It is all about the Wiggles

(Image from: http://talesfromthedad.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/the-freakin-wiggles-austrailas-greatest-musical-export/)

 

No, not those Wiggles.  Those are the creepy, insane wiggles that we thankfully managed to avoid completely in our early parenting years.  There is always the threat that they may come to haunt us in our later parenting years so beware.  But I digress.

 

It is mid-November which means that Christmas season has already descended upon us.  If you've ever lived in the South you've probably had the joy of driving through love bugs.  Christmas season is like that.  It is annoying, it is everywhere, and while you should be celebrating the love you're really just cursing being inundated and bombarded with it and then feeling slightly guilty that you just aren't embracing the love, which makes you angrier and so on.

 

The boyos are 7 & almost 10 now.  Thankfully, they still believe in Santa Claus.  That's a plus and something we really do treasure.  Unfortunately, what I shall now call "The Christmas Love Bugs" have descended.  Well-meaning relatives who are already hounding us for lists and so on.  You want to love them but you can't help but curse their jingle belled persistence.

As most parents are, we're trying to juggle the balance: find out what we want, what is important to us, how to instill those values onto our kids while shielding them from Christmas Love Bugs and general commercialization (would that be the Christmas Dragon???  Is that unfairly vilifying dragons??).

So today we had a talk about the wiggles.  And no, not THOSE Wiggles.  The wiggles that the season should fill you with.  Here's what we came up with:

1) Thanksgiving is the meal that fills you up with warm food, fuzzy love feelings, and stocks your body with nutrients necessary to support the upcoming WIGGLES.

2) You know that feeling you get when you've thought of a really great gift idea for someone?  And you're just so friggin' excited because you simply know what an absolutely awesome idea it is?  Are you starting to get filled with giddiness?  If so, then my friend, you have the WIGGLES. 

 

Isn't that what gift giving should be about?  The "EEEEE HEE HEE" excitement fueled wiggly deliciousness where it is so awesome and it is just killing you to keep it a secret because you can't wait to see their face?  It is about the Wiggles. 

And, yes, you can get the Wiggles knowing that someone is thinking about YOU just like that!!!  THAT is definitely Wiggle inducing!!! 

Yes, the holiday season is absolutely about more than just gifts.  It is about traditions, hopefully happy ones.  And if you don't have happy ones, then you need to make some!!
For us it is about food: gingerbread cookies, sausage balls, Chex Mix, and the promise that Mommy will get candy canes to put in your hot cocoa.  It is about driving around at night looking at all the lights while listening to Christmas music and singing along.  It is about getting the tree from the same place we get the tree every year.  Then decorating it.  Then cursing when it falls over and invariably our (Mommy's) favorite ornaments break.  It is about Mommy going a little insane with sparkly nail polish.  And .. most importantly, it is about our annual (this will the 10th one!!) Christmas Eve Open House party where we invite friends and family to drop by most anytime and have a good time.  ---- and then when Mommy and Daddy try to remember that staying up late having an alcohol induced good time isn't the wisest of ideas when the kids wake up at the crack of friggin' dawn. 
It is about coming together on cold nights to find beauty and love and happiness and alcohol and treats.

That, my friends, is the Wiggles.  It is about the Wiggles. 

So .. if you start getting stressed, think about what fills you with wiggly-happiness.  Embrace that.  If your past traditions have left your with a sour taste, toss them out and start some new ones.  Embrace it and be wiggly!!!


A Magical Yule Beginning

Unless you live under a rock you are aware of the total Lunar Eclipse that occurred in the wee hours of the morning, which is also the Winter Solstice. This hasn't happened in 372 years (1638) and won't happen again until 2094. Since you are reading this, you obviously don't live under a rock (and if you do, I am very impressed by your wireless server!).

The boys and I spent yesterday learning a little bit about lunar eclipses. Basically they learned that it is caused by the Earth casting a shadow on the Moon because the Earth is between the Sun & Moon. Shannon will be 7 in January & Tristan is 4 1/2. I don't expect them to grasp much more of this, especially since I had to look up the info to be certain of what I was telling them.
We also talked about how long it has been since the last total Lunar Eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice and how long it will be until the next one. I told them that, if they're lucky, they might be alive to view the next one. I tried to explain why Justin & I wouldn't and how nobody on our planet now was alive for the last one. Those were more difficult concepts for them to grasp.



Shannon found a scrap piece of paper yesterday and created this for me, without me being near/over him or knowing what he was creating. This is what I love about homeschooling & unschooling.

We went outside last night, and like so many people saw only clouds. Although we would've love to seen the actually Moon & eclipse, we weren't saddened. We still woke up the boys and, with them in our arms, wandered out onto our deck to gaze at the reddish sky for a while. It was beautiful. Magical. Dark. Softly glowing red. The air filled our lungs and bodies. We knew so many other people were outside, gazing up with us, and we felt connected to them all. A sense of awe spread through us. We felt loved and whole.

I am saddened to read comments on Facebook this morning of disgruntled people who also saw the clouds but didn't see the beauty. There is a saying 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink' and I suppose this holds true now. You can look upwards and still not see the beauty.

The Winter Solstice also marks the beginning of Yule. Different people celebrate this in different ways. It is an ancient celebration that has, like so many other ancient ways, been melded into modern celebrations. From now until the 1st of January will be the 12 days of the Yule celebration, more commonly now known as the 12 days of Christmas.

Holiday songs fill my head right now. Particularly I have James Taylor singing 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' playing in my head. I will share it with you.



Whatever you choose to celebrate, if you choose to celebrate, know that we are all connected. As we stood outside and breathed in the night air, we felt our breathes in sync with all of you.

Happy Yule Y'all.

Ho ho fucking ho.

Tis the Season.

After my annual holiday freak-out the other day (no, I haven't blogged about that one) I decided I needed to make up for it. I was going to decorate out front some. Justin would come home and be amazed at how beautiful the house (or at least the outside of it) was. The neighbors would be in awe. Cars would drive slowly by just to gaze at the merriment of decor. Martha Stewart would soon be calling for tips and I'd be featured in Better Homes & Gardens.

I begin hanging large, colorful decorations from the tree out front. As is customary whenever we are outside for more than five minutes and our evil neighbor is home, she comes outside, picks up a stray stick or two, and then leaves. She drives the opposite direction from our house. ~ I take this as a sign that the beauty of my Christmas decorating must be working as the Grinch has felt the need to flee it's cave.

Then the kids get up. First Shannon and I foolishly think that I can finish the last of my decorating (for now) while he stays inside. HA!! Then, because I don't ever seem to learn, I foolishly think that maybe Shannon and I can sneak outside while I finish the rest of this decorating while Tristan sleeps. Even bigger HA!!!! -- actually, I think I peed a little laughing at that last one.

Shannon willingly & eagerly gets on socks, shoes, & a coat, though we argue about which coat. Tristan begins whining when he can't find the socks that he took off during nap. Apparently they've become invisible. He's walking around, jacket over his shoulder, barefoot. I tell him to get everything on and come outside when he's done. = Mistake #1. This will never happen, we all know it won't, it will take several interruptions & back and forths before he is actually capable of joining us outside.

Mistake #2 & this is the doozy one: I clip a leash to a bouncy Foster and hand the other end to Shannon. I expect this to go well. After all, they're only supposed to be coming out on the front porch, sitting down, and watching me finish this last little bit of wrapping the columns. What could go wrong?? I mean, how could handing responsibility of a 125lb puppy to an almost 7 year old kid, who can't sit still either and weighs 60lbs, possibly go wrong?!?
On one of my trips back inside to help Tristan get fully dressed, Foster decides to follow me. There goes the little tree near the front door. Luckily no damage done.
Then Foster finds a pumpkin to play with. Yes, a pumpkin. Big dogs play with big toys. Anyway, I think this might be ok because he'll lay there and play with it while I quickly finish. I've already told Shannon to not try and take him into the front yard.

....... I have my back turned.

The pumpkin Foster is playing with goes rolling into the mulch. He goes after it. Shannon decides he doesn't like standing on the porch anymore, and since Foster has gone into the mulch he decides to go stand in the yard.

So - have you ever seen a puppy/dog get real wound up?? I mean REALLY wound up? You know, where they start running around in near circles like their butt is on fire?? And they're kinda bouncing in the middle of all of it?

Well, this is what I turn around to see, as I hear Shannon let out a cry. Foster has gotten all excited and wound up. He is running around in circles, circles that overlap Shannon who is still holding the leash but is now on the ground. I tell Shannon to let go of the leash & get up. I get Foster's leash but he's now in the insane gremlin mode. I have to tackle him and pin him down into some form of submission. I now lose my cool.

I growl at Shannon that I told him not to go in the yard, that I've warned him about trying to play with big dogs, & to go inside. I give Foster a bad dog whap and drag him inside & into his crate. I come outside and then growl at Tristan to go inside as well. I say things I regret. I contemplate burning down the house, or at least the column that I am trying to finish wrapping. I hear Martha Stewart putting me on the "do not call" list and Better Homes and Gardens finding someone else. I hear the neighbor's gossiping "those poor kids!" I hear someone saying "then why did she get a big dog?" - I think it is Shannon's voice in my head on that one. I am sad and beaten.

I finish the final column and drag all my decorating supplies inside and put them away. I hear the kids in on the computer, listening to Mister Rogers. I don't know why, but it induces a child-like cry from me. A "yes, everything is bad and wrong, please say something soothing and make it all better" type of cry. That doesn't happen though. I go change pants and toss my jeans, now covered in grass and dirt from tackling the dog, into the wash. I curse myself for losing my cool. For not seeing it all coming. For blaming it on anyone other than myself.

And that is how you know the holidays have officially begun. Tis the Season.

Yes, Virginia

Today I just want to share a link to a blog I follow. http://domesticwitch.blogspot.com/2009/12/yes-virginia-there-is-santa-claus.html

I've read this before, and I love it dearly. I grew up in Virginia and, even though I knew it wasn't so, I somehow always thought the "Virginia" he was speaking to was the State. Somehow I still hear it that way.

I'm posting this to follow-up yesterday's more angry-toned blog.

Believe, love, dream, be kind, be happy, be young at heart, be blessed.

Seasonal Bitchin'

This time of year there is a lot of bitchin. In fact, I think it would stand to reason that there is more bitching about the Season ... or rather the Holidays, than there is actual celebration of the Holidays & Season. And, when that is the case, something just ain't right folks.



~Our "little" tree, all decorated & lit up. The golden glow around it is from the Leg Lamp in the other corner of the room~

Above is our "little" Christmas tree. We have really tall ceilings, and so tall, tall trees are a "must have." Financially this means we stick with white pines because they're cheaper. This year there seems to be a very limited supply of them, and tall they aren't. Ours is still 8' or so, but it just seems tiny in the front room. *waaahhhh* When we began decorating it, we realized this tree's branches were particularly thin and weak, meaning most ornaments are actually hung on the wire of the lights. We ended up only putting one box of ornaments on the tree. *waaaahh* GET OVER IT!!!!
Why do I need to get over it? One, this little tree turned out to be a blessing. This year our dogs are indoor dogs for the first time. More ornaments to attract nosy dogs is something we do NOT need. Also, really importantly, this was the first year we've let the kids help decorate the tree. Our kids are 5 1/2 and 3. We made it through the one box with only one broken ornament, and I think it was just that ornament's time, not so much a slip of hands. But, again, more ornaments were not needed. Decorating with the kids was wonderful, albeit a few "AACCK!! Don't touch THAT ornament!!!" moments since we have several ornaments that are glass and were blown by friends. Decorating the tree should be one of those positive family memories. Let's just stick with the one box before we end up killing each other, ok? Ahh .. happiness.



Pardon me for going all third person here, but Mama Taney is sick of this Seasonal Bitchin'. Really. There should be signs that say "Tis the Season to Bitch and Moan." And Mama Taney ain't havin' it no more!!!
We're ALL broke, ok?? Even million-ba-jillionaires, I'm sure, are complaining and whining because they don't have enough money right now to afford luxury, solid gold, diamond encrusted crappers for everyone on their list. It really doesn't matter how much money you have this time of year, because in your eyes, you don't have enough.And that isn't the fucking point!!! It isn't about money! It's about trying to survive having to be around all your relatives without going insane and starting WWIII. Just kidding. It's about trying to be grateful for those insane relatives because it means you're LOVED. That someone out there in this big blue world is thinking about you and loves you. And you love them. *pardon me while I get my tissue*


After the tree was decorated and the kids were in bed, there was a knock on the door. Due to recent issues with knocks on doors I was more ready to call the cops than curious as to whom might be calling. It was Boy Scouts collecting non-perishable, canned goods for the needy. I gave them organic green beans. Our cupboards might not be over-flowing, but they certainly aren't bare, and even people who can't afford to buy their food deserve to eat organic food.


And there is the other point of the season. To remember that you're warm and safe and the biggest thing you have to do is bitch about the credit card bills you've chosen to rack up to buy gifts. That you have a roof over your head and food in your cupboards. That you have shoes on your feet. That your children are safe and in their beds (or wherever yours may be), but that they're safe, and healthy, and that you're know that they are and you're not praying that they were alive with you this year, or that they can be moved out of the ICU, and so on.

~My kids, meeting Santa, in the snow. I know you've seen this before, but it still oozes of Christmas Spirit when I see it and makes me smile~

It is nearly impossible to not get wrapped up in the commercialization of it all, I know that. I've started throwing catalogs away without looking at them, deleting emails without looking at them. And it feels great .. a weight lifted off my shoulders. Pass the chex mix please!

If you can't get over it, then let me know. I want to make sure to stay the hell away from you this holiday season.

Ye Olde Salem Christmas

This past Friday was Salem's Christmas Parade. We always go down there, bundling up in many, many layers and taking blankets to sit on & wrap around us. We normally take hot cocoa, but this year it was accidentally left at home. Justin's family has been coming over and watching the parade with us for the last few years ~ a really nice tradition to have.
The day after the parade is always "Ye Olde Salem Christmas." There are activities going on between the Farmer's Market and Longwood Park, but we usually just walk down past the Market and to the library where the real treat is: a visit with Santa Claus!
Every year the Santa & Mrs Claus visit the Salem Public Library. You can sit on his lap and have your photo taken, or you can take your own photo ~ and, of course, you get to tell him what you want! Mrs. Claus reads Christmas stories to the kids elsewhere in the library and there are areas for crafts and letter-writing set-up.
It is always a special time, but this year was made even more special by the fact that ... it SNOWED! We only got a dusting down here, but the timing couldn't have been better!

So, we bundled up in our warm clothes and walked the couple blocks to the library as the snow came down all around us. As we neared the library we spotted a very familiar, but wonderfully surprising sight.


~What to our wondering eyes should appear?~

Santa was outside the library! We talked with him, certain that he must've brought the sudden snow with him, down from the North Pole. Seriously, flowers are in bloom here.


~Budding pink roses covered in the sudden snow~


~The boys posing with Santa as it snows all around~

After seeing Santa outside we headed indoors to look for new books to check out, and return already read ones. We love our library, it kicks some serious library butt! We then waited for our turn to sit on Santa's lap.


~Sitting on Santa's lap~


~Telling Santa what they want for Christmas~


~Listening to Mrs. Claus read a Christmas-time story~

On our way home we walked back by the Farmer's Market. I took more photos of things going on there. Of locally grown veggies and locally made crafts, of wreaths and greenery of all sorts. We got some hot apple cider, definitely a perfectly timed treat!
By the time the boys got up from their naps the snow had pretty much stopped. Today it is already all gone, with only the cold weather and wilted flowers serving as a reminder.
Living in this area of the country, snow is no longer a guaranteed thing. White Christmases are very, very rare. I remember when I was little, getting Christmas trees and there being snow on the ground, but that is rarely the case anymore.
The snow this past Saturday, however little and brief it may have been, couldn't have been better timed. With every snowflake that fell Christmas joy seemed to fill the air. It was beautiful.

De-Commercializing

While we aren't Christian we do celebrate Christmas. At this time of year, regardless of your religion or what you celebrate, trying to de-commercialize is especially difficult but even more important. If you have children in your life (be it your own or family members) it is even more of a challenge and all that much more important.
We started out as many parents do with their first child: swearing that we wouldn't allow them to watch any tv. And, just like the majority of those well-intentioned parents, we let them watch tv. We do however limit them to certain channels and won't allow them to watch tv all day. Mainly they are allowed to watch a little bit of PBS in the morning, but they usually end up focusing on playing with toys (right now they're building with blocks). They also get to watch a channel called Noggin, which is mostly educational stuff ("It's like preschool on tv" as Shannon quotes to us! - It's the channel's tag line.) - they only get to watch that on very special occasions here ... like when Mommy is trying to cook dinner and REALLY needs them out of her hair. ;)
More and more though I find myself muting the channel if the shows get too "commercialized" - Sesame Street did a take-off of 'High School Musical' the other day called 'Preschool Musical' that I muted. If Noggin is on, commercials are muted. So, it was a moment full of an enormous amount of pride when my mother told me how Shannon told her that they didn't need to watch any other channels because there were too many commercials for him!! Talk about one VERY PROUD Mama!!! They both also will turn off the tv here saying they've had enough for the day, a wonderful surprise.
With Christmas now quickly on it's way this issue is a daily one. Last night and again this morning we talked about how the elves make toys at Santa's workshop in the North Pole. The toys they get from Santa & the elves we try to ensure look like they could've been truly handmade, if they weren't in reality. Last year we bought several handmade wooden toys from a local man who makes them. We stamped them with a stamp we had made that says "Made for you by the Elves is Santa's Workshop."
Our home has hardwood floors in every room, except for the bathrooms and kitchen. We keep our house at cooler temperatures in the winter as well. The two combined make for pretty chilly floors and the need for "house slippers" a necessity. So, last year the boys got "Sock Monkey Slippers" in their stockings, knit for them by Mrs. Claus. (You can find your's at http://www.uncommongoods.com/) Of course those slippers have been out-grown, so this year they'll be getting some new indoor slippers made by Mrs. Claus and the elves. (http://www.kidbean.com/)
It's a continual challenge, keeping out the commercialism. I know it will get harder and more challenging as the boys get older. But, so far, I think we're doing a fairly decent job of it. Whether the successes show themselves in Shannon's rejection of tv & commercials, or in their delight in singing Christmas Carols and wanting to get out instruments so they can play music along with it, they are those moments that you know you've done a good job.

Why I'm Grateful

Thanksgiving was wonderful here. We were blessed with a large bird, fresh from a local farm. We were blessed to have both family and a new friend over for dinner, which went very well with a wonderful selection of mouth-watering dishes. Shannon greeted people with "Come in, would you like to see our dead turkey?" He then kept telling people how you kill a turkey by chopping it's head off. - We are honest with them about where their food comes from and how it becomes food. He's never seen an animal killed, though he's seen us process a chicken. Sometimes though, when he talks about it all, it can come out sounding a little "questionable" - he is still only 4 after all, and being a 4 year old will repeat the strangest of things, for the strangest of reasons, at the strangest of times.
For Friday we began a new tradition of making mac & cheese, using some raw milk cheddar and some organic muenster. On Saturday we cheered the Hokies to victory over UVA (our rivals) and on to the ACC Championship game while eating bowls of freshly made white turkey chili. The kids also enjoyed chowing down on left-over turkey as we were trying to put it all up.
It truly has been a wonderful weekend. Justin watched the boys and let me catch up on some much needed sleep. It's been calm and quiet, but at the same time loud and fun. Football of course is what brings on the loud part.
Tonight we all went outside after dinner and looked up at the moon. Wonders of the cosmos are a special delight to share with people, and so it was especially delightful to share it as a family. The moon, Jupiter, and Venus were all in alignment. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081201-jupiter-venus.html
Next weekend will be the Christmas Parade for Salem, which we will be taking the boys to. My mom and step-father usually attend with us, along with Justin's brother and sometimes our neighbors stand nearby. The boys love Christmas (what kid doesn't?), and are delighted by the lights beginning to pop up. We don't start decorating for Christmas until on or after December 1st. We believe in honoring Thanksgiving. So, today I put up a few things, much to the boys' delight.
These are the things of my delight: Shannon calling reindeer "snow-deer" because they come out in the snow, not rain (today I was able to convince him they're really reindeer); Tristan seeing a commercial for the classic 'Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer' and thinking Santa has a lot of "goats" (trying to raise them rurally while in city does have interesting "side-effects"); the eager squeals of excitement when the boys see Christmas lights and decorations (or any for any holiday for that matter); and the zen-moments that occur when you're filled to the brim with happiness and contentment.