Songs of the Season

My kids love Christmas carols! They love to sing along with Christmas CDs or A Capella style while in the car, eating lunch, or in the bath. Thus, I've had to try and learn the words to many different Christmas carols. Imagine my shock in discovering the actual lyrics hardly make any mention of the words "toys", "shopping" or the popular variation "day after Christmas shopping." The words to "Do You Hear What I Hear?" mention, "The child, the child sleeping in the night, he will bring us goodness and light." All right, that's good and all, but will he also bring us a Kindle or a Samsung 55-inch HDTV? The words to "Silent Night" mention, "Sleep in heavenly peace." Ah, sleep sounds really good right now, but that's after putting together the Schwinn Roadster 12-inch Trike.

You get the idea. It seems like every year, it gets harder and harder to cut through the commercial meaning of Christmas and teach our kids a truer meaning of Christmas. It doesn't necessarily have to be a strict religious meaning. It can be as simple as echoing the messages found in the music of the holidays. "Pray for peace people everywhere." And helping our children understand how fortunate they are and the value of helping others. "And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace."

Here is wishing you joy, laughter, and treasured time with loved ones. Thank you for all your kind words of support with this blog! Happy Holidays!!

And Now a Commercial Break...

I digress with this post. Today's post has nothing to do with the holidays or Santa's impending arrival or things merry and bright. Well, it is a little merry. It's no secret that our family loves sports. And, for the past few years, we've done a football pick'em league where each week, players pick 15 college games and the 15 pro games versus the spread. This year, we let our kids join the league (their idea, I swear!).

This past week was week 15 out of a total of 17. With everything that is going on, I hadn't had a chance to check the results from this past week and the overall league standings...until this evening. (Hint, hint...this is where the merry part of the post comes in.) Guess who was the week 15 winner by far? I'll give you a hint. It's the same person who is tied for 2nd place overall. Yep, it's my four-year-old daughter! And our son is only three points behind her! (In the interest of full disclosure, my son bets versus the spread each week, while my daughter picks the winner straight up.) Either way, suffice it to say, my husband and I trail them both. If nothing else, this makes me laugh hysterically at the thought of there actually being a secret formula to striking it rich at the sports book. If a four and six-year-old who always pick their favorite teams (the Vikings and the Colts), no matter who the opponent, can between them win six out of the 15 weeks so far, what hope is there for the betting savants out there? I'm currently using that as my excuse...

Dwindling Days

We've had so much fun here with our advent calendar! In the past few days, we've looked at Christmas lights (with hot chocolate), wrapped more gifts (with hot chocolate), watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (with hot chocolate - notice the pattern?), and made a gift for friends. Any guesses from the pictures below what the "gift" was?

Is there actually a cookie under all those sprinkles??


Here is what the advent calendar looks like with only a few days until Christmas. Today's activity is the always popular Pajama Day!! And I am sure it will include hot chocolate at some point.

Santa, is that you?

One of the reasons we made sure to take the train to the North Pole this year is because we aren't sure how many more years of true believing we have left! Even though my kids are only six and four, we've already had to become very creative with our answers to questions about Santa. Last year, we established the fact all the Santa Clauses that we see at the mall, parties, etc. are "Santa helpers," meaning they help the real Santa who is so busy getting ready for Christmas Eve at the North Pole, that he couldn't possibly leave so close to Christmas. Plus, as my son added, "The North Pole is like, 3,000 miles away, so it would take him too long to get here and then back to the North Pole." Good point, son.

Santa, or rather, one of Santa's helpers, makes an appearance at the kids' school each year on the last day of school before Christmas break. When I asked the kids if Santa made a visit, my son answered very nonchalantly, "Yes, but it wasn't the real Santa. The real Santa is at the North Pole packing his sleigh." To which I heartily agreed. Then he continued, "Besides, do you know I really knew it wasn't the real Santa?" "How," I asked curiously. "He was wearing a yellow visitor's pass." A definite give away for sure! "And, it didn't say St. Nick!"

Cookie Wonderland

Today's advent activity was baking cookies! And not to spoil the surprise, but that's tomorrow's activity as well. I finally got smart this year and spread the cookie baking over two afternoons instead of frantically trying to churn out two different recipes, make dinner, and get the kids ready for bed...all in one night. Today's cookie, Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, is courtesy of one of my favorite blogs Elements of Style. You can find the entire recipe here. Not only are these delicious, but they are so easy even a four-year-old can make them (with just the slightest assistance from mom!) Here is mine mastering the art of the electric mixer! Go girl!

The two of us finished in no time and as a reward for all her hard work, not only did she get to eat some cookie dough, she got to eat an entire cookie before dinner. After all, the chef has to sample the finished product, right? And where, you might ask, was my son during the baking fun? Does this answer your question? Not only does he play football in the living room with his helmet on, he watches football or whatever sporting event happens to be on, with his helmet on!

Pure Holiday Joy!

I know I have mentioned this before, but Christmas really is my favorite holiday! And one of the main reasons is because with kids, I get to experience the joy of the holidays through their eyes. I am constantly reminded how unaffected by things kids are and how the simple things make them happy. This weekend was a good example. On Saturday evening, we took the kids on a train ride to The North Pole to pick up Santa for the return ride. The kids were to dress in their pjs and enjoy cookies, milk and caroling en route to the North Pole. Who would have imagined when we booked the ride that it would also be the night of a terrible rain storm...in Southern California of all places?

So what if the carnival rides, bounce house, and craft booths were all closed? The kids found another way to entertain themselves under the tents: Ring Around the Rosie!


So what if we were all soaked by the time we boarded the train? The kids were surrounded by their friends, enjoying cookies and milk, and listening to off-tune Christmas caroling (is there any other kind of caroling?) And the best part was that Santa actually boarded the train and handed out candy canes.


So what if it was well after 9:00 by the time we said our good-byes to our friends and climbed into our car? When we asked the kids if they had fun, they both gave the evening an enthusiastic "two-thumbs up!!" Now who knows if it was the actual train ride or being out in the dark dressed in their pjs or laughing hysterically with their friends. The "why" really isn't important. There were many moments of pure joy that night and that's all that matters to me!

It Was the Post Office's Fault!

I prepared for my morning at the post office today in typical A+ fashion. I had already compiled my list of out-of-town gifts that needed to be sent, the contents of the boxes, and current addresses. Last night, I stayed up until midnight packing and addressing various envelopes and boxes. Everything was even loaded into my car last night so I would be all ready to go in the morning. This morning, anticipating the dreadfully slow lines, I arrived at the post office with cup-of-coffee in hand along with my planner so I could be productive while queuing in line. An Eagle Scout could not have been more prepared. Except for one thing: there was no dreadfully long line at the post office. In fact, there was no line at all! Impossible, right? This particular post office had FOUR stations open and what's more, everyone was SMILING!

I must admit, I returned to the car in a semi-dazed state. Not a sip of coffee consumed and my planner still in my purse. I had so much extra time that I decided to look for the last few gifts on my Christmas list. Getting unexpected items checked off my list? A perfectionist's dream, right? Well, not exactly. Because I had so much time, I spent a little too long in the store. You know where this is heading don't you? Please tell me that I am not the only one who wanders into a store to buy presents for others, but winds up getting something for myself as well! Besides the gifts on my list, I ended up with a scarf and a necklace for myself. Definitely poor form. Does it help that they were both on double, quadruple markdown? When the salesperson asked if I wanted a gift receipt, I said "yes" - to all the items...including my own. The shame of it all! If only the post office hadn't been so darn efficient!

Glory Days

Yesterday I had breakfast with a dear friend of mine from MBA school. We live less than 10 miles apart and yet don't see each other nearly enough. Whenever we get together, we inevitably end up having a good laugh about the "old" us versus the "new" us. When we were in Business School, we were ready to conquer the world. Career women! In comparison, during our breakfast, my girlfriend told me the hilarious story of being completely mortified while encountering her old boss and co-workers (at the mall of all places) in their full "business suit with briefcase in-hand" attire. While she on the other hand was out in her sweats, no make-up, and recently recovered from illness. Dreamy, right? The only thing better is having an ex-girlfriend of your husband walk into the store at the same time!

I know that it is not just the A+ moms out there, but every mom that had an identity of her own before having kids, that can relate to the story. It's like the movie where the character is constantly reliving his glory days and saying to others, "I used to BE somebody!" And that is exactly how I feel some days. After hearing "Stop it!" "He hit me" or "That's mine!" for the twentieth time, I want to yell, "I used to manage a team of people who could all do multiplication and eat with utensils!" Admit it, you have too. My girlfriend and I even speculated what a current performance review would look like: Laundry done in a timely manner? Check. Whites and bright colors sorted correctly? Check. Nice crisp folds in t-shirts and sweaters? Needs improvement. Good thing I'm not in this mothering-thing for the validation! The fact that the good days outnumber the bad ones is rewarding enough for me.

Lesson Learned by Wrapping Presents

Tonight, I had another occasion to pat myself on the back. No, not because of a perfectionist moment. It was actually the opposite: a "letting the perfection go" moment (very similar to the decorating of the Christmas tree). Today's advent activity was "Help wrap presents." So, I brought out some wrapping paper and tape and let the kids wrap presents - all by themselves. The funniest moment had to be when my son picked up the present to show me he was done and the present actually fell out of one end! Because of that happening, both kids had the opportunity to learn how to fold the ends up and tape them so the present doesn't fall out. I know many of you already let your kids do this, but for me, sometimes it really is baby steps. This gift wrapped by my son is being sent to family.


This one wrapped by my daughter is our first present for under the tree (it's for Daddy!)

Holiday Party

After a festive holiday party last weekend, I feel like it should be Christmas this weekend! Since it all came together rather quickly, I did not have time to agonize and over-analyze every detail. And guess what? It actually came together wonderfully! The decorations were kept simple.


My girlfriend was a superstar and helped us rent a tent (complete with heaters) for the backyard. We set-up the bar outside too.


However, the best part of the evening by far, was the chance to share an evening of laughter and fun with good friends. The fall always seem to pass us by in a blur. There are Back-to School Nights, Parents' Nights, soccer games, Country Fairs, more soccer games, and on and on. Halloween arrives as if it has been dropped on our doorstep. And from them on, it is a mad mad sprint to the end of the year. So, it was so fabulous to be able to take a moment for holiday festivities. A special thank-you goes out to our friends from grad school who drove long distances in a single evening to join the fun!

The Mess

Hmmm, does this look like the house of someone who is hosting a party tomorrow?

How can I get to cleaning for the party if I can't even clean-up the everyday mess?



Whose idea was it to have people over anyway? Why do I always feel the need to do more during the holidays instead of doing less? I swear, this is my last major undertaking! After this, I am just going to sit back and enjoy the holidays. Wish me luck with that one!

Trimming the Tree

Today's activity was decorating the tree! The kids were beyond excited (to say the least) so I let them have at it. This is no small feat for a A+ perfectionist. No, I did not move the ornaments around after they went to bed. Yes, there is a heavy concentration of ornaments at their eye level. Yes, I consider it a small victory that only two ornaments were broken. And while I am biased, I think the tree looks beautiful!

DIY Advent

My husband says that I am not happy unless I am busy with a project. Not true! Well, maybe a little true. My latest and last one until the holidays are over is my DIY advent calendar. Wanting something a little different than the traditional advent calendar, I started with these organza pouches and circle tags.


Then took some left over silver metallic paper I had and wrote down 24 family activities or experiences. Some examples are make hot chocolate with marshmellows, go out for dessert, movie night, and help wrap presents.


Next, I put one activity in each pouch and then attached a circle tag with the date. The final step was to string them along my mantle with silver and red ribbon.