Jesus, Santa and our thoughts on Christmas.

(Disclaimer....I wanted to share my view of things because I feel like there is a lot of judgement out there during the Christmas season. Some parents believe that you can not be a true, strong Christian family and still introduce your kids to Santa. Some parents believe that Santa is the end all, be all of Christmas. I just hate that the competition that pervades parenthood has reared it's ugly head in the Christmas season as well. So, I wanted to share my thoughts proudly. We all do what we feel is best for our family...and this is what works for us. No judgement here!) 

We praise the Lord in this house. We teach our boys to give thanks for the blessings He has given. We study the Bible and pass along the stories and teachings that make up our faith. We are a God fearing family.

We also believe in Santa.

And we decorate for Christmas....like, full on. 

And this year, we will be visited by a silly little elf from the North Pole.

And I am not going to apologize or feel ashamed. Are the holidays becoming too materialized? Yes. Have many, many people lost the real focus of Christmas? Yep. Does that mean that "good Christians" can't let their little kids believe in Santa? No way. I am a huge stickler for traditions. When I think about my childhood, almost all memories come from my favorite traditions of each holiday. And, like basically every other kid in the history of the world, Christmas has always been my favorite. (I admit, I believed in Santa just a tad bit too long...) But, beyond the traditions and memories of Santa and his reindeer, I cherish the traditions of holidays spent with my family...Going to church on Christmas Eve and singing Silent Night with candles, opening a present on Christmas Eve that is ALWAYS pajamas that my Mom picks out while we eat tamales and chilis....Just because I believed that Santa brought me toys each Christmas, didn't mean I neglected the fact that the ONLY reason we were celebrating was to honor and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. I remember singing Christmas carols at church and nearly crying at the words to Silent Night....and I was young. Even then, I knew where the truth stood. You know how I knew those things? My parents. They made sure that I knew that Santa might bring me some toys, but Jesus was the REAL reason for the season (to borrow the old cliche....) 

I think that is what matters the most. If you do a good job of teaching your children the true meaning of Christmas, there won't be any issues. There has to be a good balance of the two. The magic and fun side of commercial Christmas: Santa, Elves, reindeer.....and the important and life changing side of Christmas: the birth of Christ Jesus. 

So, this year, we will navigate the season to find the balance. We will let our silly little Elf come visit....but instead of simply watching for "naughty" kids, he will be watching to make sure our kiddos are acting the way Jesus wants them to act. He will be watching for them to be kind, loving and supportive of each other. That they are respecting adults and remembering to Thank God for their blessings. If they are not acting that way, our Elf will remind them the next day by sharing stories and verses from the Bible that show us how to act. Our boys will make "wish lists" of gifts they would like from Santa, but they will also make lists of things to give others. We will find ways to bless others during the Christmas season. We will show them that it is better to give than to receive. 

And hopefully, when all is said and done....they will have experienced the magic and excitement of the Christmas season.....but more importantly, they will know and understand the greatest story ever told.

Big Transitions

I do NOT like change. I have my favorite parking spot, my favorite seat at lunch (no matter where I am working....I stake my claim early and sit there until I quit,) my house pretty much looks the same until my Mom comes and redecorates. We eat the same meals, go to the same parks, hit the same places each weekend. In fact, just this morning, TWO different people at the mall made note of it. The annoying guy at Bass Pro Shop, who tries to sell you vacations, looked at our family and said, "Man, y'all sure love Bass Pro huh?" Uh, yeah dude....we sure do. Later, the sample guy at my favorite food court eatery said, "I won't offer you a sample, I know you already have your meal planned!" Right on both accounts my good sir.

So, when it came to my attention that Matthew would be sleeping in a twin bed at my parent's house over Thanksgiving, I knew what I needed to do....transition him now. I hate crap like this. Everything was going fine....why do I have to go and gunk up the system? Brother LOVED his crib. He never tried to climb out, would just stand there and yell at me when he was ready....even asked to get in sometimes. So I gave myself a week to come to terms with it and organize the great bed transition of 2013. Luckily, my amazing in-laws were ready to get a new bed, so they gave Matthew their nice twin mattress. Score! Thursday night (at like 9:00) Zack and I went to the Leys and picked up the mattress and box springs. For some reason, I figured they would fit in my rinky dink Santa Fe. They didn't. So we had them literally hanging out the back. Zack tied some up little rope with the best Boy Scout knot he could muster and away we drove. Apparently he was never a Boy Scout.....with every single bump in the road, the back hatch bounced up and down on the mattress. So I am yelling at him to slow down (we were going like 30 down Mason Road) and holding on to the front of the mattress with all my might. We actually made it home with both mattress, although, Zack was convinced at one point that the entire back hatch was going to fall off and shatter all over the road. Can you even imagine?! Ha! 

Yesterday, I spent the day playing musical mattresses. The new mattress was just too tall for Matthew's bed and bed rail. He would have fallen out like a freaking Rolly Polly as it was rolling away for it's life.... So, I switched it with Jonathan's mattress. We bought his ourselves, and it was WAY cheap. So naturally, much thinner. Then, my amazing in-laws came through again and offered to let us keep their BRAND NEW queen mattress at our house and give them our full size. This makes my parents infinity happy as they basically couldn't sleep in the full bed at the same time when they came to visit...it was pretty whimpy and had a huge iron foot board. Leave it to my Dad to complain about not having anywhere to put his feet.....So I had to pack up the full bed and clear out the room for the new mattress to be delivered. It was pretty much the best workout I have had in weeks. Now, everybody has a nice, big bed in our house! 

And, as far as how things are going with the transition.....they are actually okay! Matthew went to sleep great last night, but woke up in the middle of the night, climbed out of bed to turn off his noise machine and then climbed back in. He woke up for the day around 6:00. When I headed in to get him, he was trying to open the door. Nap time was a little more tough. I think he climbed out of bed like 5 or 6 times. I swatted him every time (not hard, just enough for him to know not to do it) and put him back in bed. He never did get it....so I finally rubbed his back until he fell asleep. I don't want him to get used to that, but I figured he might need a little help while things are new. Hopefully tonight goes just as well, if not better!

I know these things are important. We have to help our little guys grow up and learn how to adapt to change....but that's hard when Mommy doesn't like change. I cried when I took the crib down and packed up the crib sheets. I almost cried when I realized that my mother-in-law would be putting him to sleep for his last night in the crib. I wanted to cry when he woke up in the middle of the night. I don't want a newborn, but I do want my baby back. I don't even want another baby, I just want my baby Matthew back :( The good news.....he loves the new bed and I think this will be a good thing for him......eventually.

P.S....another good thing...when your whole family is awake before dawn, it gives you time to eat breakfast at McDonalds :)

Just Because....

Because sometimes.....you just like to know you aren't alone, right? 

Or, even better, because sometimes you just like to know there is a mom out there doing things worse than you....

1. Yesterday, I didn't finish my double chocolate chip frap from Starbucks....Jonathan did. And, in his opinion, it was "the best milkshake ever!!" Amen, brother. Amen.

2. I am currently watching, Little People, Big World. There is just something about this show that I can't walk away from. I've watched it for years. However, I have to admit, the mom and dad are pretty wacko. I pretty much want to punch the dad in the face most of the time. Like I said....not sure why I watch it. I just do. Kind of the same reason I watch half the shows on TLC.

3. Apparently, I forgot to let the trash company know that we got new credit cards (after our old one was stolen.) And since we are on auto pay, we missed a payment. So instead of picking up my trash this week, they left it on the curb with a huge sign that said, "Failure to Pay!" Rude! I mean, I don't live in the most super fancy neighborhood, but I don't really like looking as if I don't pay my bills. And since it has rained for two days....the trash (complete with rotten pumpkin) is soaking wet. Obviously I am not dragging my soaking wet trash back into the garage.....so outside it stays until the next pick up! Now, not only does it look like I don't pay my bills (I do...) it looks like I just don't care. I can't win.

4. Zack is working late tonight. And, while I totally love my husband, I was a little excited to have the house to myself once the boys went to bed. I have big plans to watch TV, eat cookies and go to sleep at 9:00....without having to share the remote control or be made fun of for going to sleep so early. 

5. The other day, I REALLY wanted to talk to one of my friends on the phone. Unfortunately, the boys were in rare form...screaming, following me around, literally clinging to my leg....So, I walked into my bathroom, turned off the monitors from their bedrooms and locked the door. Matthew kept sticking his little fingers under the door while Jonathan beat on the walls/doors....but, I had a nice conversation :) Sitting on the toilet seat...

6. Matthew has been waking up a lot a night lately....I blame a killer back molar coming in. Instead of running in his room every time he cries, I wake up at the first cry, judge the severity of it (you know..."man, these teeth suck." versus, "OH, HOLY CRAP! My mouth is full of wild monsters digging holes into my gums!") and if it doesn't seem too bad, I turn the monitor off and go back to sleep.

7. The other day, I took TV privileges away from Jonathan. It lasted 6 hours. By 5:00 that evening, I had allowed him to "win" the privilege back. I am not going to lie....it's because I couldn't handle my kids running around screaming and whining anymore. Seriously, I'm the worst. But, in my defense...it was wet and raining and already almost dark. I needed to make dinner! What the heck would you have done? Wait...don't answer that. I don't want to know that you would have postponed dinner in order to have a one on one craft lesson with your perfect kid.

8. I went to Sam's twice yesterday to deal with prescriptions. Both times, I got a huge Coke Zero and a cookie. And they were amazing. I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, I don't eat fast food (minus Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A....those don't count :)) I don't even drink alcohol.....so I figure I am allowed a few other vices. Diet soda and sugar are mine.

9....And last but not least....I let my kid wear things like this on an almost daily basis: