All Things Christmas

Saturday morning began bright and early with Isaac asking me repeatedly for batteries for his airplane while I made Christmas tree shaped biscuits and me repeatedly attempting to explain his 4 inch long airplane did not require batteries. This conversation went on for about thirty minutes, until my morning cup of coffee cleared the sleep-induced cobwebs from my brain and I remembered that such talk with a two year old is futile. I then gave him a set of batteries and he entertained himself for quite the while as he attempted to place them in the airplane. Being the mature Mommy that I am, I refrained from saying, "Told you so." when I found the batteries abandoned on the counter later in the day.

This weekend was all about Christmas at casa de phillips. We love the holiday season at our house and try to fit in as many festive activities as possible. The struggle is making sure our quest for ultimate holiday fun does not backfire and we wind up with a family of Grinches, overstimulated on Christmas lights and hot chocolate. Poor Isaac has been asking since November 24th, "Christmas on Saturday? Christmas on Wednesday?". He hasn't quite figured out the whole holiday season leading up to Christmas day, although now he does say, "It Christmas time, not Christmas day." Who knows if it will all come together in his little head on the 25th or if in March he will still be reciting his "It's Christmas time" mantra.

This weekend, we saw Santa and the crew (which involved lots of crying and shying away....so no pictures were taken), ponies and horse drawn carriages were ridden, Christmas lights were viewed, goodies were consumed, holiday trains were watched, and we even managed to squeeze in a trip to a local holiday hotel hotspot.

Saturday afternoon found us shopping at my all-time favorite grocery store, Central Market, for a hostess present needed later that night(Tip: Gourmet pancake mix and specialty syrup make a great hostess gift for your next holiday party). While Tobe and Isaac paid for our stash, Evelyn and I set out for the boutique next door to find suitable wrapping for the hostess present. As we were checking out, the girls behind the counter were all talking to Evelyn (who was in the Bjorn). One inquired as to what her name was. When I said, "Evelyn" the check-out girl gasped in delight and said, "OH, After Pearl Harbor!!!!"

It took me a minute to comprehend exactly what she meant because I was thinking of the actual Pearl Harbor and did not see any connection between this terrible event in our nation's history and my six month old daughter. Then I realized, this sweet girl was a teenager and she was referencing the Ben Affleck movie. The girl went on for a solid five minutes about the love triangle in Pearl Harbor, in only a way a teenage girl can without taking a breath or really ending a sentence before moving on to the next one. She finally stopped long enough to ask if I had indeed named my child after a character in the movie. When I told her we had chosen the name simply because we liked it and I had never actually seen the movie Pearl Harbor, she looked at me as if I were suddenly the oldest, uncoolest woman she had ever encountered.

Our Christmas spirit spilled over into today as we completed some holiday crafts and then bundled up to put our Christmas cards in the mail. Each year I select a verse from a Christmas carol to adorn our card. As we hopped in the car this morning to set off for the post office, the carol from this year's card was on the radio. Convinced it was a sign of all things happy and Christmasy, we drove to the post office....only to find complete and total chaos. Apparently our local postal service felt like December was the perfect month to tear up large portions of their parking lot, leaving few parking spaces and narrow driveways for cars to navigate. Intending to simply drive up to a free-standing mailbox and send our letters on their way, I was stunned to find out that the mailboxes were now positioned on cars' passenger side doors due to the designated flow of traffic. Neither child had on a coat, Isaac's hair was not combed, and I was sporting shoes that did not match my outfit. There was no way we were going to all get out and go inside the post office.

I circled our car round and round the tiny lot until a space eventually became open. I then grabbed my letters, turned the car off and locked it, and ran as fast as I could to the outside mailboxes before someone notified authorities that two small children were left alone in a car. As I was running back, in shoes that were not meant for such athletic endeavors, I somehow managed to fall in the busiest parking lot in town. Lovely. Fortunately nothing was bruised but my ego.

Despite our post office mishap, Christmas cheer is running crazy here at casa de phillips. We still have quite the list of holiday activities to complete in the upcoming weeks before the tinsel and lights are tucked safely away in the attic.

I am pretty sure "falling in front of 50 angry postal customers" is not on your Christmas activity list......however, what are some things your family tries to do during this holiday season?