Holiday Highs and Lows

The High:
We had a great time over the holidays. We had family up, we had lovely gifts, and lots of wonderful food. Ahhh the food. It was delicious. But we had such a nice time. Nathan didn't really understand the whole thing, but he DID understand presents. And holy crap did Nathan make out. Now, we only got Nathan a few presents because - hey, he doesn't understand Christmas so why go crazy? AND because we knew he'd make out like a bandit from the relatives. My mother brought a ton of beautiful books for Nathan and he got a few other fabulous gifts from his cousins and Aunt and Uncle. It was Nathan's Nana, however, that REALLY spoiled him. He had four big, and I mean BIG bags, of toys. He got clothes and a push toy lawnmower, a rider, a stand up table and a bunch fo other things. My goodness. I have so many toys that the other day I filled two rubbermaid storage containers and one huge bag with baby toys and brought them to the attic. Even still there is barely room in his playroom because there are SO MANY TOYS. I will say this, I NEVER got that many toys in my life. I feel cheated people, CHEATED!!!

The Low:
Right now though, it's been clean-up time. Two bags of trash went out, I cleaned out the fridge and put in a load of laundry for Nathan and ran the dishes. I am EXHAUSTED. You would think that would be enough. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. My dog, the erstwhile Monty has been really nervous lately with relatives visiting and the such. Well the night before we had locked Monty in our room for the night - we didn't want him bothering Jeff's Mom and her boyfriend Joel in the middle of the night. Well Monty whined NON-STOP. Around 2am Jeff lost his mind and locked Nathan in the bedroom across the hall. Shame on us people, shame on us. Monty was whining FOR A REASON. He had to go out. And he had to go out NOW. We were greeted by dog poop... all over the floor. All over our beige CARPETED floor. Color me pleased. But I also felt bad. The poor dog had TRIED TELLING US he needed to go out, and we were so tired we didn't get the memo. But still... I spent HOURS in there cleaning up and there is STILL a brown stain on the rug. Do I need to add that at the same time we had been hit by a big time blizzard so Jeff and my father were outside shoveling. I don't know who had it worse, me or Jeff and my father. Personally I think it was me and my nightmare of rug cleaner, sponges and vacuum cleaner. Never mind that it is STILL not clean. So the room is shut off. What I really want to do is rip up the carpet because I am so grossed out by the idea of dog poop on the carpet, but let's face it - we're broke. It's not happening.

So that was our holiday! Some ups and downs, mostly ups, and we were all happy and warm and well-fed. Win win all around!

Oh, and I'm leaving you all with my first attempt at a gingerbread house. Be kind:

Santa

One thing I've realized after becoming a mother, and now a stay-at-home mother, is there is a LOT competition between moms. How you raise your child, the choices you make - it's all up for controversy and someone out there is more than willing to make you feel bad about those choices. It's kind of sad really because you would think as women we would stand together and support one another with the decisions that we make as parents. God knows some days it's hard being a woman AND a mother no matter what you decide, so you would hope we would support each other.

Apparently Santa is one such hot button topic, and you can read what I mean in this blurb here:

http://www.babble.com/kid/kids-learning/no-santa-claus-for-our-kids/index.aspx#fbConnectSection

Now, I don't care that this mother isn't going to do the Santa thing or the Elf on a Shelf thing with her child, but it's the TONE in the article that bothers me. The self righteous tone that SHE is doing the best thing. That HER children are being raised the RIGHT way, the CORRECT way. I dislike this, mainly because I hate being told what to do - it's a leftover rebellion thing, what can I say!

Now in THIS household we have a child who will celebrate both Hanukkah AND Christmas. Right now it looks like Christmas exploded all over our living room, and we probably have to work on the whole incorporating Hanukkah thing. We also will most certainly be talking about Santa. In FACT, I already BOUGHT the Elf on a Shelf and since Nathan is still too young to care about things like that, it will be brought out next year. Also, next year - Santa. I also plan on doing super cheesy stuff like having Nathan leave milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. There are also KITS sold to make your kid believe. One is called "Santa Clues" and the description is as follows:

Oh, the wonder of Santa! With this whimsical kit, you—Santa's helper—will capture the timeless magic of Santa's visit to your home. Create a lifetime of memories when your little one wakes to spy a snowy hoof print...and Santa's coat button by the fireplace...imagine their surprise when Santa's glove is found draped by the cookies and milk. Kit includes seven clues and tips for getting the most out of them, year after wondrous year. For ages 4 and up.

Oh I am TOTALLY doing this. I don't care if people think I am "lying" to my child, I do NOT believe that Nathan will become a psycho because I told him about Santa. Me personally? I kind of figured out there was no Santa because the handwriting on the labels was so similar to my own parents. I do, however, distinctly remember that my parents had someone dressed as Santa come to the house and gave my sister and I a candy cane. I don't remember much else but it was FUN and I never forgot it. So it's all Santa in this house and a big fat neener neener to those that disagree with me!

Preserving my sanity

Nathan is allowed one hour of television of day. Some days it's less. Some days it's more. Some days it's exactly one hour. Now, I KNOW that there is a lot of controversy about television and children, but some days it's the only thing that gets me through the late-afternoon/early evening cranky transformation that Nathan undergoes daily. Nathan and I watch the following:
The Wonder Pets
Miss Spider's Sunny Patch
The Fresh Beat Band

Ah the Fresh Beat Band. This is them here:



The names? There is Marina, Kiki, Twist, and Shout. As you can tell, they are VERY upbeat and happy. They sing, they have adventures, and the only thing that gets me through one of their shows (with the exception of the Freeze Dance song which I love for some reason), is imagining just which character is having a torrid affair with the other. I don't know WHY this amuses me, but it does. I mix them up, I swap them up, and I ponder the possibilities. I mean, they're all reasonably attractive people and they are thrown together ALL THE TIME, not to mention bonding over the silly things they do in the pursuit of acting and a paycheck. So, are they DATING?? Maybe this means I am a seriously disturbed person, but I recently found out a mommy friend of mind does this as well so I can't be THAT crazy. And hey, if you had to listen to "Go Bananas" more than once a day, I think you'd be entitled to a little fantasy as well!

Growing Up

I'm kind of a grown up now. It still freaks me out when I think about it. Like an ADULT. I pay bills, I work to help support my family financially (ha ha ha - okay, I work to help keep my car running and my son provided with exciting things like strawberries and yogurt), and I am COOKING. Now, the cooking part is kind of exciting and sad. Previously, I took a sort of PRIDE in my lack of cooking skills. The fact that my oven had never been turned on, I was okay with it. More than okay. I remember I once made lobster ravioli with alfredo sauce for a guy I was dating. This was a BIG DEAL. If I attempted to cook something, something from SCRATCH, well, I was making a HUGE EFFORT. His response? To tell me it was "a little too cheesy" and he "didn't like it". Unbelievable. In that minute I decided, in my head, I would never cook for him again. And I didn't. And the relationship didn't last either. When I met Jeff I also attempted to cook for him. I made him baked ziti that was so bad that it was cold in the middle and burned on the outside. Do I even need to remind everyone that he ate it? Yup, he ate my completely horrible baked ziti. Definitely a keeper. So in the cooking battle I've been making some progress. I cook things that aren't bad. That we can EAT. I'm still working on the whole planning ahead of time and preparing ahead of time thing, but I'm making progress. And you know what? Part of it's a little bittersweet. A little sad. I have left my single days behind me. Left behind a little bit of myself. Stubbornly part of me wants to hang on to my no-cooking motto. But I know it's gone. On the plus side, I did get this great husband and baby boy out of the trade, so I guess it's not all bad!

Winter

I love winter. Okay, I love the BEGINNING of winter. When snow seems magical and beautiful and it's all white and pretty. When you are able to layer your clothes and wear your thick sweaters and socks. I love slippers that are downy and thick and warm and snuggly and flannel pajamas and flannel sheets. I remember once reading in "Watership Down" (one of the best books in the world) that humans like winter because they enjoy being insulated from it. And that's true. I love being chilly outside so I can come INSIDE and warm up under down blankets and make hot cups of chocolate. I love burrowing under my blankets at bedtime and feeling warm and safe and happy. It's definitely a love of feeling PROTECTED during the winter. I am aware of the fact that I have a home, heat, food and family/friends means that winter for me is a good time. It means Hanukkah and Christmas and presents and lots of delicious food and it means starting traditions for my child. Right now I'm walking around in yoga pants and a fleece jacket because I love how snuggly it makes me feel. I have thick socks on my feet and I am happy. I'm happy because I worked out on the treadmill this morning even though I have a cold and it's made me feel tired and blah. I'm happy because Nathan FINALLY went to sleep and I've got a little break to play around on the Internet. I'm happy because there are presents wrapped under the tree and I've brought down my Christmas decorations. I'm happy because Jeff and I got to see some of his family to celebrate Hanukkah even though Nathan was a horrible bear - we still managed to have a good time. I'm happy because Jeff and I have been through the wringer as a couple and I feel like we've finally regained our footing as parents AND a couple. A tricky balancing act to be sure. And I'm happy that Monty is SLEEPING and not WHINING like he does most days. So yes, I do love winter!