Friday, December 26, 2008
Emma has a theory...
On why my Christmas stocking was only half full. Wanna guess?

UPDATE: She thinks it was because I'd been bad. I had yelled at her and been mean. But of course!

The truth was my stocking was filled with expensive little pieces of paper. Lottery tickets, scratch-offs, and 3 months of Netflix certificate. I told M next time use my strategy...fill it with bulk foods ;)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
It is my sincere wish that each and every one of you enjoy a Merry Christmas, however you may celebrate tomorrow.

Christmas Eve
Emma and I are at home this morning getting ready for our whirlwind Christmas tour. It begins after M closes the store around 2:00 p.m. We'll finish packing and then head over the mountains to drop our gear at Noni's. Then we'll proceed to Aunt Bunny's for a Christmas gathering with Popi's family. My grandmother has been in the hospital getting tests done for the last two days so we're praying that they'll release her today and she can be with us tonight. We'll share a light supper and exchange presents.

Afterward we'll head to Noni and Popi's house to spend the night and await Santa's arrival. Unfortunately, Emma's cousins will not be with us this year. They're visiting their other grandma this time. On the other hand, it will be Emma's last chance to enjoy a Christmas all on her own since next year she'll have a sibling attached. We're looking forward to seeing what Santa brings. We'll exchange presents with Noni and Popi and enjoy a late breakfast with them before we head over the mountains to home.

Depending on what time we get back we may go ahead and open our presents at home. That's when M and I exchange presents and Emma will get to see what Mommy and Daddy got her.

Finally, we'll head up to Grandma's to have Christmas with M's family. We have Christmas dinner with them and then exchange presents (again!). Finally, we go home and contemplate where we'll put all this new stuff in a house that's overstuffed with stuff! (Not really complaining, Christmas is fun, ya'll!) Sometimes the order gets reversed and we do Grandma's Christmas first and then our Christmas late in the evening.

This is how Christmas has gone for thirteen out of the fourteen years we've been married. Now you see I was serious when I told you we'd go anywhere someone is willing to feed us or give us presents ;)
Toy Review: Little First Act Discovery's Shake 'N Stack Instruments

I was given this toy to review. I guess you could say that it's Baby's first toy. Emma certainly thinks so. When people give you things you might assume that a favorable review is expected. I'm one who usually loves to do the unexpected. However, in this case, I like the toy.

Little First Act Discovery has taken the familiar silhouette of the baby's stacking pole and added clever surprises. Once you remove the rings of graduated sizes you find the pole and the base. It turns out that the pole detaches from the base and becomes a maraca. The base becomes a tambourine. While the maraca is everything you'd expect, the tambourine makes more of a clacking sound than then familiar clinking sound. Small price to pay for the safety of plastic parts that will be easy on the baby's mouth (where we all know it will end up!).

I like the texture of the toy. It's soft but firm plastic so when Mommy gets the inevitable clonk on the head she'll probably survive it. Apparently Little First Act Discovery's goal is to provide toys that will promote a lifelong love of music in children. This is a worthy goal. Even the tiniest tots are musically inclined, based on the sheer joy they show in banging a wooden spoon on a pan. The Shake N' Stack Instruments will provide quite a step up from what's found in your kitchen cabinets.

On a side note Emma couldn't wait for me to take it out of the box. It came in the mail the same day that she got her $40 Fur Real Kitty. Which toy do you think she took to bed with her that night? The baby's new toy. And the next day when I picked her up from Grandma's (after M had dropped her off that morning) she had the Shake N' Stack Instruments toy along with her at Grandma's all day. Big sister certainly likes it; I can't wait to see what the baby thinks.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Short-timers disease
I have it at work bad. No, I'm not quitting, just counting down to the days off for the holidays. My problem is that I spent late November and early December getting ahead, so now I really have very little to occupy my time. I hate that. It's worse than being busy. The good news is that I only have four hours left. I leave work at one tomorrow for a doctor's appointment and then I'm done until the 27th. I work the 27th and 28th then I'm done till Jan. 5.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
What would you do?
Your child tells you, "Mommy, you're mean."

I hear this at least once a day in the context of:

1. Not letting her have her way.
2. Correcting or disciplining her.

Before I tell you what I usually do, I'd like to hear how you would respond.

UPDATE: I do several different things when Emma tells me I'm mean. Actually, I do most everything you posted. Sometimes I ignore it. Sometimes I tell her I know I'm mean. Sometimes I tell her "You're just saying that because I won't let you have your way." Sometimes I recall to her a time we saw a really mean mommy in the mall letting her kids have it. It wasn't until recently I cracked down on her and attempted to stop her from saying it all the time.

The interesting thing was that long before we ever had a child I always told our friends that I'd be the mean one. And so I am.