Toast 2 Mom

Playing the role of Santa...and all of its challenges

I'm kind of new to this Santa thing...as a parent anyway. Since Sydney is now four this year, she is aware of the bearded man and the fact that he comes to the homes of good little boys and girls. I'm excited about Christmas and the feelings that I can recall as a kid. I'm also quite nervous in making sure it all goes right.

One thing, I'm a little overwhelmed with the fact that our children have pretty much been under the impression that Christmas seems to last a month. When we traveled up to Illinois a couple weeks ago, we attended three Christmas events. We talked to them then about having good behavior...because it's Christmas time. My kids have to be wondering - just how long does this evening of Christmas last anyway?! (....cuz that's what I'm thinking.) 

Along with this concern, when the actual night happens, will the energy have died? Has the build up been too long? How do I fill in my children - "OK, tonight is Christmas and Santa's coming...so go to bed and when we wake up, we'll see if he visited our house." Maybe that's all I have to say and do...and it'll work...maybe?

An additional factor into this is Sydney is claiming to be "shy" of Santa. I don't think I'm ever going to get a photo of Syd on Santa's lap. She has no interest in a photo op, meeting him or telling him what she wants. So, when the gifts that she has told me she wants show up wrapped and signed "from Santa," is she gonna be like, "how he'd know that?" She did tell me that she colored a picture for Santa and then by that picture, he'd just know what she'd want.

Probably the biggest challenge in the role of playing Santa is making sure you don't shop too early. While "Santa" finished her shopping last week, it was just last night that I was told things that were just on the list a week ago are no longer wanted and a new list has been formed. And now I understand why so many frantic parents stand in lines around the corner on Christmas Eve. Some of the new gifts are manageable and some things are flexible...and then the girls are also going to learn early on about Santa's budget.

So, it should be an interesting year. I don't know why I'm so nervous. I guess I just want to make sure it all goes smoothly. There's so much for Santa to remember. No wonder he came up with that special list!

Will I Miss Pretend Someday?

As my children grow older, there are already phases that I am missing. I still do my best to baby my baby. I have not hid the fact that I love the baby phase. I miss the extra snuggle time and the quiet cooing.

Another phase soon to end is the diaper phase. My baby is showing the signs of being ready for the potty. It will be nice to have her be independent in this way, but I've never minded diaper changes (too much). I've always used it as singing time or ABC time or counting time.

When my older daughter was little(r), though, I remember being excited about when she would get older and how we'd play in her playroom kitchen. I was also excited for the girls to get a dollhouse this year for Christmas. I always wanted a dollhouse; and I remember the hours of pretend dollhouse I used to play at friends' houses when I was a little girl.

For some reason, though, playing pretend with my older daughter is not what I thought it was going to be...and not as fun as I was hoping it would be...yet. In the past 24 hours, I have been told to play the role of Clara from the Nutcracker and also Ariel's mother. Pretend with my daughter is not this small session of fun. It's all...day...long.

I'm not alone in my discouragement over pretend play. Daddio and I both struggle to go along with all of the pretend rules. I think we've determined that sometimes pretend play is just a form of being bossy. Sydney is sweet as honey and a warm, caring individual, but when pretend play kicks in, the rules are set, the direction is given and it has to be just right. And this often leads me to wonder, how long will this phase last? And is this a phase that I am going to miss someday?

Away from home - does not equal a vacation

The girls and I are in Illinois this week. We've done Thanksgiving. We've done two Christmas's. We have one more to go. Whew. Many people mentioned before we left for our trip, "oh it'll be nice to get away." While this is true - it is nice to remove oneself from the same surroundings. However, do not mistake that for being a vacation. In fact, I may go as far to say it's the opposite of a vacation.

We're having a very lovely visit with my family. And the girls, for the most part (more on the "most part" later), are behaving wonderfully. It's just still a challenge to be away from the norm. The routine is different. The sleep environment is different. The toys are different. The...everything is different.

And as far as the girl's behavior, well, Daddio and I really have very little to complain about. Our girls are brilliant travelers. They have established pretty good manners, especially for ages 2 and 4. They are good sleepers. They are good girls. 

But........just to add to some excitement this week, while being away from home, while being away from the norm, and while being spoiled rotten, my baby has decided to really start to explore the age of two (and all that being two can bring...if you know what I mean). This week baby Cheekers has remembered all of the buttons that her older sister doesn't like to be pushed...and she's been pushing them...and in public. To be honest, she's remembered all of my buttons too.

It's interesting, entering this new phase of age two. It's been awhile since I've managed this age. And while many refer to it as "terrible twos," Hubby and I referred to it as "terrific twos". Let's hope we can keep our optimistic view. Because this go around is completely different than with our first two year old. And all the rules and methods that worked before...don't...work...any...more. This is the beauty and gift of having multiple children, right?!

So, we will continue our trip away from home this week, and I'm sure there will be more delightful, challenging, head-scratching, "been there, done that," "glad I'm not in your shoes", parental stories to be continued...

All I Want for Christmas...is a decent portrait of my family!

Seriously is it too much to ask to get a decent photo of the four of us? We have tried again and ....well, we'll try again. This time the photo ended up being the best it's ever been; but why is it so exhausting!

No one tells you before you have kids the anxiety that comes along with getting their pictures taken. I take pictures of the girls all the time, and I realize there are good times and bad. But something happens, and has happened since my first daughter's first photo session at three months old, when we walk into that photo studio - it always ends up bad!

One kid looks up, one looks down. One has a crooked bow, one has a crooked smile. One is laughing, one is crying. I could plan the photo first thing in the morning or at the end of the day....and it is never the right time. Then you add the Hubby and me into the mix.....forget about it! Sighhhhhhhhh. Maybe next year.

So, dear family if you're reading this, you'll get a picture, we're all in it....and let's just leave it at that.

Well, I haven't dealt with this one before...

Just when I was starting to feel like parenting and our day-to-day life was just the same-old, same-old, a challenge presents itself...

I've been a little out of touch lately. It seems like we've just been doing our routine as normal, and therefore not much new to share. After the birthday festivities wore down, we were back to pre-school, back to errand running, back to laundry, dishes, keeping the house tidy and the cats fed. No drama...and nothing too exciting.

This weekend, though, we did have some events... Yesterday we made it back to Sea World. (I'll post some pictures of our fun times tomorrow.) Being just a couple hours away, we bought a season pass to SW. It was such a bloody hot summer here, that we haven't been back since May. Since the fall has been so nice, we wanted to get in another trip.

We had a great day. Before SW, we stopped at these premium outletstores on the way down. Daddio was kind to hook Mommy up with a little shopping. (I think he's trying to get some birthday ideas for me....I was happy to oblige. :) We rolled into SW just in time for naps. No worries, though, the girls surged through the afternoon with fierce energy. We did Shamu, a monster mash Sesame Street show with the Count and Elmo, fed the dolphins, looked at the sharks. Sydney and I also rode our second roller coaster together - the Shamu Express!

By the time we got home, late, the girls were wiped! We got them both to bed just after 9 o'clock. It was instant silence. About 11 o'clock, though, is when our second event took place this weekend....this one not so fun.

Daddio and I were watching the Giants lose in the final minutes. All of the sudden we heard a *thump* and then Cheekers start to whimper and cry. I was confused what could have happened. There had not been a noise coming from her room in almost two hours. I thought maybe one of the cats opened her door. It was the thump that I was unsure of. Whatever, it was, I flew up the stairs and raced to her door. When I opened it, I found Cheekers, crawling to the door, OUT OF HER CRIB! Somehow, someway, in some form of exhaustion state, she managed to launch up and over her crib rails, then crawl across the room, almost to open the door.

Now, this is not a total shock to me. There have been a few incidents lately when I've felt she was going to be done with the crib soon. I've put her down for nap a couple times and she's been so mad, she's almost launched herself out. That was about three weeks ago. She hasn't made an attempt over that time period. Last night's scene totally confused me because she was not mad, she was extremely tired....and I assumed asleep.

The good news is nothing happened to her when she fell out - thank heavens! The bad news is...well I slept like you know what last night. We had a storm here last night. Any time it thundered, I thought she had fallen out of her bed again. The other bad news is, I now have to try and figure out how to solve this problem...and fast. We didn't have to deal with this with Sydney. Syd would never have dreamed of escaping. Natty is crafty. Daddio is hopeful that last night's attempt will cause Natty to not want to try it again. I'm not convinced.

So, rule number one in parenting....never assume things are going too smoothly. It'll change as fast as it takes a baby to hurdle out of crib!

And Many More, Cha, Cha, Chaaaaaa

Today my beautiful girl turned four years old. It was a wonderful day to reflect on an even more wonderful day...when this girl entered our lives. It's just unreal how quickly the time goes by. I still remember struggling to put on her "come home from the hospital" outfit - so worried I'd break her. I remember her squeaky little cry. I recall the perfect way she preferred I sway her back and forth to calm her. I remember so clearly the way I propped my feet on the coffee table to form a V-shape with my legs and body for her to perfectly rest on me.

And here we are today... Happy Birthday my sweet bean!

Are you sure you know what you're doing?

For some reason, on an almost daily basis lately, I get asked by my (almost) four year old, "Mommy, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

I have no idea where this question came from. It's not a question she hears me say to Daddio. It's not a question he says to me. It's not a question I ask of her. But for some reason or another, she feels it is necessary to ask this of me. I'll get asked this while driving. Orwhile walking around Target. I get asked this while making dinner, looking for objects around the house and a number of other situations.

My response to her always is "yes, Sydney, of course I know what I'm doing. Does it look like I know what I'm doing?" She always replies yes.

But... the truth is, sometimes I don't know what I'm doing. My life did not come with a step-by-step guide book. And there's certainly not a collection of chapters on parenthood. Up until now, I hope that even if I don't know what I'm doing it at least looks like I know what I'm doing.

But as my girl ages and becomes wiser, I'm not sure I need to keep saying to her I know what I'm doing when I don't. Because it's OK to not knowing what you're doing sometimes. And it's OK to let others know that you're not sure what you're doing. It's in those times of uncertainly that it's nice to have the help. And my Sydney... she is a really great helper.