Simple Gifts

There is an old Shaker hymn that goes like this...

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

This Christmas, my most favorite gift didn’t cost money and you couldn’t buy it at the store.

My wonderful husband gave me the gift of time. Time, especially to a stay at home mother, is the one thing you rarely have. And by time, I mean time by myself. My husband was off from work all this week which allowed me to enjoy that commodity often spoken of, but rarely experienced - real showers. When you are a mother, the ability to spend 10 uninterrupted minutes in the shower is pure luxury. To have the time and presence of mind to consider…should I exfoliate? Perhaps leave the conditioner on a little longer? These are thoughts you only dream about on all of the other days when you have about 10 minutes to get the shower, dry your hair and get everything else done in the bathroom that needs doing. This Christmas, I had time for showers. I also had time to shop! Yes! It’s true. Read on…

One afternoon, when child number two was down for a nap and child number one was on his way to snoozeville, I left my husband and children at home and spent three glorious hours shopping for whatever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to - by myself. I went into stores that didn’t accommodate strollers or children. I lingered in places that I normally wouldn’t be able to. I tried clothes on…by myself…in a dressing room, without having to make faces in the mirror to entertain the baby. I even offered chuckles of understanding and knowing looks to people who were out shopping with their overtired toddlers. Yes, I knew what they were going through, but my little ones were happily napping away at home! It was pure bliss.

Add to this, the help that my husband provided during this past week and you start to understand why I am so grateful. As I have stated before, Baby Girl is a bit on the plump side, and she’s still not walking. So that means she gets carried everywhere. My back (and particularly my left hip) have gotten so sore from her that I finally saw a physical therapist last week who diagnosed me with an inflamed hip joint. And I really can’t stop re-injuring myself until this child walks. So fast forward to Monday, and I am putting Baby Girl in her car seat in a store parking lot when it happens…my back completely gives out. My knees buckle, I plop Baby Girl the rest of the way into her seat and then grab the car door to keep from falling down. I spent the rest of the morning walking around bent in half and the afternoon on the couch with a cold pack and some vicodin. For three days, I couldn’t lift Baby Girl…and guess who came to my rescue? Who took care of every diaper change, bedtime routine, dish washing and dinner making? You got it. My wonderful husband. And he did all this while also entertaining OBB with an hour long run outside to play in the snow followed by making hot chocolate – every day.

My man really outdid himself this week…went above and beyond the call of duty if you will. And in the process, he made me one happy, contented, and stress-relieved wife. Thanks Honey. You got it just right.

Merry Christmas!

Friends

You can pretty much endure anything as long as you have a good friend by your side.

Snow!

Some pictures from this morning...more snow to come!

Magic

This is what I lovingly refer to as "The Magic of Disney".

This Little Light of Mine

Last night, following dinner, we decided to go on a little tacky lights tour in our area. It was actually really easy. I typed "tacky lights tour" into Google and found a web site listing addresses with major Christmas lights displays in every zip code in the world. Just scrolled down to mine and it provided a map for each location. I put a list together in about 5 minutes and mapped out a route. Then we headed out. Here is some of what we saw...

We started with this...the blue blinking tree in the front yard was an interesting touch.















This house had a lot going on...a train, a soldier, and a Santa on the front step that kind of freaked us out...
















This house we just happened upon and thought we should document it as an example of a tastefully decorated home (and to prove that such a home exists).

















This is a home in our neighborhood. They've gone a little crazy with the deer.












Also in our neighborhood, we found a house with a herd of ACTUAL deer in the front yard...


















This is the house at the end of our street. They really go all out for holidays. Halloween is also very big for them. And lucky for us (I guess), my kids are the only real trick or treaters they get.
















And this one wins the award for best house we found all night. These people really did it up.

















And finally, I'm sure you're wondering what our house looks like at Christmas. Well here are two pictures to give you an idea.

Santa Train

This weekend, we got to go on the Santa Train. The Santa Train is a central Virginia tradition. It's a 45 minute ride on an historic train taking off from the town of Dillwyn and heading to the town of Alpha, during which you pick up Santa, who walks around and chats with all the children. We were lucky enough to get tickets this year from my friend Jayda, who couldn't use hers at the last minute. Here are some pictures from our adventure...

Both of the kids loved looking out the window at the scenery passing by...






















And for the most part, my view of Baby Girl during the trip was this...

























OBB has never met Santa before. He hasn't ever wanted to sit on his lap, so I haven't pushed it. This was his first time telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas, and he did a good job!




















However, he was less thrilled about having his picture taken with Santa.





















In this one, I think he's saying, "Really? Are you serious? Look at this guy's glasses!?!"




















We all had a great time...


































And by the end, we had some sleepy little ones on our hands.

Classic Conversations

I think there’s a reason that first born children are generally type A people. They learn self-reliance at an early age because their mother has her hands full with the rest of the children. For example, today, I was trying to get out the door, holding: the baby, OBB’s lunch, his bag for school, his snack, the keys and my purse, and OBB wanted help with his jacket. “Try to get it on yourself” I told him. At first he fought me, but eventually, he tried and got it on, but needed help zippering it. In my exasperated state, I tried to give him extra praise for getting it on, which he accepted with a look on his face that said “you’ve got to be kidding me.” And as we were walking to the car, he came up with this…

OBB: Momma?

Me: Yes?

OBB: I’m not a momma. I’m just a boy.

Me: What do you mean by that?

OBB: I mean, I’m supposed to play with toys.

In other words, “would you please let me be a child and live a worry-free life and stop making me learn stuff before I’m ready?” Yep. That’s my son. Already excelling at the good comeback. Well on his way to type A-dom.