Surviving Christmas

Old habits die hard.

On Christmas morning, I was the only moron in my house up by 5 a.m.; anticipating with childlike zeal, the excitement that Brock must be feeling knowing that Santa had visited.

Too bad Brock’s childlike zeal didn’t kick in until 6:30 a.m.

An hour and a half of quality sleep was sacrificed that morning; all in the name of preserving the forsaken art of being the first family in the neighborhood to wake up and enjoy Christmas.

This year, we didn’t enjoy Christmas like we should have, though. It was more or less a test to see if we could survive the holidays amid the usual chaos of Christmas preparation; compounded and complicated by an increased demand for pictures this year, a week of inconvenient family colds and an overdose of procrastination by yours truly. Never before has December proven more challenging than this year.

I even tried giving up sleep.

And that just made me tired.

It was to our own detriment that many of the holiday projects we had made up our minds to complete, didn’t find their way on to our “to do” list until December 23^rd. Which is just a nice way of saying that “doing tomorrow what we could have done today” is, unfortunately, not a policy that served us well this time around. Ordinarily, procrastination yields some of our most fabulous work. This year it left us, instead, with a house that reeked of polyurethane on Christmas Eve and the usual scramble to get all the gifts wrapped and under the tree before morning.

After speaking to friends and family about the craziness of the holiday, I’ve come to the terrible conclusion that Christmas this year was a rough and rushed holiday for everyone.

Brock, on the other hand, had a very good Christmas and was aptly tagged "Most Spoiled Child Ever," aside from the stress of being on the naughty list until Christmas Eve, and deservedly so. Santa left a brand new bike, complete with training wheels, next to the tree; a gift that went largely ignored as it was ironically overshadowed by the foam sword and shield set in his stocking. Nothing competes with a sword around here. Which is why Santa also got Clarke a sword. Between lightsabers and swords, the testosterone in this house is in hyperdrive!

The biggest disappointment, however, is that amid the chaos of trying to celebrate Christmas, the most important element of the season was somewhat lost between a mad work load and a feeble attempt to “celebrate” during a season of insane busy-ness. It was in passing that we would casually educate Brock about the birth of our Savior and I’m afraid that all he took away from our 4-second discussions was a 4-second understanding about why this time of the year is the BEST time of the year.

Fortunately, the holiday season is not over yet and the barrage of Christmas themed celebrations still continue; signaling that it is not too late to capture a piece of that sacred Christmas spirit which our celebration was delinquent in focusing on this year. Christmas, after all, is about Christ.

Merry CHRISTmas!

I *HEART* Santa

Saturday was one of those days that found me at my breaking point.

I had been fighting Brock all day long with behavioral issues, namely tantrums and talking back and quite frankly, I was exhausted. So I did what any brilliant mom would do on the brink of a meltdown: I picked up my cell phone, dialed a phony number, and proceeded to talk to Santa's head elf; while Brock stood there in front of me, dumbfounded and then panicked. He tearfully shouted "NO" and frantically attempted to reach for my phone while I tensely explained to the elf that Brock's name needed to be moved to the Naughty List. Brock howled in horror and I salaciously smiled and thanked the non-existent elf for his compliance. My mood went from desperate to joyful in those short minutes and Brock has been in a state of heightened OBEDIENCE ever since.

The leverage that the jolly man in red offers parents at Christmastime is undoubtedly the most valuable tool an any parental arsenal. For what could be more traumatizing than waking up Christmas morning to find that Santa had skipped your house?

It never ceases to amaze me that Brock doesn't see right through me when I threaten him with no gifts at Christmastime or when I pull some ridiculous stunt such as calling Santa's elves; after all which mom doesn't have Santa on speed dial? It amazes me and makes me giddy with pleasure because it means that Brock has bought into the exhilarating magic that is Christmastime;
the magic of childhood.

Looks like I may have to call Santa back and tell him that Brock's name can be moved to the "Nice List" after all.

Whew!

I don't think I have the courage (or cruelty?) to satisfy empty threats to withhold Christmas gifts from my only child.

"4" Ever Young

On Sunday our one and only little boy turned FOUR!!!

It was a bittersweet day full of excitement, gifts, cousins, cake, temper tantrums, lightsabers, laughter, one meltdown and a very, very late bedtime. Thank you to all of our friends and family who showered Brock with attention on Sunday. He was so enthralled with the events on his birthday that first thing Monday morning he began planning his next birthday party; which he informed us would be on Tuesday.
Eeep!
That's today!
Thank heavens his memory is as short as his attention span!


Four Years Ago...


December 13th, 2009:


He wanted the movie 'Chronicles of Narnia' because it has swords (naturally)...
My first and last attempt at a Star Wars cake:
Hello handsomes....
Our darling nephew, Travis:

Cousins Jamin and Jake watching in anticipation as Brock opens Star Wars Play-Doh:

Cousins Tyler, Brandon, & Kaleb getting into the gift opening too
I created a fun slide show chronicling Brock's fourth year in pictures.
The music changed, for those of you who saw it on Sunday night.

"Innocence" by Inside Out

Deck the Halls

In the midst of general holiday busy-ness, photo shoots, activities, parties, shopping and the day to day monotony, we managed to put up Christmas, at last. Or as much as I intend to put up this year. You see, I've run out of house! I can't decorate any more than I already have this year and still have a few boxes full of decorations that won't get used this season.

Our tree would not be complete this year without a little reminder of Amelia (who would have been about 5 months old had life turned out differently):

LDS Humor

Yes, Mormons have a sense of humor! These 13 "principles" are a parody on the 13 Articles of Faith. Don't be afraid to chuckle and nod in agreement.

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in the multilevel marketing.

2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that
it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical
figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes
only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General
Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes,
namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word
signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family
photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.

8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we
also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now
scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and
important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations.

10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous
application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be
used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get
Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy
reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with
any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same
privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and general
authorities how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses,
and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional
schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being
fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope
to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope
to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free,
sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these
things.