Happy Holidays

Our Christmas was a lot of fun. . .a bit of an overload for the girls. Santa came to our house and left 3 19" Madame Alexander dolls and 3 Vespas for said dolls. Santa definitely had it easy this year. Three girls = three of the same thing. Each girl also recieved a dress and sweater, books, a Pucci Puppy, and more accessories for their doll house. The hit present for the season? Computer game of "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" It teaches geography (of course), but also languages! Chloe and Jess could spend hours playing.

Sco recieved the Bourne trilogy, some camera equipment (dome defuser and a battery grip for those who know this stuff), and an iFly gift certificate. The iFly ceritificate is for a session in a wind tunnel. Sco will be able to fly through the air like a parachuter without the risk of breaking his neck. I can't wait to see what it's like.

I got a new Razor phone (love it), a subscription to Netflix for those lonely "busy season" nights, a gift certificate to buy shoes, and my favorite new movie "Under the Greenwood Tree."

Crazy thing was, I didn't have a clue what any of my presents were this year! It was so fun! I wonder if the snooping will end because of this year's surprises. Only time will tell.

Daniel DeRonda

I just finished this BBC miniseries. I loved it. It has elements that are not typical in most period films that I love. It delves into the Jewish culture of London. I thought it was fascinating. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Five Quirks

My good friend, Aimee, tagged me for this one. I'm going to change it up just a little. Here is my list of five CHRISTMAS quirks.

1. I start my Christmas shopping in September and finish in October. I don't know if it's because I'm so excited to have another reason to shop or if I'm finally over my procrastination stage. I then have to do some really good propaganda for my children. "Don't you want Santa to bring you a cute Pucci Puppy for Christmas? You already have three toy kitties."

2. I love getting gift cards, but I struggle giving them. I absolutely love the challenge of finding the perfect present for those hard-to-buy for people. I think this year I truly succeeded.

3. I have a terrible habit of telling recipients what a great deal I got on their present (sorry Jessi). It's horrible. I could slap myself everytime those words come out of my mouth!

4. I'm all for mixing things up at our annual family Christmas party. Last year we had a Feliz Navidad dinner on Christmas night. This year I suggested going to our local BBQ place followed by bowling. I got laughed off the phone (you guys know who you are). We've finally settled on a Boxing Day celebration the day after Christmas. Should be awesome!

5. Although he never asks for it, I am always determined to buy Sco something fun for Christmas. He probably would prefer that I don't spend the money on weird things like I do, but I just can't help it. Everyone should get a toy for Christmas. Past presents include zip-pull helicopter (warning: never aim it at your wife, she'll be scarred emotionally and physically forever), retro Attari plug-n-play game (fun for the first day), Price is Right DVD game (fun for the first day), remote control mini car (where is that thing?). And what about all those practical presents like shoes and socks? Still going strong and used every day. I should really just stick with his wish list.

I tag Gabi, Stie, and Min.

Christmas Music

I am a sucker for Christmas music. I love mellow jazz, lounge lizard, solo singers, big band, any variation on the traditional carols. These are my newest favorites: Lou Rawls and Christmas Cocktails.

Christmas Candle

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away;
While quite unselfish, it grows small.

Snoopy's Christmas

I love a surprise. However, I will try with all my might to find out what it is. For example, a few years ago, Scott mentioned he ordered me a present from a website. After he was asleep I went into the history window of Safari to find out what websites he had browsed! I've even been known to scan our bank statements for any big surprise purchases. When we were first married, Scott was shocked at how childish I became when presents were to be had. I still shake, weigh, and measure each wrapped gift with hopes that I will guess the surprise inside. After seven years of marriage, Sco has surrendered to my begging. I, along with our children, get to open a present on Christmas Eve just to tide me over until morning. He has also learned to order any web purchases from his work computer and then have them shipped to his office.

This obession started early in my life. I have a sister, Heidi, that was my partner in crime. Come Christmas time, my mom stashed our presents high up in a closet in her office. Heidi and I would often open the closet door just to gaze up at the bags. Bags from Nordstrom or ZCMI meant clothes! Since Heidi and I were the same size for many years, my mom, bless her heart, would ask Heidi to try on my Christmas outfit to make sure it would fit and vice versa. Little did my mom know, bless her heart again, that we would head down to our room after the fittings to disclose every detail about what our new outfits looked like.

I know I'm somewhat of a stinker for being so snoopy, but for me 'tis the season!

Ashley's Amazement

Yesterday Ashley helped me unload the dishwasher. Her favorite thing to do is take out her sippy cups and line them up on the counter. She discovered a valve to one of her sippies and worked hard and long to clip it into position. After she finally finished her task she handed me the assembled sippy excitedly explaining, "I did it! I did it!" She fell silent for a second, looked at her hands and said, "I did it with these hands." What a wonderful thing to discover.