Santa Claus Came Back to Town

Christmas was oh so fun this year. I wrapped, decorated and just generally enjoyed the preparation and hustle and bustle of the holiday. We had our tree in the den, right next to the tv and it was so nice to have it in the main living area. In the old house, it was always in the front window so we only saw it when we walked to the front door or made a pass through the living room. I like the new place for it much better.

Santa, however, did not have such a good Christmas this year. After we unwrapped all our presents and had enjoyed a good breakfast followed by one or two (or perhaps more!) delicious Christmas cookies, C sighed and said "I love all my presents. I guess Santa gave me a paper journal and a new pen to write with so that's why I didn't get the Password Journal."
The Password Journal.
The one and only consistent item she had asked for for the past three months. Santa didn't deliver. Or, was it that Santa forgot about it? Or that he forgot where he put it? Oh no, that couldn't be it. I was alternatively concerned and dismayed by the lack of Password Journal under the tree (and no where else to be found in the house.)
Two days after Christmas, Hubster and I were lying in bed when an over-excited C bound into the room. I could only grasp parts of what she said in her excited gibberish. " Santa....came.....for me.....letter.....present....forgot....remembered....so coooool!!" 
Turns out Santa did get C the Password Journal and he even delivered it.  C quickly declared Santa as the best ever and she has consistently played with her electronic journal since then.

Here's the letter that came with her gift:

Dear C,
I hope you liked all the presents I brought and that you had a Merry Christmas in your new home! I had a very busy night on Dec. 24th, I was really tired when I finally got back home to the North Pole. Mrs. Claus had some hot cocoa and my slippers all ready for me. I was very happy to sit down and relax!

After I got home, the elves were busy putting the reindeer in the shed and putting the sleigh away. And guess what?! They found something was left inside. I couldn’t believe it! I knew I was in a hurry when I got to Solon because I was running a little behind (and Santa does not like to be late!) but I didn’t think that I’d be in such a hurry that I’d forget to leave one of your presents! I am so sorry that I didn’t see it. And, I know this was something you really wanted too.

Thank you for your letter that you left with the yummy cookies. You asked me a couple questions so I thought I’d try and answer them. I don’t normally do this but because you’re a special girl, I thought I would make an exception this year.

The reindeer live a long time. See, they’re magical just like me! It just seems like they’ve always been here with me, I don’t know what I’d do without them.

I don’t really remember how old I am! Hard to believe, I know, but magical folk just don’t pay attention to their age once they get older. I feel very young at heart because I get to do my most favorite job in the whole world, making children happy! I wish everyone could feel the magic and joy of Christmas all year round in their hearts. I especially like it when I see children and their families worship in church and remember the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. I sing right along with folks when I hear them singing in church. My favorite Christmas songs are Joy to the World and Silent Night. They’re just beautiful!

Have fun with all your presents. Keep being good for your Mom and Dad. Remember to be nice to your brother.

Love,
Santa

Dialogue, Dialogue

Every Friday, C brings home her dialogue journal. In it, she writes a letter to Hubster and I every week. She talks about what she did in her classes, what she liked/disliked or anything interesting to her.
Then, we are supposed to write back to her.

This last week, C wrote to us. Last night, we wrote back. Here are our letters to C.

My letter:
Dear C,

Congratulations on a good report card! You worked hard and it showed.

I am looking forward to reading your memoir once it is finished.

What are you learning in Economics? I took an Economics class in college and I liked it. But once, I fell asleep during a movie about economics! I was very glad the professor did not notice.

I was happy to come and and read to your class on Friday. Did you get to finish the Magic Tree House book?

Love, Mama

Hubster's letter:
Dear C,
Thank you for writing about your week.

What predictions did you make in reading? I will predict that there will be less candy in the Halloween bowl tomorrow than there is today. I also predict that you and S will argue about something. I cannot predict what.

Good job on your report card.
Love, Daddy

Dialogue Journal: It's one of my favorite parts of the week.

They're Going to Take Me Away!!!!!

I think my children are out to get me.
No, seriously.
I think their goal is to slowly and methodically drive me crazy.
Take today, for example.
Me: Did you brush your teeth? (thinking, do I really need to remind you EVERY day to do this?)
S: Of course
Me: With toothpaste?
S: Ah, oh......well, maybe not. I'll just go check (note: which is code for No, I didn't do whatever you were asking but let me run and go do it now before I have more trouble)
Me: SIGH!!!!
This whole episode was preceeded by an incident last week where, after going into the bathroom to start C's shower, I couldn't find any soap.
Me: S, did you take a shower?
S: Yes.
Me: Did you use soap?
S: Wait, let me check.
Me: SSSSSS!!!!!!!
S: No. Why, is that important?
Lordy, heaven help me stay sane.
So after the toothpase incident, S comes down with a vitamin in his hand. "Mama, I found this on my bed again." We had found one earlier in the weekend and couldn't figure out how this got there. I could only conclude that someone either (a)didn't take their vitamin and tried to hide it or (b)someone got into the vitamins and took an extra one/two/three and dropped one in the process. Neither was a good option.
But, today, I noticed that this vitamin looked suspiciously like the one that C was supposed to take this morning.
So, I put it back down next to her place at the table. When C came down (S was outside riding scooter), we had a little conversation.
Me:C, don't forget to take your vitamin.
C (mouth open, looking totally astonished): Oh.....
Me: I think you forgot to take it this morning.
C: Well, let me check. (see, I told you, it's code)
Me: Let me help you with that. I know you didn't take it this morning and I know that you threw it on top of S's bed. Now, chew it up and have some water to wash it down.
Then, we had a little conversation about how imporant it was to take any medicine that we give her, how it affects our trust in her and how sick Maggie could get if she got hold of the vitamin.
Me: How many time have you done this before? (knowing I can't really believe the little rat,er I mean, girl)
C: Just twice.

So, my morning will now include doing a vitamin check of Simon's room.

See what I mean? They're out to get me, I'm sure of it.

Highway Signs

Went up to my Dad's a few weeks ago. Just me and the kids. But no Maggie, thank goodness. She gets whiney in the car with only the kids for company.
Anyway, we're tooling along the highway, la de da and I come up to a slower moving vehicle. I get into the left hand lane to pass and realize that I need to pass a couple more cars. No problem, I'm kicking right along.  We were on a four lane highway so there was plenty of room to pass.
Suddenly, I look up in the rearview mirror and see this little 2 door car right on my backside. No, seriously, I couldn't see the front 1/3 of the car the guy was going so close. Well, that rather slightly ticks me off. I mean, it's dangerous and stupid so I very, very gently tap my brakes so the lights go on as a "Back off my a**s!" signal to Mr. Driver (who is about 22 and is in the little car with his girlfriend riding next to him).
I actually speed up so that I can move back into the right lane as soon as possible 'cause I'm perfectly okay with Mr. A**hole, er, I mean, Mr. Driver cruisin' right on by me. Go ahead, I think, really, I don't mind, speed along and go far, far ahead of me. And I may have prayed real quick  for a Mr. Policeman to be up ahead with a speedtrap for my new friend. Ahem (or is that Amen?!).
I get back into the right hand lane and I glance over at Mr. Driver. He is now even with me, rolling down the passenger side window, hanging onto the steering wheel with his left hand and leaning out the passenger window with his arm and hand hanging out and he's giving me the one finger salute. Waving it madly around and about. His girlfriend is trying to pull him back into the car and yelling at him to "Knock it off and behave! Watch where you're driving" And, I believe that he may have been saying a naughty word or two directed at me. 'Cause I'm good at reading lips that way, I guess.
Holy moly, that was one nasty case of car rage. Geesh!
Meanwhile, C & S have witnessed Mr. Driver's behavior.
"What is that man doing?" asked C looking very confused by they whole thing.
I qiuckly respond, "Oh, he's just waving hello. Let's all wave back to him and make his day brighter."
I wave (with all fingers not just one), C enthusiastically waves and S half-heartedly waves.
 There was a few second of silence then I hear, "Ah, Mama?" says S.
"Yes?"
"I don't think he was waving hello."

Snack Attack

C came in from playing outside, hung up her coat and bopped into the den. She asked me if I wanted anything to eat or drink. "Real food or play food?" I asked.
"Play" she said.
 "OK, I'll have chocolate cake and ice cream."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, we're all out of chocolate cake."
"Really?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, but we have strawberry cake, would you like a piece of that?" C asked, standing as if she was taking my order at a restaurant.
"Sure" I answered.

"And, what flavor ice cream would you like? We have vanilla or strawberry" C said.
"Oh, vanilla please" I answered.

She hopped out of the room and returned a few seconds later with pink plastic cake, a plastic scoop of vanilla ice cream and a pink cup of pretend ice water.

After I 'finished' my cake, she came back to clear off the dishes.
"Did you enjoy your cake and the ice cream? I hope so because it was the last piece we had" she said.
I told her I enjoyed it very much. She skipped away and went off to play.

Truly, it was the best snack I've had all week.

My Royal Family

We went for a nighttime walk tonight. The weather was beautiful, the moon was out, the snow was a-melting. As we were coming home, C started this conversation:
C: Look! Maggie is walking and leading us, just like a Princess!
S: Yep, she's a princess all right.
C: Princess Maggie and I'm a princess too.
S: Oh boy, here we go.
C: I'm Princess of Nice and Maggie, she's the Princess.... Princess of.... um.....
S:Pooches?
C: Yeah, Princess of Pooches. And Mama is the Queen. She's always the Queen. She's the Queen of Mamas.
[At this point, I was thinking that I've taught my youngest well!]
C: And Daddy is the king, of course. King of all the boys.
S: Well, what am I then, if you're the princess, Mama the Queen and Daddy is the King?
C: Oh, that's easy. You're the Joker.

Hot Chocolate Volcano

I was upstairs, folding and putting away laundry, picking up, etc. S came bounding up the stairs.
"Mama, can we have hot chocolate? I can make it in the microwave, you won't even need to come down."
I thought for a moment. I had shown him numerous times how to use the microwave, he's made the last couple batches pretty much on his own, I think he's ready. Besides, then I can keep on cleaning and not stop.
"OK, go ahead but don't make the hot cocoa too hot."
"I won't, I promise Mama" he replied.
So, I finished what I was doing and started vacuuming. Next thing I know, S comes flying into the room.
"Come quick! We had an accident"
"Is C hurt?" I quickly ask, all the while thinking "I knew I should have said no, I should have made it myself or just made them wait until I was done."
"No, but we had, well, rather a hot chocolate explosion, It looks like a hot chocolate volcano went off!!" S said, "Come quick!!"
There are few things that could have made me move faster. I flew downstairs and this is what awaited me....

Pure misery.
Apparently, C had picked up her hot chocolate and spilled a little on the floor. She put the cup down, she & S wiped it up but didn't dry the floor. When C picked the cup back up, both feet went out from under and the hot chocolate? Well, that went pretty much everywhere.  I took one look at her miserable little face and like any sane mom, said "Oh honey, stay there. I have to get the camera."
Luckily, the hot chocolate was barely luke warm. Her glasses were totally covered (but I didn't get the camera out in time for that pic!). Even her underwear were soaked. There was about 1 tbsp of liquid left in her cup. The rest was on her, the floor, the cupboards, the dog bowls, the counter, the refrigerator and the door.  And probably a few other places that I haven't found it.
Poor thing!

C got cleaned up and yes, she got another cup of hot cocoa. I made this one and carried it to the table for her.
She said hot chocolate tasted much better in the cup.

MLK: Civil Rights Leader...Really??

C came home singing a song.
"Dr. King, Dr. King, he was a civilized reader....."
She went on to finish the song.
Not sure I heard her correctly, I asked "Can you sing the first line again?"
C said "Sure.  Dr. King, Dr. King, he was a civilized reader"
"umm, C, I think you mean Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights Leader. That means.."
I was interrupted.
"I know, I know Mama, what that means. It means he helped people have freedom cause some silly people wouldn't let all kids go to school together. You know, I think those people must have something wrong in their head to not let all kids go to school together. God made us all different, who cares what color skin you have?" She skipped off, singing "Dr King, Dr King, he was a civilized reader."
She stopped and said to herself, "He must have really liked books".
"Dr. King, Dr King, he was a civilized reader....."

I swear, I cannot make this stuff up.

Two Thumbs Up

We were eating at our favorite Korean restaurant, and we got dessert for the kids. It is very unusual for us to have dessert when we go out, so this was a big occasion. The kids chose fried ice cream (doesn't sound very Korean to me either, but hey, that was one of the choices).

Two thumbs up. It was a hit!

Almost a Family Picture

This is the closest thing to a family photo (in clothes, not jammies) from Christmas that I have. A nice church member asked if he could take our photo after I took some of the kids:

I did play with it a little in Picnik (a photo editing site, great fun!). I just wish David would have been there, but he took off after dropping us off at church. Considering the three of us didn't even try to coordinate, we did pretty good!

The Biggest Loser

Oh joy of joys, a new season of Biggest Loser has started! I am, well, slightly obsessed with this show. But I really enjoy watching it. Especially the 'where are they now' ones. Anyway, back to last night. The show was starting and C came downstairs after putting on her jammies. "Ooooo, Mama, The Biggest Loser, I love that show!" Now, she only watches the first 10-15 minutes of this show but I guess she likes it.
"Really? Are you sure you like it or do you just watch it cause I have it on?" I asked.
"Oh, I really like it. Say, hey, would you like to lose weight?" C said.
"Well, yes, I'd like to lose some weight and be healthier" I replied, thinking Little Girl, you are treading into some shaky territory, watch it. You may only be 6, but I can take you down!
"Oh, is that why you go to the Weight Watcher meetings?" C asked.
"Yes," I was really wondering where this conversation was going.
"Well, I heard you tell Daddy" (this is where my heart drops, crap, what conversation did she overhear now?) "and you said that you didn't want to make separate food for us kids then what you eat. Well, I have a great idea, maybe you could make all those healthier things for me & S and we'll all eat the same things, cause we need to be healthy too!" C was quite proud of herself.
"That's a good idea, but it's what I already do" I said.
"Oh, you mean we eat healthy stuff?" C asked.
"All the time" I replied.
"Hmmmmm...." C said, "I guess that's not so bad then. And some of your food even tastes pretty good."
I just said "Thank you."
Some of my food, not all, but just some, mind you.
Somedays I just can't win.

Dolly and Me

The thing that C asked for the most this Christmas? Matching clothes for herself and Karissa dolly. Santa delivered 2 outfits, I made matching skirts (didn't turn out the best but she liked 'em) and Grandma came through BIG time. Look at this:

Caaa-uuute!!

Cookie Patrol

You know you might have a problem with cookies when this is the note your daughter leaves.

C wrote "No Daddy" to warn him away from the cookies we made.

Hee hee hee hee!!

Meeting with Santa

We went to see Santa. C was so excited, she told me all week long what she would ask him for and what she would tell him.
She and I got there first, we were waiting for the Hubster and S to get there after Fencing practice.
C kept moving closer and closer to me. She asked "Can I ask Santa if he'll bring me my 2 front teeth? I think he knows the tooth fairy, or maybe Mrs. Claus does, maybe he could just deliver them for her??"
I told her I thought that would be fine. She told me again what her wish list contained and tried to be very patient waiting for her brother to arrive.
S and Hubster finally arrived. The kids sat down on Santa's lap and.....
nothing.
Complete silence from both of them.
Santa, bless his North Pole heart, tried to get them to talk but they both just looked and looked at him.
They got their picture taken and off we went.
Soon as we were out the door, they couldn't STOP talking.
And both resolved to be writing him a letter with their wish lists.

Jumping in the Deep End

The kids have been taken swimming lessons at the Y. Yep, the infamous Y, but trust me, it's more normal at night when they have their lessons.
S is doing really well. Swimming is fun for him and although he's rusty, some of his form is returning. It will be a while before he gets back to what he was doing over a year ago, but he's enjoying the lessons. Especially jumping off the diving board.
C, well, she's a bit of another story.
It started like this:
C: I don't wan to go to swimming lessons in the big pool. The water is way over my head. (Note:She can stand on the shallow end but it goes from there to over 12 ft deep on the other end.)
Me: You can do it! The lifeguard will be right there and you'll have a board or floaties to hang onto. She won't let anything happen to you, I know you can do this! Just try it, I think you'll like it and have fun. Trust the lifeguard, she knows what she's doing and she's there to protect you.
C: I don't think so. I'm scared.
Me: (Repeat previous statement about 10 more times, each time with a slightly different take but all very supportive).
Eventually, C says: OK, guess I'll try it (said very, very reluctantly)
See, what you need to know is that C doesn't like to put her face in the water. She'll do it but then wants a towel to wipe off her face. Not the most practical thing when you're in the swimming pool on the deeep end.
C went to swimming, shyly walked behind the instructor to the pool and presto, bango, she's off and having fun.
She does everything the lifeguard tells her, including kicking both on her tummy and back holding the board going from one end of the pool to the other. She floats, bobs, and has a great time.
Until...
Until the diving board.
She's all brave and laughing with her swim classmates.
Until it's her turn. That's when the 180 degree change comes, faster than a speeding bullet. One minute laughing, the next, utter sheer terror.
The girl goes to the end of the board and refuses to jump off into the arms of the lifeguard waiting for her with another noodle. Her little knees shake, she's sobbing and she won't let go of the railings to walk to the end. She has a serious death grip on the railing.  Mind you, there was also a lifeguard on the board with her holding her hand or at least trying to hold her. C just wouldn't let go of the rail. Sorta like when you try and put a cat in a carrier and they spread out their legs and refuse to go in. Just consider C the cat. She tried numerous times to go on the board and jump off. She'd be smiling when she got on the board but as soon as she got to where she had to let go, she just couldn't do it.
I felt so bad for her, really heart-breakingly bad. I was almost in tears myself watching from the bleachers. I could tell she was terrified and there is nothing like watching your baby girl freak out and not being able to do anything to help.
After patiently working with her many times, the lifeguards told her she could try again the next week. They told her how brave she was going up on the board. They pointed out that she jumps off the side of the pool by herself (and the noodle) and this was in the same amount of water. C just looked at them and said "I know I can jump off the side. But on the diving board, it's just too much. The walking off the board and dropping is really scary. It's just too hard to step out and trust that it'll be ok." 
I towelled her off and dried her tears. Assured her that it's okay. Gave her lots of hugs and support.
She was smiling when we went to shower. But she did give the diving board the evil eye when we walked by on the way out.
Wonder how next week will go??

Zoo Moments

We spent the last few days before school started doing some of the last things on our Summer 'to do' list. Things like visiting the zoo.  C had to take her standard pose by the flamingoes:

And, then C & S pretended to be giraffes:

It seems my little monkeys fit right in at the zoo!

First Day of School 2010

Here are my kiddos in the infamous "First Day" photo that proud Mamas across the U.S. take on the first morning of the new school year:

They had a great day and came home bursting to tell me about their teachers, class and of course, who they ate lunch with.
We celebrated by having root beer floats after school.
I love these days!

Futurama

I was sitting in my chair, checking out my favorite sites on the laptop.
C was playing next to me.
Suddenly, she handed me a little boy doll, some clothes and then asked/pronounced "Mama, can you help me? I cannot get this boy's pants back on!"
I paused. And, I swear, the very next thought that went through my mind was "Please Lord, do NOT let this be a foreshadow of the years to come!"

Oh Sister!

C was reading a book to me. She came to the word "sister" and couldn't figure it out.
So I prompted her "You know this word. It's what you are to S".
She thought for a moment and then with a confused look, she answered "Sneaky?"
I just grinned.

It's the Shoes

There's nothing like watching little girls in their pink leotards and ballet shoes to warm the heart. C loves dance class and tells me "I like ballet but I REALLY like tap better. It's all in the shoes Mama." Oh man!