1 Mother 2 Another

Well, I’m back and can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted. I had meant to post a bit more often last week, but found lying on the couch watching videos with my hubbie infinitely more appealing. Sorry.

And not that it’s been a while since I’ve had time to watch movies, but did you know they made a sequel to that Pirates of the Caribbean movie? It was pretty good. Apparently there’s going to be a third one as well; can’t wait to watch that one next Christmas.

I think my slug-like inability to sit down and write pretty much sums up our entire Christmas vacation. With Brian off from work all week and me errand-free, Maddie was in hog heaven, basking in all the adult attention.

And of course, there was Christmas itself.

Remember how I said I could hardly wait until Christmas? The day definitely lived up to my expectations. But of course, that may be partially because as a mom, I’ve toned down my expectations. This year, I knew I’d settle for stress-free and casual.

With my mom asleep on the couch, we all waited with baited breath to see how late Maddie would sleep in – which would, of course, determine how late we could sleep in. Let me tell you, my girl did not disappoint: by 9:45 my body revolted against too much of that sleep stuff and made me get up. Madeleine finally began talking to herself in her crib at 10 a.m.

Her first word? I kid you not. “Santa.”

The entire day was a delight for my girlie, which made it a joy for all of us. We vowed not to rush things or try to stick to a timetable and had a great time letting Maddie set the pace. Bleary-eyed from sleep, she padded adorably into the living room in her little snowman jammies. While we all stood excitedly waiting for Maddie to notice her stocking and gifts under the tree, the first thing she noticed was that all her favorite tree lights were on. Maddie spent a good couple minutes excited by the tree lights before she noticed any of the loot, largely because the tree lights also have a musical option, which she positively adores. You would, too, if you enjoy a fake handbell rendition of 16 bars of all your favorite Christmas songs, thrown into a continuous medley, played over and over. Me, not so much. But Maddie grooves to it and will boogie for several minutes to the music.

But when she did finally notice the gifts, the first thing she saw was the toy airplane Santa brought her. A huge hit, but for the sounds it makes, so it’s permanently on quiet, much like TMX Elmo. Ever since Christmas, she walks around saying, “Airplane! Santa! Santa’s airplane!” Yes, Santa brought you an airplane. Throwing a little thanks this way, though, wouldn’t kill you, kid.

The rest of the morning was spent going from delight to delight. Little things, like being allowed to eat breakfast – cinnamon roll sans icing - at the coffeetable rather than in her regular booster seat. And big things, like being the official Trash Girl who got to carry each piece of trash to be thrown away. It’s a big honor – you may want to try that in your own family.

We had such a great time, enjoying each opened gift, that we barely got presents unwrapped before it was lunch time. Which we ate in our jammies. Yep, by far the easiest Christmas dinner I’ve ever made: all the side dishes prepared ahead of time, a spiral-cut ham waiting for us, even the potatoes already peeled. Dinner came together in about 15 minutes and the no-fuss-no-muss aspect was so appealing I may institute a pajama rule for all Christmas dinners hence.

Of course, after lunch was naptime (for everyone), which was convenient since we were still in jammies. What with naps and snacks and leftovers and toys to play with and all, the day simply flew by.

In fact, Maddie was so busy that we decided to keep her “big” present – a play kitchen – for the next day. She seemed busy and content with what she had and we didn’t want to kick into overload, so we just never brought it out. The next day, though, when Maddie woke up for her nap, she saw this gleaming new kitchen all for her and just about went crazy, peeking in ovens and opening refrigerators.

She’s so happy to have her “own” workspace; she’ll point at our kitchen and say, “Mama’s kitchen.” Then she’ll point at her play kitchen and say, “Maddie’s kitchen!” We’ve spent the entire week teaching her to keep kitchen toys in the kitchen since walking around the house and picking up 101 pieces of toy food isn’t my idea of fun, but other than that it’s been a pretty great toy for her.

So there’s our Christmas: lazy, quiet, and pretty great. We’ve had a fun week watching Maddie discover what all her new toys can do, get busy cooking in “her” kitchen, and in general bask in all the Daddy Time she’s gotten.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday time, and is easing back into Normal Life as painlessly as possible.