Santa

In another attempt to be all Christmas-y, I told the children that we would visit Santa today.  Bode and Gianna were so excited. They were bouncing around our house until Nico (finally!) woke up from his nap. 

We get to the mall.  (Note: eeek! This place is so gross. No joke. But in the name of Christmas, I went there.) The children's eyes were huge, taking in all the sights and lights, the Christmas decorations galore...so much to see!  I never take my children to the mall (see previously written description of said mall) so this was like going to Disneyland for them (albeit  the Disney version known as "skankytown").

We (finally) arrive at the center of the mall where Santa is sitting on his throne, amid some (empty) presents, ugly Poinsettias, and fake snow.  Suddenly, Bode and Gianna are quiet and reserved. No longer are they hopping along like rabbits. They eye Santa warily.  When our turn arrives, they stand back, and do not want to approach Santa.  I walk ahead, with Nico in the stroller.  I notice that Santa is on his cell phone. SERIOUSLY? I look at the photographer and say loudly,  "It looks like Santa must be calling to check on his reindeer!"  The photographer winks at me and says, "Yes, he's on the phone with Mrs. Claus!"  I've had enough of this charade and turn back to Bode and Gianna.  They stand back, eyes dull. "Okay, monkeys! Let's say hi to Santa!"  By this time, Santa has gotten off his what I can only assume is a very important call and turns to my children. No, "Ho ho ho!" but he smiles and beckons them over.  Bode walks up to him and Santa cuts right to the chase, asking Bode if he wants Batman for Christmas.  Bode mumbles, "No," and stares at his feet while Santa asks him what he would like Santa to bring him. Meanwhile, Gianna is holding up the line behind us because she refuses to move an inch forward toward Santa.  I wave her down and she shakes her head No.  I walk back up the ramp to her and say in my most cheerful Mommy voice, "Come on, Gianna, Santa is waiting to say Hi to you!"  But she isn't interested in meeting Santa.  Santa's photographer tricks her to walk down by offering her a stuffed toy.  But Gianna still won't go near Santa.  They are waiting on taking the photo, trying to get Gianna to stand in the vicinity of Santa. No go.  I don't care. I'm totally understandable about a child who is not keen on approaching a stranger masquerading as Santa Claus. I smile and say, "It's okay! Gianna doesn't have to be in the photo!"  The photographer starts snapping photos of Bode, who is not smiling an authentic smile but trying. Nico is bored/tired/hungry but sits patiently on Santa's lap (I'll say it again: he is such a good baby, oh my god).

Santa's photographer and I meet at her laptop screen to view the photos she snapped.  I just want to leave so I pick a photo where Bode is kind of smiling (and Nico looks...sick).  By the time I sign the credit card slip, the photo is ready.  I admire it with Bode as we walk out of Santa's "village" (in the middle of the mall).  When Gianna sees the photo, she perks up and whispers, "I want a photo with Santa."  I smile and say, "Of course, you do, sweetie" trying not to grit my teeth.  

We make a small U-turn back to Santa.  We stand in line for a few minutes.  When the photographer sees us, she says, "Oh, back so soon!"  I explain that  Gianna is willing to give Santa a few minutes of her time for a quick photo op.

Gianna has her diva moment.  She walks off  when Santa tries to talk to her.  When we suggest that she stands in front of everyone, she decides to stand off to the left, or off to the right, or just anywhere out of the camera's range.  Gianna looks ticked off and annoyed, like, "Whose idea was this, anyway?"  We use all sorts of toys, lights, and sounds to get her to look.at.the.damn.camera.already.  Nothing worked.

I couldn't believe her. 

I am not one to force my children to pose with Santa. But Gianna said that she wanted to (again), we waited in line (again), and we were going to get that photo!  Okay, so I gave up and told the photographer to just find the best shot.

Merry Christmas from Mia Gianna, everyone:

I think I'll skip the visit to "Santa" next year.

xo

Oh, Christmas tree...

There seems to be some concern (clears throat) about Bode Wm's need for Christmas decorations. I won't name any names (clears throat) (AUNT DAWNIE) but everyone can rest assured that Bode Wm knows that we are celebrating Christmas in Portland.  And we are doing Christmas-y things in our spare time (viewing Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music, reading Christmas stories (thank you Aunt Melinda!).

Yes, he's excited, and yes, he probably would feel better if  our whole house was a-blaze in lights a la Clark Griswold's house in Christmas Vacation. 

But that is not going to happen.

Remember his little "tree" that he brought home from school? We decorated it with scraps (really) around the house.  I removed a small strand of star garland from one of Gianna's school art projects and put it on the tree. I drew some stars and Christmas "lights" for Bode to color. Being the selfless and devoted mother I am, I even sacrificed my very latest issue of Bazaar, and cut it up (the tinsel portrait of Karl Lagerfeld's design team, a gold star necklace, a diamond bangle, etc.). (If RWF happens to look at the tree, he might think that I've done lost my mind and am dropping some really expensive hints.)  I actually taped the cut-outs to the tree using a roll of packing tape left by the movers. (Crafty! Martha's got nothing on me!)

We have a Charlie Brown tree in place.  It stands by its lonely self, mostly ignored by everyone, against the living room wall. It's not perfect, but it will do for now. 

Now everybody sing it with me: "Oh, Christmas tree. Oh, Christmas tree...."

xo

Christmas time is near

High five, everyone! It is Friday!  It is almost Christmas!  It is a beautiful, sunny day! It's time to don your holiday garb and jingle those bells! Eat those cookies! Fa la la la...LA!

Did you do anything special on December 12, 2012? You know, 12/12/12?  We put the tree up in the living room. We have lost (?) one big box of ornaments and decorations. So the tree is kind of sparsely decorated this year.  But that doesn't stop these monkeys from rearranging the ornaments, taking the ornaments down, and asking to eat the candy canes (the answer is always: No).

And, because we are low on ornaments, I went to the store for a quick ornament dash.  And  not only that, but I took all 3 (One. Two.Three.) kiddos with me! Oh, yes I did.  HIGH FIVE! And now I will always remember what I did on 12/12/12: I took all 3 babies - for the very first time- into a store. And, I survived.

Last night, Bode wanted a ponytail in his hair.  And then Gianna wanted one, too.  The result being this:

My little twinkies then sat and read Christmas stories with me before bed.  I am always forgetting that there is 2 years between them.  These two are so close, and do everything together.  Whatever Bode does, Gianna does...and she does it just fine, as if she were the 4 year old, not  her brother. It's got to be tough sometimes trying to hang with with a 4 year old when you are just 2. Gianna was absolutely exhausted last night, as evidenced by these photos.

And that must mean that Nico is going to be working double-time just to keep up with his sibs!  This morning, I witnessed him peering up at the mobile attached to his swing. And then he reached up, trying to touch a little birdy on the mobile!  I wanted to scream, "STOP!"  He needs to slow down on the developments. I want to enjoy his little baby self for as long as possible.

Looking wise beyond his years months

Today is about sunshine, some last-minute online shopping (ugh) and hopefully...just maybe...baking cookies or a holiday craft. This means that I need to take my "sanity shower" and get moving.  Bode and Gianna like to chant, "I like to move it, move it." (This is the chant that Bode learned in ski school and it comes in handy during those slooow times.)

Happy Friday, friends.

xo

Are you ready for the big guy?

Not this big guy:

The other big guy. The one in the red suit. The big guy who says, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" The big guy. You know.

We are ready.  Bode knows who Santa Claus is, but I don't think Gianna is quite there yet.  We are reading Christmas stories every night now. In fact, I took out all of the regular books and replaced them with Christmas stories.  So they don't have a choice...they get Christmas stories whether they want them or not (oh, don't worry...they want them).

I think a visit to the mall Santa might help. But oh geez.  I can't even think about how to do that. The logistics frighten me. And there's NO WAY that this little dude is going to our petri dish of a mall:

He is just too precious to expose to that. My other two monkeys are precious, too. But I think they'd get a kick out of seeing Santa.  We'll see...maybe we'll do it. Maybe we won't. That's the beauty of the children being so young right now. I can decide these things without them knowing the difference. 

I'm also thinking about doing an advent calendar. A small number so that Bode and Gianna can get into it without it being too long of a wait for them.  So maybe it's not an advent calendar but a 'countdown' calendar. 

What Christmas prep do you have left? What Christmas specials do you have to watch in order for it to feel like Christmas? I have to see Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. And no Christmas is complete without viewing National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Gianna insists on watching "Frosty" every day. I think it's because that is the only word that she remembers, and she can't think of the other specials. I'm a softy this time of year and usually give in. The weather also stinks (rain) so it's easy to just turn on the TV and not worry about going outside.  As an added bonus, I get dinner done while they watch "Frosty."

What is on your "must-do" for Christmas?  Fudge, cookie baking, caroling, etc?  

Here is what I like to do (tradition):

* Visit Santa (BIG maybe)

* View Christmas lights in a neighborhood

* Bake/decorate sugar cookies

* Make fudge (I may have to try making Lauren's yummy peanut butter fudge this year!)

* Wrap presents

* Good and Bad List (this is going to have to wait until the monkeys are older)

* Watch Christmas specials

* Eat cheese and other party foods (whether or not I'm at a party)

There are other activities but I'm drawing a blank. Lucky for others, I do not have caroling on my list. Does anyone actually go caroling anymore? Or is that just stuff we read about in our Christmas stories? (Is caroling a verb? Or is it carol? Or is Carol just the name of Mrs. Brady?  I'm sooo confused. Remember the Brady Bunch episode when Mrs. Brady had the solo in the Christmas choir concert, but she lost her voice? Didn't Cindy ask Santa to giver her mommy a voice so that she could sing? Something for you to think about.)

Happy Monday.
xo

Kickin' it old school

This week, the weather has been...meh.  Cold, rainy and windy.  We have spent the afternoons indoors. And that means that this mommy has got two crazy, cooped up toddlers on her hands.  

Tuesday afternoon, I made paper snowflakes with Bode while Nico and Gianna napped. Bode loved it.  He thought it was the neatest thing ever.  I had a lot of fun with him. It was a great way to spend a (quiet) hour with my firstborn.

There are a ton of tutorials online for different holiday crafts. But this was easy and convenient because we had the tools right here (white paper, scissors).  Please do not call or email me to warn me of the hazards of a child with scissors. I did all the cutting myself, and was very cautious about keeping the scissors out of his reach.

Speaking of hazards, on Wednesday, my firstborn came home from school looking like this:

It looked a lot more red and angry when I first saw him.  In fact, when I first saw him, my heart skipped a beat because I thought it was blood.  I think he took off  the first layer of skin falling down on the playground. I think. His details are sketchy.  

And speaking of old school crafts, this is what he did at school that day:

He was very proud of his popcorn garland.  His teacher said that he is a whiz with a needle and thread. Her exact word was "meticulous."  So I guess despite being kind of klutzy on the playground, Bode Wm has a possible future in textiles. Or maybe Christmas decor? Or bird feeding?

On Thursday, we put up the Charlie Brown tree in the playroom. There are currently 212 ornaments lying about in various places in the playroom, mixed in with cars, Legos and crayons. And maybe 3 ornaments actually on the Christmas tree. I'm trying hard to not let it get to me.  I'm trying really hard to be all, "Fa la la la...laaaa" about the whole thing and not yell about taking the tree down if the ornaments don't stay on it. 

And that was the biggies of our week.   

Happy weekend.

xo

Photos from our family Christmas Eve

Here are a couple of photos of our family Christmas in New York, thanks to Aunt Dawnie!  I am only posting photos of us, to protect the privacy of those who do not want their photos posted. (I didn't ask anyone for permission.)  We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Dawnie and Uncle Craig's house, opening presents, eating good food,  and enjoying family time.  What's not to love?   Bode and Gianna had undivided attention from their Nana, aunts and uncle, and play time with their older cousins.  And did I mention the good food? I did?  Well it is worth mentioning again.

Bode was transfixed by all the desserts available after dinner. He was allowed one cookie.  In the above photo he is doing a "Cheers!" with his father. Later, Aunt Dawnie would send us home with a plate of cookies.  While we were packing up the car to drive home, I stupidly gave this plate of cookies to Bode when he asked for them, thinking that he just wanted to hold them.  About one hour into our drive home, I heard his little voice say, "Here, Mommy," and I thought that he had finally gotten tired of holding the plate.  I reached back and felt what was a significantly lighter plate.  He had eaten over half the cookies while we were in the car! He promptly fell asleep after that (probably in a sugar coma).

Ooooh!

Aunt Dawnie sent some cute photos of Gianna but I can't seem to open them correctly right now.  Gianna had on a cute little Christmas dress with a plaid pinafore and matching hat (that Bode can be seen wearing in the above photos).  But of course I had to change her out of it for some reason or another.  Gianna had a blast dancing with Uncle Craig!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve with family.  It is definitely one of the top perks of our recent move to New York:  family time.  Another perk: watching the snow fall. Right now, it is snowing and it does look lovely.  It is nice to be inside a warm house, watching the snow fall, and drinking coffee while the babies play.

Happy Thursday.

xo

Photos from our holiday

Enjoying lots of time with Daddy

My camera has been destroyed by someone whose initials are MGF.  I'm trying not to dwell on it because I get pretty upset about no longer having a camera.  I mean, really: who is to blame?

ME!

Here is our holiday, shot from my iPhone:

After a bath. Tickles from daddy.

Bode skis.

Playing in the Xmas tree box.

His favorite hat for the season.

Xmas pjs.

Brotherly love.

Shopping and a scone in downtown Saratoga

New kitty to love

Cold, cold but no snow

A new tricycle for Gianna

A guitar for our little Johnny Cash

I hope that your holiday was as relaxing as ours.  We really enjoyed the downtime, just spending time with each other and hanging out at home.
xo

Mia Gianna: 18 months

Dear Gianna,

December 30 came and went without my writing about your turning 18 months.  It's not that we didn't notice.  Daddy and I talked about it over dinner on the 29th, and then the morning of the 30th, we kissed you and wished you a Happy 18 months, as we usually do on these occasions. 

You've added a few more words and phrases to your vocabulary.  You can often be heard saying, "Iwandat" ("I want that") when Bode is playing with something or eating something that you don't have. You now say, "Lala" for Priscilla (I think).  And when you're done eating, you'll demand, "UP!" to be removed from your high chair.  You are fascinated with hats, and will spend a long time going through the hat basket.  If someone is wearing a hat (as we often are nowadays), you'll demand, "HAT, HAT, HAAAAT" until the person surrenders his hat to you for your inspection/wearing.

Sadly, you know how to turn on my iPhone.  I wish it weren't the case, as I hate to think that you are so familiar with a phone that you know how to turn it on when you want to play with it.   You love turning on my phone and looking at the picture (wallpaper) of you and Bode. You study the picture and say, "Baybee" over and over.

Your sleeping habits are changing somewhat. At least right now, you fight going to sleep. Hopefully, this is due to teething.  I used to put you down at 6:45 and you'd smile, lay there with your Penguin and "ba-ba" and go to sleep.  Now, you cry and protest, and spring up on your feet as soon as I've laid you down.  But you're the second child, and this means that I don't give into your tears as easily as I did with the first child. Sorry, Gianna, but I'm going to need concrete evidence (like a poopy diaper) before I get you up from your sleep time.  The thing is, even though you cry and protest, you're usually asleep about 5 minutes afterwards.  

I think your teeth are making it harder for you to sleep, as you've got 4 new teeth emerging in your little mouth.  You aren't eating as much, which I hate to see.  I'm sorry that you've been hit so hard with the teething.   But you've really handled it well.  You rarely cry and don't drool.  You like to be held and will sit quietly with me when you're feeling out of sorts.

This past week, we had a date.  We went shoe shopping for you.  You walked around the shoe store, picking up the different shoes (luckily, we had the store to ourselves).  You are girly, as you always went for the pink and sparkly ones.  We bought your first pair of sneakers.  And I have to say, I laugh when you wear them. They just look so odd on you.  I think we both prefer your new ruffled Mary Janes, as they are more you than those silly sneakers.

Happy 18 months, and happy new year, my sweet girl.

love,

Mommy
xo

Cookies for Santa

This afternoon, while I was out supposedly enjoying alone time (but really, grocery shopping at the busy, crowded grocery store), I realized that we had to make our cookies for Santa tonight.  Tomorrow night wouldn't be possible, because we were spending the day with Nana, the Aunts/Uncle and family celebrating Christmas.  I looked at my watch. It was 4:22.  I had to make dinner and make cookies.  Fa la la la laaa!

I raced home and made a quick Chinese stir-fry.  Then, I rolled the dough out, cookie-cuttered and baked cookies while Bode and Gianna ate their dinner.  After they cooled, I put them on a clean cookie sheet to contain the sprinkly sugary mess fun that was about to occur. Then I presented the cookies to Bode for icing and decorating.  I kept it really simple: frosting out of a can and two sugar sprinkles.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I used prepackaged frosting.  But, nobody is going to eat them so I really don't feel that bad. 

Bode is excited that Santa has cookies to eat tomorrow night.  He said that maybe we should ask Santa to leave 1 cookie for Bode to eat.  I told him that we would write Santa a note wishing him a Merry Christmas, thanking him, and asking him to leave 1 cookie for Bode.  

A big Christmas kiss for my boy.

Are you ready for Santa?

xo
Photos courtesy of RWF.

On the last week before Christmas, my true loves...

Whee! We are almost to Christmas! Are you ready?!?!?!

This morning Bode and I mixed up gingerbread cookie dough.  He seems to be especially interested in the gingerbread men mentioned in some Christmas stories. So I decided that we need to make some so that he knows what he's seeing in the books.  While I was measuring out the ground cinnamon, Bode had the mixer all to himself.  Can you guess what happened?   Bode shouted, "Whoah!" and I looked up to see the mixers out of the bowl and cookie dough mix flying through the air!  We laughed (even though, I wasn't really laughing at first...it took me a minute to get over the initial, "Oh, no! My kitchen! What a mess!" reaction).   My t-shirt is covered in cookie dough and I'm sure there are parts of my kitchen that I missed.  

While the cookie dough is firming in the refrigerator, here are a few things we have done this week:

- Sunday I decided that we needed a bigger tree.  So after dropping RWF off at the airport in the early morning, we went Christmas tree shopping.  I picked out a 9 ft tree.  After checking out, I realized my tree wasn't going to fit in our car! (I wasn't driving the QEII.)  So we had to leave the tree behind and go exchange cars.  We returned to pick up our tree in the QEII.  I got the 9 ft tree into the house, and built it while the babies played in the Christmas tree box.  It fit, but only in the spots where our ceiling arched high. I wanted the Christmas tree in the window. I just love seeing Christmas trees in windows, don't you?   So...I took the tree down.  I put it back in the box (after convincing the babies to leave the box).  We went back to the store after naps.  I picked up a 7 ft tree.  We took it home, built it, and it fits perfectly in our front window. Hooray!  I love having my own grown-up tree (in addition to our lovely homemade Charlie Brown tree).  The babies are enjoying both trees as well.

-Cookie making in full force. Bode understands that Santa gets cookies and milk when he leaves toys for good girls and boys. So we are busy in the cookie department. I am a sneaky mommy though. I only make half the dough.  So the cookies disappear quickly.  Bode usually eats one or two cookies.  I eat a bunch while he naps.  Don't worry, Santa, we'll have cookies for you!

-Bode and I wrapped the rest of our presents while Gianna napped yesterday.  I enjoy asking him to put his finger on the ribbon to hold it in place while I make a bow. My mom used to let me "help" her wrap presents the same way. I remember feeling Very Important holding the ribbon down while she made a bow. 

-Bode and Gianna are both wearing Christmas pajamas every night. Bode seems to feel that this is a "requirement" as he won't wear anything else.  They both look so festive and huggable.  This is another Christmas tradition that I want my children to enjoy every year. (Okay, so it's really for me to enjoy.)

-Bode doesn't want to wear anything that isn't Christmas-y.  In fact, he insists on wearing one of his Christmas pajama shirts during the day.  The other night after RWF returned home from work, I ran out to Target and bought Bode some Christmas t-shirts to wear for the next couple of days.  Problem solved. 

-Yesterday both babies got haircuts.  Gianna got her bangs whacked off and she now has a 1/4 inch fringe above her eyes.  Seriously, it looks bad.  The stylist blamed Gianna, stating that she moved her head. I blame the stylist, of course. It looks like I did the job myself.  After seeing Gianna's fringe, I was not in the Christmas spirit, as  I gave the stylist a (small) tip.  Bode has a big boy haircut again. I really enjoy his hair on the longer side but I don't think I can handle the growing out phase to get it long again.  The short cut looks nice on him, but I miss the curls and longer, shaggy 'do that my boy used to wear.

And last, I have no pictures to share.  Gianna ran off with my camera the other day, and I have no idea where she "hid" it. I have turned the house upside down looking for my camera.  We need this camera to take pictures of Christmas, so please send some good little elves over to help me find it.

Happy Wednesday. 

xo

Santa Claus is coming to town...sooner than you think

This morning I was checking out at store. We had  to stand in line for awhile. It was a small store and the sales help were all busy with customers. Gianna was squirming in my arms, trying to get out and down so that she could explore on her own. I tightened my grip on her and gave her a kiss. Bode was standing patiently beside me.  

When it was our turn to check out, the salesman apologized for the wait. Then he leaned over the counter and smiled at Bode.

The salesman asked Bode, "Is Santa coming?"

Bode looked up at him with huge solemn eyes and nodded Yes.

"When is Santa coming?" the salesman asked.

Bode replied, "Tomorrow."

"Really, tomorrow?"  The salesman looked at me and winked.  We both looked down at Bode.

Bode looked at the man and said, "Yes. Tomorrow at 4 o'clock."

Gingerbread house

Bode's Gingerbread House 2011

The artist, wearing his sister's strawberry hat, and eating a grilled cheese lunch.

Last night, when I showed RWF our latest Christmas craft, he looked into my eyes and with sincere concern in his voice, asked, "Are you okay? I mean, really...are you enjoying this, or....?" (unspoken: "or...do I need to call a doctor?")  I assured him that I am fine.  Yes, I have gone a little crazy with the crafts lately. Yes, it is completely out of my personality.  No, I am not disoriented from glue and marker fumes. 

Gingerbread House

Materials:

1 brown paper sack (lunch size is best)

stickers (glittery, Christmas stickers to adorn a gingerbread house preferred but not necessary)

markers or crayons

construction paper

paper, plastic bags, anything that you can "recycle" for filling the paper sack

stapler or glue

Instructions:

Lay the paper sack flat so that your child can draw a gingerbread house (or whatever they want) on the exterior.  Have the child color both front, back and sides (if possible).  Adorn the gingerbread house with stickers.  Open the sack and stuff it with the paper/plastic/filling so that it is "full" and stands on its own.  Fold the top of the sack over once. Take a 1/2 sheet of construction paper,  fold it over the bag to make a "roof" for the house. Staple or glue the roof onto the sack.  

This morning we went to the tire store to get snow tires.  It seems kind of crazy to me.  I mean, the weather has been so mild and it has barely snowed all December.  I asked the salesman if I was wrong to get snow tires right now. I think my actual words were, "Am I an idiot for doing this now?" (as I gestured outside at the sunshine and green grass before us). He laughed, "Ho, ho, ho." (or something like that) He said, "No. In fact, all of our customers have already gotten their snow tires.  You never know. Sometimes it's mild. Sometimes, it's crazy. One December we got 35 inches."  At this point, I stopped listening to him (figuratively putting my fingers in my ears and screaming, "La la la! Can't hear you! Can't hear you!").

No plans this weekend except to hit the post office sans the babies. I have attempted a post office run twice this week, both unsuccessful. For some reason, I can't seem to juggle my packages, pushing a baby in a stroller, and corralling a wayward toddler while trekking to the post office.  I know! Crazy, right?  I don't know what's wrong with me. 

It must be all of that glue.

Happy weekend.

xo

Christmas cruising

Yesterday started out good.

I took a shower  (Gianna pressing her face against the shower door, shouting "Mama! Mama!" the entire time).  I stepped out of the shower and Bode shouted from the playroom, "I want to go to Starbucks!"  I shouted back, "You read my mind! Let's go!"

The afternoon was long and dark. Gianna napped until 3:45. She would have slept longer had I let her. By the time I got her up and ready, it was dark outside. Too dark to go outside to play.  

So I packed the babies in the car with milk, and we set out to find Christmas lights.  It was a nice drive around the new neighborhood, with our radio playing Christmas tunes ("Feed the World/Do they know it's Christmas?" came on, and when Boy George crooned, "And in our world of plenty..." I was already in tears).  I'm happy to report that I didn't find any tacky decorations in our 'hood.  Bode kept saying, "Christmas lights!" (or, "Christmas rights!" as he tends to use an "r" for an "l" these days).  We both had fun checking out the light displays and listening to Christmas music.  

After we cruised around for a bit, we stopped at our new neighborhood pizza place and got yummy pizza.  Check this bad boy out:

My sisters-in-law introduced me to eggplant pizza. They had it waiting for us on our first night in our new house. It is now my new favorite. Yum!  Can you believe that I have this entire pizza to myself? It is huge. I am a lucky girl to have so many leftovers.

Earlier in the day, we made a Christmas wreath.  I don't know why I am making so many wreaths.  I am trolling the web, looking for Christmas crafts all the time.  I just seem to gravitate to the wreaths.  Again, this was beyond Bode's ability.  He was able to do part of it, and then I ended up completing the project.

Materials

paper plate (ours was waxed-covered so the paint didn't cover it that well)

acrylic paint

construction paper - red, green, etc.

glue

scissors

1 eager toddler

First, cover your table with something because you are going to paint. I didn't have newspaper so I used a paper bag. Cut a hole in the center of the plate to make a wreath. It does not have to be perfect because it won't show when you are finished.  Paint the paper plate green and let dry.  While the paint is drying,  draw and cut out holly leaves to cover the plate.  You can also cut out decorations for your wreath (ornaments, holly berries, a bow, etc.).

Bode painted the wreath form. But I really needed to do the rest.  I will admit that making the holly leaves took me a long time.  It took me so long that Bode lost interest. He started playing with my construction paper scraps while I finished the leaves.  I ended up gluing the leaves to the form, and we set it aside to dry.   

Later, I asked Bode where he would like to hang his new wreath. I suggested his bedroom. He said that he wanted it on the wall in the living room. 

Obviously I have this need to do crafty things! I can't explain it.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't have a crafty bone in my body.  I can picture RWF pulling into the driveway at night after a long day at work, bracing himself for the latest and greatest craft to grace our new home.  It's time to find some new friends and new outlets!

Speaking of needs, sister likes to bust a move:

She loves to dance (no music required).  She will imitate my moves, which is kind of scary (and unfortunate, if she remembers any as an adult, and tries it out in front of someone else).  Have you seen that Seinfeld episode when Elaine dances at the party ("the little kicks" watch it here)?  Yeah. That's kind of like me trying to dance, too.
Hugs to Jeanne, Greg, Mary, Keara and Maggie. You're in my thoughts.
xo