Pick Yourself Up And Try Again

Douglas is basically potty training himself.  It's hilarious.  We don't have the gumption or the inclination right now to push him on it.  But we certainly don't want to do anything to slow down or hinder his own natural process or readiness.  So, we just try to do our best to respond to his requests.  He's totally rockin' it out.  (Don't worry, this is not a potty training post!)

Last night, Micah was with him in the bathroom and I heard a thud, then a short cry, and Micah asking him if he wanted to try again, to which I knew Douglas said yes because Micah's response was "good job trying.  You're so brave to try again."  He had fallen off the toilet.  Nice.

Well, today I'm up there with him again.  I'm sitting on the side of the bath tub, he's on the toilet.  He reaches out suddenly and confidently to touch the owl on my shirt that he's totally into right now - and there he goes again.  Falls of the toilet, hitting his face on my knee - his bum up in the air and his body wedged between the toilet and my leg.  Before he could take a breath or I could say something mother-y and comforting, he says - face still smashed against my leg, mind you - "try again!" All matter-of-fact, with gusto.  I laughed and said, "great idea, buddy.  You want to try again?"  He of course said yes and I scooped him up and put him up on the toilet again. 

I love these moments in parenthood.  The ones where you realize that you're doing some things right.  That your best might actually be enough.  I may say things or do things as a mom that I wish I didn't do.  I may feel most of the time like I have no freaking clue what I'm doing and like the stakes are very, very high.  But then there are those moments when I realize that what we're doing here is actually working.  Our baby is actually learning the lessons that we really want him to learn: That trying is what's important.  That he is brave and strong.  That trying something new or scary takes bravery, but that he can do very hard things.

He is running top speed around the corner in this picture.  His shirt says, "Instant Superhero.  Cut in case of emergency" and the spiderman face has dotted lines around it.  LOVE IT.  Glasses compliments of his tool bench.  Safety first! 

Now, he may not be learning the "Douglas, don't drink out of other peoples' cups" lesson or the "don't ever hit, even when you're angry or SUPER excited" lesson

or the "for the love of God, please stop grabbing things (like hot coffee or fragile items or ANYTHING) off of the counter!!!" lesson.  But, ultimately, those aren't the really important lessons in life.  Eventually, he'll catch on to those things if they're important.

What I REALLY want him to know with every ounce of his being is that we love him.  That we're proud of him for trying new things and being brave.  That the Father loves him and treasures him and knows him.  That he is important.  That every person in this world is important and is a part of one big, ginormous family - so we must be kind to one another.

And, you know what?  I think he's really catching on. 

Advent Calendars

Last weekend, (I think in response to me saying we'd missed a lot of fall because things are so crazy) Micah said "We're going to enjoy the NALGAS out of the holidays this year!"  Nalgas is a Spanish word for buttocks - it's like saying "We're going to enjoy the buttocks out of the holidays this year!"  I realize that this statement is very random and nonsensical.  But it made me so happy to hear him say this.  Because I want to enjoy the nalgas out of the holidays so badly!  I don't want to miss them.  I think the festive holiday idea that I'm talking about today is one GREAT way to enjoy the buttocks out of the holidays.  You in?

ADVENT CALENDARS!!!  Just stay with me here.  I love the idea of having a calendar that Douglas (and one day Timon) can open or do something with to mark each day leading up to Christmas.  But many advent calendars involve candy treats, and I'm not down with the idea of giving my kid candy every day of December.  I'm just not.  Or even toys or gadgets every day, because I fear that would make him greedy or ungrateful.

SO, after some online searching, I came across this idea of having activities instead of treats.  You make a list of things you want to do with your spouse or kid(s).  For spouse it could be "candlelight picnic dinner by the fire" or "watch It's a Wonderful Life in pjs" or "camp under the Christmas tree".  For kids it could be "build a snowman" or "pick out a Christmas tree" or "make popcorn and cranberry garland".  There are some GENIUS ideas out there.  And what I love is that it helps you to really experience the holiday season - to enjoy it and make new memories instead of letting it pass you by while you run around like a crazy person.

I happen to believe that EVERYTHING is more fun and festive when wearing Santa hats or Reindeer antlers.  Just sayin'.  We wore them for Dougie's Adoption Day celebration in '09 (pictured here), my Mom's 60th bday dinner, Christmas morning, Christmas Wine and Cheese Party...They're SO VERSATILE as you can imagine.

There are a million great ideas out there.  I'll put a list below that is a few of my own ideas combined with ideas I found online.  You have to modify it based on your kids' age(s), of course.  Douglas can't do a lot of the bigger kid things.  If we tried to have him camp out under the Christmas tree, he'd be awake all night pulling ornaments down.  No thank you.

My nephew helping Uncle Micah with the tree lights a few years ago

The idea is this:  you come up with your own list.  Type it and print it out.  Stash it somewhere your kids (or spouse) won't see it.  Then, the night before (so you know important things like the weather, your plans for the day, your mood, etc.) you cut out the activity you want to do and place that slip of paper in the slot for the next day.  You can make the slip of paper as fancy or basic as you want to.  You can print the ideas out on cutesy labels and stick them on colorful paper.  Or you can just print them out on white computer paper and cut them out.

Each day, the little elf gets to pull the card out and discover what AWESOME activity you get to do that day!  If you have friends doing the same thing, you can coordinate - for example, one day's activity could be "go to _____'s house and make Gingerbread cookies".

If this makes your little holiday heart happy, then look for one that you like online or in stores OR make your own.  There are tons of ideas out there - Google "homemade advent calendar" if you're interested in making one.  Or click on this link for ideas.  You can make a simple one out of construction paper (for the slots, days 1-24) and poster board (for the tree or whatever shape you're doing).

I found one online last year that I loved and tweaked it a little.  It took some time, I'm not gonna lie.  But it was therapeutic for me at the time.  This year I wouldn't dream of taking on something like that with Timon at the age he's at.  So just do what works for you.  To make mine, I just used fabric, felt (I used stencils and some serious cutting work for the letters), a little of that white cottony stuff that comes in a sheet that I put inside it to make it a little thicker, and some rudimentary sewing skills.  And a hot glue gun.  The tops of the little envelopes are all open so I can just slip the paper in there.  I bought the stuff to make a star for the top last year - maybe that will actually get done this year.

Also, remember to add things to the list that are already on your calendar.  Like little Timmy's holiday show at school or driving to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas or going to a friend's holiday party.  And consider saving some of the more time-intensive activities for the weekend while using up the ones like "drink hot cider" on a Monday when things are busy and hectic already.

Now for the idea list.  If you have ideas to add (and I know some of you will, so don't be shy) post a comment here with your idea and I'll add it to the master list.  I'm combining the kid list and adult list here because there's a lot of crossover.  This list is L-O-N-G.  I tried to cut it down but then thought to myself, "What do I know?  Other people may LOVE the ideas that I think aren't that exciting!"  So I'm leaving it long.  I know, you're shocked.

Advent Calendar Activities
These ideas came from a variety of places.  I checked out a few sites while coming up with the list. 

1. Build a snowman
2. Go sledding
3. Bundle up and star gaze
4. Go to the store and buy a new Christmas CD
5. Act out the Nativity scene
6. Camp out around the tree for a night
7. Have a picnic dinner by the tree
8. Clean out old toys and donate to charity
9. Go shopping for an Angel Tree person
10. Put on fun music and dance like crazy
11. Give everyone crazy hair styles
12. Make a snow scape using shaving cream and toy people
13. Have puppets tell a bedtime story
14. Pick out a Christmas tree
15. Decorate the Christmas tree
16. Deliver gifts to neighbors or friends
17. Do something kind for a loved one
18. Dress fancy for dinnertime
19. Exchange gifts
20. Drive to see Christmas lights
21. Make Spiced Cider
22. Make Hot Chocolate
23. Read your favorite Christmas book while drinking Hot Chocolate
24. Have a game night by the tree or fireplace
25. Go caroling at a retirement home
26. Go for Ice Cream
27. Go Ice Skating
28. Go out to a fun restaurant
29. Go to the Nutcracker
30. Go to a seasonal movie
31. Go to a Holiday concert
32. Have friends over and watch holiday movies
33. Have breakfast for dinner
34. Host a tea party
35. Make a Gingerbread House
36. Make cookies or candy and surprise a friend or neighbor with some of them
37. Make ornaments for family members
38. Make handmade gift tags for relatives
39. Make popcorn/cranberry garland
40. Take a neighborhood walk at night with lanterns or flashlights
41. Pack a picnic dinner and take it to the park or Botanical Gardens
42. Paint everyone's toenails
43. Progressive Dinner with family or friends
44. Make a big, traditional breakfast while listening to Christmas music
45. Read the Christmas story in Luke 2 of the Bible
46. Sing Christmas Carols
47. Set out milk and cookies and celery for Santa and the reindeer
48. Take a bubble bath
49. Tell stories of childhood Christmas traditions around the fire
50. Visit Santa at the mall
51. Make popcorn, get in your pjs, and watch a holiday movie (or Christmas special on tv)
52. Wrap gifts
53. Write Christmas letters to family members
54. Write letters to Santa
55. Write someone a letter telling them how special they are to you
56. Put on Christmas music and decorate the house for the holidays
57. Put up lights on the house
58. Roast marshmallows in the fireplace with candlelight and, of course, Christmas music!
59. Have dinner by candlelight (my nephews love this!)
60. Pick out a new book at the book store and read it before bed tonight
61. Make Holiday Oranges (take an orange and stick whole cloves into the peel - smells delish!!)

 

Take these ideas, choose which ones you love, come up with others of your own, and make it happen!  And please share traditions or ideas from your own experience that are fun so others can benefit, too!

December, Baby! I mean - November, Baby! etc., etc.

So, here are a few things that I feel compelled to share with you.  In no particular order.

1. 6 weeks after a second questionable haircut by the same stylist, who I will not be visiting again, today I am happy to announce that my hair can finally fit into a ponytail again.  I smiled a big cheesy grin all by myself in front of the mirror when I discovered this.  Granted, it took three tries because it's so short that it really has no business being in a ponytail at all, but in the end I prevailed.  Now, some may question the validity of the label "ponytail" in this case - it's really more of a nubbin than it is a tail.  But.  Whatevs.

I was talking on the phone using my hands free thing while taking this picture with my ginormous camera...quite the multi-tasker!  And, yes, I know that that nubbin is ridic.

2.  Today I discovered (probably not for the first time) that vacuuming makes your house look like it's clean, even when it's actually filthy.  Five minutes of work and I get to gaze at my pristine (ish) living room and forget all about the kitchen floor caked with food particles or the bathroom toilet that's going to grow arms to match its mold-fuzz hair and brush itself if I don't get to it soon.  (Don't worry, Ash and Gabe, I promise we'll clean before you come to visit).  I love you, Oreck.  And now, instead of cleaning, I get to sit in my faux-clean house and write my blog post.

3.  It's the first week of November.  I am one of those people who freaking LOVES Christmas music and has decided each year that I've been on this earth to start listening to said music earlier and earlier so that maybe I'm less devastated when I have to stop after the holidays.  So.  Today's the day.  And, friends, I have to tell you, I don't actually think this is the earliest.  I think I've started in October before.  Today, to kick off the season, I've chosen a cd called Christmas Guitar that my sis gave me years ago.

About five years ago, Micah and I started an annual Buddy the Elf party (many years the guest list is Micah.  And me.  Several years we've had rotating guests, very special invitees because this is serious business - Heather and Brian have come several years, Micah's parents a year or two.).  We eat something festive for dinner.  We make hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps.  And we watch Elf with Will Ferrell which, in my humble opinion, gets funnier and funnier every stinkin' time.  In '07 we took it to the next level by dressing UP for the occasion (yes, by ourselves...Can you believe I found and married a man who shares my affinity for Elf culture?  And dressing up?  And festiveness?  I'm SO lucky).  Each year is a little different, some years more extensive than others, but always some combination of Buddy's elf suit colors - BRIGHT yellow and green.  I know.  I know.  You're so jealous.  Don't worry, you can duplicate this amazing experience in your own home if you wish.

Taken when Dougie was a few months old, so he got to be a part of the party.  Except he actually ruined it by crying his face off half way through for such a long time that we had to turn the movie off and abort mission.  Kids aren't invited any more.
 
Aaaannnnnddddd....this event has been known to take place at the end of October.  Seriously.  I just get it in my bones people - I can't help it!  I can just feel that it's time.  And so, it kicks off our holiday season each year, sometimes in November, many times in October.  This year, Micah's brother and sister-in-law, Gabe and Ashley, are coming to visit with their two littles.  They requested - REQUESTED (because it's THAT cool) that we hold off until November when they're here so that they can participate.  We had to think long and hard because Nov. 21 is LATE, but we decided the sacrifice was definitely worth it.

Every August I start to get the Fall feeling in my bones and I just know that pumpkin spice candles and butternut squash soups are just around the corner (while I sweat it out in 105 degree Kansas heat). 

Today it's 72 degrees outside.  But for the past week or two, I've had Christmas on the brain.  I laid awake the other night thinking about what kind of garland I would hang on our canopy bed this year (it's only 2 years old and I've never had garland there before!) - this, btw, is one of the ways that I knew that my depression had officially fled.  I ordered stockings last week that I have been eyeing for two years.  I dug up my old Advent calendar idea list and googled a few other idea lists to pass on to you, dear friends, if you're in the mood for a little holiday treat this year!  It's full-on Christmas prep time 'round here - well, emotional prep, at least.  We haven't busted out the decorations yet.  That has to wait a few more weeks.

So here's the thing.  The reason I'm bringing ALL of this up is that I have a brilliant idea for you if it works for you this holiday season.  It's not my idea.  It's just something I'm enjoying and thought I'd pass along to you.  And it requires some prep time, so I'm offering it up to you now, this first week of November, so that if you decide to do it, you can be ready by December 1st when it all begins.  I'll detail the brilliant idea in the next post because today's is long enough and I need you to be clear-headed for this...you know, all Carb Loaded up.

Happy Halloween!

I love fall.  LOVE IT.  This year, I missed a lot of its festiveness because I was exhausted and out of it.  But we did manage to catch it before it was too late.  Made it to the pumpkin patch.

He stuck his head in here without prompting

He decided he needed a seat and a snack

Pumpkin candles.  Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies.  Apple cider.  Micah and I have a yearly tradition of movie night outdoors.  We haven't done it this year, but maybe we'll still be able to squeeze it in before it gets too cold.  We haul out a very old tv and VCR (I told you it was old!) and eat Thai food and watch Serendipity next to a warm chimenea.  It's magical.  I love it.

And we did get to experience Halloween with two of the cutest little munchkins EVER.

Monkey

Pea in the Pod

We went up to Micah's office to show off costumes and did a little parade loop inside.  Then lunch at Chipotle because - well, because we dressed up like burritos for something like 4 years in a row in order to get free burritos on Halloween night, so over time it just began to feel like Halloween went hand-in-hand with Chipotle.

This was Douglas' first year trick-or-treating.  We practiced in the kitchen a couple hours before departure.  I sat on the floor and said, "ok, bring your bag over and pretend to ring the doorbell", and we went through the whole routine.  Who knows if he actually got what the heck I was talking about.  We went up and down our cul de sac with Cousins, so he got the hang of it quickly watching the older two.  It was the first year for all of them, though, so it was very, very fun and memorable.

Just before Trick-or-Treating.  Douglas' candy basket is his school lunch box because a half hour before leaving, I realized I had nothing for him to go trick-or-treating with

The first house

The trickiest part of trick-or-treating was keeping him from escaping into people's houses. Like, EVERY ONE. He just didn't understand why these lovely people were opening their door to us and NOT LETTING US IN! He kept trying to push gently and quickly past them to explore their house.

The whole gang.  My brother-in-law Brian's parents were part of the crew.  As you can see, they've got team spirit.

And just like that - it's over.  Our little monkey and his borrowed horse are headed home.

One of my favorite memories was when a neighbor brought over a bag of treats before we left the house, just for fun.  Douglas yelled "treats!" when they left and was so excited he could hardly stand it.  We love us some treats 'round here.  He pulled out a box of candy that was something like Candy Sticks or something - anyway, he shook it and yelled, with glee, "Vitamins? Vitamins?".  He loves his chewable multi-vitamin.  Bless his little heart.  We took out the sugar sticks and put in some Apple Chips, and he was thrilled.

I love our little family of four.