Cell Phones...

The best part about getting the oldest a cell phone for Christmas is sitting next to him on the couch and getting ridiculous texts from him while I work on stuff for school.

The real best part is the fact that I got a text message from him this afternoon when he went to visit a friend down the street letting me know where he was.

I love that kid...

Success!!

We got the oldest a cell phone for Christmas. Hid it in his stocking, called it after he opened all of his other presents and suprised the holy crap out of him. Yesterday, he left the house with his dad to get haircuts (and apparently to purchase my Christmas present), so the little one and I set to work on adding phone numbers to his phone book, taking a picture of the dog and making it his screensaver and selecting just the right ring tone for the oldest to hear resounding from his stocking on Christmas morning. I think he hugged me for 3 whole minutes. We've got it on tape, so I can watch it again and again. Excellent.

The little one was surprised with a Wii and has been in the basement singing along with High School Musical 2 for the past half hour. I've already been for my walk, showered, dressed for the day - yes, I do look hot, if you're wondering - and made a killer breakfast. Literally...there was a whole pound of bacon and 14 link sausages for 4 people. I also made some amazing french toast. Thank you Alton Brown for the recipe. (I did switch out the half and half for skim milk and added cinnamon as well, you know, for my own special touch). Dad is on the couch taking a nap, the sounds of a drowning racoon - the little one singing "All for One" at the top of her lungs - coming up from the basement and the oldest texting his heart out...and, we went to church last night. All of this before noon, and grandma's house awaits for this afternoon's festivities.

It all adds up to a successful Christmas for me. Hope yours is just as great.

'Tis the Season

Each year after Thanksgiving, I make a list of all the stuff I need to do for the next holiday. For some reason, I'm bent on making fantastic memories for my kids. I put a lot of effort into planning fun things during the holidays so that they'll remember this time of year fondly and not stress-filled...and I also work to make sure they know it's not all about the presents.

That last part is difficult for me, honestly, because I freaking love getting presents. Plus, I'm easy as hell to buy for...a pack of glitter pens will fill me with glee...a couple packs of stickers and I'm thrilled...a candle that smells like cinnamon - money! So, I have to squash the anticipation I have regarding the gifts I'll get so that I can help the kids get a little more out of the season. I try to point out to the kids that they've got things pretty good...lots of stuff, a great family, nice home, good school...all the essentials. I try to do this on a regular basis, but especially during this time of the year.

This Saturday was my annual attempt at getting the kids to understand the whole "we've got things pretty good and so we should share our wealth a little with those who aren't as fortunate as we are" thing. It's an easy enough chore - one would think - just after Thanksgiving, we go to the chariable functions table after mass and sign up for a family. Usually, we try to get a family like ours...two kids, a mom and a dad, etc. and then we buy them nonperishable food for Christmas dinner and a bunch of staples to make their grocery shopping a little less expensive. Plus, the little one and I like to throw a couple of special things in the box(es) as well. A nice holiday candle, chocolates, fun stuff gets thrown in as well. The difficulty with this year's attempt was the fact that there was no night this week when the entire family was free to go shopping. There were plenty of days that I had time, but not coinciding with the kids...and then what am I teaching them?

I finally settled for just taking the little one with me while the oldest was at a birthday party. The oldest got to help pack the boxes and label them and load the car for the next day...it was going to have to do.

Sigh.

I remember when my biggest concern was making sure the kids were kept alive. And while that's still a concern and something I want to continue to occur...now I worry about working to make them good people too. I don't know that I've actually accomplished that for myself and now I have two kids to whom I have to set an example and teach how to be good citizens in their world. The most difficult thing is the fact that I won't know if I accomplished the whole good citizen thing for another 10 years or so...

I'll get back to you on it...