PractiGal

Ghost of Christmas Past

Before the Christmas day sugar and Santa hangovers kicked in, there was the High. The "I can't sleep because all my new toys are downstairs not being played with" High. The High of an overtired boy's adrenaline rush.

And who can blame him? How often do you get new trains, a pile of new cars, books, games, new slippers and a monster truck, all on the same day? Not to mention a dash of cookies, candies, and grandparents.

We sat in the rocking chair in his room Christmas night, and I decided I'd bore him to sleep with stories of my childhood Christmases. So much for that idea! He wanted to know all about my Christmases... what'd I get? "What else? What else?" Not that Barbie means anything to him, but he did an amazing job feigning interest in all the plastic paraphernalia I acquired for her over the years.

And then I told him about the year I got the record I wanted. The year was 1975. The record: Rhinestone Cowboy. I told him how I got a little record with just that song on it and played it over and over and over. All. Day. Long. On the family stereo in the living room. Without headphones.

"Sing it for me, Mommy."

Um. OK.

I've been walking these streets so long.... singing the same old song..

and I went on. Did you know that a 10-year-old can permanently imprint a song on her brain in one day?

Eventually, he went to sleep, despite the trauma of his mother singing an old Glen Campbell number instead of a more traditional lullaby.

Fast forward two days... When the little boy starts singing the song to me... "Like a rhinestone cowboy...  Mommy, how does the rest go?"

I'm not even kidding.

So, I sang it again. Later, he sang it in the bathtub. I told him we'd look it up on YouTube, so he could hear how it really goes.

And I'm sure you're dying to hear it now, too... Before MTV, you had the promo clip. That one is my favorite. But there's the mature Glen version, too... Enjoy!

And a belated Merry Christmas!! Happy 2008, too...
 

Run, run! As fast as you can...

Boudicca's collecting recipes for gingerbread cookies. Have a family favorite? Post it and let her know!

My son has been asking to make these for weeks, so we finally did yesterday. This recipe makes a very dense cookie with just the right amount of spice. And of course the house smelled great while we baked!

Gingerbread People
(Betty Crocker Cookbook)

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 ½ cups dark molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease cookie sheet lightly. Roll about ¼ of the dough ¼ inch thick on floured board. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other favorite cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched; cool. Decorate with colored frosting, colored sugar and candies if desired. Makes about 2 ½ dozen 2 ½-inch cookies; 185 calories per cookie.

( If you'd like a soft molasses cookie, I recommend my grandmother's molasses cookie recipe. Man, that recipe gets a lot of Google hits. I don't think it would occur to me to search on "grandma's molasses cookies," but hey, you get a great recipe when you do!)

 

Santa needs his caffeine too

The questions started as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.

"But where is his sleigh? WHERE? Where!!!"

Well, maybe it's on the roof.

"But WHERE?"

... or maybe he parks in a super-secret spot, where no one can crash into it!

-------------------------------------------------------

Santa's at the mall from 10am-9pm; we arrived around 10:15a.m. I really don't like going to malls anymore, but I figured it was my duty to take my son to see Santa. We missed out on some non-mall opportunities (breakfasts with Santa, etc), so I figured if we got to the mall at opening bell it wouldn't be too bad. I called ahead to find out what entrance would be closest to Santa. Easy-in, easy-out. That was the plan. I parked by Sears.

We quickly found Santa's throne. And it was empty.

Empty.

At 10:20a.m. But we spotted him walking away from his post. Time for a break, 20 minutes into his shift? What kind of Santa's that?

So we followed him, as did a couple of other little ones and their Mom. I've never Santa-stalked before, but you do what you have to do. When we caught up to him, my little guy was beyond excited, but hesitant to talk to the man in red. Finally he managed a "hi!" to which Santa responded cheerfully, "hi there!"

I thought my little boy was going to jump out of his skin. He turned to me, bursting with delight. "Oh, I'm so happy! I met Santa! He said Hi to ME!"

I wasn't ready to walk away though. Armed with my digital camera, I started snapping, left and right, because that's what you do when you're a Santa-stalker (I learn quickly). Santa was more than willing to accommodate too. $25 portrait package be-damned. He bent over and picked up my son, allowing me to snap at will. For free. Clearly, Santa doesn't work on commission. After our closing "Merry Christmas," the official Santa photographer chased him down, informing him that there was a line of people waiting for pictures with Santa. He headed over to Mrs. Fields for his morning cuppa. My son insisted he was getting coffee, because he's a man, and men drink coffee, but ladies drink tea.

Actually, he got a soda today...

Billy Ray must be proud

We were prepared for a snowstorm. A full fridge. A full pantry. Full gas tanks. And a full gas can for the generator. A bunch of movies. Baking supplies. And a Christmas tree ready to be decorated.

We got a foot of snow or so, which was less than predicted. We also got some freezing rain, just to keep things interesting. Sunday was a day to stay inside - very cold, windy, bad roads. My husband went out in his large pickup truck, which is equipped with four-wheel drive and good tires, and he still slid around.

So why, WHY did people head out despite the weather for a teeny-bopper concert?  Of course these are the same kids who pray for a snow day when there are 3 inches of fluff in the forecast.

KIDS.

When did I become such an old fart?

You missed a spot!

He storms into the kitchen --  still bleary-eyed from his nap, clutching his blanket, and sporting a man-sized scowl on his face.

"WHY did you clean the living room??" he demands; clearly I've knocked his delicate sense of Feng Shui out of balance. All I did was box up some toys and organize a bit while he slept.

"To make room for the Christmas tree!" I respond.

"Oh!"

Suddenly I have his full approval.

"You forgot to move the couch!"

.....Ahem.

I'll get right on it.

One step at a time

It's a happy thing when a sick child starts to get his spunk back.

It is a happy thing, but it's a bummer when you want to get some things done around the house...  (like continuing to work on Project Pre-Christmas Clearing of the Deck) and it would really help if a certain little boy were napping.

But how to turn the boy's spunk down a notch?

How about the Laundry Chute game?

You know, the one where I'm in the basement loading the washing machine, and he's two floors up -- yelling down to me through the laundry chute? And I just yell up the chute now and then to make him giggle? Til he comes down two flights of stairs to say he wants to do that again... before he heads back up two flights of stairs... (Lather, rinse, repeat as necessary...)

Geez! All those stairs could tire a kid out!

I love it when a plan comes together...

Let's not do this again soon!

Somehow we've made it to almost age 4 without much in the way of illness. Colds, yes. But nothing to send us to the pediatrician's office, outside the regular annual check-ups and flu shots. Seems like we're making up for lost time now.

Three weeks ago, we showed up for walk-in hours to discuss a persistent cough. The doctor's answer? Allergies.  We started a daily regimen to manage them.

Two weeks ago I called the doc's answering service during off-hours for the first time. Then showed up for walk-in hours the next day to take care of an infection. Yep. His First Antibiotic.

This weekend? A reaction to antibiotic? or a stomach virus? Either way, another call to the doc's off-hours answering service.

Yesterday there was a tug-of war over yogurt. Lots of bedding to wash. Carpeting to scrub. Piles of books to read. Tantrums over withholding juice and food.

Flat ginger-ale, anyone?

Case in point

So. We have an early Christmas present in the house. An Advent gift, actually. It's really cute.  And the calendar part required a lot of assembly. As did some of the "prizes." A lot of assembly. It's Playmobil, which is very good quality stuff. But it generally comes with a lot of pieces. This particular set? Came with 96 pieces. 96.

And after we got it all set up, a neighbor called to ask if we'd like a nativity playset. Hmmm. Sure! Why not? What's a few more little plastic figures? After all, it's the holidays!

Of course, this is why I am in the situation I'm in. I am my own worst enemy!

Someone, just shoot me!

Or better yet, SEND CHOCOLATE!

Precious real estate

Am I the only one starting to hyperventilate about where all the new crap Christmas toys and treasures will go once they're unwrapped?  I mean, once they're wrapped... then unwrapped and strewn about the house. The very same things I've been stashing in my closet and basement for months...

I've started clearing the deck in preparation. Don't tell the grandparents, but I've actually thrown out some stuffed animals. Big ones. Not favorites (of course) -- just ones that consume too much space. And I'm not finished. There are others I'm planning to abduct when no one is looking. (Shhh!)

And then there are the magazines, catalogs, paper clutter, and miscellaneous pieces of plastic crap. Here, there, and everywhere. Why I've saved every issue of Good Housekeeping for the past 3 years, I don't know, but they're going.

The fact that we're drowning in "stuff" prompted me to pull out the FlyLady's book, which I bought when I was pregnant - 4 years ago. HA! I read a few pages but never got into it. Then I had my son, and poof! My house exploded with more "stuff" than ever. And I've never caught up.

Of course I am a chief contributor -- with all the garage sale bargains I pick up, we generally have more coming into the house than going out of it. I've garage-saled, eBayed, Craigslisted, consigned, and donated bags and bags of stuff. But still there is waaaay too much stuff in my house. I think it multiplies at night while we're asleep.

For someone who considers herself to be non-materialistic, I sure run a household with an awful lot of STUFF.

A mansion full of houses

"I'm sorry. I'm going to have to reschedule. My son is sick and I have to take him to the doctor's office."

Me: "Of course, of course... I hope he feels better soon."

... and there went my first attempt to get together with another preschool Mom and her son.

My heart sank a little as that was the only special thing I'd planned for the day. I checked a web site for children's activities in the area and decided on a spur-of-the-moment trip to a local mansion's gingerbread house exhibit.

I'm glad we went. And I think we might have to make it a tradition...