Ever since creating this blog, nearly 4 years ago, I have loved chronicling all our adventures here ... especially our holidays. But this year, I have really slacked on the Christmas sharing. And perhaps you are not feeling as though you are missing out on anything (admit it!) - but because I basically use this blog as a substitute for any kind of tangible family scrapbook - I am now going to write a few posts in reflection of our 2009 Christmas joys.
Let's begin with Christmas Eve ... one of my favorite days of the year. The day is filled with such wonderful anticipation for the morning to follow ... and includes some of our most cherished holiday activities/traditions. Each year, I write a list of all the activities that we want to accomplish before bedtime. Usually Daddy doesn't come home from work until mid-afternoon, so we wait till he joins us before we begin accomplishing our Christmas Eve "to-do" list. (Everything is better when we are all a part of it :)
This years list looked much as the same as previous years. And it went exactly like this:
* Make brownies for Santa
* Make Reindeer food
* Make mixed drinks for Mama & Daddy / chocolate milk for Isaac
* Go out to the barn to see if the goats can talk
* Take showers & put on fresh jammies
* Take pic by the tree
* Start pot roast in crock pot
* Wrap Daddy's gifts from Isaac
* Get Bobo & Poppy's gifts ready for morning
* Change bed linens
* Hop into bed and read all our favorite Christmas books together
* Sleep so Santa will come.
Isaac and I made the above list together. And we checked it often to make sure we were on track. The brownies Isaac made for Santa were organic ... because we are just that cool. And the Reindeer food was a recipe that Isaac created from scratch ... a mixture of oats, cut carrots, magic flying dust (sparkles) and loads of maple syrup. We placed the food carefully under an outdoor light so the Reindeer would be sure to see it glisten. Then we paid a visit to the barn to see if Emily & Me were going to talk to us --- as animals have been reported to do on Christmas Eve. Aside from the "Maa-ing" - they were mute. Once inside, the mixed drinks put Daddy right to sleep. Isaac and I took showers and then put on some snuggly, new jammies. Daddy fell asleep in whatever clothes he wore that day. Isaac took his customary pictures by the tree (yes, that is the "Charlie Brown tree" that we cut from our front yard - by far my fave Christmas tree ever). After 12+ hours in the crock pot, I was told that the pot roast was good ... but I didn't eat it, so I have no idea. All gifts were wrapped this year (kudos to Mommy - I think this is a first) - with the exception of a gift Daddy forgot in the car. Isaac and I read all our fave books with wonder and delight at what was to come for us in the morning --- from good 'ole Saint Nick. Oh yes ... and the sheets were changed prior to Daddy's belly flop onto the bed ... So ALL Got Done!
Oh, and Daddy even started a new tradition that will now be listed on our Christmas Eve "to-do" lists for years to come. He created a fireworks display outside in the snow ... just for us ... even though the area cop parks right across the street every night in an attempt to catch speeders. As soon as the fireworks were over - we ran inside as fast as we could to avoid detection. Good Christmas fun, I say!
We even got a picture of Isaac's missing front teeth!
Christmas Eve rocked. It was just the three of us ... oh so cozy and in love with one another ... and it felt so darn good. I love this family of mine ... and every year I am reminded that before Isaac came along ... there were years and years that all I wanted for Christmas was a child ... my child ... and he is here. Every year now, I receive the same gift over and over again ... the gift of being Isaac's Mommy ... and of sharing all these wonderful joys with him and his Daddy.
I hope you all felt the warmth and beauty of your own families & traditions this year ... and for the new year to come.
xoxo,
Jodi
Every year, millions of Americans flock to the After Thanksgiving sales at box stores around the country. I am usually not among them. Mostly because I don't engage in over-indulging my child, my nieces, and my nephews with low-quality, Made in China, sweatshop produced goods that will be out of vogue just weeks after they receive them (should they actually last that long). But this year ... well, this year Toys R Us opened at midnight on Black Friday ... and I was there. Not to shop (although I was very tempted by some of the DVDs and did go back later in the day to buy Isaac one of his fave Barbie movies) ... but to photograph the mayhem.
When I arrived at Toys R Us in Bangor at 12:15 AM, the parking lot was completely full as were all the neighboring parking lots. There were police cruisers blocking the entry way of those parking lots that were full ... and cops directing traffic from several angles. The line to get into the store was SO long ... like nothing I have ever seen before. I called my Mom from my cell and told her I thought maybe Elvis died ... as it looked like his funeral procession was taking place (this was funny to both of us - but maybe you have to understand our mutual love for Elvis in order to find this funny). Anyway, the scene was wild. And just as I went to photograph it, I realized I forgot my camera (real smooth Jodi). 
So, I drove back home to get my camera and returned at about 12:35 AM. The line outside the store was gone ... but that was because everybody had sardined themselves into the building. I walked in to find that people could barely move. And the isles were filled with people and shopping carts from one end of the store to another. Again, I had never seen anything like it. I was shocked. I wondered what on earth would happen if a fire broke out or some crazy person took out a gun. We would all be trampling all over one another ... and there would no doubt be causalities. I also wondered if having this many people in a building was illegal ... and decided that it would have to be. 
As for me --- well, the mayhem was fun to watch. I LOVE watching people. I have always been intrigued by how people behave in groups ... react to stressful situations ... how they engage with one another ... etc. And watching all these folks did not disappoint. First, as always, I left proud of my fellow Mainers for keeping cool with one another ... for laughing ... for being polite, etc. There were some jerks ... as always. And a couple of women fought over a toy helicopter (I only heard but did not see the fight). But for the most part, people were well behaved.
But somehow I was still disappointed in all that I saw that early morning. The whole scene just didn't feel right. I kept thinking ... So, this is Christmas? This is what the holidays mean to these people ... filling carts full of STUFF ... over-indulging their children with loads of toys that do not matter in the grand scheme of things? Are they purchasing everything their kids have asked Santa for? What does that teach their children? And if you fight over a toy ... how can you feel good about giving that toy to your child after? Is it worth it? Do these kids know anything more about the spiritual side of the holidays ... or is it all about the STUFF? Are we raising a nation of entitled brats? Or perhaps this sale-induced chaos is all a result of our failing economy? Are these folks just desperate to stretch their dollars in order to make a purchase for each of the children in their lives? And if so, is there another way? 
