Show and Tell: Christmas Update!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa came this year with a twinkle in his eye, a belly that wiggled like jelly and a moderate basket of gifts... Um...yes the white napkins are there. Shoot me - but it was just too cute a request! And - uh - stop looking at me like that, YES those are hand me down, bought for a few pennies at a yard sale barbies...but there are a FEW new things in that basket.

and a mildly repremanding scroll. (click HERE and scroll down to read his letter)

I cannot take credit for the eerie glow around the scroll. I guess Santa really meant business!!

The girls thought so too, and for 24 hours the spell held bringing with it calm words, kind hearts, lots of please's and thank you's and the sharing - Oh the sharing - it was enough to melt my heart and convince me that we have done something right on the rocky road called parenthood!

Oh - and here is a picture of my well-behaved family on Christmas.

Don't forget to see what angelic things others are showing and telling!

If you can't beat 'em ... cave

"Oh - two years apart is a great spread" the random man in the waiting room who asked about my kids said to me as I paced around drinking a cocktail before my cat scan. "Three years apart and there is a lot of bickering and fueding but two years and they are so close, bonded for life."

Really? I hope he's right, but I gotta tell you there is a whole LOT of fighting going on in our house lately. Like - a WHOLE lot and it's conception isn't recent! They fight about everything! They push each others buttons in new and unusal ways. They are nearly 4 and 6. (I mention that in sincere hopes that 4 and 6 is better??)

The most over the top scenario I can give you to accentuate my point happened in the car last week as an ambulance passed us. Our family habit is, see an ambulance or fire truck and we pray for the family in trouble and the workers that are trying to help. (See, we are putting the goodness out there ...yes?) This is what I heard in the back seat.

Bear - "Dear God, please be with the..."

The Comedian - (screeching to get attention) "No Bear. You don't pray to God. You pray to Jesus" (calm now) Dear Jesus, please help ....

Bear - God
Comedian - Jesus
Bear - GOD
Comedian - JESUS

(I'm sure you get the idea. It got louder and screechier until I rocked both their world by telling them that they are related, Jesus being God's son and all, so you could pray to either)

Truly, I hope after their decade of teasing each other incessently, lusting after each other's hair type, stealing each other's clothes and just making each other's teenage years a living hell - I hope they do become the best of friends. I pray they tackle the world as a team, demoloshing any shady character who crosses their path, effectively kicking some butt to protect the other's honor.

But, until that day arrives we need a moducum of peace around here. Buttons need to be un-pushed for a while. So, as much as I struggled with Christmas this year - the giving to receive, the receiving in general, the expectations that kids have about presents, the lack of attention on the REASON we celebrate this holiday, and the just-now-weirding-me-out fact that we lie to our kids about Santa but ask them to come to us about anything...I have decided to C.A.V.E.

If I can't single handedly create a birthday party for Jesus under each Christmas tree complete with a sincere *gasp* from each child as they open a present and say, "Thank you so much! I am grateful for whatever I get", then I might as well use what the kids DO think about to my benefit.

This is the letter that will be accompaning the small basket of unwrapped gifts under the tree.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Miss Bear and Miss Comedian –

It was so nice to see you in Weston with your Nana and Papa. I took your lists home to the North Pole and read them…twice!

I checked my other list too -the Naughty or Nice list. I was happy to see that you were nice when you played alone, but there was a lot of naughtiness when you played together.

I really want you to share nicely. You will see some of the things you asked for and a few other gifts that are meant to be SHARED.

Next year, I hope I see your names in the Nice column – together! I’ll be watching…

Merry Christmas
Santa Claus

Am I going to hell? Well, if I do at least there will be some peace on earth (or at least in my living room) before I get there.

Show And Tell - A lot of dough!

Cookie Dough That is!

What we DIDN'T have was...POWER! Thanks to the ice storm that beat up the North East we were blessed with a snowday to get caught up with our holiday prep! The cookie dough sat patiently until the power returned. We have now eaten more than our fair share and frozen the rest.

Oh - in case you were wondering. Bear is making good old fashioned Choc. Chippers and the small balls are a family recipe: Italian Anise Cookies. They look like this when baked and decorated.

Happy Baking and Eating! And - if you are looking for a good way to walk off some of those calories...try hauling your Christmas tree home, red-wagon style! (he-he)

What are you show and telling?

Show and Tell - "All I Want For Christmas!"

To say my girls are different is vast understatement. They are polar opposites from the core. One is serious, the other flexible. One takes the most direct route, refusing to acknowledge that there could be another way, the other takes life as it comes and tries every route once. It works - most of the time.

Of course there are those special moments in the year when the way they see and experience the world comes out in such a clear way, I cannot stop but pause, smile and embrace their differences.


When constructing out Santa wish lists this year, there was no talk of fairness. Bear didn't try to run the show. They seemed to understand that this was an independant task and neither criticized the other's selections. It was refreshing.

As I read them the crafty little poem I wrote, I could see their minds working... "Dear Santa -

I've been so very good this year - Please check your long list twice.

If you bring a toy or two - It surely would be nice.

For once, THEY seemed to embrace that they wanted different things.

Bear -serious with her pencil raised, sporting a contemplative pout as she recalled what she had told me the day before, sounded out her desires...documenting them phonetically, then drawing pictures on the corresponding line to be sure Santa couldn't mis-interpret.

Oh - sorry, you can't read Kindergarten writing? Please, let me interpret...

1. Uno Cards 2. Memory (game) 3 Piggie Bank 4. Big Soft Crunchy Snowman (don't ask)

The Comedian - rattled off her requests while in constant movement, skipping around the table - then stopping only to say an item in an, "it would be great if it appeared under the tree - but -eh, no biggie - they are just things" kind of voice.

As I hope can read the crayon writing of a thirty-something mother...I'll interpret Comedian style.

1. Teddy Bear - She cannot get enough stuffies.

2. Socks - Is she mearly practical? Maybe - but last week she had a HUGE hole in the heel of her sock that made a public appearance at the doctor's office. So, she needs new socks.

3. Napkins - And, white napkins to be specific. Um, our napkin holder is empty. That's it.

4. "you pick" - Damn...I love this kid!

Now, to see what the rest of the class is bring...skip, hop, or twirl over to Show and Tell.