Welcoming December

This December we welcomed a grandmother's visit to our humble abode. I think she enjoyed her stay here, but was happy to go back to her quiet, relaxed home!

While visiting, she endevored to inspire the kids to great architectual genius through gingerbread house building. The kids spent much time thinking, designing, deciding which gummy bear should go where, and how many almonds would make a roof too heavy for four gingerbread walls to hold up. But mainly, they tasted their architectual dreams. Probably only half of the building supplies were present at the final stage of inspection.

Here's something new at the house. For over a year now, we've been working on mastering the technique of being able to look at your own nose. And then one day, while looking in the rearview mirror, I see all the way in the back seat these crazy, wandering eyes. How she figured out how to do this, I do not know. But it freaked me out a little bit, I'll admit!

A favorite pastime of my four year old is to go through old dress up clothes consisting of halloween costumes of old, ballet costumes from the early '80s, and anything else we've picked up along the way. She can make up the most elegant, and hilarious outfits. Lately, she has been apprenticing her little sister. I caught the two of them in the loft, twirling like whirling dervishes, while dressed as a buttercup and teddy bear with a hat full of fruit. What would this production be called, I wonder? The Buttercup Prancing Bear? A Beary Fruity Dance? The Meadow?

And now, halfway through the month of December, I'm finally allowing Christmas to creep into our house. A wreath on the door was the only thing I had for the first few weeks after Thanksgiving. Just enough to say, yes, I acknowledge that it is post-Thanksgiving. But not enough to say, Welcome, Christmas! The other day, after heaving the tree into the tree stand, attempting to steady it while the boys screwed the trunk into the base, I stood back and let the kids do all the decorating. I started by trying to string the lights, but ran out of patience. So, I moved over and gave the kids free reign over the placement of lights, garland, and little snowmen, berries and stars. I think it looks absolutely beautiful.

Tonight, as we huddled in the glow of our magnificent tree, we gazed giddily out the windows as tiny snowflakes wafted down from the sky, landing in a daze on the cars, the sidewalk, the roofs. As they lay there, piling up on top of one another, my children decided to go rescue them and grasp as much as they could to form into tiny little baby snowpeople. Isn't this one cute? And, of course, my ice eating children could not resist a little taste of their snowmen. Some to the point of shoving the whole thing into their mouths...

And, I just needed to share my excitement over my lovely Christmas present that my wonderful dh bought for me (unknowingly). It's just what I've always wanted. It is the perfect color, style, and size. What a great husband I have!