Christmas Magic

I was making Bailey practice her writing yesterday, which I haven't done in a while. She gets so frustrated if it's not perfect and always starts to whine and cry. When I told her to just do the best she can she tells me "Mom, I'm only four! I need to get bigger first!" Ha! So dramatic.

Foster has taken to hiding our stuff in the couch and chair cushions. Today we found the TV remote, a sippy cup, my cell phone case, and Jeremy's watch. He also has taken to hitting and throwing heavy objects at people. I recently took a sippy cup to the eye. Ouch. We've started putting him in time-out but I can tell already he's going to be a challenge to discipline. He doesn't take his parents very seriously. It's so hard to stay stern with him smiling and hugging you and saying "Mommy".

It's going to be a quieter Christmas this year. It's just the four of us for Christmas day but we are excited about skyping with the family. Christmas eve we'll have our neighbors over for a ham dinner. I wish there was snow but it doesn't look like that's going to happen so we may even drive up to the mountains for a little snowball fight. I can't wait to watch the kids open their gifts. I probably went a little overboard but I just found so many things that I thought they'd like this year.

Ahhh, the magic of Christmas. One of Bailey's friends has been raised to believe that there is no Santa Claus. He told Bailey that Santa wasn't real. It didn't phase her though. She even asked how Santa was getting into the house since we didn't have a fireplace anymore. I told her he'll just come through the door. In a world that is obsessed with reality I fully intend to fill my kids heads with dilutions of elves, flying reindeer, giant egg-hiding bunnies, and tooth fairies. I see absolutely nothing wrong with feeding the fantasy. Some people may call it lying but I think it's just creating a magical world full of fun and happiness. Kids figure it all out on their own with time and aren't damaged by discovering truth. At least I never was. I was grateful for all those stories and memories. I'm thankful for my parents putting the effort into keeping that magic alive for us. It's tradition; it's building imaginations; it's just plain fun. That "little kid magic" is only alive for such a brief period of time in our lives. I plan on enjoying it with kids a second time around.