It’s no secret that I LOVE christmas 
. This week has been packed with decorating, baking and christmas shopping.
The boys finding the perfect spot for their decorations. This lasted about 5 minutes before Carter just started throwing the ornaments into the tree.
Special ornaments:
Hubby’s grandmother knitted these
My grandmother made these.
In a week we went from this:
To this:
Now I don’t normally start to decorate for christmas until December 1st but it seems so fitting to do it when the first real snow fall comes. It feels christmas-y. So, decorations are out and being placed in their spots around the house. I’ll save the tree for December 1st.
Get out the hot chocolate, hats & mitts, flannel sheets, warm sweaters, toboggans……… the snow is here
I just came back from the post office. My ornament for the ornament swap is on it’s way. In about 8 days the recipient should get it .
I’m sooooo excited.
How do you explain death/dying to a 3.5 year old?
Cooper’s been asking questions lately like “what street does my poppy live on?” which is telling me he’s majorly wondering where he’s gone. We didn’t explain it to him when he died because he was 2 and I didn’t know how to tell a 2 year old so that it would make sense. It’s still no different with him beign 3.5. I’m not sure what I believe about what comes after death and that’s why I’m hesitant on what to say that’s appropriate for his age. What have you told your kids? or what were you told as a child?
That’s my vision now without glasses. YEAH! The procedure was quick and painless all though weird.
In checking my liscense to see if I need to have it corrected I learned that I’ve been driving with an expired liscence. Good one. So off I go first thing tomorrow to get that all straightened out.
Sorry- better post coming.
How was all of your weekends?
Today is the day I’m getting my eyeballs cut open and lasered. Sounds good huh?
I’m nervous but know everything will be okay. I won’t be able to use the computer for at least 24 hrs so no wild parties while I’m gone okay?
This is a fabulous book : Birth Order by Kevin Leman
I’m not finished it yet but it has almost everyone I know nailed as to their personality and their birth order. A lot of “aha” moments reading this one. It’s also brought some light to my little dear angel boys. But I still have yet to understand or wait that’s the wrong word becuase I do understand it…. let’s say… I still am not at a point where it doesn’t frustrate me. This whole sibling rivalry. I swear some days one of them wakes up and decides in the first moments upon waking that the whole rest of the day is going to be tormenting the other one. I watch it unfold, the moving one step closer to the chair so the other can’t get on it. Or the putting of his hand over the WHOLE crayon cup so the other can’t get one. Ot the running for a toy that he has no interest in just because he saw his brother eye it and start to go for it. And it’s both of them equally doing it to each other. I’ve gotten some fantastic advice that usually works when I put it to use but it still frustrates me when it’s happening. I have a hard time stepping back and letting them squabble it out themselves when it’s so one sided sometimes. I hate playing referee but I find myself in that role some days. Like they’re drawing me into it. Which is exactly what it is. Them teaming up to get my attention. It’s just hard to enter into the teaching or modeled behaviour mode as opposed to mom making sure it’s fair and even all the time.
There is 7 years difference between my sister and I so this kind of fighting never really happened. We were always into totally different stages and levels of play. According to the book, I show a lot more only child characteristics than I do oldest child. Also, girls are different than boys. Girls aren’t as physical. We’re more manipulative and grudge holding I think.
How many of you have siblings? Did you sometimes fight endlessly with them too?
So our spell of summer temperatures has broken and we’re now sitting at a chilly -3 and had a few flurries today. Cooper has been on a “what’s your favorite thing about…?” tangent (sp?) lately and one of his things that he asked about was christmas. What is my favorite thing about christmas? Well, there are soooo many things but I said that it was decorating the christmas tree. I think that’s why I got so excited to join this.
It is almost the middle of November and it’s time to start getting into the holiday season groove. So to help do that here’s some pics from years past of my favorite things of this season:
The fireplace all done up with stockings and letters and old keep sakes and hand made delicate ornaments.
The hard work and dedication that goes into gingerbread houses.
And the snow fall. “They’re” saying we’re not going to have as much snow as last year but part of me does hope they are wrong. I LOVE the snow.
I even got married in it
What is your favorite thing about the holiday season?
We are a green household. I am always looking for new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. It can be hard sometimes though as green can be expensive.
I was looking for places that sell recycled christmas cards yesterday and man…. everything I found was sooo expensive. We did do picture cards for close friends and family but for all of hubby’s work mates, I’d like to give them a card. But here’s my thing: no one I know keeps christmas cards so I know they’ll *hopefully* go into recycling.
Here’s an interesting stat I found in looking for “green” cards:
“One of the biggest sources of waste each Christmas is wrapping paper, with more than 8,000 tonnes being used each year – the equivalent of approximately 50,000 trees”
Yikes. that’s a lot of trees.
So, I’m asking you internets…… what do you do for christmas cards?
Talking to Cooper this afternoon during “rest time” and he says to me “is my poppy going to be at Nanny’s today? I want to see my poppy”.
I was completely thrown. Where? Where did he get that from? Why is he asking about him?
My dad has been gone for almost 2 years now. Cooper was almost 2 years old when he died. Dad died on February 28th, 2007 and Cooper turned 2 March 18. It was hard having his birthday that year as the loss was still like open wounds to all of us. I shed a lot of tears that day. My dad loved Cooper more than I can explain. He was so happy to have a boy in the family. He was sooo happy to be a grandfather. I saw my dad in a new light when he became a grandfather.
So when Cooper asked me if he would be at my mom’s house today, I was stuck for words. We never really explained and still haven’t really, about death. I’m not sure what I want to tell him about it that won’t freak him out or worry him. He’s almost 4 now but I still don’t know what’s age appropriate or even appropriate for him. I asked him if he remember Poppy and he said yes, he did. That came as a bit of a surprise as I’ve talked about him before or showed him pictures and asked him if he knew who that was and he said no.
As I walked into my mom’s house this afternoon, I could hear my dad as if he were right in front of me “Hey, there’s my buddy. How’s my little man doing?”. And all though I’m crying as I type this, it made me feel warm inside when I was there. Made me feel like he’s still with us, all though not physically.
