3 Questions. And, Christmas is here.

It's official. 'Tis the season. Many thanks to Cheriss (and Erik) for hosting Thanksgiving. It was epic with a huge contingent of family descending on Erik and Cheriss's house.

It was such a nice Thanksgiving and we all appreciated Cheriss for hosting. The standout dishes belonged to my Aunt Sharon who made a cheddar cheese cookie and then filled it with jalepno jelly or a sweet wine jelly. They were amazing. 

 

Of course, the day after Thanksgiving, Santa magically appeared. It's like clockwork, that Santa appearance. 

The kids are reinforced with the Santa / Elves / North Pole history at home because the Elf on the Shelf (both of them) visit nightly, generally causing significant mischief every night. Jamisen recently declared that he "hated the elves" because they were "listening to everything he said," after they brought him a new silicone food cover for Mommy because he had "accidentally broken hers." He was legit freaked out.

We all bought matching pants at the Gap. This is solely so the kids have something to go to therapy for in 15 years and so we have amazing photographs for their high school graduation.

Lily remains the apple of my friend Jody's eye. She invited us over for a make-your-own pizza dinner (and for those of you with eagle eyes that are noticing that her sweater matches the pajamas in the above picture, points to you. We purchased every item in the store with that pattern. Every. Item.) I asked Lily the 3 questions tonight. These are her answers:

What is your favorite color: Pink
What do you want to be when you grow up? "I want to eat M&M's" (that makes two of us)
What is the meaning of life: "Prayomantus." Me: "Preying Mantis?" Her: "No, Prayomantus." Roger that. She's obviously speaking in tongues. Ramtha, is that you?
Bonus question: If you were any animal, what would you be? "I would be a flying mermaid. And, I would be pink,"

Halloween Fun

Halloween this year was full of joyous little ones, goblins, elves and full streets in Fairhaven. We went trick or treating in historic Fairhaven along with roughly 304582 other small children and their parents. Bless those retailers; they must have spent roughly the equivalent of a Porche in candy money to give all of the adorably dressed munchins their requisite sugar.

Lily was a Sparkle Pony Butterfly (yes, that's a thing in Lily's world). Jamisen was a space explorer / astronaut. They filled up on candy that night and now it is languishing in a hidden high shelf in the pantry, hopefully never to be seen again.

I went as a flight attendant. I was most commonly mistaken for a Cigarette Girl however.

The other day, Lily and I went to my friend Jody's house for a little dinner party with just the girls. As we were driving up the driveway, Jody's house was lit up and gorgeous. Lily looked at the house and said, "I love that house!" And I said "Yes, it is so pretty isn't it." And she said, "Mama, will I live in a house like that when I grow up?" And I said, " Sweetie, if you work hard and plan and save, you may be able to afford to make the choice to buy a beautiful home like this." And then she asked sweetly, "Work hard like a Daddy?" With forced brightness in my voice, through gritted teeth I answered, "Or like a Mommy. Work hard like a Mommy."

This little Sparkle Pony Butterfly and I were having such a sweet morning the other day. I said to her tenderly, "I love you so very much. I love you more than any other girl on the whole planet." And she stopped me and said, "God loves me more than you do. And God is in charge."  That's a show-stopper; not much to say in response to that one...

Arizona Fun

We were so lucky to get to visit Scottsdale Arizona with Grandma and Grandpa Faiola a few weeks ago. The kids brought their ride-on suitcases and that made airport time more fun and interesting. Also, people pointed and laughed and I'm pretty sure we sold several sets of the suitcases to people who stopped us to ask who made them

The kiddos got to pack their own suitcases which was great! They loved to really show what they thought was most important to them. In a surprise move, Jamisen packed his entire soccer gear - including his soccer shoes and shinguards. Given that he has shown zero propensity to engage in most sports, this was interesting and also served to put his overzealous, over-scheduled-mother on a hopeful notice that perhaps our child might participate in the age-old baseline activity for learning how to be a team player ... by actually being on a team. A sports team specifically.

We went to basically every tourist attraction possible. We reprised our visit to the Butterfly Palace. Jamisen loved the life cycle of butterflies and was fascinated by the many species of butterlies and moths.

Grandma and Grandpa took the kiddos to Legoland for the day. They had a WONDERFUL time and really enjoyed it. They spoke excitedly about it for days. It was a nice break for Mom and Dad since Dad needed to work and Mom had to study for her final exam for the Nutritional Therapy Certification (terrible timing to have it the week after vacation). One less than sunny moment did occur and needs to be documented so none of us shall forget the valiant efforts of Grandma Faiola during this trying time. Thanks to a side effect from the antibiotics to heal her UTI, Lily managed to projectile diarrhea all over the Legoland bathroom (I write this solely for posterity sake so when Lily is reading this at the age of 17 she can spare a fond thought for her loving and kind Grandmother who had to clean up the mess without any wet wipes). 

The kids are turning into proficient floaters and sort-of-coordinated movers in the pool and hot tub thanks to multiple sessions of swimming lessons at the Y. They really enjoy the hot tub!

We also visited the aquarium. It was amazing with some great kids exhibits and activities. They kids very much enjoyed a particularly innovative water movement system and played there for at least an hour. They also had a world class cafeteria with a wood-fired pizza oven. The bathrooms have sharks swimming by (inside the bathroom ... so you can watch them while you're washing your hands). This seemed like particularly good planning on the part of the architect.

We also visited the Firefighters Museum which was way way too old for the kids. Nothing except one model fire engine could be touched. It took us longer to drive to the museum did it did to go through it since literally, the kids could touch nothing. Interestingly enough, the entire museum (giant - 50,000 square feet at least?) was filled with memorabilia that was one man's hobby. He literally started a museum to house all of his fireman paraphernalia.

The kiddos loved the lazy river at the Marriot. It's a long slow current of movement so the kids can float on an adult or an inner tube. You can find a chair and just park yourself there for most of the day (that is, if you can stand the traditional pub food - overpriced, greasy - for the entire day). The adults subsisted on a lot of protein bars.

Chris was extremely kind and took the kids to the lazy river most mornings so I could study. This quality study time is probably the only reason I passed my test.

Oddly enough, the kids are not fans of sunscreen. Despite their distaste, between all of us, we all avoided sunburns. That was quite a victory for the week!

The resort has a children's wading pool. We spent many happy hours there as well though it's pretty clear that Jamisen has mostly outgrown that area. We had a wonderful time at the resort and feel very lucky that we got to spend the week with our family, bonding, laughing and playing outdoors.

Voting, Dentists and Running

This morning as I was taking the kiddos to school, Chris's car was behind us the entire way. When it came time for him to split off and go on the freeway, I rolled down my window and waved and encouraged the kids to wave too as they both exclaimed, "Bye Daddy! Bye Bye!" 

Lily got upset and said, "Daddy won't know I was waving!"  I answered her thinking she was upset her window wasn't rolled down so Daddy couldn't see her hands and said, "It's okay; he probably saw you waving through the window." She said, quite puzzled, "I wasn't waving with my hands. I was waving with my mouth."

Before I could think of a suitable reply, Jamisen reassured her: "That's OK. When you get to see him he will be so happy that you will scream."  (Nope, none of that makes sense but to a 3 and a 5 year old, it does and that's all that matters).

The election has been big news in our house with lots of debates and spirited discussion. The kids have picked none of the policy nuances but have definitely formed their opinions on the two candidates. After Hillary won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote, Lily said very sweetly, "Mommy, I'm sorry that your friend lost."

With regards to the Presidential election, Chris and I have spoken about economy policy, immigration and trade deals. We have stayed far, far away from the more unsavory aspects of the election (i.e. the terrible behavior of the President-elect towards minorities, women and people with disabilities). Unfortunately, not all of his classmates have equally buttoned-up households. This is an actual conversation at our house tonight:

Jamisen : Mommy, did you know Donald Trump called a woman a pig?! He called a woman a fat pig!"

Chris: (playing for time) I don't know if that's right. Where did you hear that?

Jamisen : My friend Noah Glass. And he knows everything! He knows alllll the snakes.

Chris:  (stalling)  I don't think he said that. 

Me: I heard the quote. He did say that and it was wrong. It is never okay to name call.

Lily: Donald Trump needs to be voted off the island!!!!!!

And with that, the discussion was over.

The kids had dental appointments. Lucky kiddos got a new dentist that has TVs on the ceiling. The kids were so excited about the TV that they were lulled into ease and submission. The dental appointment went swimmingly!

Both kids were cavity-free and were so excited about the Cavity Free tree. They get to write their name on large "leaves" and place them on the tree. They also got a gold coin and were able to choose from a number of cool little cavity-free-yay toy dispensers. The kids both will brush their teeth more easily when we say things like "Do you want to get your name on the cavity-free tree again?" 

I ran a half marathon with my bestie Patrice. We beat our time from last year which is great because the course was way, way, way more hilly. Also, last year, she may have been pregnant (see the pictures? What a difference a year makes!). 

New Places to Explore

We recently explored a brand new place for us in our home town. It's fun that even after over a decade in Bellingham for me and a lifetime for Chris that we finding new places in Bellingham. We checked out the Model Train museum in Bellingham.

The kids LOVED it. We spent hours there. It's in a large room - maybe 2000 square feet - with two tracks of model trains. One is a large track with multiple areas for the kids to interact. There are buttons that turn on lights, drop down signal bars, play music, and turn on lights. The smaller track allows the kids to open up draw bridges, stop and start trains and be more interactive on a larger scale.

The kids are doing swim lessons at the Y again and improving their skills and confidence in the water.

 

They still can't swim on their own without a life jacket but that should be coming soon. They are also taking a class called 'Superheroes' that is a combination tumbling, rock climbing, gymnastics class that they really enjoy at the Y as well.

Getting out the Energy

We have this insane business in Bellingham. Some business geniuses (20-some-year old men judging from their promo videos) rented a former furniture warehouse, bought a bunch of trampolines and (presumably) got an iron-clad insurance policy and opened up Trampoline Zone.

It's exactly what it sounds like - an entire giant 20,000 foot warehouse of trampolines of various sizes, shapes, angles and bounce ability. Our kids, of course, love it!

For the record, their Mama does too! It's a great workout if you join the kids in their jumping and bouncing. It's a great cardiovascular workout and, if you jump the right way, you can get a solid abdominal workout at the same time. There's even a foam pit for the littles. It is definitely our kiddos favorite rainy day activity.

 

Our little Lily is in the throes of the Terrific Threes. She has this new (horrible) tactic. When she doesn't get what she wants, the SCREAMS at the top of her lungs. It is a screeching, howler monkey type scream. It is high pitched, loud and she stands there, with her little fists clenched and just opens her mouth to this infernal cacophony. It will be nice when she outgrows this phase. 

Jamisen has his moments but he's five now so he's more sophisticated in his resistance. Most of the time however, he is sweet and kind and helpful. He has such an inquisitive mind and loves to explore his surroundings. He's a natural builder and engineer and we know where he gets that from.

 Lily has also started getting an opinion on what she would like to wear every day. She is not a fan of dresses but she also doesn't like jeans. She likes cozy, stretchy, soft clothing. Thus, we are starting to find thicker soft stretchy pants for the more cold months in Washington because glorified yoga pants won't cut it in our cold winter months. 

Fossil Hunting

Our little family went on the most death defying hike (ever) in search of fossils. One of Chris's (child-free) friends told us about this great hike. We of course convinced baby Alise and her Mommy to come with us so it was 3 adults and 3 toddlers, one who wasn't walking all that steady yet.

We slipped and we slid our way down the mountain until finally, we got to the bottom. It wasn't our most wise expedition with kids but Jamisen really had the most amazing time with his hammer, chipping away and finding actual real-deal fossils. In a couple years, we might go back but for now, the memory of slipping and sliding down the hill in fear is firmly embedded in the adult's minds.

I love school drop-off with the kids. The other day, I was taking Lily to school and she randomly said, out of the blue, "When I grow up I will be married. When Jamisen grows up, he will be married."

I hedged my bets on that and said, "That's possible if you find someone you want to spend your time with that is worthy of you." 

Then she asked, "Will I be a baby again?" I answered truthfully and said she would not be a baby again but she may wish to have babies of her own when she got older. Again, I hedged and said, "Mommy and Daddy wanted you and Jamisen and so we made the choice to have you and planned when we had you. To have a baby or not is a choice you will get to make when you are older."

And she said, "That is a choice I want to make."

Mic drop.

Jamisen has been learning numbers at school and loves to stay awake "reading" in his room at night. He's in the Montessori school system so isn't reading quite yet but he will be soon and when those synapses click and wire together, he is going to be a reader reader reader.

He continues to fight with his desire to dominate, his desire to please and his genuine desire to be a sweet, kind, loving little boy. His sister and he remain the best of friends, even when he pushes her or she pushes him. She is forever cheerful and loving, and quick to forgive. As all my friends with older kids say, "Little kids. Little problems. Big kids. Big problems." So, I'll take these "problems" any day.

Where a Toddler Rejects Me and I Drink Champagne at the Plaza

I recently got to go to NYC for the NY Now show - the largest housewares and gift show in America. I walked the floor, saw the trends and plotted Best Day Ever's eventual trade show booth. It was hilariously fun because I was treated to most of the trip by one of our largest vendors (dinners out, champagne at the Plaza, hotel ... everything was a generous gift).

It wasn't just champagne at the Plaza (which is a rare and amazing treat). We even had brunch at Tavern on the Green! Wow; what a spot and just delicious food as well. 

I love to visit NYY. It is bustling and vibrant - but this is the first time I've really noticed how SMELLY it is. I don't know if normally I just get lucky in where I stay and walk but this time, ick! The whole city smelled like a sewer.  Other than that olfactory annoyance, it was an incredible trip and I learned so much about retailing, wholesaling and trade show booths.

As usual, Daddy-with-the-Mostest held down the fort at home. Thankfully, it was one of the last good weekends at the lake so everyone was happy at home, spending lots of time on the water and making memories.

The kids have been so sweet and loving lately. Just last night, they were both taking baths and I said to them, "You two are so cute I can hardly stand it." 

And Jamisen said, "You love us so much Mommy." And I replied, "Yes, yes I do." 

Jamisen responded by looking at me and stating/asking rather obliquely, "So what do you do?" 

It was a vague question but I did my best to answer truthfully:  "I show you my love by spending quality time with you, by telling you I love you, by being delighted when you walk in the room and being consistent with my discipline." I thought my answer was quite good  and rather measured considering that it was the end of a long day and I was very tired.

Jamisen looked at my thoughtful (hopeful and loving) face. He didn't say a word; then he dunked his lips under water, sucked up a bunch of water and spit it out in a long stream. 

I'd like to think he was so overcome by the sheer brilliance of that answer that he really didn't feel like words were necessary.  

Lily loves it when I lay down in her ridiculous crib-sized bed with her before sleep. I have fond memories of my Dad laying down in my bed after he got home from a long day of doctoring (nope, not a word; don't care) while I fell asleep. He usually fell asleep before me while I kept a hand on his chest, convinced he would stop breathing at any moment. [Side note: apparently even as a kid, I was expecting the worst.] 

Tonight, at her insistent request, I laid down beside Lily to help calm her down before bed. As I have mentioned before (see: elbow bursitis) her bed is literally a crib with no cage bars. It is very small. It is not comfortable. I shoved my fully adult human frame in the crib-bed, awkwardly cradling her. She sang a tuneless song that made zero sense (it started out with "My Mom is the best" and then transitioned to "My brain is a monkey" and then fully ended on "La la la I have ice") for a while. It felt like a long while.

I patiently lay there, admonishing myself to treasure the moments, be present and damn't, treasure. this. moment. Do not think of the dirty dishes, the laundry, the work still on the computer. Be. Here. Now. So, I'm being here now and feeling pretty dang content about all this presentness, this Mommyness, and this togetherness when she turns over and proclaims, "Mommy, you are too big. You are too big for this bed. Go sleep in the other bed!" A) Doh! Rejected     B) We may have reached a new phase in her toddlerhood. Next phase, Teenager.