under extreme duress. Horrifying.

(Later on the way home, Delphine said she was not so impressed about the Tower, but I think she had a good time when she was up there. It's a good thing to have done.)

The elevator down deposited us conveniently in the gift store. Cordelia's whole plan for this trip was to get a little CN Tower (I think her friend Zoey has one) so we got her one. Since Cordelia was getting something, Delphine had to as well, so she got a doodad and I bought myself a pair of souvenir earrings.

We had lunch at East Side Mario's, first regaling our children with boring stories about how we used to go to ESM when we were in university. It was still great: little loaves of soft white bread, big bowls of salad (same as before except no pickled peppers) and giant servings of pasta. (Cordelia: "Why did she give me so much?!") We all ate half our meals, and the girls got three tiny ice cream cones for dessert. The whole place is designed to bring families back: great kids menu, crayons and activity books, gorgeous bathroom (panelled wood cubicles!), delightful kids' dessert, a little toy, and take-home cups with characters on to make sure the kids never forget. And, since it was Monday the kids ate for free. ESM, for every stage of your life.

After lunch we walked down to the Harbourfront and met some friends to go skating. It was our first time this year, so it took me a lap or two to get steady. Cordelia never really stopped hanging on to someone and dragging, but Delphine was quite confident on her skates by the end.

When we were all quite frozen we went back up to Colleen and Jeff's (they live right opposite the rink, lucky buggers) for hot chocolate and ended up playing Wii games and staying for pizza.

Then home and to bed with the children, late again! We're going to spend tomorrow at home so as to not overwhelm ourselves with excitement. Also to clean up after Christmas Day — I still haven't recycled the giftwrap.

We had such a lovely day, and yesterday to. I love going out with the girls, they're so agreeable and interested and interesting. I love sharing the city with them, discovering and rediscovering what makes it such a wonderful place to live.