I have a vicious sinus cold, compliments of Douglas, compliments of Mom's Day Out germs. I took meds the last two nights to help me sleep because the night before that, I literally laid awake in bed all night silently reciting some version of the Niquil jingle - "The sneezy, stuffy head, fever, headache, so you can rest medicine" - and thinking "why, WHY don't I keep Niquil on HAND in this house!?" I'm not joking. This is what I did all night. I couldn't get the dang thing out of my head.
I don't take medicine a ton because I somehow believe what I've read in natural medicine books that taking meds actually slows your body's healing because it dries out your nasal passages etc, etc. And God knows, I don't want to be sick a day longer than I have to. The fact that I rarely take meds combined with the fact that my body seems to be the most sensitive-to-drugs body on the entire planet means that, when I do take them, I'm usually in for quite a ride.
This morning, I dreamed that I was staying with a friend of a friend just outside of a beautiful city in Europe. How I got there is a mystery because it started with a tragic love story where two lovers (neither of which were me, mind you) were forbidden to see each other by their families. They saw each other again anyway, and just as they were trying to decide to do, in the center of town where they were standing, a bus pulled up that was one of those cheesy "travel Europe" buses. They decided to jump on. I remember in my dream thinking, "how are they going to pay for this? How are they going to afford their lives in Europe?"
Well, apparently I hopped on the tour bus, too, because suddenly I was Europe.
I was staying at a friend of a friend's castle with my sister and brother-in-law. Yes - castle. So we're standing on top of this castle, on the roof as it were, and looking out over the beautiful landscape and city skyline. Then somehow I was swept off the roof by a flying carpet. And this was great fun until the wind picked up and took me way out away from the roof. I yelled back to my sister that I didn't have my wallet or money or the address of where we were staying...our castle, you know. I suddenly realized, while zooming around super high in the sky on a magic carpet, that I didn't have the means or the information to get me back to where we were staying or to the people I was with. Thanks to some helpful winds and some mad carpet-flying skills, I managed to land back on the castle roof safe and sound. Phew.
Imagine my surprise when I was awoken from my carpet-flying dream to a screaming baby in need of a bottle.
Wow. Helllllooooo cold medicine. Nice to see you.
I decided that maybe this dream was trying to tell me that I'm worrying too much about logistical things in life (like how the lovers will pay for their runaway lifestyles and how I'll find my way back to the castle...while I'm flying on a magic carpet!! Hello, missing the forest for the tree!). Maybe I'm supposed to let go more and just receive what is happening in my life. Sounds like a lesson I'm always in need of learning. I do believe that life is always trying to point us back to Truth, so I guess cold medicine would count, too. Just maybe.
I hope you have a stellar weekend. The magic-carpet-flying kind.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I Hate You, Meat!
Well, it's official. Meat is my arch nemesis. I seriously want to punch it in the face.
My Naturopathic Doctor told me in May that when women come to him with any hormonal imbalances, his first step is typically to recommend that they go vegetarian for six months and see what happens. Since I was already not eating dairy or eggs (because my body doesn't like them - eggs make me want to punch a wall and dairy makes my digestive system lash out irrationally), this meant that I became a vegan - except that I can eat seafood. Vegan means no animal products - no dairy, eggs, meat, seafood.
So I jumped full-on into vegan life, and I totally noticed changes. Many signs of hormonal imbalances went away.
Wellll...then came the holidays. And I got a little too loosy goosy about it all. And by a little, I really mean a lot. It's much easier to go full-on vegetarian and just never have meat. When you give in a time or two, it just makes it that much easier to keep giving in and eventually end up eating meat way too often. The thing is, being a vegetarian can be a pain in the butt. It's not ridiculously hard, but it does require discipline (in my case, because I love me some bacon - always have. Maybe I need to find a YouTube video about how bacon is made...I think that would probably do the trick.) And it can require planning at times, which can be obnoxious. Going to a summer bbq as a vegan means you have to bring your own food - hello, grilled portabello mushrooms (they're actually very good)! I was getting the hang of it, for sure, but it was just so easy to choose meat out at restaurants over the holidays instead of yet another salad without meat.
Last month I couldn't tell a huge difference when my period came (don't worry, any men out there, this is not going to get graphic). I had only fallen off the wagon for about a week at that point, so my body wasn't freaking out yet.
I was curious to see what would happen this cycle since it had been a full month of meatiness. I really did it up. I didn't eat meat every day or anything, but many days I did. I'm kindof bad at moderation sometimes. I ate bacon, both pork and turkey versions (and when I eat bacon, I eat bacon. Like five pieces). Sausage. Turkey. More turkey. I think there was some ham in there - yes, yes there was. And even a few little party sausages for good measure - hey, they were in my Mom's amazing "Mexican Wastebasket Soup" that I love. OH, and these amazing tasting - wait for it - venison and jalapeno bites wrapped in bacon and smoked (my brother makes them and they're bomb!). Yeah. Meat wrapped in meat.
Suffice it to say, this little 6-week detour DIDN'T GO WELL! My period this cycle has been atrocious. The most painful cramps I've had in over a year. Horrible PMS mood swings. Low back cramps that I had completely forgotten even existed. I used to get them every month, but haven't in forever. I feel like a truck ran me over and then realized it forgot something and backed up. Slowly. This is not a good thing when you have two little kids, both of whom happen to also be in bad moods for their own very special reasons.
I have a bad memory, and I don't always do what I know is best for my body (although I do work hard to at least try), so maybe this post will serve as a reminder to me to STAY AWAY FROM MEAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
The reason I'm telling you this is two-fold. One, I'm pissed and PMSing, so I wanted to yell and vent. Two, if any of you ladies out there feel like your hormones are a little whacky, you might want to try going vegetarian for a while to see what happens. If you're going to do it, you have to really do it - I mean, don't just eat rice cakes and cereal all day like I did my first few weeks as a vegan. That won't really give you much of anything (obviously). Eat tons of fruits and vegetables. Take a B-12 supplement and a multi-vitamin and research it enough to make sure you're covered on your nutrients. This site has helpful information on key nutrients for vegans or vegetarians to be aware of.
The other day, I was talking to the manager at one of the health food stores I frequent. I was telling her about how meat just really messes with me hormonally. She said that in her 30's, she started going into very early pre-menopause and was having lots of hot flashes. She started buying and eating only organic meat, dairy, and eggs. Her hot flashes went away completely within a couple months. Recently (years later), she got laid off from her previous job at a health food store, so she couldn't afford organic anymore. Within a month, her hot flashes were back. They're gone again now that she's back to eating organic. Her hormonal imbalances were directly related to the hormones in non-organic meat, dairy, and eggs.
Before the past few days, I was planning to do another experiment soon, once I balance back out with my vegan diet. I was going to eat meat 1-2 times/week for a month- ONLY ORGANIC - and see what happened...see if my hormonal balance stayed intact. Now that I'm a hot mess, I'm thinking I'll wait a little while before throwing another experiment into the mix. But if you're someone who doesn't want to try going vegetarian but does want to experiment with this, then take a few months and choose organic meat, dairy, and eggs. Those three categories are huge sources of hormones.
You hear stories of this or that organic company who is cutting corners and still marketing their product as organic even when technically it's not. This is the exception, not the rule. There are many companies out there that are totally legit. And I think it's silly to hear those stories and think, "well, then I'll just never buy organic." Conventional dairy and meat and eggs are huge sources of unhealthy hormones and antibiotics as well as all kinds of other nasty additives. I really believe we would all greatly benefit from choosing organic in these areas if we can afford it. The store manager's story is not an isolated one - there are countless others just like it.
All I'm sayin' is this. I HATE MEAT! I mean, I love meat, but I HATE it! My body, for now, hates it. And maybe it just hates conventional, hormone-laced meat. I guess I'll find that out another month. But if my body hates it THIS much, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not the only one...maybe some of you readers' little bodies hate it, too. Let me know if you think that's you. We can be vegan buddies - or vegetarian buddies. I'll send you my recipe for Vegan Energy Bars - sounds disgusting, tastes amazing. I will not, however, send you the recipe for bacon-wrapped venison wads. You're welcome.
My Naturopathic Doctor told me in May that when women come to him with any hormonal imbalances, his first step is typically to recommend that they go vegetarian for six months and see what happens. Since I was already not eating dairy or eggs (because my body doesn't like them - eggs make me want to punch a wall and dairy makes my digestive system lash out irrationally), this meant that I became a vegan - except that I can eat seafood. Vegan means no animal products - no dairy, eggs, meat, seafood.
So I jumped full-on into vegan life, and I totally noticed changes. Many signs of hormonal imbalances went away.
Wellll...then came the holidays. And I got a little too loosy goosy about it all. And by a little, I really mean a lot. It's much easier to go full-on vegetarian and just never have meat. When you give in a time or two, it just makes it that much easier to keep giving in and eventually end up eating meat way too often. The thing is, being a vegetarian can be a pain in the butt. It's not ridiculously hard, but it does require discipline (in my case, because I love me some bacon - always have. Maybe I need to find a YouTube video about how bacon is made...I think that would probably do the trick.) And it can require planning at times, which can be obnoxious. Going to a summer bbq as a vegan means you have to bring your own food - hello, grilled portabello mushrooms (they're actually very good)! I was getting the hang of it, for sure, but it was just so easy to choose meat out at restaurants over the holidays instead of yet another salad without meat.
Last month I couldn't tell a huge difference when my period came (don't worry, any men out there, this is not going to get graphic). I had only fallen off the wagon for about a week at that point, so my body wasn't freaking out yet.
I was curious to see what would happen this cycle since it had been a full month of meatiness. I really did it up. I didn't eat meat every day or anything, but many days I did. I'm kindof bad at moderation sometimes. I ate bacon, both pork and turkey versions (and when I eat bacon, I eat bacon. Like five pieces). Sausage. Turkey. More turkey. I think there was some ham in there - yes, yes there was. And even a few little party sausages for good measure - hey, they were in my Mom's amazing "Mexican Wastebasket Soup" that I love. OH, and these amazing tasting - wait for it - venison and jalapeno bites wrapped in bacon and smoked (my brother makes them and they're bomb!). Yeah. Meat wrapped in meat.
Suffice it to say, this little 6-week detour DIDN'T GO WELL! My period this cycle has been atrocious. The most painful cramps I've had in over a year. Horrible PMS mood swings. Low back cramps that I had completely forgotten even existed. I used to get them every month, but haven't in forever. I feel like a truck ran me over and then realized it forgot something and backed up. Slowly. This is not a good thing when you have two little kids, both of whom happen to also be in bad moods for their own very special reasons.
I have a bad memory, and I don't always do what I know is best for my body (although I do work hard to at least try), so maybe this post will serve as a reminder to me to STAY AWAY FROM MEAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
The reason I'm telling you this is two-fold. One, I'm pissed and PMSing, so I wanted to yell and vent. Two, if any of you ladies out there feel like your hormones are a little whacky, you might want to try going vegetarian for a while to see what happens. If you're going to do it, you have to really do it - I mean, don't just eat rice cakes and cereal all day like I did my first few weeks as a vegan. That won't really give you much of anything (obviously). Eat tons of fruits and vegetables. Take a B-12 supplement and a multi-vitamin and research it enough to make sure you're covered on your nutrients. This site has helpful information on key nutrients for vegans or vegetarians to be aware of.
The other day, I was talking to the manager at one of the health food stores I frequent. I was telling her about how meat just really messes with me hormonally. She said that in her 30's, she started going into very early pre-menopause and was having lots of hot flashes. She started buying and eating only organic meat, dairy, and eggs. Her hot flashes went away completely within a couple months. Recently (years later), she got laid off from her previous job at a health food store, so she couldn't afford organic anymore. Within a month, her hot flashes were back. They're gone again now that she's back to eating organic. Her hormonal imbalances were directly related to the hormones in non-organic meat, dairy, and eggs.
Before the past few days, I was planning to do another experiment soon, once I balance back out with my vegan diet. I was going to eat meat 1-2 times/week for a month- ONLY ORGANIC - and see what happened...see if my hormonal balance stayed intact. Now that I'm a hot mess, I'm thinking I'll wait a little while before throwing another experiment into the mix. But if you're someone who doesn't want to try going vegetarian but does want to experiment with this, then take a few months and choose organic meat, dairy, and eggs. Those three categories are huge sources of hormones.
You hear stories of this or that organic company who is cutting corners and still marketing their product as organic even when technically it's not. This is the exception, not the rule. There are many companies out there that are totally legit. And I think it's silly to hear those stories and think, "well, then I'll just never buy organic." Conventional dairy and meat and eggs are huge sources of unhealthy hormones and antibiotics as well as all kinds of other nasty additives. I really believe we would all greatly benefit from choosing organic in these areas if we can afford it. The store manager's story is not an isolated one - there are countless others just like it.
All I'm sayin' is this. I HATE MEAT! I mean, I love meat, but I HATE it! My body, for now, hates it. And maybe it just hates conventional, hormone-laced meat. I guess I'll find that out another month. But if my body hates it THIS much, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not the only one...maybe some of you readers' little bodies hate it, too. Let me know if you think that's you. We can be vegan buddies - or vegetarian buddies. I'll send you my recipe for Vegan Energy Bars - sounds disgusting, tastes amazing. I will not, however, send you the recipe for bacon-wrapped venison wads. You're welcome.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Down Side
As my favorite blogger, Glennon said to me in our one email exchange, "my kids whooped my ass today." That pretty much sums up my day. There's really just no other way to put it.
One moment Douglas was using his almond butter-caked fork from breakfast to paint a beautiful picture all over the newly cleaned kitchen window. The one that spent months looking like we had sprayed fake snow on it to be festive when really it was just that dirty...until I finally made the time (2 minutes) to clean it a few days ago. I had a hard time finding the artsy beauty in Douglas' almond butter drawing. In those moments, I always think to myself, "See? Why do I even try to clean?!" Later, Douglas decided to spend his naptime screaming "Mommy hold you" from his bed - over and over and over again for no apparent reason. (He really means "mommy hold me" btw - we're still working on object pronouns.)
There were actually four days in there, over Christmas, when he went down for naps like I wanted him to - without endless bouncing up and down and shhhhing and rocking and every manner of trickery to get him down. I would take him upstairs to his room at my parents' house, cuddle and bounce him for about a minute, and lay him down. And he slept. His smiley, laughing side has been coming out more and more, so for those five days, I thought, "Wow!! This is it! He was just going through a rough spell, but he's going to be this pleasant, easy, cheesy grinning, cheerful little version of himself now! Easy peasy!"
Five days. Then the drool came. And the crying.
For the record, I do think that he will be a cheerful, fun little guy - when he's not teething.
On our way home from Texas after Christmas, we made it 10 minutes into our 6-hour drive before Timon started crying. Crying turned into wailing before we could pull the car off on the side of an exit ramp. I spent ten minutes bouncing him and shhing him and trying every other trick in my book to get him to calm down. We were just past a gas station and directly in front of a tiny storage unit place where I'm sure the worker was getting a real kick out of the show. And by the way, when I say bouncing, I really mean squatting repeatedly. It's this trick I learned in Baby Yoga. They're called Divine Drops and they basically involve holding the baby close and secure at your chest, and then doing squats. The harder the baby is crying, the faster you do them. They typically calm an unhappy baby almost instantly. We did it a ton with Douglas. I've done it with various babies, and it works!
Well, not this day. There I was, on the side of the road, manically bouncing up and down in and out of squats with a screaming baby in my arms. This scream was unlike any I'd ever heard him use before. It was like he was either in excruciating pain or terrified. Or probably both. It finally stopped after we gave him a couple homeopathic remedies, teething gel, and Micah stuck his finger in his mouth for chewing. Then he passed out.
Micah looked at me a few minutes later and said, "what if this is what teething is like for him?!" Our eyes both widened in terror and dismay. Say it isn't so.
With teething apparently comes naps no longer than 30 minutes for Timon. And lots of crying and yelling. I was a hot mess by the time Micah came home. I'm slowly recovering. I almost went to bed at 7:30 but instead decided to try a candlelit bath and some creative outlet therapy. So I'm sitting in bed with all the lights out, candles glowing, and spa music playing. And the small Christmas tree in our room is lit - because we both love it so much we decided to keep it in here for a while longer even though I was actually ready this year to take down the rest of the decorations. (This, by the way, I attribute to the advent calendar. It really worked! I sucked the marrow out of Christmas so much that, for perhaps the first time ever, I was willing to let it go when December 26 came around. Even a little bit excited I dare say. Much more enjoyable than feeling full-on depressed.)
Hopefully tonight I won't dream of screaming babies or whining toddlers. Crossing my fingers I'll dream of nothing but fluffy white clouds and warm sunshine and, I don't know, frolicking in a meadow or something.
One moment Douglas was using his almond butter-caked fork from breakfast to paint a beautiful picture all over the newly cleaned kitchen window. The one that spent months looking like we had sprayed fake snow on it to be festive when really it was just that dirty...until I finally made the time (2 minutes) to clean it a few days ago. I had a hard time finding the artsy beauty in Douglas' almond butter drawing. In those moments, I always think to myself, "See? Why do I even try to clean?!" Later, Douglas decided to spend his naptime screaming "Mommy hold you" from his bed - over and over and over again for no apparent reason. (He really means "mommy hold me" btw - we're still working on object pronouns.)
 |
| He so looks like he's up to something |
There were actually four days in there, over Christmas, when he went down for naps like I wanted him to - without endless bouncing up and down and shhhhing and rocking and every manner of trickery to get him down. I would take him upstairs to his room at my parents' house, cuddle and bounce him for about a minute, and lay him down. And he slept. His smiley, laughing side has been coming out more and more, so for those five days, I thought, "Wow!! This is it! He was just going through a rough spell, but he's going to be this pleasant, easy, cheesy grinning, cheerful little version of himself now! Easy peasy!"
Five days. Then the drool came. And the crying.
For the record, I do think that he will be a cheerful, fun little guy - when he's not teething.
On our way home from Texas after Christmas, we made it 10 minutes into our 6-hour drive before Timon started crying. Crying turned into wailing before we could pull the car off on the side of an exit ramp. I spent ten minutes bouncing him and shhing him and trying every other trick in my book to get him to calm down. We were just past a gas station and directly in front of a tiny storage unit place where I'm sure the worker was getting a real kick out of the show. And by the way, when I say bouncing, I really mean squatting repeatedly. It's this trick I learned in Baby Yoga. They're called Divine Drops and they basically involve holding the baby close and secure at your chest, and then doing squats. The harder the baby is crying, the faster you do them. They typically calm an unhappy baby almost instantly. We did it a ton with Douglas. I've done it with various babies, and it works!
Well, not this day. There I was, on the side of the road, manically bouncing up and down in and out of squats with a screaming baby in my arms. This scream was unlike any I'd ever heard him use before. It was like he was either in excruciating pain or terrified. Or probably both. It finally stopped after we gave him a couple homeopathic remedies, teething gel, and Micah stuck his finger in his mouth for chewing. Then he passed out.
Micah looked at me a few minutes later and said, "what if this is what teething is like for him?!" Our eyes both widened in terror and dismay. Say it isn't so.
With teething apparently comes naps no longer than 30 minutes for Timon. And lots of crying and yelling. I was a hot mess by the time Micah came home. I'm slowly recovering. I almost went to bed at 7:30 but instead decided to try a candlelit bath and some creative outlet therapy. So I'm sitting in bed with all the lights out, candles glowing, and spa music playing. And the small Christmas tree in our room is lit - because we both love it so much we decided to keep it in here for a while longer even though I was actually ready this year to take down the rest of the decorations. (This, by the way, I attribute to the advent calendar. It really worked! I sucked the marrow out of Christmas so much that, for perhaps the first time ever, I was willing to let it go when December 26 came around. Even a little bit excited I dare say. Much more enjoyable than feeling full-on depressed.)
Hopefully tonight I won't dream of screaming babies or whining toddlers. Crossing my fingers I'll dream of nothing but fluffy white clouds and warm sunshine and, I don't know, frolicking in a meadow or something.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Holiday Recap
Happy New Year!!!
The other day I wrote a post called "The Down Side" about having a rough day in Mom-land, followed by one called "The Up Side" where I gain a little perspective after venting for a half hour. I decided that I should hold off on posting The Down Side for a few days, though...felt like my first post of the new year should be more positive. Sooo, I'll start with a little Christmas recap - try to put a little skip in my step this first week of 2012. (Really, though, I'm so tired I feel like my shoes are filled with lead so putting a skip in my step is more of an idea than it is any sort of reality today.)
It was so incredibly fun watching Douglas as he learned about Christmas. One day, he sat at the kitchen table and sang "Happ Birfday Jesuus! Happ Birfday Shiny Reindeer!!" It's confusing sometimes - all the stories tend to run together. He still walks around saying "little drummer boyee!?" whenever he wants to play his drums - he IS the little drummer boy. Few things are more precious than him walking around singing "parum pum pum! Parum pum pum!" over and over.
We had a lovely Christmas with most of my family in Texas. My sister and her sweet family weren't there, and we really missed them. The whole family stood around the computer and skyped with them in CA on Christmas night. This picture cracks me up because there is a baby under that Santa hat - my baby!!...the picture that followed this one was of Aunt Heather saving him.
Douglas loves his cousin Elizabeth (Buh-beth) and she loves Douglas (Dou-las).
There were so many beautiful, fun, festive moments.
There was a breakfast-for-dinner picnic by the tree followed by a Brother Snuggle which is a new fan favorite.
Although in this pic Timon looks rather unimpressed...usually he's giggling when this happens.
And a festive holiday light/North Pole display in Grapevine, TX complete with a set-to-music light display that was super impressive. The night ended with a dance party in the gazebo in town square with a million lights flashing around us and Christmas classics blaring over the speakers. No doubt some little kid just started dancing up there and it prompted a full-blown Christmas rave with lots of tiny little dancing munchkins and their families. SO FUN.
And holiday decorations at The Gaylord hotel - Douglas just stood there with his finger pointed and moved his hand all around, mouth wide open, because there were endless things he wanted to point at in awe and wonder.
My mom did an amazing job decorating the house, as always. That is one of many, many ways that she has always made Christmas such a special time. I am grateful for her countless hours of work to get the house to look so incredible.
We had a Christmas Eve fireside reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Douglas decided that night that he was afraid of Santa. I don't blame him. I mean, when you're that little and just learning all of this stuff, it would be a little freaky to hear before bedtime that some strange man is going to come down your chimney into your house while you're sleeping! I explained to him that Santa is happy and jolly and kind. He looked at me and said, "jolly happy soul?" Yes. That's right. Just like Frosty, Santa is a jolly, happy soul. He must have gotten over his fear, because a few days later, he frantically said multiple times "Santa, hold you!" when he was afraid of the duct-cleaning men in our house. Yesterday he couldn't get the lid to his smoothie to open, so he said "Santa help you." I think the fact that Santa brought him this sweet tent and tunnel might have something to do with him getting over his fear!
It was so fun to watch Douglas and Timon being loved and treasured by my family - they always are, but somehow the backdrop of twinkly lights and Bring Crosby makes it all the more beautiful.
The other day I wrote a post called "The Down Side" about having a rough day in Mom-land, followed by one called "The Up Side" where I gain a little perspective after venting for a half hour. I decided that I should hold off on posting The Down Side for a few days, though...felt like my first post of the new year should be more positive. Sooo, I'll start with a little Christmas recap - try to put a little skip in my step this first week of 2012. (Really, though, I'm so tired I feel like my shoes are filled with lead so putting a skip in my step is more of an idea than it is any sort of reality today.)
It was so incredibly fun watching Douglas as he learned about Christmas. One day, he sat at the kitchen table and sang "Happ Birfday Jesuus! Happ Birfday Shiny Reindeer!!" It's confusing sometimes - all the stories tend to run together. He still walks around saying "little drummer boyee!?" whenever he wants to play his drums - he IS the little drummer boy. Few things are more precious than him walking around singing "parum pum pum! Parum pum pum!" over and over.
We had a lovely Christmas with most of my family in Texas. My sister and her sweet family weren't there, and we really missed them. The whole family stood around the computer and skyped with them in CA on Christmas night. This picture cracks me up because there is a baby under that Santa hat - my baby!!...the picture that followed this one was of Aunt Heather saving him.
Douglas loves his cousin Elizabeth (Buh-beth) and she loves Douglas (Dou-las).
There were so many beautiful, fun, festive moments.
There was a breakfast-for-dinner picnic by the tree followed by a Brother Snuggle which is a new fan favorite.
Although in this pic Timon looks rather unimpressed...usually he's giggling when this happens.
And a festive holiday light/North Pole display in Grapevine, TX complete with a set-to-music light display that was super impressive. The night ended with a dance party in the gazebo in town square with a million lights flashing around us and Christmas classics blaring over the speakers. No doubt some little kid just started dancing up there and it prompted a full-blown Christmas rave with lots of tiny little dancing munchkins and their families. SO FUN.
 |
| Check out Elizabeth in the background - cracks me up |
And holiday decorations at The Gaylord hotel - Douglas just stood there with his finger pointed and moved his hand all around, mouth wide open, because there were endless things he wanted to point at in awe and wonder.
My mom did an amazing job decorating the house, as always. That is one of many, many ways that she has always made Christmas such a special time. I am grateful for her countless hours of work to get the house to look so incredible.
We had a Christmas Eve fireside reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Douglas decided that night that he was afraid of Santa. I don't blame him. I mean, when you're that little and just learning all of this stuff, it would be a little freaky to hear before bedtime that some strange man is going to come down your chimney into your house while you're sleeping! I explained to him that Santa is happy and jolly and kind. He looked at me and said, "jolly happy soul?" Yes. That's right. Just like Frosty, Santa is a jolly, happy soul. He must have gotten over his fear, because a few days later, he frantically said multiple times "Santa, hold you!" when he was afraid of the duct-cleaning men in our house. Yesterday he couldn't get the lid to his smoothie to open, so he said "Santa help you." I think the fact that Santa brought him this sweet tent and tunnel might have something to do with him getting over his fear!
It was so fun to watch Douglas and Timon being loved and treasured by my family - they always are, but somehow the backdrop of twinkly lights and Bring Crosby makes it all the more beautiful.
 |
| Elizabeth trying on the hat that I made for her, complete with interchangeable flowers - HOLLAH! And, yes, I do know that that flower is half the size of her head, but, people, believe me, this Texas Bow-head can handle it - this isn't even big for her! |
Douglas absolutely loves being around family. There were several times when I looked at him and saw his face filled with sheer joy. The mixture of family and music and dancing and special activities and talk of Christmas was enough to make him nearly burst with happiness...for hours at a time. It was seriously magical to watch.
I hope your Christmas was filled with a little magic of your own - or buckets full. Happy, happy New Year. Here's to new beginnings - ones that are filled with hope.
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