It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas? Yes, I know it's early. Perhaps you won't read the rest of this because it's not even Thanksgiving, for Pete's sake. Yet, for some reason I'm ready to start decking the halls, singing carols and making cookies. I've been sick all week, which is the reason for my lapse in posting since coughing and lack of sleep makes for terrible blog posts.

However, being sick does make you take stock and also provides time for knitting. After the tragedy in Joplin, a friend asked the people in our knitting group if we would be interested in donating Christmas ornaments to a family she knows in Joplin who lost their home and all of their possessions. Many of us are making or donating items to send to them as well as extra so they can give some ornaments to others.

If I lost my home, I would certainly be grateful that my family and I were healthy and ok. Would I miss my furniture or pots and pans? Maybe a little, but the treasured photos and the homemade Christmas ornaments Z made would be missed most. So, while I can't give the families in Joplin their ornaments, I can at least give them a homemade ornament from us. Z and I have been making reindeer out of clothes pins and decorating foam Christmas trees, Gingerbread people and houses with glitter and I've been making these addictive little hats out of leftover yarn from other projects.

Part of the reason I've started to do Christmas early is the fact that Z and I are in a Christmas show and we'll be busy. We're going to have family visiting and sharing Christmas with us starting on Thanksgiving. I want to get everything ready, so we'll really get the joy of the season. The other reason I'm starting early is I'm so very thankful for all that I have and I'm hoping to give a little Christmas to someone else this year who may need their spirit lifted.

A Brief Update

Gosh, life gets busy with....

playing...

celebrating...

and making peace symbols that turn into rabbits.

I've also been knitting away and finished several projects and need to photograph them. Currently I'm working on a chemo cap for a friend of my mom's. Next on my needles will be a vest (Hollyberry)for... me! It will be the first knitted garment for me. Ok, there was that one ill-fated shell that still sits in my yarn stash mocking me, but hopefully this one will fit better.

Z (Buttons) is busy loving school. Reading has begun in earnest as well as writing words all over the place. "Mom, what makes the 'yuh, yuh, yuh' sound?" It's amazing to watch her mind working and hearing her read. It's going so fast and yet it's such an exciting ride I don't want it to slow down.

Mike is doing well, although his office changed locations and man, the commute is a killer. Luckily, he works from home sometimes and we get to eat lunch together and see him a bit more during the day.

Ok, I am now going to return to my regularly scheduled program, which today means cutting out paper snowflakes for our tree, shopping for groceries and gifts, making lunch for Z, taking her to school, cooking dinner and then a theater rehearsal for "Into the Woods".

Wishing you all light and warmth during this magical time.

NYC!

Life has been busy here. The show went well and is now behind me and I'm trying to catch up on housework and the business of Christmas. However, yesterday Hubby took the day off and we stole away to NYC.

We took the train in and Buttons was in heaven.
She loved the fact that there were no seat belts.

We went to Radio City Music Hall.

We visited the tree in Rockefeller center and the minute we turned the corner and saw it, the sky sent down the largest snowflakes I've ever seen.

Yes, we went to THE Christmas Spectacular. And yes, it was indeed spectacular. My favorite part was when the Rockettes were dressed as toy soldiers and did an amazing domino type of fall. I think Buttons enjoyed it, but it was also quite loud.

Hubby and I have been to NYC a few times, but it was Buttons first time ever and she enjoyed it. We even stopped by Macy's hoping to get her on Santa's lap, but yeah, no deal. So, we went home singing Christmas songs and truly enjoying our first taste of Radio City Music Hall. However, we tasted roasted chestnuts for the first time and didn't like those at all.

Ok, back to housework and Christmas mayhem. How are your holidays? Are you stressed? Are you ready? Are you sane and keeping away from all of this crazy hubbub?

You Better Watch Out

Buttons is 4 now and understands that Christmas is just around the corner. In past years she has wanted nothing to do with Santa. Her first Christmas with us I was able to take her and get her picture with Mr. Claus and me, but the next year, it didn't go as well. Last year we were able to get her in the same room with him and caught a quick picture and she waved to the jolly old elf from far away.

A few weeks ago we were in the mall and saw them putting up the "Santa photo studio". I asked Buttons if she would like to get her picture taken with Santa this year and she replied that she might if daddy did it with her. I asked if I could join too and her reply was "but Santa only has 2 laps". My reply was "yes, but perhaps I could just stand next to him". Now, she wouldn't commit to actually doing it and wanted to keep her possibilities open so she included a maybe on all of these possibilities.

Cut to today when Hubby and Buttons went to the mall (on a "secret" birthday present mission for me). When they arrived Santa waved to them and apparently Buttons was really excited about it. As they left they saw Santa getting ready to leave as well and Buttons waved goodbye.

Then out in the parking lot, the wheels started turning.
"How is Santa going to get home? There must be reindeer!!! Where are the reindeer?" Hubby explained that the reindeer are resting up for Christmas. When the two of them came home and shared this story, I asked again if she would like to get her picture taken with Santa this year.
"Yes...maybe all by myself."

We better watch out. Our girl is growing up and getting braver every year.

My 85 Year Old Daughter

Yes, this is a post about Christmas. Yes, January is half over. Yes, our Christmas tree is still standing proud in our living room. (Ok, maybe not proud, but definitely standing.)

The Setting:
It's Christmas morning and my mom, her partner J., my brother G., Hubby and I are all anxious to watch the joy on Buttons' face as Santa's goodies are revealed to her.

The Back Stories:
We decided to let Buttons help with our kitty's stocking this year because we know how busy Santa can be. So, she helped pick out all the goodies.
Santa doesn't wrap our gifts, so all of the goodies are seen at one time. (Some friends call this laziness, but this is how Santa played it in my day as well.)
There had also been discussion about J. having some back issues after the long drive to our house and her need to sit in a straight back chair.

The Scene:
Buttons comes down the stairs and immediately focuses on the cat stocking. She proceeds to find the hairball remedy and call our cat's name for a good long time. This is the treat she's sure her feline buddy will have been waiting for all season.
(The above picture shows her holding the yummy treat.)
We let her know that the kitty may be tired and we'll look for her later.

Then we ask her about the Santa loot. She stands in front of it, looks around at it and declares "there are too many toys." Mind you, I tried to remind Santa to keep it down this year and thought he did a good job. Hmm, the three-year-old thinks there's too much, so we'll have to pare down even more next year.

She then backs away from the toys, holds her side and declares that her back is hurting and she needs to sit down.

Looking back I imagined that Buttons was an 85 year-old woman complaining about the cat hairballs, having too many toys, and her sciatica acting up again. This was not the Norman Rockwell Christmas morning I imagined. It was much funnier than that.

Still Stunned

First of all, thank you for all the sweet comments. It was nice to come back from a long trip and read your responses to my last post about the passing of my grandma.

I'm always a little shell shocked right after Christmas. There's the shopping and the baking and then we're either cleaning the house for company or packing up the car for Michigan. This year we wound up doing both after finding out my grandma was very sick. I'm a bit exhausted. I would like to blog more about my grandma, but I'm still in a bit of shock about it and she didn't want a memorial service of any kind, so the closure is not there yet either. A friend suggested doing a memorial service on paper just for me and I may try that.

Buttons was a trooper for our long (13 hour!) drive and I'm amazed at her patience and ability to occupy herself. When we vacationed in Vermont last summer, she would tell us her favorite part of the trip was being in the car. She loves to point out the sights, sing songs and sleep at will. She recently told me she'd like to be a truck driver.

Well, I wanted to post a little something, so here it is. I'm hoping to do a knitting post soon along with a Buttons / Christmas post. Right now, I'm going to go relax. Before that, I'll wish you all a happy and healthy 2008.

Merry Christmas!

Buttons, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

She wore antlers traced from her hands with a painted red nose during the Christmas concert at pre-school. It was so sweet, my teeth hurt.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

The tree is up...

Decorations have been made...

Santa Clause is comin' to town...

Buttons has a fudge face...

I'm so behind right now it's insane, but I feel an odd calm. Shopping delirium? The mess in my house has finally driven me insane? Maybe I just want Christmas to be stress free and enjoyable. Hubby is working today but won't be going back until next year. I'm so happy about that, and I'm going to try and not make our time together just about getting ready for company and gifts. I'm craving this together time with Hubby and Buttons and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm also looking forward to my mom, her partner and my brother coming to celebrate my favorite holiday.

So, I may not be posting until next year.
I wish you all a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Road Rage

Hubby, Buttons and I were doing some Christmas shopping yesterday (Saturday) so we expected some crowds, cranky retail employees, parking space frenzies and perhaps even a little road rage. We live in a fairly busy area but rage happens*. However, Hubby and I were surprised by this particular incident of RR with a very angry man in a very large pick-up truck (black Dodge with the ram on it).

We were waiting in a left-hand turn lane for a green arrow to join the highway home. Hubby was driving and the light had his focus. We both saw the light change to green and were behind two or three cars waiting our turn when the guy in the pick-up honked. What? Where can we go dude? Are we going to drive over these cars? When we looked behind us the guy was having a total road rage meltdown. His face was red, hands waving in the air, what I imagine to be expletives firing out of his mouth. He was having a freakin' road rage tantrum. Why?

I understand we all have different timers for the horn honk at the car in front of us when the light turns green and we assume the driver has spaced. I've spaced and had the polite beep, the slightly long irritated honk and the person who waited much more patiently than I would have and didn't tap their horn at all (thank you, by the way). I'm more than happy to do the "oops, I spaced and I'm sorry" wave and get my butt (and car) in gear. I've also tapped my horn more than once when people don't see the green. I know I'm a bit more irritated when the person is busy doing their make-up or talking on the phone, but that's not my main irritation on the road.

Hubby and I have different driving styles and tolerances (he being the more tolerant one) but we both agreed that we were the most surprised by this honk-n-rage than any other we've received over our driving lifetimes. This is an honor previously held by a driver in a Ralph's parking lot in San Diego who gave the finger after parking space related issue that was no fault of ours.

If a honk is deserved, feel free to give it to me. I can take it. However Mr. Ram-tough, perhaps you need some anger management classes, driver's etiquette lessons or maybe just a good old-fashioned spanking.



*Hubby and I have driven in places like San Diego, LA, San Francisco, New York City (ok, once), Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Madrid and a few other large cities. We haven't driven in Boston, but we've had our share of crazy, impatient drivers.

Ho! Ho! NO!

Last year, this was the scene when we tried to get Buttons to take a picture with Santa. Crocodile tears I tell you. True terror. Actually he was a lovely Santa (click the pic for Buttons view though). Hubby's brother took this picture as we exited the area very quickly.

This weekend we went to a craft fair where they had Santa in a room with candy and toys for the children. Buttons was brave and looked in the door and then she was done. The lure of toys did not sway her. She stuck to her guns. I'm thinking by the time she's not scared of Santa she'll tell me she's too old for that sort of thing. Perhaps I'll send the picture of me with Santa in our Christmas cards this year.

Last Christmas Post?

Things about Buttons and Christmas...







~Santa did not come to our house. Buttons commisioned her Uncle G. to go get the gifts from the jolly old elf. She did think we should give Santa some coffee though.

~When the big Santa gift reveal happened she was pretty non-plussed by the new table and easel for her. However, the goldfish crackers in her stocking couldn't be beat. (This is a rare treat in our house.)

~It took 2 days for her to open gifts. Yes, there were too many. However, she just didn't have the fervor that I sort of expected. (Expectations, huh?)

~When we would ask Buttons what she wanted for Christmas, only one thing was ever said: "stroller" (for her dolls). So, after we opened a few presents she looked around, became a bit wistful and made a question out of one word..."stroller?" It was like she was saying "I only asked for one thing and you're giving me all this other stuff."

~She feared Tickle Me Elmo and Red, the Fraggle (Red) my brother gave her. "I no like Fraggles." "I no like Elmo anymore!" Her fave gifts? A shopping cart, a play sushi set, a playdough play set and all the books she received.

~The scary part was I thought during Christmas we had really entered the terrible 2's, but as soon as we were back into our routine this week my angel came back to stay. I'm certain I had a taste of what the teen years will be though. Where did she learn the phrase "leave me alone"? I no like that phrase anymore!

Note to self : Next year... less stuff, more meaning. More hand-mades as well.

Yes, I know it's over but...

I wasn't able to post too much during the holiday season and there are things I want to remember and savor about the holidays. So, pardon me while I bore you with a few post-Christmas posts.

Our friends Rocco and Rita went here with us and we had a wonderful time. We actually went on December 30th and there were still people celebrating the lights and the beauty of the holidays after the holidaze.

For late December, it was pretty balmy and Hubby and I reminisced about the beauty of this place when it snows. However, seeing Buttons get excited about the lights, purse her sweet lips and exclaim "oooh, lights Mama, lights Mama" is better than any snow fall.

We wandered around outside, went inside to look at the decorated theme trees and the huge poinsettias and then grabbed some hot cocoa. We listened to carolers, saw sculptures made of sugar and like anything related to Christmas, we fought the crowds. Oh, there were the dancing waters that Buttons feared too.

One of the really nice parts of this trip was seeing Rocco and Rita. They've been very busy with job stuff and haven't had much of a break. As you may recall, they have been getting ready to adopt and they are currently waiting for an adoption to happen with Vietnam. Even though they are still in for a bit of a wait I can tell they seem relieved. You know, I've been through infertility and all of its ugliness, but I can tell you that I've forgotten (repressed?) a good deal of it. I find myself talking about Buttons ALL THE TIME, even with people who are where I was before kids. So, for everyone out there who is in the pain of infertility and has to listen to everyone else about their kids, I'm sorry. There are many reasons I can give you for talking about our children, but I think sometimes "I'm sorry" is about the best thing you can say. Period. Rocco and Rita still come and see us (thank you) and I tried hard this time to steer the conversation to other things. I mean, there are other things besides kids. Yes, I know there are.


For instance, one could talk about how much rambling I did in this post and came to a completely different ending than intended. Now you know how my brain works. Yup, Hubby often wonders how I get from point A to point B. I like to try for point B, but I usually take a detour to point G and then wind up at point T. Yeah, he's a good guy to put up with my silliness.

This is your brain. This is your brain after holidays. This is Homer Simpson's brain.

Presents and Presence

The presents were many this year. Every year everyone says we'll do less this year. Sometimes in the heat of the buying and the making and the cooking and the cards and the baking (and the list goes on), I think shouldn't I be doing more presence and less presents? Shouldn't I be living in the here and now instead of planning a whole month (or more) for one day? I must say I did a bit better on some things this year. I bought a pre-made turkey dinner for our Christmas Eve dinner, made chili and bought some crackers and dips for easy snacks and meals. I let many things go and tried not to feel guilty about it.

We had company and for the most part, I tried to relax and be present for it all. I was able to have a great conversation with my brother that lasted into the wee hours. I was able to make my mom cry (the good kind) again this year by giving her a homemade Buttons calendar. I was able to watch J. make Buttons squeal with laughter by turning her upside-down. I was was able to watch Hubby dance to the Wiggles song "Captain Feathersword". Yes, with Buttons. I was able to watch Buttons find her own way to Christmas and I'll post more on that sometime soon.

In the middle of presence, there were presents and I'll give you some highlights. Hubby bought the three of us fun t-shirts. I enjoy Hubby's humor and these shirts are fun. (Yes, I will post a picture.) My brother had a blast with Button's gifts and that will come in a later post. I finished my knitting just in time and pictured below are my mom and J. peeking from behind their two- needle mittens made with Plymouth Encore from Hip to Knit. They liked them and I was pretty happy with my first attempts at mittens. That darn thumb drove my crazy though. I was happy to hear from my friend P. that even extremely experienced knitters find thumbs to be annoying.





My mom. We look alike, don't we?









J. said this was her favorite way to have a picture taken.



J. (with some design help from Mom) made this amazing stained glass for the opening between our kitchen and dining room. Yeah, we were pretty speechless. Yes, we knew measurements had been taken, we had talked about things we liked, we knew she was good, but holy cow! Fantastic!

This is a hard time of year to stay present and not get caught up in the idea of presents. Yes, I enjoy receiving gifts, luckily I like giving them even more. What I've come to realize over time is that you forget about presents, but you remember the people who are present in your life. Presents can be pricey, but presence is priceless. That's what I'm going to use as my mantra during the craziness of Christmas shopping. I get caught up in it all like a tornado. Maybe I'll start working on knitting gifts for Christmas in January so the mall doesn't draw me in just because I didn't start soon enough. With knitting I have presents and presence.

Christmas Top 10

I think Buttons is going to have a great Christmas this year. However, Santa will not be coming to our house. Buttons is FREAKED out by the man, so she decided her grandmother will bring the gifts instead. Smart girl, huh? Well, seeing Buttons enjoy the holidays and spending time with family and friends is the best, but here are a few other things I like...

1. The music.  Just about anything
except the song about the collisions of a grandmother
and one of Santa's helpers. "Mele Kalikimaka" holds
special meaning to me as I remember our first year
living in San Diego we stayed home for Christmas.
To celebrate, we went to Coronado Beach wearing festive
short-sleeved shirts armed with Christmas cookies and a
cd player and we danced on the beach to Bing.

2. The tree.  What other time of year can you put a tree
in your house decked with lights and crazy tchotchkes?

3. The cookies.  There must be cut-outs and spritz in the house for
Christmas. I enjoy many cookies, but the ones my mom made
every year are the ones crave.

4.  The snow.  I always love a white Christmas, especially when
the trees are covered with ice.

5.  The lights.  I grew up with multi-colored lights, but I'm quite
fond of white lights right now.  I love seeing the wonderful
things people do with lights in their yards.
(And the wonderfully freaky things, too.)

6.  The pajama days.  Christmas means spending the
day in your jammies. How fantastically decadent and comfy.
It's the only day of the year I can dothat without feeling
very lazy.

7.  The TV specials.  A Charlie Brown Christmas, anything Rankin & Bass,
It's a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story are just a few of my favorites.

8.  The presents.  I really do enjoy watching people open their gifts.
Especially the ones that are really special.  We gave all the parents
pictures of Buttons last year and my mom received a picture of me
with Buttons.  She cried, I cried.  It was a special moment that
was a long time coming.

9.  The cards.  We are newsletter people.  I hope
our letter isn't annoying. We try to make it interesting
and let people know what we're up to currently. I do like
getting those cards too.  Sometimes, this is my only contact
with the people who live all over the country.

10.  The anticipation.  I'm not very good at waiting.  Christmas has a big
build-up and you have to wait for it.  (Not for much longer though!)

Happy Holidays everyone! 

Psst...

I haven't done a post about knitting in a while partly because the projects are for Christmas gifts (and partly because I don't think my posts about knitting are particularly interesting). However, I'm almost done and will be posting pictures after the holidays. Button's stocking is done except for the lining and I'm not much of a sewer, so I'm going to ask for a bit of help on it.

Here's a picture of Buttons at a recent holiday. You would have thought we gave her some Christmas cheer by the joy she gleaned from a goblet filled with water.

What She Said

As you can tell, the Christmas season is among us and I've been scurrying about getting things ready for the big days and I'm having trouble thinking of good posts right now. So, here are some things Buttons is spouting these days.

Sometimes, when we're laughing together, especially if all three of us are there. Buttons will stop everything and tell us:
"Buttons happy."

I get a little frantic when I lose something, especially when it's her stocking (which is all but done and I know you've been hearing that for a while). In the midst of the panic, Buttons comes over to me and pats me on the leg and says:
"Feel better mama." and "It be alright."

We have been playing Christmas music around the house and she enjoys it very much. She especially loves Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Whenever they come on she stops what she's doing and comes and tells us what great song is playing. We were in a large commercial toy store yesterday with Christmas music and she points to the speaker and excitedly states:
"Jingle Bells up dere."

My friend Beth has a wonderful way with children and Buttons adores her. We were all sitting together when Beth asked all the kids "what's your favorite song"? Buttons reply was:
"Edelweiss." (The song Hubby and I have been singing to her every night since those first days with her. Yeah, I was very teary.)

Yeah, I know this post is once again too sweet. Just so you know Buttons is working on her independence as well. When testing it out, she's often heard saying:
"Don't want to ANYMORE."

Good Times

Our friends had us over for a wonderful meal Sunday night. This feast had been in the works for a while and they made the evening so special. The tree was up, good music was playing, the candles were lit, the wine was a perfect match for the dinner. Our children played together and giggled. We even stayed until 8 pm! I felt very pampered and thankful for all the good friends I have in my life.

I know they say happiness doesn't make for good writing, but you'll have to forgive me on this. I get a bit gushy around Christmas. It's my favorite holiday and I'm having family come to our house for the first time. This has me thinking about what I love best about Christmas and what traditions I want to start. Of course, thinking about it all makes me happy, excited and thankful.

Do you celebrate any holidays in December and if so, what's your favorite tradition?

This picture makes me smile. It's festive and romantic and on closer look, you'll also see a sippy cup in the upper right hand corner.