Happy 2008

16 minutes to go. Hope you are all having a safe Eve! We're home from an awesome vacation and recovering from a whirlwind weekend. Lots of photos and lovely things to share. But my fingers are way too tired to type, and I really really want to crawl into bed with My Sweets before the ball drops. I'll start back with my posts tomorrow.

See You Next Week

HAPPY HAPPY Holidays to all!!! Have a magical week. We're taking it off to celebrate x7 with all the fams. So, my friends, until December 31st....

image: flickr

Watering the Tree

Buby will miss the tree dearly. He loves to hold the flashlight for us while we water. And then make cool shadows on the wall.

Dear Santa

Buby's "Dear Santa" letter for 2007. He decided to draw "ALL CIRCLES" {as he puts it} in red, blue, green + black. We have a large tin "Letters to Santa" ornament on our tree. One end of the tube opens, so Buby and I rolled up his masterpiece and stuck it in the tube. Hopefully Santa remembers to take it with him when he leaves tonight.

When I Grow Up

Jenny, 1977

When I grow up, I want to be me on a really great day. Strong but feeling, honest and true, smart but game for anything. I want to be the first in the fam to graduate from college. To travel anywhere I want in the world. To surround myself with good people. To do things that scare me. And inspire me. To swim in the ocean and hike in the mountains. To grow my faith. To forgive and look forward. To see potential in very small things. To work hard. To succeed as a magazine editor in NYC. To have nights that never end. To eat whatever I want. To do what feels right in my heart. To love and be loved. To make a home. To be a mom... the best one I can figure out how to be. To show my family a love that will always be with them. At 12:01 pm today I turn 31, and these are my dreams come true. I feel so unworthy of my magnificent life so far. I am a lucky chick and I know it.

3 Snowmen

A favorite winter accent around here. It hangs right above Buby's tree in our great room. This morning it occurred to me... this is our last year as 3 snowmen. Next year we'll be 4.

Old Photo Friday

Christmas morning in 1978. My brother Mark + I. Santa sent us super cool jammies every 25th. Guess we hadn't opened them yet. See the bowling set off to the left? I almost bought it for Buby & Co. at Toys R Us this week {ha!} for only $9.99 but decided to wait until the snow melts.

From Gilly With Love

Original tissue paper on glass votive BY Gilly FOR Buby. Part of our "handmade holiday" exchange. We will light the candle tomorrow night.

From Lillian With Love

Original abstract on ceramic BY Lillian FOR Buby. Part of our "handmade holiday" exchange. Cropped to keep the personalization personal.

Just For Santa!

This will be our first year baking fresh peanut butter cookies for Santa and piling them high on this fabulous platter hand painted by Buby. We'll even throw in a tall glass of 2%. Buby loves to point to the dish and remind me that it's "JUST FOR SANTA!" On the eve of our celebration, Buby & Co. will also spread reindeer food on the lawn, read Rudolph for the 103rd time, and lay with our Little Dude until he drifts off. Oh to be a kid again.

Under the Shady Tree

It's 2:19 in the morning, and I just finished wrapping 69 pieces. Hurray for me!! Surprisingly, I'm not that tried. I still have Buby's crafts to label and wrap tomorrow, and then I'm done. My Christmas wish is to never wrap again. Never ever. It's gift bags from this day on. Anyway, the gifts are tagged and bagged and waiting to be delivered to each house at which we celebrate beginning Sunday. Presents for Buby and his Daddy are in hiding until Santa arrives on Christmas Eve {which for us will be tomorrow night}. We like to do our own thing just the 3 of us before all the extended family engagements begin. So as far as Buby knows, Christmas is Saturday morning this year at home. Pictured are the only 2 gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve. The little red bag is from Miss Sherri, and the blue snowflake-flocked surprise is a secret something Buby made for us in preschool. Behind a curtain. I really don't know what it is.

In Favor Of

Our pretty gift tags from Martha

Buby + his 3 closest galpals exchanged handmade gifts this year. Buby painted a different wooden ornament for each friend and hung it from a mini tree {which served as our party favor last Sunday}. His tree is the centerpiece on our dining table now, but the kids can easily dress them up with ornaments year-round. I never photographed Buby's ornaments before giving them away {oops!}. But 2 of our fave finds are these sparkly toppers from Michael's and the circular name tags from Martha. We will not see Grace's creation until Friday, but stay tuned tomorrow for fabulous gifts from Miss Lillian and Gillian. These are things we will treasure forever.

Our super sparkly mini tree toppers

4 trees for 4 little friends, before the ornaments went on

2 Against 1

A lovely shot of father + son walking through the snow. Buby asked for a hand and Daddy was right there. A moment later the 2 of them started throwing huge snowballs at me + my camera. Not fair!

Buby's Mailbox

Buby received a copy of Don Freeman's Corduroy's Christmas in his mailbox this week. It was the perfect week-before-Christmas surprise from his godmother Debbie. The look of anticipation on his face as he unwrapped {all by himself} was so cool... I can't wait to see more of that. Buby's first reaction was to scream "TEDDY BEAR!" He didn't know this classic Corduroy character, but he does now. Each page has lift-up flaps that reveal Corduroy's decorating, baking, wrapping, and caroling routine. We look forward to celebrating other holidays with Corduroy.

The Leaning Tree

Original Christmas tree cut-out by Buby. Made with foamie snowflakes, scrunched up paper, and candy cane shapes attached with glue and prettied with glitter. Dated: 12.11.07. Origination: Preschool for 2s. Special Thanks: Miss Sherri {who added the silver garland afterwards}. Value: Priceless

Feeding Rudolph

We craft and "cook" quite a bit in preschool for 2s. Today the kids made reindeer food to sprinkle onto their front lawns on Christmas Eve. It hadn't occurred to me, but what a sweet gesture. After all, Santa's reindeer maneuver that ginormous sleigh around the whole world in 1 night. Exhausting! Miss Sherri filled a large mixing bowl with oatmeal, and each child took turns adding white, red + green until they felt it was just perfect. {Some of the kids like to eat the food we use in projects, so Miss Sherri wisely opted for sugar and colored sprinkles just in case.} Buby stirred and stirred and then scooped a generous portion of the food into his bag and yelled "FOR RUDOLPH."

Drama Club

Buby playing games behind the puppet stage at preschool. He kept jumping up and yelling "TA-DA, HERE I AM!" Trying to impress Alicia, I think.

Preschool Party

Santa C. showed up at our preschool party today. Lucky Buby was invited to sit on his lap, but Buby opted to pull up a chair instead. When Santa asked if he'd been a good boy this year, Buby said in a high pitch "OH YES." Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and Buby replied "TOYSES." So cute. Santa pulled a stuffed lion {too bad it wasn't a tiger!} and an elephant finger puppet out of his recycled bag for Buby... who snagged the goods and ran off to play with Patrick. We all sang "Jingle Bells" and the ABC song to Santa before he left. Preschool was a tiny class today due to cold season. The kids made reindeer food, ate a feast, and then took turns crafting something super secretive with Miss Sherri. Afterwards we went down to swim lessons with MacKenzie and Patrick. Buby wore himself out by 2:30 and fell asleep on the ride home.

Miss Sherri posts the class' crafts on this bulletin for all to see. Last week we did the paper mache Christmas trees and glitter flakes.

In Good Company

We did it. We got 5 dads to watch 6 kids on 1 night so us mamas could have a Girls Night Out. My Sweets was home around 4pm from his own holiday work thing, so I kissed Buby an early goodnight at 5:30pm and headed out. About a mile down the road I realized "Wow, I have a radio!" Buby rules the music selection in my car {all 6 slots}, so this was no small treat. The first song that came on was "Amazed" by Lonestar, a song from my wedding. I almost cried. That's pregnancy for you. But I started thinking of My Sweets. What can I say... I am AMAZED by him and so thankful. Dinner was a delicious 3-hr event at one of my favorite Italian places. I see most of these girls often between gym class, preschool, music, and playdates. But never have we shared a meal where we were able to complete a thought. A real thought. Not while we're catching waters mid-spill, grabbing toddlers as they duck under {or leap OVER, in Buby's case} the table or start hopping like bunnies in the booth, asking them to share with {but not force feed} their friends and to PLEASE find their inside voices. Last night we ate a lot, laughed a lot, and wrapped up the dinner with a decaf cappuccino. Yum! After, I called home to check on my guys. Buby was sound asleep. All was good, so Erika and I hit the shops for 2 hours to finish off our lists. 1 more gift for 1 more person, and we're DONE!! Thanks, everyone.

image: flickr

Buby Blue Eyes

I could stare at these eyes... my sweet boy... all day long.

i heart

12.15.07

this weekend...
i love the sight of: Buby at the beanery waiting patiently to share a scone with Daddy, snow falling, photo cards from all the families we heart but rarely see, our 2-year-old running off to make new friends at a holiday party, wreaths wrapped in burgundy bows in our upstairs windows, a to-do list with many things crossed off, sparkly ornaments made by Buby
i love the sound of: "MAMA, ARE YOU OKAY?" coming from the backseat, preschoolers whispering to each other in private, the wind hitting our windows and reminding us it is winter, Buby playing the drums
i love the scent of: cranberry-orange muffins baking in the oven
i love the taste of: all things sweet, all things salty, all things spicy, all things bread + pasta + meat + potatoes + fruit, cereal w/ bananas, freezing cold orange juice, chocolate croissants after a massage
i love the feel of: Mama + Daddy + Buby holding hands on the sidewalk, my supersoft PB robe, laying in Buby's bed reading books when he suddenly throws his arm over me and closes his eyes, a pea-in-the-pod massage and refreshing facial treatment on an early Saturday morning, a clean room


12.15.07

Playdate Party

Buby & Co. hosted a Playdate Party on Sunday afternoon with all the trimmings... My Sweet's turkey chili, homemade macaroni + cheese, tree-shaped jelly sandwiches, warm cranberry-orange mini muffins, fruity jello, tomato-basil chedder, Tipperary cheese with crackers, red + green apples, stuffed olives, clementines, a celery, cucumber + carrot platter w/ dip, my mom's hot taco dip recipe + chips, low-salt pretzels, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting {above}, organic sugar cookies frosted and naked, sparkling cider, mulled cider, cocoa, soda + spirits for the big people, and red + green Christmas candies. We were all set at party time, but an early morning storm left the roads messy, several key guests at home, and our bellies full for days. Mother Nature! What can you do. Buby & LP missed their friends but had the best time, so it was worth every minute of missed sleep!

Wrapping Up

We are almost there... Almost. Buby & Co. has to buy/make/wrap for 41 people this year. Not including Buby, who was a very good boy in 2007! That's nieces and nephews and parents and brothers and cousins and friends with whom we exchange over Christmas week. And, let's not forget baked goods for our hostesses and small somethings for our village postman and sanitation crew {big oops last year!}. Simplifying is easier said than done, especially when 1 gift must = 3 or 4 mini gifts together. Anyway, I'm not complaining. But I am thrilled to be a handful away from finished since the bulk of the buying falls on me. We tried to keep things simple and in the crafty, useful, or learning realm this year with all the chaos of the toy industry. Have a wonderful winter weekend! Ours will be filled with 2 parties + a pea-in-a-pod spa treatment for moi. Early birthday gift from My Sweets. A.k.a. Best Man Alive!

Old Photo Friday

My mom. Buby's Graga. Snoozing by the baseboard in the late '50s. I'm thinking 1957, but I need to confirm. Amazing how kids can sleep anywhere.

Dashing Through the Snow

12.13.07. was a lovely Snow Day. Daddy left work early {always a nice surprise}, and here he is racing Buby around our circular snow track in the backyard. Only difference from last year: Buby's feet hang about 6 inches over the edge of his blue sled. He has exceeded all age and weight limits, too. So the search is on for a suitable replacement. He likes to be pulled {like Santa} by his Reindeer {that would be us}, so a comfy string/handle option is a must. And I LOVE that his blue sled has a seat belt and back support--he can ride rough with no boo boos. Let us know if you see one like this made for preschoolers and we'll check it out. The snow was fresh powder, so it could not be packed into balls just yet or made into men with corn-pipe noses. And Buby would have nothing to do with snow angels. I jumped in to demonstrate, but the idea of getting on his back did not appeal.

Little Swimmer

This week at swim class I was more proud of Buby than I ever have been, EVER! Everything just clicked for him. He climbed out of the pool on his own {we teach them not to rely on ladders} and jumped into my arms with confidence. Each child wears a floating belt, so I let go of Buby's waste once he was kicking and paddling strong from one side of the pool to the other and staying vertical in the water. {Whenever he took some in, he spit it right back out.} I almost lost it when I realized how proud he was... of HIMSELF. Buby spotted Lillian's mom Erika in the stands and screamed, "ERIKRA {his way}, LOOK AT ME!! I AM SWIMMING!!!" Waving profusely, he wanted as many eyes on him at that moment. His pure glee was so rewarding. The second we got home I sent a message to My Sweets on his Blackberry. He emailed right back, "Now you've made me cry in my meeting." Ha! It's the small things...

Bebe in Belly

Gazing out the window at the falling snow.

Snowed In

We're 3.5 hours into today's winter wonderland, and there are no signs of it slowing. Buby and I are finding amusement in the great snow blowers and plows that pass by our front door. The Snow Day agenda will be light but fun and productive! Classes are cancelled. Shops are closed. Roads are messy. The perfect excuse to spend what was sure to be a busy day running errands at home. Our goals de jour include more laundry + folding, cleaning the large master bath {which has become holiday craft central}, gift + party prep, indoor baseball, and engaging in plenty of TA-DA games under Buby's makeshift cape. Buby & I will head outside later for an afternoon of snowmen, snow angels, and snowballs. Quite possibly I'll indulge in a cup of cocoa by the fire with a fleece blankie and read Rudolph to Buby. Can hardly wait.

image: flickr

Bon Anniversaire, Nicole!

Happy birthday to my super duper friend Nicole. Today she joins me in the 30-something club. We met when she was 18. Nicole was the unwanted overflow freshman they put in our dorm room, against our wishes. Turns out she was the awesome one, and I'm so glad for her friendship to this day. Nicole, I hope you are off work and enjoying a Snow Day at home with the babes.

crocheted party hat: mahar drygoods

Hoppy Holidays

That's the name of my fave little holiday ensemble at Gymboree. Three fuzzy velour bunnies caught my eye the other day, so I thought I'd share. I just love the crochet-trim cardigan in antique white and rosebud ruffle bodysuit, both on sale now here. Sizes are limited to what's left. And the moleskin jumper is currently out of stock. But this is my idea of a very sweet holidayish outfit.

BREAKING NEWS: Graga just rang to say she has already purchased this darling cardigan for Bebe. Ahhh... such taste.

Foamie Letters

Buby & I love to play with these foam letters and numbers. He peels off the backs himself and stick them to his art paper. We have big and small buckets to use for all sorts of crafts. We start by dumping an entire bucket on the floor and sorting through in a "where's that letter or color hiding??" kind of way until we find every piece we want. This week we did the entire alphabet on 1 page. I cut them into 3 strips afterwards, and Buby carries them around the house reciting part of the alphabet. A few letters he completely ignores, like they don't exist. And he has his faves, including A, K, J, B, G, M, and L.

Thank You

To my sweet friend Maria for this early Christmas gift for Buby. It's perfect, and both of my fishermen can appreciate it.

i heart

this weekend...

i love the sight of: hearts in every sense, icy tree branches glistening in the daylight, snowmen {real and fake}, Buby up on his tippy toes trying to feed the fish by himself, our 2 Christmas trees glowing in the dark, Buby telling me what we're going to play with as he walks down the stairs with me first thing in the morning--his hair sticking straight up, Christmas cards peeking out from all the bills and catalogs in our mailbox, Buby's crafts drying on the table, a gift certificate from Buby's Daddy for a facial and a pea-in-a-pod massage!

i love the sound of: bells ringing, church choirs singing, Christmas CDs playing in the kitchen, a 4th grade chorus putting a hip-hop spin on classic tunes for Santa at the town park, Buby real laughing when I read in my Mater voice, Buby fake laughing and playing footsie with Lillian at Panera Bread

i love the scent of: rain, unfinished wood, everything bagels double toasted with melted butter, hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and Cool Whip, wood-burning fireplaces, baby powder, Buby after a shower

i love the taste of: homemade shepherd's pie, steaks and roasted potatoes cooked just right, Tipperary cheese, jelly-filled sugar cookies, chocolate covered crackers and peanut butter kiss cookies all from friends, peach-flavored vitamin water, sizzling hot tomato-basil sauce

i love the feel of: nothing on the agenda, a new game of catch with Buby {in which we toss the ball while on our backs with our feet touching up in the air}, going to bed with Buby's Daddy {instead of staying up late to get things done}, crossing items off my to-do list anyway, keeping surprises {which I could never do as a kid}, knowing Buby is growing up happy

image: flickr

Tree Lighting Magic

Buby & Co. made it to a tree-lighting ceremony last night. Daddy surprised us on the early train, so we quick stuffed our bellies, dressed real warm and headed out together. Buby met up with his friends Hannah & Cooper there, and we all cheered as Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived on a honking firetruck. Much to our delight, they brought Frosty, Rudolph, and Nutracker along for the ride. We counted down 10-9-8-7 until the tree was lit. Children from a nearby elementary school sang, and then Buby changed his mind twice and decided not to sit on Santa's lap. Guess he figures he already got his order in for the year... why repeat himself.

image: google

Tigers, Oh My

It seems Buby has developed a funny fear of tigers. Yes, tigers. We're not sure how it happened, but it keeps popping up in daily life.

Case 1: Buby and I were driving on a bridge over a wooded area. It's a route we've taken dozens of times. Staring out his window he yelled "BUBY NO FALL DOWN THERE!" I reassured him I was driving safely on the road and he would not fall down there. Then I asked him why he was thinking about that. He said, "TIGERS DOWN THERE. TIGERS EAT ME." Oh, okay. Random. I explained that there were no tigers... they are beautiful animals, but they live in zoos or in the wild. There is nothing to fear.

Case 2: The next night he woke up out of a deep sleep screaming. Buby never has nightmares, so we sprinted to his side. Buby claimed he saw tigers. They were trying to get him. Again, we reassured our little guy there was nothing to be scared of. We showed him pictures of Tiger in his Winnie the Poo collection. He fell back asleep. But he has since had 2 more mini tiger traumas at night.

Case 3: A few days later, Buby hung Mike & John {his hometown hero figurines} from the back of his dump truck while we were playing cars. They looked hilarious hanging by their hands like mountain climbers. I asked, "Hey Buby, what are Mike & John doing?" He replied, "HANGING ON SO TIGERS WON'T GET THEM!" What?

Case 4: This morning I showed Buby a beautiful image of a tiger, and he responded "TIGERS SCARY, TIGERS BITE!" Then he piled all of his Little People into the highest tower of his parking garage and said, "DON'T WORRY MICHAEL, DON'T WORRY SONYA LEE. TIGERS WON'T GET YOU. IT'LL BE OKAY." Wow. Who told him this? We certainly never did. I've seen every book, moving image, and real-life tiger Buby has seen. We briefly passed by tigers at the Bronx Zoo in July, and we saw them again in Florida in early October, but he wasn't at all frightened. We might have said, "Don't put your fingers in the cage.. tigers can bite." But that would've come after lots of oohing and aahing at the creature's beauty. The baby tigers were adorable! The same day we got very close to an alligator in a boat, so I doubt he cared much about the tiger. And it was a full 2 months later before his first nightmare. Anyway, I'll keep wondering what started it all. And by the time I figure it out, he'll be over it.

artwork: dkimages

Twinkle Drives

Buby and I like to drive around this time of year to "OOH" and "AHH" at all the lighting displays. When there's a big one coming up {like moving reindeer inside a snow globe}, I shout out whose side it's on and watch Buby frantically switch gears! I love hearing him say "WOW, MAMA, LOOK!" or "REALLY PRETTY!" Last night was supposed to be extra groovy. Our village was scheduled for a Starlight Festival and tree lighting ceremony, and Daddy was home to join us. We loaded into the car around 6PM to head to the ceremonies. Not 3 minutes later, I turned back and Buby was sound asleep. Totally out. Suddenly it went from raining to pouring. But we're hardcore, so we pulled into the festivity site twice to see if it was still happening. We had nowhere else we needed to be on this Sunday night, so My Sweets and I decided to keep driving. For about an hour we drove up and down side streets just catching up and admiring the Christmas spirit around us. We laughed a lot! And Buby slept through it all. This is my favorite tree in our village. It just sparkles.

Simple Pleasures

Barefoot Princess, LP, Munchkinetta + Buby all obsessed with a tiny train around a tree. Simple pleasures are the best kind, aren't they? Buby and I really look forward to the happy chaos that is our standing twice-a-month playdate. These 4 friends have done A LOT of growing up together, as silly as that sounds at their age. But they do more than eat + play and eat + play on these fantastical Friday mornings. It's an opportunity for them to put into practice basics that we work on at home. Regular playdates really test their patience, flexibility, sensitivities, and self control. Of course, there are always small fires to put out with a group as passionate as this one. But today brought many impressive exchanges. Sweet sweet moments. Bonding. Team efforts. And most important, laughter. Laughter trumps all else. Thank you to Allison for letting us do a number on your clean house. Which looks beautiful at holiday time, by the way. Us moms swapped cookies today, and I came home with the most YUM YUM assortment. As we pulled out of the driveway, Buby yelled "BYE FRIENDS" from his car seat. I almost cried.

Little Billy Buttercup

Happy Happy 26th to my itty bitty bro. Okay, he's way bigger than me. But he'll always be my younger sib. And the baby in the family. The first 26 things that come to mind when I hear "BILLY"...

1. He has a quick sense of humor and makes me laugh when I don't want to
2. He is passionate about family things, about love things, about life
3. He is wise beyond his years in some ways and a total kid in others
4. He is a romantic and a traditional (almost to a fault}
5. He is hardworking and stubborn, like all the men in my family
6. He has no fear, except for fear itself
7. He is pretty fun to travel and camp with
8. He is a giggling, on-the-floor-with-you uncle to all of his nephews + niece
9. He has burned his taste buds and covers everything in hot sauce
10. He will take any dare {please don't dare him}
11. He eats every meal as if it's his last {especially at Mom's house}
12. He is a devoted son, brother, brother-in-law, boyfriend + uncle
13. He will, someday, make a wonderful father
14. He has good taste and decorates with a feminine sensibility
15. He is the consummate football, baseball, basketball star
16. He is uber sentimental. I saved his handmade card from my wedding
17. He is crafty for a man. He made Buby a custom rocking chair one Xmas
18. He will watch a movie start to finish, rewind and watch it again
19. He is a surprisingly good dancer at weddings
20. He will sing and play guitar for Buby on demand
21. He still has the baby face he had as a child
22. He has dished out $60 for a t-shirt at Abercrombie {ridiculous!}
23. He rarely wears suits or ties, and that suits him just fine
24. He always wanted to be an archaeologist when he grew up
25. He wanted to study volcanoes later and teach earth science
26. He knows a lot about rocks and stuff

Old Photo Friday

Mom + Dad + brother Billy. Fall of 2000, Mansfield University. I'm not a football fan, but I am a Billy fan. My Sweets and I were working {nonstop} in the city, and we only made it to 1 of his college ball games. This one.

Bebe's First Booties

Are these the cutest shoes you've ever seen? YES, they are. Perfect for a springtime girl. She isn't even here yet, and she's got her first outfit, her first hat, and now her first pair of booties. She may not know it yet, but PINK & GREEN are so her. The other day at breakfast, Buby's galpal Lillian handed him a teeny tiny gift bag and said, "FOR YOUR SISTER." It was a precious exchange. Thank you to Lillian and her mama for the lovely gift.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Late last night we heard a thump on our front porch. Jazzy started barking {she's a great guard dog}. Gavin woke up crying {just for a minute}, and our neighbor {a recently retired NYC cop} leaped onto the porch just as a mystery car sped off. He was very concerned about a suspicious package left by the door. Buby's Daddy assured him it was fine, but we didn't really know. Turns out St. Nicholas left us a surprise on the eve of his feast. How very exciting! Yes, we peeked inside. But when we saw a wrapped gift addressed to Buby, we put it back together. This was Buby's to open. As soon as he woke up this morning, I threw the bag back out on the porch and grabbed a sweater and hat for him. We walked downstairs, and I said "Did you hear that??" He said "HEAR WHAT?" I said "That noise outside." We opened the door. "OH WOW!" he shouted. He pulled the bow-tied pillowcase in and began to inspect. His first words... "ORANGES, MAMA, ORANGES!!" There were 3 clementines. Then he saw Santa cookies and pistachios, a bar of Toblerone {which totally gives away the friend who pulled off this surprise!}, a tree branch {now sitting pretty on our mantel}, and a wrapped something. Buby handed it to me and said, "MAMA, READ ME THE BOOK!" He hadn't even opened it yet. I said, "How do you know it's a book?" Unwrapping revealed not just 1, but 2 books. Buby screamed "WOW, LOTS O BOOKS, MAMA, LOTS O BOOKS!!!" It was "Tootle" and "The Little Red Caboose," two Little Golden Books we did not have. And read immediately. So THANK YOU St. Nicholas!

Buby's first December 6th surprise! I see a tradition brewing. I've heard of kids putting carrots in their shoes before bed on the 5th and placing them on the hearth or outside their bedroom doors. The next morning the shoe is magically filled with treats from St. Nick.

Buby tries desperately to get at the loot. Alas, he realizes by pulling both ends of the bow it unravels quite nicely. Then he drags it into the playroom and dumps it onto the floor.

Feast of St. Nicholas

Happy 6th! Read more about the Christian saint here. There are LOTS of fun projects and coloring pages and prayers for children you can print.

Until Tomorrow...

Yesterday was kind of crazy between errands and preschool and swim class, none close to home. After dinner I struggled to vacuum 2/3 floors before putting Buby to bed, but I'm glad I did it. This morning I must shower both me & baby, take Jazzy out, water the tree, menu plan for us and for a kids holiday party, finish addressing an enormous stack of Christmas cards, hit the post office for stamps and boxes to mail a package, grocery shop for the next week, tour a Waldorf preschool for 3s at 12pm and participate in story time there, zoom zoom over to a drs appt for my flu shot, p/u a photo order at one store, return snow pants at another, clean bathrooms, empty dishwasher, hang Buby's clothes in closet, fold and put away lights and darks, wash towels, wrap more gifts, organize my dressing room {chaos!}, set up Buby to craft more ornaments for people, choose a cookie recipe for a swap on Friday, and clear out all the boxes and office papers from our soon-to-be nursery so the installer can get in there tomorrow with the new windows. I also have to get into the attic to prepare MANY bags for the Salvation Army this week. Doubt it'll happen between the inevitable missed nap, playtime, eating, and books. Last week I took out about 50 lbs of old baby-related boxes to recycle {which Daddy broke down for me}, so there's more room to move now. We're already behind schedule. Until tomorrow...

Swim Buby Swim

Buby had a fantabulous swim class yesterday. Some weeks are better than others, and this was a good one. We go to the Y, and our instructor this session has no clue. It's sort of a d-i-y. Buby's class just started using 4-layer bubbles around the kids' wastes. So many are kicking and paddling on their own now next to their moms. It's so cool to see. Buby loves the water, but wearing the bubble makes him nervous. He does NOT want me to let go 100%. No problem jumping into the pool from the side or going under briefly, but he doesn't trust that the bubble will keep him up. He's been in lessons since he was 6 months old and laughs out loud the entire class. So it's only a matter of time before he's in his cozy zone again. Yesterday, Miss Beth and I discovered the magic word {for Buby} is "RUN." Lately when I tell him to kick and paddle, he picks just one... or opts for neither. But as soon as we yelled "RUN" he was a mad man! He was literally sprinting across the pool. And paddling in a vertical position at the same time. I was holding onto the back of his bubble for support, but when he was in full "RUN" mode, he didn't need me at all.