The Santa Gift

Every year from July on when I start buying Christmas presents, I agonize over what to get the kids from Santa. See, it's like this... I live for Christmas. Not for the trees and the tinsel or the music, though that's nice for setting the mood and all. But for me it's the one time of the year that I can fully indulge my gifting addiction. I spend the whole year listening to the people in my life -- trying to pay attention to things they say they want or need, or things they wish they could do - all in search of the perfect gifts. The pinnacle of Christmas for me is to get someone that one perfect gift - maybe the one they didn't even know they wanted and love all the more because of it. If I can hit one person just right each year, I consider my Christmas a great success. I even keep note cards in my wallet for each person I buy for. Alright. You can all take your fingers out of your throats now. I realize I'm sickening. I can't help it.

When it comes to gift giving Santa is Da Man. He makes Christmas. He is the magic of Christmas. So in my house, The Santa Gift (and there is only one per child) is all important. It's the most longed for item - be it big or small. Sometimes it's even an item wished for subconsciously. That Santa is one tricky dude. When I was a child Santa always brought us the one thing that we wanted most every year. This was not necessarily the thing we asked for. My dad had a good ear, too. He and my mom went way out of their way to make sure we Believed.

I remember one year right after we moved to northern California, we were eating dinner when there was a knock on the front door. No one ever used our front door. My sister & I (about 4 & 7) and our parents all looked back & forth at each other wondering who could be at the front door when we heard the jingle of sleigh bells. Oh my! My sister & I were out of our chairs faster than our parents could say "Go see who it is." When we through open the door, there on the front porch was a freshly cut Christmas tree leaning against the house. We about knocked it over trying to get around it to see where the bells had come from. Finally we both broke free of the door and the tree to get a look at the front yard. You'll never believe what we saw! Sleigh tracks! And reindeer paw prints! Awesome! That was my Dad, through and through. He loved Christmas, too.

I think, though, that the best Christmas gift I've ever been given was from my Mom (aka Santa) after my Dad had died. I was a teenager. I don't know what I wanted for Christmas or if I really wanted anything at all except to grow up too fast and get on with my life. Yet I still wanted to hold on to the past that included my Dad. I'm sure it was an extremely trying time for my Mom as a parent. But on Christmas morning when I walked out to the tree, there was The Santa Gift. It was a hope chest. Perfection. I hadn't even realized I wanted one!

I've thought long and hard over the years about why a hope chest has remained the most memorable Christmas gift I have ever received. Certainly I've been given bigger, more expensive gifts since then. I've definitely been given gifts I've wanted and needed more. So why does a hope chest hold the coveted spot at the top of the list?

I think it's because of what the hope chest symbolized to me. It was a place to tuck away the memories from the past for safe keeping. Yet also a place to hold my future wishes and dreams. The Santa Gift struck the right cord in where I was at in my life and where I wanted to go - and mostly that my Mom got all that, even if she didn't know she was getting it. The perfection of the gift didn't lie in the trunk itself but the idea behind it.

So every year at Christmas I try to replicate that experience for my boys. It's my turn to be Santa and that's a big responsibility. Will I know the gift when I give it? I may not know when I buy the gift but I surely hope to know when I see my boy's face as he opens it. Perfection.

The Parent Blogger's Network (PBN) is sponsoring a blog blast featuring Excitations. Holy cow! Is Excitations going to be a go-to site for me in the future! Check it out! You're sure to find a perfect Santa Gift just waiting for you.

3,287 Days = Just Yesterday

Last night was magical. Not magical by the standards I used to hold, where a man would woo me in some enchanting location with softly whispered words of passion and promise while my head swam from too much drink and sexy hormones. But magical in a much more realistic, we've been married for nine (!!!) years, have two kids and a heavy mortgage but I still think you're hot, kind of way. Yesterday was our 9 year anniversary. That's 606 days of marital bliss and another 2,681 days of marriage after we had kids. And I wouldn't trade in a day.

Who would have guessed our wedding vows would turn out to be so prophetic... "for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health..." Had I only known I was charting a course I might have picked some different ones. Maybe some with out the down side.

My gift to Daddy-O was an obligation-free morning (no dropping off children at school and daycare) so he could have and early morning surf session with all his contractor buddies. And I arranged for the kids to stay the night with the sitter. Daddy-O's gift to me was a meal prepared with his own two hands that I didn't have to lift a finger nor a brain cell for. It was heavenly!!! There was spinach salad, t-bone steaks cooked to perfection, warm fresh baked bread, baked potatoes and steamed mixed veggies - all washed down with my favorite Cakebread Chardonnay. Mmmmmm. And there wasn't a sippy cup or a raised voice to be found. He also pulled a little surprise out of his hat (figuratively speaking, thankfully) and had dropped by the lingerie store. It was a very nice night. Daddy-O's all full of surprises.

I'm looking forward to the next nine. I wonder what other tricks he's got up his sleeve?

Gone Country

We're back from our Thanksgiving trip to Nana's house. We're all fat and happy from the carb-fest and suffering only minimal emotional scarring from the enforced family time cooped up in a car for nearly 8 hours straight with a blind toddler overly entranced with asking "whatchu doin'?", a 7 year old with ADD, Daddy-O with a cold quickly making a run for his moist lungs and me, the driver, with a foot that could not possibly be too heavy.

The boys had a wonderful time. They reveled in the countriness that is Nana's House. B loved the freedom of a small neighborhood where he can ride his bike all day long without fear of being hit by a speeding vehicle. He spent the days there shooting bb guns and collecting leeches . The boys were loudly screamed at and swatted at with various hands and cleaning/cooking implements while simultaneously being shooed out of the house, all the while proudly trying to show us the cool leeches they found. Yughghghh! And there was plenty of nightcrawler digging for fishing. What 7 year old boy doesn't love that?

As for D... well, he just got doted on. He is just as big a ham as B was at that age. I swear, the more attention you give that boy the more he mugs for you. And he has found a new love. The Tire Swing. He's never been on anything but a toddler swing before so he was definately scared at first. But once he figured out that it was just a new twist on an old favorite... watch out! He was hooked! Poor Daddy-O was suffering outside in the cold for so long that I finally took pity on him. I had to tell D the Tire Swing was tired and had to go ni-ni. Then he very willingly came in the house and had his own bath. My boy understands ni-ni.

All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing holiday. My mom and I are cancer free this year for which I am extremely grateful. While the whole family is suffering a bit with the economy (as is everyone else) by and large we have it a far site better than most.

Thanks to all of you for being there for me. And welcome to the begining of my favorite time of the year...

Christmas

Bargain debasement pricing

Hello. My name is Stella and I am a Bargain Hunter. Sometimes I buy things just because the deal is too good to pass up. But then, I'm also not afraid to spend money, if that makes any sense what so ever. Of course, sometimes I don't get the things I want because I just won't pay that kind of money for them - if they are for me, that is. I guess I don't mind spending lots on others... just not myself. But my ultimate quest is for the supreme bargain. This weekend I found it.

I've been searching for a bunk bed for B. With this in mind I have been watching Craigslist.com and our local freecycle because I can't afford to pay the ridiculous amounts of money that the industry wants for bunk beds. On Saturday I found an ad for a loft bed that looked really nice for $100. Not only is it a full size loft bed but also has 6 drawers, a computer desk, twin trundle and hidden storage. Hidden storage! Say it ain't so! And it was in my own town. Gotta love it, right? So, a little email here. A little email there. And on Monday at 10:00 I, and presumably others, met at the loft bed's home for a viewing and "best offering".

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's competition. So, I arrived a tad early. I thought about blatantly eliciting sympathy with D and his blindness. I am a bad, bad, mom. But, before you think too poorly of me let me explain. By "blatantly" I mean mentioning that D is blind - possibly before we arrive. Maybe working it into the conversation somehow to give us an edge over the competition. And, I said I thought about it. I didn't actually do it. I did have to bring the boys with me to look at the bed but that couldn't be helped. I did, however, leave D's cane in the car. At least until he demanded it at the driveway, at which point he began a temper tantrum and I gave in to the cane since he is supposed to use it anyway, and felt exonerated if a tad guilty for my previous thoughts.

Long story short. We got the bed. It's awesome. It only cost me $100. Not a word was said about D except that he was mad because he wanted to go for a walk and NOT look at a bed (which was completely truthful). I looked the bed up on Amazon when I got home just to see what it might retail for... Get this... $1165 Holy Crap! How's that for bargain shopping???

And all that hidden storage in the back... That's actually a closet. It has a closet rod and everything. Squee! B thinks he's going to be able to hide there and put his stuff in it. Ha! Mama has plans for that area! The bed is up and the boy is happy! Easily my best score! But I am still a bit plagued by the exploiting thoughts I had. I mean, really! I suck!

What's the best bargain you've ever gotten?

Differently Abled Resources

Happy Friday, everyone. Is it just me or has this week been dragging on and on? Alright. Just me then. Fine.

Well, I won't take up too much of your time. I just wanted to draw some attention to the new links over to the right. Yes. Right over there. The ones titled Differently Abled Resources. I've been collecting these sites for 2 and a half years now and have found them to be very useful. There are some others but I think they probably have a far less universal appeal. There are some toy sites like Beyond Play and some others like Seedlings which is a great, inexpensive place to get Brailled Children's books. Not all of these sites are just for the vision impaired, either. Many service other disabilities as well.

And if anyone is interested in gift ideas for blind toddlers just let me know. I have a ton of ideas!!!

Oh look! There's my luggage!

Did you know that suicide is a federal offense? Of course, it's only prosecuted if you fail in your attempt. So I suppose, only Attempted Suicide is illegal. I'm not really sure what the rationale behind that law actually is but it exists nonetheless.

Following that line of reasoning, if one attempts to kill a fetus (assuming it was after the first trimester), not once but twice, and fails, is that Attempted Murder? Or at least Assault or Child Abuse? I ask this in search of genuine understanding and not to drudge up some pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. (Frankly I waffle on the whole life vs. choice topic entirely too much to take sides. My inner debate can be summed up quickly like this: I am a Christian who believes life begins at conception, yet I have a uterus that is unequivocally mine, mine, mine, all mine and no one should tell me what to do with it.)

This morning I log on to my PC to find what, I'm sure, CBS thought was a nice warm-fuzzy story about the miracle of life against all odds. What I read, however, was almost horrifying. Parents carrying identical twins tried unsuccessfully twice to terminate one of the twins thinking he might die and take the other with him. Yet both survived and are healthy 7 month olds today. Obviously the doctors were very, very wrong. Obviously, the "failing" baby was not as bad off as the learned physicians thought. And twice? They didn't have time to re-think the thing after the first botched attempt?

This makes me question things. Things I'm not comfortable questioning. Creeeaaak! Did you hear that? It was the closet door opening. The closet that houses all my baggage.

Years ago I had a miscarriage - a "missed abortion" at 11.5 weeks. They did a D&C. It was very hard on me and I fell into a depression for months. Shortly after that I got pregnant again only to find that it was a tubal pregnancy when my fallopian tube ruptured on my way to the ER. Because of this ectopic pregnancy I began posting to an online board in search of information. One of the wonderful women I met on this board had a pregnancy after we met in which her doctors told her there was no heartbeat in the baby. They called it a "missed abortion" and scheduled her for a D&C. For some reason she insisted on an ultrasound just before the procedure. And right there on the monitor was the strongest little heartbeat you'd ever care to see. Well, obviously she did not have the procedure and she delivered a very healthy little girl. All's well that ends well, right? Right. Except that I can't even think about the fact that I didn't ask for an ultrasound before my D&C.

So can we trust doctors? Just how much practice is involved in practicing medicine?

I am very interested in everyone's opinions.

A few of my favorite things

Today I'm feeling a bit like Oprah. A bit Opresque? A bit Oprish? A bit Opradaisical? At any rate...

I am feeling the urge to share with the blogosphere a few of my favorite things.

Disclaimer: there will be no hidden party favors under your keyboards after reading this blog.

Favorite Things (in no particular order except as how they occur to me):

• Dream Dinners Yummy, scrumptious food that is already pre-thought up for me! How can you not love that? Plus, while I attend food prep sessions with my girlfriends we can drink free wine, eat free hors d'ourves and generally avoid the drudgery of mom-ness for a few hours while fixing a months worth of main dishes. Amen, Sister! Dream Dinners, you're the next best thing to having my own damn wife.
• Reach CleanPaste. It's a thick, tie-dyed looking dental floss with toothpaste built in. Yummy. Plus, it gives you a nice infusion of minty freshness throughout the day. Mmmmm.
• I've said it before and I'll say it again... TiVo. TiVo. By all that's holy, TiVo.
• Tide to Go Because I can't seem to stay neat and clean no matter how hard I try.
• Amazon.com because I am addicted to internet shopping and I can always check prices and customer reviews on amazon before I buy (if I buy) elsewhere.
• Applebees Carside To Go. I know Applebees is persona non grata with the whole breastfeeding community but when you live in a town without drivethru windows in their fast food restaurants and you have two children anyone who offers food - REAL food that you can eat with a fork and knife - which is brought to your very own car (and if you play your cards right even comes with a dessert that will leave you floating down from the ceiling like Precious Pupp after eating one of his sweets), well, they are on my Christmas list for sure.
• Big Bang Theory on CBS. Oh, my Lord. This show is so freakin' funny. It's so funny I'm sure it won't be picked up again next year. Daddy-O and I have decided that we share our sense of humor with the minority of the US. Like last year, we watched The Class all year long, loved it & it was canceled. Anyway, Big Bang Theory is the perfect combination of high brow and low brow humor. I love a good comedy yet I rarely laugh out loud when watching TV. Yet I continually find laughter bursting forth uncontrollably. If you watch it once you will be hooked. But, apparently we're comedy geeks so take it for what it is.
  
• Projection Clock aka The Bat Signal. I was so tired of listening to Daddy-O complaining about how he couldn't see the clock because it was on my side of the bed. Yet if we put it on his side of the bed he just slept through the alarm and I would have to climb over him to turn it off. Now, the Bat Signal shines on the ceiling simultaneously showing us the time without the need to move a muscle or turn our heads and acting as a night light for the occasional midnight trip to the kids room/bathroom.
  

Well, that's probably enough of a list for today. Have a happy weekend.