Archive for the ‘christmas’ Category
Santa myth: Disillusionment in action
This email just came in for my 8 year old from her best friend:
I know it’s not fair. I might get a DS for
X-Mas. Did you know Santa’s not real my
Mom and Dad were talking a bout him last
night.
From,
Paige
Even after that email – and you assume some discussion later that day at school – she is not questioning. We don’t even really promote Santa much these days. We do stockings, but nothing is ever labeled “from Santa,” we don’t do letters to Santa or sitting on Santa’s lap. No putting out milk and cookies. She just has decided to believe. I was the same. I remember sustaining some level of belief internally well until I was 11 or 12!
I remember riding around with my Grandma around our town on Christmas Eve when I was around that age, looking at Christmas lights (an annual tradition) and listening to Christmas music on the radio. Periodically the announcers would do the “Santa tracking” thing and I thought grown up adults wouldn’t go to such lengths if there was no Santa. Even though another part of my mind knew this just really didn’t work rationally.
I was the oldest sibling, though! It’s hard to imagine her more jaded older sibs haven’t spilled the beans, eh? I rather think they MUST have and she’s just persistent in her belief. The power of denial – and the power of believing what we WANT to believe just has to be true – even the most irrational, literal version of the myth.
Getting back in my groove.
I don’t know why life suddenly seems so much more busy! Events ramped up over the holidays and just haven’t slowed down since.I hate when I fall off my blogging groove – it’s so hard to recoup, you know? And the more time that passes since my last entry, the more overwhelmed I get with the backlog of events I keep meaning to blog about! So, mainly so I can STOP feeling overwhelmed and just get on with it, here’s a bullet point summary of stuff going on lately:
- Christmas was fun, except for the part where I got mastitis.
We celebrated on the Sunday before Christmas, when we had all our family gathered ’round. I was feeling the mastitis coming on that day and I KNEW I should rest, but how could that happen, right? So I didn’t and it kicked my ass. I did bedrest the next day and the recovery started.
- We journeyed to Colorado with 5 of our 6 kids in tow on the 26th. Half the trip we spend at Keystone where Scott’s parents have a condo. The kids LOVED the snow. Scott and I got to have a date at the restaurant of the little ski lodge where we were married 2.5 years ago. Our first solo meal since Jake was born!
- We spent the second half of our trip in Pueblo visiting with family, particularly Scott’s grandparents, who got to meet Jake for the first time.
Scott and I had a blast digging through old photographs and learning more of his family history. We also found this amazing photo of Scott’s dad when he was three months old. Look familiar??
- Jake is five months old now and nearly crawling. Noooooooooo – it’s too soon! He is a happy little man. He knows and loves his siblings. It’s so cute the way his face lights up when they pay any kind of attention to him. He was WONDERFUL on the plane. Our flights were fairly short and he slept most of the time. Getting though security with a baby, a stroller, a carseat plus the diaper bag was no joy, however. Not to mention all the other kids. Oy.
- I am ever more dissatisfied with my shape. I got a Garmin Forerunner in my stocking (I asked for it lol) and augmented that with a jogging stroller this past week. I need to get off my duff. Even if I don’t lose a pound (and I’m not likely to until little one is getting most of his nutrition from solids when he is 12+ months old), exercise will help me feel better about myself. I would be a lot more despairing if I hadn’t been through this before. I had a similar weight gain pattern after Mira was born – and I successfully lost the weight and got fit after her first birthday. I want to start with healthier habits NOW though – at least in the exercise department. I don’t know HOW I can curb these insane carb cravings when I’m nursing.
In fact, I’m going to upload my pictures, post this entry, dress the baby, gather up my gear and GET WALKING. Today. (Edited to update: Or maybe I will AFTER the baby wakes up from his nap. )
“Adorement”
I got myself a small Christmas present this year – a token of my gratitude for my wonderful spouse and children.
It was this ring.
As you can see from the photo, it has a lovely sentiment. The band is sterling silver and is inscribed with “I made a wish” and there is a little golden star impressed. Then the inside of the band is inscribed: “and you came true.”
B was looking at it and said, “I wonder why people even WEAR rings. Why do they want to have rings on their fingers?”
We talked about how some, like engagement rings and wedding bands, are symbols of a couples commitment to each other. In other cases, rings are simply decoration, adornment.
And she, my clever little girl, said, “But this new ring you have must be adore-ment.”
Awww. 
I love my family
Creative gift wrapping
Ha! I'm so proud of this gift wrapping. 
This one was Scott's idea. We got A a couple t-shirts for Christmas, but we've run out of boxes. So, inspired by necessity, Scott cut an empty wrapping paper tube in half and twisted each t-shirt into the half tubes. Then, as you can see below, we wrapped the tubes so they looked like they still had wrapping paper on them, then we put the two halves next to each other and taped the end caps back on. CUTE, eh? Hehe.
Merry Christmas to THEM
Three happy girls, obsessed with their new pink DSsssss and INSANE for Nintendogs. (Highly recommended – those pups are CUTE and the game is very engaging. Even the teenager clerk at Target was raving about the game!
Megan got a new camera of her own! (But she and Mira are showing off their soap here.)
Mira and her cousin McKenna
Merry Christmas to me!
Lookie what I got for Christmas!
My old digital camera (top of the line in 2000) was wonderful, but too big for a pocket or a purse, so it turns out that I ALWAYS forget it and NEVER have it when I need/want it. So Scott stuffed my Christmas stocking with the “purse camera” I’ve been wanting for ages.
Some purse camera! Technology has changed so much, that this itty, bitty beauty far outshines my old camera in quality. Plus! It’s shockproof to 5 feet – critical for a klutz like me (Scott has watched me fumble my cell phone oh-so-many times. He’s a savvy boy.) And it’s waterproof, too.
Anyway, this gift inspired me to start this blog. I’m digging the easy organization tools and privacy features on Vox, so thought I’d give this a go.
I’ll upload some pictures soon!
Mom to 4 kids and 2 stepkids, I work at home in the heart of the chaos. Founder and executive editor of SheKnows.com and various other sites. Homeschooling. Knitter. Family chef. Gadget geek. Wordphreak. LAZY BLOGGER. 