Giving and Getting, part I

The part of the Christmas season that gives me the most anxiety is the "getting" part, particularly for our children. Around this time of year even strangers are quick to ask them: "What do you WANT Santa to bring you?" or "What did you GET from Santa?" Call me Scrooge, but all of the emphasis on wanting and getting in a society where there is already so much excess is truly nauseating to me. Also, the past couple of Christmas mornings I have been disappointed to hear my children ask, with wildness in their eyes: "Are there any more presents for me?" and to watch them melt down with frustration over a toy or fight with each other over a coveted gift. I know they are only children, and "spoiling" them a little bit won't hurt them, but all the same, my Christmas anxiety is there.

To remedy this anxiety, this year we tried to put a little more focus on the "giving" part of the holiday. Early in December, we got to participate in the elementary school's giving tree. It was humbling to see the very basic needs that were listed on many of the tree's wishes, and I think it helped all of us recognize how blessed our family is. 

Forest and Ramona getting ready to play their bell part at Marian's Christmas party

Ramona's last day of school before Winter break

Forest, Paca, and Mika getting ready to visit Ramona's class party

In another effort to limit some of the excess of "getting," back in November I refurbished a couple of old dolls at our house, turning them into Elsa dolls from the beloved Frozen movie. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without, right? . . . at the risk of appearing a little crazy.

Project #1: Turn Angel Barbie into 12" Elsa doll.

Step One: Use nail polish to turn her green eyes blue.

Step Two: Use more nail polish to give her eyelids a little purple shadow.

Step Three: Give her a messy braid.

Step Four: Superglue scrap fabric to her arms and torso to create the sleeves and bodice of her dress.

It is acceptable to cut up an old baby doll outfit for this endeavor.

I might suggest adding a layer of sparkly fabric on top if you have some lying around.

Step Five: Sew a removable skirt using more scrap fabric and a hair elastic.

Project #2: Turn mini bald Cinderella into mini Elsa doll.
Step One: Steal some white-ish blonde hair from another dolly, make a messy braid and superglue onto Cinderella's head.
Step Two: Put her in a sparkly blue dress.

Step Three: Give her a little purple eye shadow with nail polish, and a little eye liner with a sharpie.

Final products:

I made Ramona and Mika use their chore money to get both Elsas from my store. Then I just notified Santa that similar items were unnecessary for their Christmas lists. This worked out great, because then I got word that he had a surplus of Anna dolls in his workshop that he would be happy to drop off for the girls if they could be nice.

Paula Doll: One Fun Year

Dear Paula,

I have had so much fun getting to know you this past year. Here is a little bit about you, at age one:

You love being silly. Sometimes you crack yourself up by telling an incomprehensible joke, and other times you get your sisters giggling with your funny babblings and gestures. Your little gap-toothed smile, bouncing body, and clapping hands have added tremendous joy to our family.

You also love being studious. Often you are most content sitting on the floor with a pile of board books. Your little hands eagerly flip from one page to another, and your eyes gaze intently at the pictures, no matter how many times you have seen them before. Occasionally you seem to think there are not enough piles of books on the floor for you, and in those moments you enjoy pulling books one by one off of your sisters' bookshelf.

Finally, you love to eat. The image of you transferring finger foods from your high chair tray to your mouth has been compared to a vacuum cleaner suctioning debris off of a floor. When it is time to eat, you really mean business, and very little food goes to waste, especially if it is fruit, cooked carrots, or spaghetti with red sauce.

Here are some things you say:

uh-oh
no
na-na = night night
hi-da = hi Daddy
guh-kuh = drink
key-key = blankie
wutza = what's that?
kuh-kaw = Mika
sis = sister
izzin = raisin
oof-oof = animals or babies
let-go = let it go
ouf = Olaf
moh = moo

We celebrated your first birthday with a cow cake. You loved shoving that in your face and licking your fingers for several minutes afterward. You cried when it was time to wipe your hands clean. Hope you liked your party, anyway.

We love you, Paula Doll! Happy Birthday.

Ski for Free (almost)

We made it to the slopes this year! This is why it was so awesome:

1) It didn't cost as much as the usual skiing excursion because Paca found us some free poles, skiis, and boots (which actually fit) and gave us free babysitting while we spent the morning at Eldora.

2) We got a little dusting of fresh snow while we were there and we had a FUN time. The latter point is significant for me because the first couple of times I skied I was too busy trying to not fall down to enjoy myself.

3) We stopped for Vietnamese food before heading back home. It was delicious.

4) No one got sick. Our date went smoothly, as planned. I could hardly believe it.

My Little Ponies

Halloween did happen this year. It even happened with homemade costumes, which is probably the most ridiculous part, considering the amount of time I maybe should not have spent on paper mache-ing giant pony heads. But the end product really made me smile.

Here is Ramona as Fluttershy the pegasus pony and Mika as Rarity the unicorn.

Ramona was a (generic) unicorn for Halloween two years ago, so I was able to re-use most of that costume for Mika.

I took those two ponies to the church Halloween party, where they ran around with a bunch of Elsas . . .

. . . paraded around the gym . . .

. . . made silly faces with Princess Peach . . .

. . . played games . . .

. . . and begged for treats.

Halloween was celebrated again at Ramona's school. Following an all-school costume parade, her kindergarten class had a party with crafts and treats. Ramona didn't keep her cumbersome costume on for too long. 

During the party, the principal's voice sounded over the intercom, requesting all of the Elsas to meet her in the office for a group photo. I heard there were thirty-three total, including Principal Alfonso. Four of them were from Ramona's class.

Yet another Halloween celebration was had at Forest's work for their annual "Halloween at Avago."

This time my third little pony dressed up, too. Here is Paula as Pinkie Pie (on her very first Halloween!):

We started with the haunted house, which Ramona of course declared as not very scary.

Next, the girls trick-or-treated the cubicles until they could no longer carry their candy buckets. Then they trick-or-treated some more while we carried their candy for them.

Back at home, I took some more pictures of Baby Pinkie Pie . . .

. . . and then it was time for the grand finale: trick-or-treating the neighborhood.

Ramona took her friend Annabel, who was dressed as Cinderella (not Elsa, believe it or not).

One house had a dancing mummy on the porch . . .

. . . and more spooky mummies inside. But I think the girls were most impressed by the candy.

No trick-or-treating for this little one--she stayed home with daddy, who was nursing a cold. Maybe next year, Paula--then you, too can contribute to the unnecessary pile of candy that sits on top of our fridge most of the year.