Lipsie Returns

She's baaaack!

Last year we started doing the Elf on the Shelf thing with great success for our then 4 year old. This year both kids, now 3 and 5, are totally into the whole experience. Shrieks of delight pepper our quiet morning home each morning as Lipsie's new location is discovered.

Each morning they run downstairs to find Lipsie - still love this name that Turbo chose last year! - and Turbo usually finds he first and then wakes a bleary-eyed-but-smiling Smiley to "let" her find Lipsie too. Turbo is not great at secrets, but, then, what kid is?

Here is Lipsie on day one - with a healthy reminder to mom and dad to get rid of this old plant that decorates a high, forgotten shelf in the kitchen. Three days in and the plant is still there. Yeah, we have other priorities around these parts.

Hey, Lipsie, can your Christmas magic bring that plant back to life?

Cross-cross applesauce in a partially finished Lego toy

Reminding us to wear warm hats on this 20-degree days

Speed Goldbug

Richard Scarry, I love you, but your books are looooong.

When I was a kid, the book titled Cars and Trucks and Things That Go was referred to as "Where's Goldbug?" Because the point of the book was to find this little tiny gold bug on every single page. Sure, there were also fascinating vehicles like the pickle car and the alligator car and the lemon car, but also, cleverly hidden on each and every page, was Goldbug. Often his little eyes and antennae were the only bits of him peaking out of a hot dog or ambulance or train so it could take a while to find him.

Where's Goldbug?

I loved these Richard Scarry books as a kid. I used to spend a lot of time wondering what it would be like to grow up and live in a shoe, or drive a banana mobile, or visit zoos where the animals held balloons. Even today theses books are one of my favorite gifts to give kids, and yet, when my kids are allowed one more book before bed and they choose one of these lengthy tomes, I inwardly groan. To my kids I say, "OK, let's do this." But really I'm checking the clock to see if we even have enough time to get to the middle of the book.

Now don't get me wrong, I really do love the details in these stories and if it's the first book we choose I usually enjoy it as much as the kids. It's when we're done reading and it's truly time for bed and I let the kids talk me into another book (because I also secretly love bed time snuggles and books), that I hope and pray for a shorter read.

Turbo knows this. When he's on his last book, whether it's an extra one or just the last of his allotted 5 books, he seeks out the longest book he can find. In the light of day I'm flattered. He wants to spend extra time with me? Ahh, shucks! But I know what he's doing, cheeky fellow.

Once daddy takes Smiley to bed, Turbo and I have time for one more book with just us. Tonight when the final book selected was the Cars and Trucks, I told him we didn't have enough time to do the whole book.

Turbo: "When I choose a book, we have to read the whole thing."

Mom: "Um, no. But I'll tell you what. We can play Speed Goldbug and do as many pages as we can in five minutes. We won't read the book, but we will look for Goldbug on each page."

Game on. Turns out we both had so much fun finding Goldbug that we laughed our way through the novel and I didn't look at the clock. Nicely done, Mr. Scarry. Nicely done. Thank you for spanning generations and providing opportunities for more quality with my children.

I Know Everything

It's fitting that in the month of the celebration of Jesus's birthday, Turbo would ask me this question, "Mom, when we get to Hawaii, can you teach me how to walk on water?"

Um, sure. I know you think I know everything, kid, but this one is out of my area of expertise.

A little digging and it turns out that one of his classmates surfed in Hawaii. Oh, surfing on water, not walking on water.

I love the kid logic of surfing = walking on water.

Creating New Traditions

I love Christmas.

My childhood Christmases were filled with homemade ornaments, garlands of freshly made popcorn strung with cranberries, and cold boot-wearing treks through snow to chop down our own trees.

And, no, I did not grow up in a Normal Rockwell painting. But it was pretty great, if you ask me.

For the memories of Christmas that I love, I want to repeat all of these treasured details with my own kids and yet I also recognize the value of creating our own traditions.

We live in a neighborhood with lots and lots of houses decorated with lots and lots of Christmas lights. There is also a plethora of lit-up woodland creatures, various snowmen (and snow-women and snow-children), and countless Santas... Construction Santa, Chimney Santa, Sleigh Santa, Shovel Santa, Santa-and-His-Reindeer Santa, Climb-in-Your-Window Santa (erm, the non-creepy kind).

Driving home from the kids' school last night I look at left instead of a right. Turbo, ever my alert observer, said, "Hey. This isn't the way home." To which I quipped, "No s***, Sherlock."

Kidding! Sheesh, I hope you didn't believe me.

To which I replied, "That's right, honey. I thought we'd go see some Christmas light before we go home."

Both Turbo and Smiley squealed with delight at the first house, which, by design of my genius left-instead-of-right move, brought us to one of those thoroughly decorated homes where the owners probably need eye masks to block out the light while sleeping. And I squealed too. I love these crazy decorations. Or, as Smiley said, "Oh, mom! Yook at all dose decowations!"

Sample house. Not actual size or neighborhood. 

I told the kids that we'd go find new Christmas decowations every night after school. We shook hands to make it official.

One day later... on tonight's drive home I was feeling a bit tired from a long day at work and considered driving straight home. Maybe the kids won't remember, said the little voice in my head.

Turbo, "Mom, remember how you said we were going to look at Christmas lights every day? Take a left, mom."

And I took a right, just to show him who is boss, and drove around a few loops near our house and both Turbo and Smiley provided a play-by-play of the lights outside of their respective windows - ya know, in case I wasn't looking at the same set of lights.

I think I'm going to like this new tradition.

Efficiency Amidst Crazy Town

I write every day. Not that you would know this, as my blog has collected dust and cobwebs as of late, but I still write every day... in my mind.

When I first discovered that the voice in my head was my writer's voice, composing witty commentary on every day life, I was thrilled that this voice had a purpose. I admit, laughing awkwardly, that I had from time to time been concerned that I might have uncomfortable similarities to the Russell Crowe character in A Beautiful Mind.

And so I write. I write while I observe the adorable and not so adorable antics of Turbo and Smiley. I write when life surprises me (which is pretty much every day!). I write when I'm sad, I write when I've collapsed into a fit of giggles - or, rather, I write when I've recovered from a fit of giggles.

To paraphrase a Mary Poppins' tune, "I love to write, a-ha-ha-ha, loud and long and clear."

I'm going to challenge myself to blog every day in December. There is always something to share and even if I'm not putting my A work up every day, it's better to have my C work out more frequently. Writing takes practice and patience and willpower some days. I think it was Ted Williams who had the perfect swing and when asked about that natural gift, he answered, "hitting a baseball on a string, in my basement, 200 times a day."

With December comes the added and joyful work of preparing for Christmas and also for our vacation in Hawaii early next year. I am not in a position to take on a new project, but training for a marathon a number of years ago taught me that I can be very efficient when pressed for time.

I know I can do this, I can write every day. This post is my little pep talk to myself. Go, me!

Important

Dear Kids,

If it's important to you, it'll be important to me. I promise to support your passions so long as they don't involve sword swallowing or fire twirling, and even then... I will try to find a way to back you up in your pursuits.

Love,
Mom

Deep Thoughts

by Turbo Handy*

Tonight when I picked up Turbo from school, there was a well-worn paperback in his cubby along with a note, reading, "Please repair or replace." And then an explanation that Turbo had torn the book three times today.

The first tear was an accident, as he was grabbing the book off of a refrigerator (no clarification as to why books are in such cold places), but apparently the next two times were out of 4-year-old curiosity, as in, "say, I wonder what happens when I go like this."

When I asked Turbo why he ripped the book he gave me the most unexpected answer. I have come to depend on the "I don't know" answer and am now proudly skilled at getting a real answer out of my I-don't-know child. I was ready for the "I don't know." I was not ready for the existential dialogue that ensued.

Me: "Turbo, why did you rip this book?"
Turbo: "Because...I don't know what is life."
Me: "What does that mean?"
Turbo, shrugging: "I don't know what it is to be."

Whoa. Wax on, little buddy, wax on.

I did ask him if he'd like me to explain what life is. He said yes, and then I was at a loss for words. I'm going to revisit this important topic tonight at bed time. I love my little philosopher!


*invoking the very funny Jack Handy of SNL fame.