My Christmas shopping is almost complete. In years past I fretted over spending the exact same amount on each child and making sure the same number of gifts rested under the tree on Christmas morning. This year, a new version of reality has set in. Buying for a 2 year old is much less expensive than buying for a 10 or 12 year old. I have expensive taste in clothing, especially when it comes to my girl. In most areas of life I'm satisfied to live on my "beer wallet", but with Taluelah, my "champagne taste" is hard to control. Even so, I can find some adorable outfits for a fraction of what the 10 and 12 year old's super skinny jeans and name brand skate shoes cost.
The boys' lists to Santa included items that ranged in price from $10 to $225. Though, there was a small note next to the priciest item on both lists. Adam's included a "maybe" in front of his request for an iPod Touch and Avery's request for the same gift was followed by "if you can, but don't fret over it." I wonder often these days if my boys are humoring me, not wanting to break my heart and prove just how grown up they really are, by not disputing my claim of a jolly fat man who comes bearing gifts. As each year passes I am sure it'll be the last that's full of magic, for them, at least until they have children of their own.
I joke that the boys were getting too old and I wasn't ready to let go of my babies and so I had another. But, Taluelah is in fact one of the greatest blessings bestowed on our family, right in line with her brothers. I know that when the time comes for my boys to gently let me down off my Christmas high, the magic will still live thanks to our rambunctious little girl. I also wonder if this is another reason the boys haven't burst my bubble yet. If nothing else, I think I've instilled in them a faith in all that's good. They are sweet boys and would like for their sister to have the same "belief in something more than meets the eye".
We took the kids to see Santa at the mall over the weekend. It has been years since we've even entertained the idea of the boys sitting on Santa's lap. I thought that if they would play along then their sister would as well. Seeing Santa and telling him she wanted a present was all Taluelah could talk about for days. We passed by the Man in Red on a visit to the mall prior to this weekend and our girl just about had a fit trying to get Santa's attention. She nearly waved her hand right off her wrist.
The line wasn't as long as we expected it to be which I thought a good thing for various reasons. I figured the longer we had to wait, the more apprehension might take over Taluelah's desire to see Santa. I was also waiting for either of the boys to back out of the charade I was requesting them be a part of. I told them they didn't have to sit on Santa's lap, but just be in the picture. The photo people took over though when it was our turn. I handed a willing Taluelah to the Santa look-a-like. She plopped down on his knee happily. Adam was situated on Santa's other knee and Avery in the middle of them both on the chair. It took Taluelah a moment to realize that she was sitting on a stranger's knee. I think reality hit when she gazed upward at Santa's face and saw that this was not someone she knew. Her expression was priceless. I refer to the look as her "How dare you?" face. It is something of a cross between betrayal, obstinance and uncertainty. She narrowed her eyes, pushed out her bottom lip, dropped her head and refused to respond to her brothers or the strange man who was holding her.
Right before Taluelah's head dropped, the photographer got a shot of my offspring, Adam with an uncomfortable half-smile, Avery with a "this is hilarious" smirk and Taluelah looking not at all pleased. I really wish the captured image was of Taluelah, either looking up at Santa or the aftermath with her head down and brothers attempting to console her. At least then we could laugh and remember clearly, in years to come, her first reaction to Santa. Taluelah did manage to accept Santa's offer of a high-five and a knuckle bump once I removed her from his lap. When we asked our girl why she became upset after she looked at Santa, she said, "I didn't like his nose."
We hope to finish up what little shopping we have left this coming weekend. The house is decorated, tree up. I have one week left of work before a two week hiatus. We sit and wait with baited breath for our government wheels to turn in the right direction and keep the money flowing to Dustin and the other 15 million plus Americans who are currently out of work. Timing is everything and what more perfect time than the holidays to threaten to cut off the pittance of support unemployed citizens are receiving. I can't complain though. It has been exactly one year since I began this job I enjoy so much, and if the small amount that Dustin does receive can continue until he finds a place of employment, we will be fine. If the flow of government support does halt, we will be fine too. We always manage. We always will.
Happy Holidays!
I find that whenever I allow myself to feel a bit smug, life generally flips a 180 and wallops me in the face. I've been at work for a solid 3 months surrounded by every variation of the common cold, influenza, conjunctivitis, whooping cough, buggers, spit... you name it, the kids bring it in all over their library books. I wash my hands like I have OCD. They show the wear. My daughter has had a cold of her own and while most nights I love snuggling up next to her (yes, she still sleeps in our bed) the last couple weeks have me strategically dodging the fallout from her sometimes incessant coughing in the middle of the night. Even the notoriously healthy Dustin, came down with a brief version of the sniffles. Through all of this I remained untouched. My immune system worked like a champ.
Dustin's dad left State before Thanksgiving to visit with family in New Mexico. It was decided that since we would not be traveling down to SoCal to spend Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house we would stay home and Dustin's mother would come to us. I love the holidays, especially at home. I spent the day before and all day Thanksgiving busy in the kitchen. Everything turned out well. I couldn't eat much, which I didn't think anything of. The one problem with preparing a feast is that usually by the time the feast is served, I'm too full from the smells to devour all the goodness that is. Taluelah didn't make it past her dinner roll before falling asleep at the table. The boys did a fabulous job cleaning up the dinner mess, though not without much consternation and moaning. Once Taluelah woke from her untimely nap, we packed up our pumpkin pie/cake, henceforth to be known as Pumpkin Pake, and headed over to Mike and Melissa's for dessert.
Now, by this point, one might wonder when that slap in the face I spoke of earlier is going to come in. During and after dessert I became increasingly uncomfortable. I couldn't put a finger on it, but I felt like my insides were going to explode. My stomach grew. Visibly. This wasn't the unbutton your pants, you've overindulged and need a little (okay, a lot of) extra room to be comfortable, kind of growing. This was "rock gut" to the extreme. Talk of playing a board game went around but I knew I needed to make an exit before I was befouling my poor unsuspecting host's water closet.
We made it home. I managed to ingest a glass of water and a handful of Tums before retiring to my bathroom. I spent the rest of the night somewhere between my bed, the bathroom and a pot. I cannot remember the last time I had the flu. I get my share of sore throats and sniffly noses. I am not immune to all the crud that floats around and into my library. Last year I spent quite a few days sick at work. I was just thinking, maybe a bit smugly, about how nice it was that I had managed to escape all the ails that have been affecting students and teachers alike. I attributed my health to my hand-washing compulsion. And then, just like that... Smack!
I spent Black Friday in my bed. I caught up on sleep I might have missed over the last month or so. I was entertaining the idea of joining a friend on a midnight excursion into Black madness. Only for the sake of seeing what truly crazy people look like. I had hoped to blog about my experiences in such an environment! I'm not sure which was preferable, trying to stay alive amidst shoppers intent on getting the best deal, at midnight, or hanging my head over a toilet bowl? At least the former would have been amusing, maybe. At the end of my ordeal, Dustin was kind enough to point out the silver lining - no worry of holiday weight gain.
By day 2 post-illness I was rearing to go again. We joined a group of friends on a Christmas tree hunt. There were easily 20 of us, adults and children. The plan was to drive up into the Mendocino National Forest, a 3 hour trek through switchback after switchback to the top of Hull Mountain. We figured on seeing some snow and finding the perfect tree. Not too far up the mountain we were forced to put our vehicles into 4 wheel drive. All of the vehicles in our caravan, with the exception of one, were equipped to do so. We made a few stops along the way. Once so that the kids could play in the snow, another time to ease a bout of carsickness and give everyone a much needed potty break. The further we got on our journey up the mountain the more treacherous it became. The snow was not only covering the ground but it continued to fall as we rose in elevation. About 5 miles from our destination it became apparent that we could go no further, 4 wheel drive be damned.
When we reached the limit the road would allow, all vehicles were readjusted to face down the mountain, back the way we came. Dustin ended up having to pull the lone vehicle without 4 wheel drive back up a precarious curve. It was a tense moment for me... I had visions of watching both vehicles slide down the side of the mountain chained together, twisting chunks of metal, tires flying, helicopters airlifting, no Christmas tree to be had. Fortunately, both vehicles and occupants made it through in one piece.
The kids busied themselves with sledding, the adults with food, drink and fire. The decision was made that we had to hightail it off the mountain before it got too much later. All of the fresh snow that had caused us so much trouble on the way up would soon be ice on the way down. Faced with a 3 hour drive home, I wasn't thrilled with having driven 3 hours to simply play in the snow. People talked of trying again the following weekend. Not I.
The next day we woke early and with one of the families who had joined us the day before, trekked up a mountain much closer to home, still searching for the elusive Christmas tree. We chose a place we had gone last year. Once atop the mountain there is a glorious view of Lake County and Clearlake. Last year we had no problem getting to the top, we didn't even have to make use of our Jeep's off-road capabilities. It began snowing while we cut our tree and pulled it up from the side of the mountain. It was wonderful. The kids were full of joy at seeing the white flakes flutter down. It was all so... magical. This year the mountain was covered in snow. Go figure. It had only been raining with snow intermixed for days at 1800 feet. What a concept that there might actually be snow at oh, 4000 feet! We made it a good way up the mountain but once again our trek to the top was foiled by all that white stuff blocking the road. I wasn't sad to stop as the ride to where we were had seen me white-knuckled and ready to vomit from my frayed nerves. My friend and I made the decision that we were not going home without trees. It didn't matter if our kids had to decorate an oak branch or a manzanita bush, some form of shrub was coming down off that hill with us!
The two men of the group decided to hike to where they presumed the silver tips would be. The two women of the group waited with the kids. And waited. Taluelah defined the term "terrible 2's". It was past nap time and she was past listening and so she flopped and flailed and screamed. One minute she was laughing, the next crying, always bossing. I wanted to do the same, but didn't figure the only other adult with the group would take kindly to that sort of behavior. Finally the men returned, one with a twisted ankle. I jumped to work finding the nearest green thing I could to chop down.
After all was said and done, we did find two trees. While ours was not the kind of tree I would have normally picked, it will serve its purpose. It smells wonderful and when Taluelah is not tormenting the ornaments she's loving "her" Christmas tree. She has allowed that she will share the tree with us, but it is HERS.
On the way down the mountain we spotted those silver tips we started out searching for. They were just a bit down the mountain from where we stopped. Sometimes you can't win for losing! I feel like believing that next year I will go to Home Depot to buy a tree. But really, where's the adventure or memory making in that?
