Sunday, November 30, 2008

Christmas for the first time

So my husband and I have had the great debate for 3 years now - yes, even before Fia was born.  We have been trying to figure out how to make Christmas meaningful.  How can you do it with the world pushing in on you from every angle, with Santa on every corner, presents on the mind of everyone and Jesus curiously getting more and more absent from our culture.  This is the first year that I surrendered to the idea that Christmas is truly just about Christ.  We are not banning Santa or presents or lights or the magical feeling of Christmas rather embracing those things through Christ.  I realized that waking up Christmas morning knowing that Christ was born is more magical and exciting and thrilling than any other possibility for that morning and it is one that won't lose it's truth when you get older.   We are going to celebrate Christ with cake and ice cream for breakfast, with gifts from the Magi, with stockings from Santa in remembrance of St. Nick and how much he loved Jesus, with the placing of baby Jesus in his manger and with the giving of gifts and cookies to our friends.  How exciting to know that Jesus is coming in just 25 short days.  Sofia can't wait to get up and have a party with baby Jesus.  She says that he is going to be so messy when he eats his cake and she wants to buy him candyland for his present.  Sofia has taught me that you don't have to "fit" Jesus into your Christmas, He simply is a part of everything.  I am more excited this year than I have ever been before and it is because I finally understand that without Christ Christmas is simply another day just like any other.

Confessions of a Bad Mommy #2

1.  When I go to BK for my Coke Icee once a week I sometimes tell Fia that they are "out of" juice boxes because I only have enough money for my "mommy drink".
2.  I look through my husband's dresser to find money for my Coke Icees sometimes.
3.  I didn't buy anything for my son's first birthday.  (I sitll have time and might change my mind but really, he will get so much stuff.)
4.  I rarely cry anywhere except for the shower.  So when I hear something I find to be unbearably sad I immediately head to the shower - no one can hear me and I can cry and get it all out.  It is amazingly relaxing.
5.  I haven't dusted since........well, I can't even remember but I think it was June.
6.  When we were going to one of our friend's houses for a first birthday party my husband asked me what we got the little boy.  I said I am taking a salad and that was his present.  I hoped he liked croutons!  (The mom was totally ok with it - or so she said!)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Confessions of a Bad Mommy #1

1.  I let my son play with a plunger in order to have a relaxing, five minute shower in the morning.
(He only touches the handle....)
2.  I take an afternoon nap at least 3-4 times a week.
3.  More often than not I am secretly planning out what I am going to be doing the minute I leave Fia's room while we are doing bedtime prayers together.
4.  I let Nico eat food he finds under his highchair.  Well, "let" is a strong word......I sometimes will look the other way if it's close to dinner and he just needs a little something to tide himself over.
5.  I have held my child in one arm and bent over a bit to spit on the kitchen floor to clean it.  I will see a spot, spit, rub it around with my sock and voila! a clean floor.  (Except for the one time when I had just taken a drink of coffee - it ended up getting the floor brown).
6.  I love being a stay at home mom because I have so much control over my day.  If we want to play and stay in pjs all day - we can.  If we want to get going early and stop and have a donut and coffee at MaryAnn's down the street - we can.   Each day has different and exciting possibilities!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Pen** Man

So I don't really feel comfortable typing that word on the computer so hopefully you all know what that means......anyway, one day I was singing "Pen** Man, Pen** Man" in a super hero type voice while I was getting my son (11 months) ready for bath. He was very amused and stood up and was kind of dancing around. Then all of a sudden he threw his hands up in the air (grinning like a mad man), making fists and then a giant arc of pee came flying my way. As soon as he was done he clapped and jumped up and down. My daughter found this to be hilarious and, well, so did I!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Letter of the Week - Kk

Each week we talk about a different letter in the alphabet. I figure this provides some learning time while keeping it fun. Fia does "school work" each day after the morning viewing. Nico gets a snack in his highchair and Fia works while she snacks at the kitchen table. Here are our Kk activities for the week:
1. Make a kite. We used construction paper and paints.
2. Make a kangaroo. I used the template from Dltk-kids.
3. Make a K and J t-chart. I use sesame street characters off of a website to create the t-chart headings and then
cut out construction paper squares and write the letters on them. Her job is to glue the letters in the proper places
color the characters.
4. Make a Kk web. I print out and cut out different pictures on the computer that start with K. She just has to glue them
on the web and say their names. It's a good way to introduce new words or objects to her vocabulary plus, well, she
loves to glue.
This is a short week because we are going to Columbus for two days.......so that's all!