Santa Claus Revealed

Christmas night about 6:00 PM, members of the family gather. This is my Mom's family. She is second of 11. My youngest Uncle is 2 years older than me. I have cousins close to the same age as my kids. There ae about 75 os us that gather. Hubby loves this party and it is a must-do for us every year. Ever since I was little, Santa has always paid us a visit. He tells us he is on his way back to the North Pole after going around the world distributing gifts. Santa usually brings another small gift for each child under 10 with him.

This year, the 8 YO sang "Jingle Bells" at the top of is lungs so Santa knew where we were. He held a coversation with Santa, posed for pictures on his lap and accepted his present. He came over and sat under the table I was sitting at while other kids were called up for their turn. He looks at me and says in a whisper "that's just a guy in a red suit and a fake beard." I replied "Yes, but isn't it fun?"

On the way home I took the opportunity to ask if he didn't think that having a guy in a red suit and a fake beard come every year was fun. He decided that maybe it was. We discussed about how Santa embodies the spirit of the season, how we believe that Christ is in everybody and by giving them Chirtmas gifts, we give Christ Brithday gifts.

The 12 Yo never has come out and made such a bold statement. Actually I am relived. next year I do not have to worry about keep special wreapping paper. (Santa only brought three gifts for each boy every year. ) And I won't have to make sure I have cookies around so that Hubby can eat them before falling into bed.

So, I hope my kids continue to hold the image of Santa in their hearts as the spirit of Christmas. I plan to continue to fill their stocking on Dec 6th for the feast of St. Nicholas. I plan to continue to sing jingle Bells on Christmas night until I hear him rings his bell and shout "ho ho ho".

Merry Christmas

Christmas Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Bloggy tour of Christmas homes.

This is the outside. There are little trees on either side of the door.

This is the tree in my Living room. We seemed to have lost half a strand of lights at the top. This is the live tree that we cut down ourselves.

This is my staircase that is just inside my front door

This is my Family room. Those are various Nativities on the shelves and on the fireplace.

This is a close up of our Artifical tree.

Here is a close-up of the fireplace.

Thanks for stopping by. For more Beautifully deced out houses. Check out Boo Mama

Self Preservation tactics of kids

On Wednesday evening, Hubby was out of town. DS12 had Wrestling practice. So the 8 yo and I headed to the Mall. I had some stuff the return. I had to make a scene to get my money back. I was a bit embarrassed about it, but then I'd stick my hands in my pocket and feel the money and feel a little bit better. I led my son outside and in through another door explaining that I wanted to avoid these sales-robots. And for the next 20 minutes I'd proceed to talk about how frustrating that experience was and how angry I was getting. My 8 YO offered me some good advice how when hes mad about something he thinks about something good in order to help him get out of it.

The was nary a whine out of him. He's been in a whiney stage for the last year or so and so dramatice about showing his displeasure with something I wanted to do with sighs, hanging of his head and the rolling of his eye. I did not see any of that this particular evening. It was actually delightful hanging out with him.

I find it amazing how they go through stages. Some stages I can take and others just drive me batty. Fortunately, Hubby and I differ as to which stages we handle better than others.

This week

Mon - Tacos - although it turns out that Wrestling practice has been cancelled.

Tues - Turkey and Noodles. - Pulled the leftover Turkey out of the freezer. I will mkae it tonight and leave int he fridge to be warmed up.

Wed - (Dad's out of town) - Options: There is one more dish of Chicken and Rice casserole and some salisbury steak in the freezer.

Thurs - We'll grab soomething out.

Fri- Homemade pizza - but another busy night.

So I think I found some solutions to my Dilemma. I was haivng troble with getting the boys fed early enough to let dinner settle before practice. Theya re not very good at getting meals and they really don't want to do sandwiches. So I got some small glad/ziplock plastic containers. I made up some simple casseroles. One of the dished gives my boys about 2 servings. Even if it is rice, chicken and a can of Cram of chicken soup, it's better than a lot of the other things they'd be eating. I can leave it in the fridge and give them instructions to warm up a serving in the microwave and eat it at about 4:30.

For more great menus, check out Laura's blog.

Riding the bus

My SW Ohio town has a bus system. There are two park and ride area within a couple of mile to my house. As an employee of the big University in town, I get to ride free. What a deal. I rode the bus this morning since we took my car in to be checked out. I enjoyed the experience. I wish I could do it more often. Especially since I have to pay $80 a month for a parking pass.

But alas, it is not to be yet. I have to transfer buses. I have go ride downtown and then board another bus to get to the University. The entire ride in takes about an hour. The ride home takes about an hour and a half. I jsut cannot afford that much time. There are weeks where I struggle to have my face showing at the office for 40 hours. I already eat my lunch at my desk and only take 30 minutes for lunch. I cannot leave the hosue until the boys get on the school bus. Then I feel like I am rushing home to feed the family dinner and get to our evening activities.

To save money, you need more time. To get more time, you need to spend money. Bummer!

St. Nicholas Feast Day - Dec 6th

So did you set out your stocking or shoe? We did. We use stockings.

My parents both grew up putting their shoes out the night of Dec 5th for St. Nick to leave candy, fruit and nuts for them. As I was growing up, a small toy or a comic book or a magazine woudl appear. My Children have discovered Videos and DVD's in their stockings along with candy.

Here at work, I brought in a shoe box and put Oranges, Candy canes, Hershey's kisses and a bowl of walnuts out for my co-workers. I did have one lady already get the Shoe box reference. Afterall, one of the Legacies of St, Nicholas is sharing little treat with others.

For more infomration about St. Nicholas, check out the St. Nicholas Center.