Christmas Recap (Photo Edition)

Christmas is over and I'm about ready to pack up the tree and return the decorations to their bins and move everything back to the attic.

But at the same time, I'm a bit sad.  I really love Christmas - I always have, but having kids make it even more magical (although, it also goes by a WHOLE LOT QUICKER once you add kids to the mix).

This year, it seemed like the kids were *extra* fun.  Claire, at 17 months, and Jack at 4 years, were involved and interested and excited about everything the holidays had to offer.

What's not to love about that?

I uploaded some pictures this evening and thought I would share a few of my favorites.

I asked him if I could take some pictures, and he put his hand on his hip and stuck his little foot out and totally struck a pose!

It's not easy getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time!

I told them to stand in front of the tree for a picture and they actually did.  WIN.

This just melts my heart.

Jack teaches Claire how to jump (she can't get both feet off the ground at the same time, but she sure tries!)

Boots!

We get a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!  With snow!  On Christmas!  Which is awesome!  Until the next day, when it's just...cold.

Some sort of snow dinosaur action going on here.

And just like that - Christmas is over and I'm scoping out candy hearts at the grocery store.  Because the best thing about Christmas ending is candy hearts.

Snow is Fun and All, But...

This month has been amazing, weather-wise.

Most of the days have fallen between 60 and 75 degrees, with one day creeping up around 80.  Shorts and t-shirts weather.

I felt myself long for boots and sweaters every now and then, but then I remembered how cold boot and sweater weather is and I went back to appreciating the sunshine.

But, as we closed in on Christmas, I did wish - just a teeny, tiny, little bit - that we'd maybe have some chilly weather for the big day.  Something that might merit a fire in the fireplace and lots of cuddling on the couch.

A few days ago the weatherman said that there was a chance we might have snow on Christmas.  Snow!    A white Christmas!

I live in Texas, so I know better than to hold my breath or make any serious plans based on the weather report.  But still...snow!

And then, on Christmas Eve, I lay in bed and listened to the house take a real lashing from the first serious storm we've had in months.  Lightning, thunder, hail pelting the windows...it sounded pretty serious.  I checked the weather app on my phone and saw that the temperature was dropping.

It rained all morning.

But around 1 PM, we saw our first sprinkling of...snow.

As the afternoon wore on, the rain faded away and the snow took over, blowing around our house and blanketing the lawn.  The kids were getting excited.  Jack kept saying, "I can't believe it's snowing on Christmas!" while Claire just pointed outside and said, "NO! NO! NO!" over and over again.

Watching their excitement escalate, my heart grew warm as the day grew cold.

For a bit, it was great fun, and we ventured outside to take part in this winter weather.  Jack, with socks on his hands because we don't own any mittens (we live in Texas...we don't need mittens!), made snowballs and threw them at Charles.  Claire, bundled up and cozy in my arms, squealed with delight.

Snow!  Well, the start of it, anyway!

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Mickey Mail

These last few days have been something else.

I don't have much to say today.  In the wake of the tragedy that happened last week, I don't know that I even *should* say anything.

I don't want to tap into the emotions that have settled just beneath my skin.  I want them to go away.  And so, I'm not going to write about them today.  

But I will say this.  I'm doing my best to keep my kids as innocent as possible. 

And in the spirit of childhood innocence, I'm going to share this sweet picture I took of the kids a couple of nights ago.

We received this Santa Mickey from Disneyland Resorts PR.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  A happy surprise that has done nothing but bring joy to these two kids.

A Mickey Mouse doll seems so frivolous and silly in light of the horror so many families experienced just a few short days ago.  But this is the reality of my children, today.  

And for that I am so, so grateful.

Cherish everyone you love.

Farm Animal Friday

Maybe you already know this, but not so long ago, Charles and I lived in the country.

That's right. We lived on 15 acres and had as many animals.  Cats, dogs, horses, donkeys...scorpions, snakes.

Once we decided to move, we had the (not so very) small problem of 15 or so animals to deal with.  It's not like you can just load up a couple of donkeys and keep them in your backyard in Suburbia, you know?  But they were our pets, our loved ones, our friends.  We couldn't just dump them off somewhere, either.

The amazing thing is, the animals all found homes (with the exception of a dog and a horse and my cat, who all stayed in the family) easily and organically (or, sadly, they died).

Cricket the dog moved into the neighbor's house a couple of years before we even decided to move (she liked it there better, I guess - probably due to the warm couch she was invited to share).  Rocket the cat and Mo the horse crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Norman the Very Big Horse (that I didn't have time for, at all) found a wonderful family in Colorado.  Twinkie the cat went to live with Jack's babysitter (who, let's be honest here, loved her way more than we did).  Donkey and Harry, the donkeys, and Lando, the barn cat, were invited by the new homeowners to stay.  Dinah the cat moved in with my mom (she's actually spent several years living with my mom before and doesn't really like kids, so it's a WIN for her).  Janga the dog came with us (maybe someday I will share her story), and Seamus the horse moved down the street into my mom's pasture, where he awaits the day I actually ride him again.

You know what?

I miss my critters.

I don't miss cleaning up all their shit, I don't miss trudging out to the barn in the wee hours of the morning with buckets of hot water because the pipes froze and the horses have nothing to drink, and I don't miss them barking and meowing and hee-hawing at the top of their lungs as soon as the kid went down for a nap...but I do miss them.  I miss them dearly.

And guess what?  It's FRIDAY!

So, how are farm animals and Friday related?

Well, I wish I could hand you all a glass of wine (or your beverage of choice) through this computer screen to celebrate Friday, but I can't.  So instead, I'll bring you a farm animal.  Because although I'm lacking in wine, I am SO NOT LACKING in pictures of cute animals.  And cute animals are funny and make things better.  Right?

This is Twinkie, a very naughty cat, indeed.

Happy Friday, everyone (and yes, a cat is totally a farm animal)!

O' Christmas Tree

When I was a kid, we decorated the Christmas tree every year around my birthday (December 16th).

We would drive to the tree farm and pick one out.  My Dad would cut it down (although I am pretty sure my mom actually cut it down one year when my Dad couldn't make it) and we'd drive home with it strapped to the top of our Buick station wagon, giddy with excitement.  And then we'd get home and my Dad would bring it inside and get it all set up in the tree stand and my mom would break out the boxes of ornaments and pass them out to us, one at a time, to carefully place on the tree.

It was quite an event.  In fact, just the kind of event I hope I can recreate for my own kids.

A couple of days ago, we decorated our tree.

Here's where I need to make a confession about what seems to be a very hotly contested debate this time of year.

Real tree?  Or fake tree?

This year, our tree is fake.  We made a big deal out of getting it and setting it up, and it was very exciting for the kids.  They don't realize that they're missing out on the experience of picking their own tree, watching Daddy cut it down, and then getting to smell it's fresh pine scent every day.  I do - I realize this - but I'm totally onboard with "the fakie," as we like to call it.

Last year, we had a real tree and it shed pine needles like crazy, all day long and every single day for the entire month it lived (died a slow death?) under our roof.  Then it was time to take it out for the neighborhood tree pick-up service our trash service offers, so we (Charles) dragged it outside (leaving about two billion pine needles on the floor in its wake) and left it at the curb (amongst the other neighborhood trees) to be removed.

The next day, all of the trees on our street were gone, leaving little patches of green pine needles next to the mailboxes.  All of the trees were gone, that is, except ours.

Apparently ours (at about 7' tall) was too big to be picked up - it needed to be cut in half first.  :::SIGH:::  So, Charles had to cut it in half and then schedule another pick-up.

It did, eventually, get picked up...leaving the biggest pine needle puddle on the block in front of our house.

In one word, our real Christmas tree was a big fat PAIN.

So, I didn't fight too hard when Charles said he wanted a fake tree.  In fact, I even agreed.  And willingly sent him to Home Depot, where he chose the *perfect* tree.

I do miss the smell of fresh pine needles in our home.  But I don't miss cleaning them up.

The beauty to our fake tree (aside from the actual beauty of the tree - there are no bare spots or funny looking branches on this thing) is that we will have it for a long time to come.  If we choose to take the kids out the tree farm next year to cut down our own tree, we can do that...and then if we hate it, we can go back to our fake tree the year after that.

There was a time when I was an Extreme Tree Snob and thought it was really, really lame to have a fake tree in the house.  I still get why people feel that way.  But I also get why there is a fake Christmas tree industry in the first place.

It's because they're AWESOME.

Real or fake, I hope you enjoy your tree this year (if you have a tree and celebrate Christmas, that is - if  you don't celebrate Christmas this might be a good time to be thankful for that because these darn trees are a lot of work!).

So tell me...are you a die-hard Real Tree person, or do you swear by your fakie?

The Album of Christmas Pasts

A few years ago, my mother-in-law told me about a scrapbook she'd seen for sale.  It was a Christmas album, and it was set up so that each Christmas, you would complete a new page, answering the same questions and adding a picture each year.

I thought, "Well, I could make one of those," and then of course, never actually made one.  But this year, I finally got my act together (all it took was realizing that I couldn't even remember what we gave Jack for his first Christmas to light a fire under me and get me started - I can't cook, I don't like to clean, and I'm not always nice, but by golly am I on top of it when it comes to recording memories) and made my Christmas album.

I am going to share with you what I did because GOSH DARN IT, it's cute.  Also, I think it's a great way to record those little memories that so easily slip away.

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2012 Christmas Gift Guide

Charles is really good at giving gifts (to me).  Past gifts have included a surprise trip to NYC, a Coach purse, and a horse.  And no, we're not rich...not even close!  But he plans these things and just makes them happen (maybe someday I can get him to tell the story of what he had to sell to buy me that Coach purse...it's kind of funny).

Meet Seamus.  I had known him for years, but became "my" horse in 2005 as my Anniversary/Birthday/Christmas present that year.

I'm more like, "Hey, what do you want for Christmas?  A new golf club?  OK, go buy it," and that's that.

But when it comes to other people - like my kids and relatives - I stress out and hem and haw over finding the perfect gift and then read all the reviews on Amazon before finally buying it and then anxiously wrap it up and hand it over, just hoping it will be exactly what they didn't even realize they'd been wanting.

So, I'm hoping to help you out a bit this year.  Here is a list of some of my favorite unique gifts that I've given (and a few I've received, too).  I guess you could call this my Official 2012 Gift Guide!


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A Lesson in Giving

Every year at Christmas, I think about all the things I *should* be doing for other people.

I think about the volunteer hours I should put in somewhere, the barely-used toys I should drop off at the Children's Home, and the charities I should be writing checks to.

And then...Christmas comes and goes, and during the course of a whirlwind month we've spent all our money on the kids and replacing the plastic Christmas tree the cat peed on last year, and all our time has been sucked into the vacuum that is Daily Existence, and I somehow have gone through another holiday season without acting on even one of the things I had wholly intended on doing - call me The Queen of Good Intentions, I guess.

Am I the only one who feels guilty at Christmas?  I love Christmas.  I LOVE IT.  But...I always have this nagging feeling in my heart as I sit around the fire all cozy and warm, bundled up in my new pj's and polishing off another round of holiday leftovers while the kids claw through all of their new toys at my feet.  I always feel like I didn't do enough for others, like I have too much, like I've overlooked something.  It's kind of depressing, to be honest...and the only way I can make myself feel better is to tell myself to enjoy what I have and to make "helping others" a priority in the New Year.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

It wasn't always this way, though.
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The 21st of December

It's that day of the month again!  The 21st of...December.

The day of the month in which my baby becomes a new age (five months old today!) and I record my whole boring day in hourly photos so someday I can look back and realize how things have changed and how truly, this too *did* pass.  You know how sometimes you wonder if things will ever, ever change or if you'll be attached to the couch nursing a baby for the rest of you life, or if you'll be negotiating with a toddler for all of eternity, etc.?  That's why I'm doing this...to keep some perspective.

And without further ado, I bring you...the 21st of December (which just happens to be my favorite month of the year, holla!).

7:00 AM

I am off to a good start!  By some miracle, I actually wake up and remember to take a picture.  Waking up in a pleasant mood is no small feat for me.  I can honestly say that seeing this precious little face first thing in the morning helps.  A lot.  Also?  It helps that Charles takes her so I can sleep in a bit most mornings.  Those 30 child-free minutes...in bed with a pillow over my head to drown out cries and screams from The Dictator dragon-child Jack are a huge part of my morning routine...for, as unpleasantly as I might wake up, Jack has me beat.  I need this time to feel nicer.  And it helps that by the time I get out of bed, Jack has had something to eat and settled down in front of a train movie and is also nicer.  Win/win.  

8:00 AM

Aww!  Look who's happily entertaining herself when I get up.

9:00 AM

Baby is nursing/napping.  Jack is playing in the room with us.  I am pretty sure it's impossible to have a baby nap when there is a toddler in the house.  Luckily, Jack will entertain himself many times while the baby naps on me.  If I put her in her swing or bed, she tops out at about a 20 minute nap.  

10:00 AM

A month ago, Claire wanted to get Jack's toys.  Now she actually can.  She has scooted over to his train tracks and is taking his trains.  You can see it's blurry here...that's because he just pulled it away from her.  Luckily he still thinks this is mostly cute.

11:00 AM

I get the baby to sleep again and put her in her swing.  While she's down, I run out and set Jack up with paints.  He needs to paint this frame for a Christmas present for his great-grandmother, who's turning 97 next month.  Here he was telling me, "Look!  Two paintbrushes!"  Painting with Jack is actually a pretty easy deal.  He keeps pretty clean, mostly, and is bored after about 15 minutes...so the mess is really minimal. The baby woke up right after I took this. Because that's what she does.

12:00 PM

There has been some serious Christmas crafting going on around here.  See those little jars in the middle of the table?  That's something I learned to make on Pinterest...I've got a post all about it in the works (it's homemade sugar scrub).  Anyway, this disaster needed some cleaning.  Only, Charles ended up shoving everything in a box while I was getting the baby to nap shortly after I took this.  I am not happy about that. And I haven't had a chance yet to get the box cleaned.

1:00 PM

At 1:00 PM, Jack is doing "quiet time" and Claire is napping on me.  And this picture?  Yeah.  We are still in our PAJAMAS.  Sigh.  That's her little polka-dotted bum resting on my big polka-dotted leg.  

2:00 PM

Shockingly, an hour later the baby is still asleep (which is due to the fact that she's asleep on me) and Jack is still partaking in quiet time (aided by another train movie, in this case The Polar Express).  I am browsing Reddit on my phone and happen to be looking at this picture.  Some of the stuff on Reddit just cracks me up.  This picture is no exception (and no, there was no explanation that went along with the picture).

3:00 PM

I forget to take a picture at 3:00.  This is because we are trying to get out of the house to go to a doctor's appointment for the kids (wellness visits).  And this turns out to be awesome...we actually FIND A DOCTOR WE LIKE.

Claire is 26" long and weighs 15 pounds, 4 ounces.  To compare, Jack (at four months) was 23" long and weighed 17 pounds 2 ounces.  They both have giant heads.  

Jack is now 37" and 32 pounds.

5:00 PM

Doctor appointment over, we are on our way to some serious deliciousness.  

7:00 PM

Home, Sweet Home!

8:00

The kids are bathed and drying off by the fire.  They are so damn cute!  Claire is scooting around like a champ and Jack is building (what else) train tracks.  

9:00 PM

The baby is asleep in my arms and I'm going through all of my favorite apps on my phone.  I've checked facebook and twitter about a hundred times each and now I'm back to Reddit.  

10:00 PM

It's not quite 10:00 PM yet, but close enough!  I'm writing this in the dark of my room because Charles is playing video games online with his friends and I'm just not that interested in going out there and listening to the profanity while I try to get this posted.  But, as soon as I hit "publish" I probably WILL go out there because I want some chocolate.  And we have chocolate.  Mmmm.  Yummy.

Well, I'd continue or get all insightful here...but no joke...I want some chocolate.