Mouths of Babes: Christmas Edition

In our home at Christmastime, we have a little Santa calendar with pockets. You've all seen them. You know, the type that has a flurry of pockets in rows across Santa's belly, one for each day until Christmas Eve?
                                      
In the pockets of our Santa, there are little slips of paper with something fun to to each day. Things like, "Make Christmas cookies" and "Make a paper chain" are mixed with more exciting things like, "Take a trip to Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights" and "Go to the church Christmas party!" Carefully typed, cut into strips and folded, these little activities fill the pockets across Santa's belly and my kids stare at them, wondering what fun surprise they'll unfold tomorrow.

This morning, Landon ran straight to the calendar and said, "Mom! It's the three day!" (Today is December 3rd.) He knows that after he gets home from daycare and does his chores, he gets to choose the paper of the day. All day, I know that he dreams about what he's going to get to do. He can't wait to find out what the "actibity" as he calls it, will be.

On the way to daycare this morning, Landon said to me, "Mommy, I love being a kid. I don't ever want to grow up because kids get to pick out of the calendar. I want to stay a boy like Peter Pan." I laughed and told him that if he wanted to stay four years old forever, that would be fine with me.

The concept has been mulling around in my mind today since he said that, though. Somehow, my small four year old boy is aware enough to think that only kids do "fun things", and that if he grows up, all the fun will go away.

I can't help but wonder, am I too detached, too busy, too frazzled to just stop and have fun? With my culmination of being a student, a mother, a wife, working (more than) full time...am I telling my kids that when you grow up, life isn't fun anymore?

This December, as we pull little slips of magic from Santa's pockets, I'm going to make a conscious effort to have a freaking blast. My babies are growing. They're aware. They're noticing. They're absorbing. I guess it's my job to make sure all of that happens the right way. Apparently, that's what parenting is.

Who knew?

-L

Thankful and a Fashion Tag

Hello! As the weekend of Thanksgiving draws to a close, I know I should be thinking about all of the things that I'm so grateful for, but I can't help but think, just a bit selfishly, that I'm exhausted. And I need a weekend from my weekend. That being said, I truly have so many things to be thankful for. I have a great job, my husband has a great job, my kids are beautiful and happy, my husband is my best friend, I have great Frye boots...I mean, the list goes on.

Mostly though, especially this weekend, I've realized how truly lucky, grateful and blessed I am to have Daniel in my life. My husband and I have had quite the whirlwind of a year. But dammit if we aren't the best of friends. I'd rather hang out with him than with anyone else. And he makes me laugh, oh he makes me laugh. He understands my sense of humor that is often mistaken by others as maybe...like, kinda....rude. He loves me even though I'm the grouchiest person alive, especially when I'm hangry (anger caused by hunger). Guys, he makes the best pancakes ever and he always scratches my back when I ask him to. The man does laundry, people. And he's just the greatest dad. The kids just want to be with him every spare minute. He never, ever acts annoyed when he's waiting for me to come to bed and watch a movie and I take literally thirty minutes to wash my face and brush my teeth. He always kisses me goodbye in the morning even though he leaves for work before I'm awake and he doesn't complain that I never make his lunch anymore even though when we were first married I did it all the time. He doesn't make me feel stupid when I buy another pair of shoes. He never puts me down. Ever. He has never in our marriage put me down. He rarely yells. He holds my hand all the time. And he lets me watch girly shows like Kardashians and Teen Mom without grumbling even though I make a big stink when I have to watch Overhaulin' or whatever the other car shows are.

So I'm grateful for so many things. Because I'm so blessed.

But I'm thankful, I'm just so very thankful, for him.
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Onto the second part of this post:
And now, I've been tagged....so in turn, I'm tagging all of you. In the spirit of the holiday season here is a challenge (that I'm going to try so hard not to fail at miserably) to participate in our own kind of 25 Days of Christmas. Introducing: 25 Days of Winter Fashion.

The tag is to once a week, until December 25th, post a string of snap shots of that previous weeks winter outfit choices. Hopefully I can take a snap shot at least once a day. So, today I lose the game because I wore yoga pants and a hoodie all day long. But I suppose the fun of it is to document our winter attire in both the laid back and more uptight days. I'll post my pics each Wednesday until the best Wednesday of the month! (That would be December 25th!)

So, like I said, I tag all of you!

-L