Giving

Every action causes a reaction. I am pretty sure that might be a law of physics or some other scientific principle, but I actually think it best explains the holidays. Or at least what drives me through all the planning, shopping, re-thinking, wrapping, organizing, cleaning and calendaring. Sure, it’s stressful and the root cause of a miscommunication or two, but I usually love every minute of it and the end result never fails to make all the time and effort worth it.

It sounds so cliché to say that Christmas is about giving (I know ... it is also about the birth of baby Jesus and, despite my lack of a nativity scene, we do have the kid’s trained on that response too), but this time of year does seem to be the best time to give, say thanks and share in a genuine way that doesn’t seem too mushy (unless that is what you are going for) or over the top (Ok, you can go slightly over the top).

Like in years past and I am sure more to come, the smiles, laughter and pure joy that enchants Alex and Avery during the holidays – by our own doing or that of the magic of Christmas – is one of the greatest rewards of parenting.

I just hope the day never comes when they think getting a bath towel as gift is no longer cool.

Click here to see pictures from Christmas 2010.

The Morning After

Normal Rockwell had stockings hung by the fire. Our parent’s had a three mile walk, uphill in the snow. We had Lite Brites and bad hair. Our kids' generation will be defined by Wii Bowling on Christmas morning.

We love that Santa is a techie.

The Night Before

One day to go and all holiday prepping is complete – from wrapping to baking to cooking (yes, I am making a Christmas morning casserole). However, Avery has already opened two of her gifts (without permission). Although I despise the thought of any re-work, I have decided to re-wrap them for tomorrow morning. She might not be surprised, but she will be excited to see them again.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Online and Urban Holiday

We did it! We did not step one foot into the mall this holiday season. A big thank you goes to our good friends at Amazon and UPS, as well as the 16 year old kid who stocks the Kroger gift card center, for making this dream possible.

As for Santa, we avoided the three hour wait – and the $300 spent while roaming Kenwood Towne Center while holding the Christmas pager – by making a trip downtown and visiting the big guy at Fountain Square today. So easy. No lines. No overly priced photos. One super friendly (and patience) St. Nick. That was followed by some tag team shopping at Macy’s, microbrews at Rock Bottom and the holiday train display at the Duke Energy building.

The only downside to waiting until two days before Christmas to finally see Santa: a possible curveball on the wish list. All Avery could shyly ask for was a Barbie - a gift idea we had delegated to others. So we did have to hit the Kroger toy aisle on the way home to ensure this one and only request would be under the tree on Christmas morning.

The only downside to visiting downtown during the holidays: makes us wish we lived there all year long.

But overall, I believe we have a new December 23 tradition and one more day of the year we can pretend to lead an urban lifestyle.

Volunteers of the LECC

This morning I was in charge of making reindeer food and passing out napkins. Which was more challenging than is sounds. Turns out I was a lucky winner in the kindergarten volunteer lottery, landing a coveted spot as a room mom for the Christmas Party. I got to put my public speaking – and demonstrative – skills to the test, but more importantly, I was so relieved to witness a successful gift exchange and know that Alex did not inherit my horrible holiday luck. How could I be the only kid who’s mom sold Avon yet always ended up with a bottle of Avon Skin So Soft (or their hand cream, lip gloss or nativity piece)? It probably helped that Alex’s gift exchange had a set category – books – which kept his classmates from shopping in the cosmetics department or bringing in anything Kroger brand (the modern day equivalent to my annual childhood experience).

It was well worth the two hours out of the office, and I am now only six volunteer dates behind Ella’s mom. Yes Alex is counting, which makes it my New Years’ Resolution to catch up or at least close the gap!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Today we missed the bus – again. Not because Avery refused to wear pants, which is the source of our normal morning delays, but because I got some tough questions.

Alex: “Is there just one Santa Claus? How does the Tooth Fairy know you have a tooth under your pillow? Will I come back to life after I die?”

I thought I had at least five more years until I would have to address these topics and it is never good to try and tackle them when under a timeframe. But here was my best attempt.

Mommy: “Just one Santa. If he looks different every year at the mall it is because he is getting older and people change. You look different each year when you go to see him, right? However, there are multiple Tooth Fairies. They are just too small to cover the whole world, so they are all trained to perform the same tasks, equipped with the same teeth finding radar and then assigned regionally. As for life after death, there a couple theories out there. First, when you die you will go to heaven and live with God and everyone who has passed before you. In spirit you can look down on earth and watch over the ones you love. Second, there is reincarnation. This is the idea that after you die and hang out with God for a while, your soul will once again be called on duty for the secular life. You will return either as a person, animal or plant. But don’t worry, if you come back as a baby bird, then I will be your mommy bird.”

I might have told a little white lie on that last one, but we were approaching 9:05 am. The kids agreed it would be fun to come back to earth in our second life as a family of spiders who live at the neighborhood pool. Go figure. But guessing they are satisfied with my answers for now and I am expecting at least 15 phone calls (and complaints) for starting the nasty rumor running through LECC that the Tooth Fairy is plural and possibly unionized.

Avery: Totally Styling

So, I only took one picture of Avery with her self-inflicted hair cut from two days ago, but at this point, it is not even worth sharing, as the hair style she got tonight at Cookie Cutters (hair cuts for kids) will be the one to go down in history. You would have thought I walked in with the picture of Pat Benatar or Blair Warner (or Natalie Green) from the Facts of Life and said, “can you re-create this look?”

There was definitely a blow dryer involved and possibly a curling iron when I was not looking. Not sure where the earrings came from either, but I am guessing the stylist thought the only way to “even out” the short bangs and missing curly locks over her ears was to transport Avery back to 1985. Trying to fix it may have been a bigger mistake ...

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Carter’s Christmas PJs. Starbuck’s Christmas Blend. Hours spent on Snapfish creating calendars, photos books and the perfect Christmas Card. Hours spent in bed trying to fight off the Christmas crud. We seem to be kicking off the holiday season in our typical fashion.

Next up will be creating a list for Santa, waiting in line to see Santa and convincing Avery that the Santa-inspired lingerie from the girls’ night gift exchange is not her newest red and white princess dress. That will be followed by some very last minute tree decorating (so we don’t have to hang ornaments more than once) and online shopping (so we don’t have to go to the mall more than once).

So there is plenty left to do, but I also know there will be plenty of holiday cheer (in spirit and liquid form) to get us all through it!

Ten Minutes and a Checklist

My resume, which has not been updated in over seven years, states that I am a creative problem solver. I think it also highlights the fact I was the vice president of my sorority, so maybe it does need a refresh.

But my problem solving skills have been tested greatly over the past few months as you have heard me do a lot of complaining and straining around the morning routine at the Muse household. However, by once again taking a page out of the Jo Frost “checklist theory” and adding in a few elementary principles I remembered from Psychology 101, I think I found my solution.

The kids and I made a morning checklist of the obvious. The basic steps that I cannot even believe I have to repetitively ask for and argue about day after day. The list starts with waking up, which is what they do best and sometimes too early. And it includes everything from eating breakfast to getting dressed to brushing teeth. It ends with them going to the bus stop and then on to Prodigy. Alex loved it. Avery thought it was neat, but not worth following. So because I couldn’t not get her to complete the final two tasks, I had to play a few head games and made sure the checklist was about her and not Alex. Therefore, we eliminated the bus stop, which gave her ten extra minutes of Mickey Mouse and the illusion we were are not operating on Alex’s schedule. I was no longer forced to say (or scream) “get dressed … or your brother will miss the bus.”

So far so good (knock on wood). I should have known it was all about timing and positioning, not begging and pleading. I am not sure I want to be the mom who drives their kids to school every day, but it is well worth it to avoid the chaos, frustration and tears that were becoming the standard side with my morning coffee.

Dream Catchers

Thank you Nyquil for a peaceful and solid ten hours of sleep. No matter what they say, I think you are better (and not to mention cheaper and more accessible) than an Ambian. I am more rested these past few days than I have been in a long time. But I really need to say thank you to our newly created dream catchers for the kids. After months of playing musical beds and only getting sleep in two hour increments, we had no other choice than to resort to voodoo and ancient, superstitious artifacts.

So channeling my inner Martha Stewart and new found love of crafts that developed over Thanksgiving, the kids and I decided a family art project – involving only string, crayons, a hole punch and paper plates for easy clean up – would kill some time and ward off any of the bad mojo lingering in their bedrooms – the source for their nightly discontent and, as they claim, bad dreams. So far, so good and all other sleep-enhancing magic potions are now temporarily on hold.