Elmo Winner!!

Well, we didn’t get very many funny Christmas stories…either nobody wanted to share, or we have a very serious bunch here. I couldn’t decide between the ones we did get, they were all very cute and mostly revolving around kids or pregnant ladies, (which are both pretty funny, I guess) so we did a little name in the hat drawing this morning.

And the winner is….

Michelle B. – who happens to be one of my good friends. Congrats, Michelle – I’m sure you, uh, I mean – little Emma, will love the Elmo. Michelle is actually an amazing cellist and is doing a huge concert this weekend – so wish her luck and go buy her CD!

Thanks to all who indulged me and played along.

Why, why, why.

That seems to be the only word our little precocious three (and a half!) year old knows these days.

I couldn’t resist this shirt when I found it because it is all I have heard for the last year.

Why, why, why.

God love her, but I have to be really careful in what I say – because she will remember EVERYTHING and repeat it at a later date! I think I have written about her crazy good memory before (it is by far ten times better than mine), but it continues to astound me. She is a freakin’ sponge. I keep thinking sooner or later she is going to become saturated, right? She’ll maybe start to either forget some things or just not be able to absorb any more….but it doesn’t seem to be happening.

Most of her questions lately revolve around Christmas.
“Why do the ladies have to stand and ring-ring the little bell?”
“Why do they want people to put moneys in the bucket?”
“Why do they help those people?”
“Why are they poor?”
“Why won’t Santa just bring those peoples presents?”
“Why doesn’t Joseph ride on his own donkey?”
“Why don’t they go to the hospital to have their baby?”

And on, and on….pretty much anything she sees, she has a question about.

I do love her curiosity. It is one of the truly great perks of parenting, just to be able to witness that excitement for learning on a daily basis. But it worries me that I still haven’t found a good class or preschool for her. I mean, am I really enough for her everyday? And on my “off” days when I don’t act like I expect her to act, how can I teach her to “do as I say, not as I do?” I’m sure it is (well, I hope it is – I can’t be alone here!) one of the great parenting dilemmas. I just can’t help but imagine what she would soak up with if she was in a learning environment and exposed to other people.

The “finding a school” task has been officially moved to the top of my list. Um…and also, stop acting like I don’t want her to act. That is probably pretty important, too.

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Don’t forget you have til midnite tomorrow (PST) to get your Elmo story in…we will pick the winner on Saturday – and have plenty of time to get Elmo to his new owner in time for Christmas. I’ll share our “funny” Christmas story tomorrow….

Real Work vs. Real Work

So these actual “work” projects I suddenly have are seriously cutting into my blogging time. I am not complaining, well I am – a little. I really enjoy my work, but the timing is seriously really kind of crappy right now. I have two projects that essentially got handed to me today, and are due January 3rd.

It is a nice little break to go to the coffee shop and actually use my brain for some real work, though. Uh, let me rephrase that. I do real work, very hard work everyday. As every SAH (stay-at-home) mom will tell you, it is the absolute hardest job, it is very demanding, very physical, and always 24 hours a day. But, I can mostly do it with my brain pretty much turned off. The biggest workout my mind gets most days is trying to come up with a new bribe or compromise that I haven’t tried on Emma yet. So to actually be designing graphics, talking with adults about something other than our children’s eating and bathroom habits, and feeling useful…it is a nice change.

But, back to the sucky timing. I am starting to feel a little of the “Christmas stress” that I have been trying so hard to avoid. I still haven’t finished Christmas shopping, haven’t begun to even think of wrapping the gifts, and I am only about halfway finished on the calendars that I do for our friends and family each year. Do you think anyone would notice if their calendar was missing January and they got it for Valentine’s Day?

And honestly…I just want to go hang out at the park with the girls. The weather is beautiful – fall-like for everywhere else in the country – that nice sweatshirt or sweater, perfect-for-the-park weather. And the girls have really been into it lately. It is great for Emma, our little social butterfly. She makes a new friend everytime we go, and she basically runs herself silly. Addie has figured out that she can climb…HIGH. So she is just as fearless as E. She has also learned not only how to say “park” but points it out whenever we go by it. Just her wistful, longing look out the window as we go by, is enough to make me stop, even if it means we are late for something, or we put off grocery shopping (again!) in favor of a trip down the slide. (We are in desperate need of a grocery shop. Have been for about a week, now.)

So…what I should be doing, instead of sitting here complaining, is crossing something off of my to-do list so I can go to the park and continue my quest for a stress-free holiday. I guess I better get on it. *Sigh* How are the rest of you doing on your Christmas To-Do lists?

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3 more days to get your stories and/or pictures in for the Elmo contest! I only have a few so far so your odds of winning are really good!! Come on, put it on the top of your list of things to do!

Tickle Me Contest

So Jamie and I have a few extra TMX Tickle Me Elmos (the 10th Anniversary Edition) and J. thought it would be cool to do a little contest on the blog here and give one away. I am trying to figure out a fun contest to do – we can’t just draw names out of a hat – we have to make you work for it somehow! Maybe something Christmas or kid-related. Hmmmm….

Leave a comment if you have any contest ideas. And stay tuned – I’ll post the contest and rules soon.