Christmas recap
It’s been a good Christmas!
My dad spent it with us, which made me happy — looking at these photos as I worked on them and the expression on his face watching the boys enjoy their morning? That was priceless for me too. My mom has been in Bulgaria for the past 6 months, making this another Christmas she hasn’t been with us. It makes me sad, but I’m glad that Skype can bridge the gap a little bit… and at least this way not only could she watch the boys that morning, but also MY grandmother too — something I wouldn’t have if she wasn’t there.
We had two Skype sessions going on, in the two sides of the room: one with my mom/gma, and one with S’ family.
I wish, wish, wish, my camera could capture the sheer joy from S2 opening his loot. The smiles are great, but you just can’t see the jumping up and down at each surprise. He’s such a happy kid. I wish he never looses that joy over the simple things.
This has been our second year of categorizing gifts for the kids. Last year a friend told me about getting 4 gifts for each kid: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. It’s been awesome! And, honestly, has made shopping much easier. I don’t have to wrack my brain over things to buy as much. Each one of them has a list of things they want. S and I each take an item, and distribute the remaining list to families. G (from us) got a Hot Wheels arcade game he’s been obsession over. S2 got a batman costume. My costume loving guy. I wonder if he’ll go in theater some day? For “need”, each kid got a sleeping bag. It’s about time. I see slumber parties in our future this upcoming year. For “wear” they got fuzzy socks. The boys LOVE them some fuzzy socks. To “read” G got a comic novel: Jedi Academy. He likes funny comic novels and it’s been something he and I share at bedtime. S2 got a 5 min stories about Spiderman book. He’s really into superheroes, and has been admiring the 5 min Marvel Superheroes book G got for his birthday. Now he has a book of his own and he’s been a happy clam. Other loot they received included: a goal post for G, Lego for S2 (he’s the builder in our family), a pogo stick, remote control cars, fun shirts, a magazine subscription… and well, I’m forgetting it all. Let’s just say they aren’t left feeling like something was forgotten 🙂
Zoe found a new soul-mate in my dad. And my dad was puddy in her paws. Yeah, he’s a softie when it comes to animals, and they can tell he’s an easy mark (I mean good guy). He got her a gift too: a mouse chaser, that she also has been enjoying.
As all things must go, as much as the kids loved their toys, they enjoyed the boxes they came in equally as much. The huge box G’s favorite gift arrived in became a motor boat. Actually, I think a yacht, because S2 was eager to serve snacks on it (read: take all of the stuff out of the play kitchen and bring it into the “boat”)
Oh — I’d like to thank Amazon for sponsoring our wrapping paper yet again this year. I’ve stopped buying wrapping paper. Most of the packages we receive contain brown paper that is actually perfect for wrapping. It’s perforated (so scissors are no longer a required tool), easy to tape up and recyclable. Drawing on top is optional 🙂 Yeah, yeah, there’s no fun Santa or reindeer design on it, but I can cure that with fun gift labels, which I’ve created a template for
Rose Elf came back to hang out this year. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with her this year. I’ve enjoyed coming up with things for her to do, and seeing the kids look for her every day. But hate because 1) we’ve had to come up w/ something different every day, and 2) actually had to MOVE her before the kids see her. You have no idea how many times we moved her in the morning in an “Oh SHIT!!!” moment. Next year, I gotta remember to come up with ideas before the holidays actually start.
When she left, she wrote a letter to the boys.
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