The Christmas Shuffle

We made a conscious decision this year to let Santa come directly to our house to deliver his gifts. Luckily, we're extremely fortunate that though we're living in a different state than most of our family, we're still close enough to spend Christmas morning at home and then drive up 95 to PA to begin the Christmas shuffle.

But before we pack up half the house, two kids, bailey and a partridge in a pear tree...I present you with some photos from our first Christmas at home (and Lindsey's first Christmas ever!). Quick caveat: though we've done a great job of not slighting Lindsey too much with regard to "second baby syndrome," I'll readily admit there are definitely not as many photos of her and her first Christmas as there was of Ryan and his first Christmas. To our credit, though, we had video rolling the whole time (which Ryan didn't get). So there.

We had a yummy (and even slightly healthy!) breakfast of scrambled eggs with spinach, hashbrown casserole and Canadian bacon while we played with new toys and watched some classic Christmas cartoons on TV. Ryan loves his new train table and accessories and Lindsey was absolutely smitten with a talking telephone (indicative of her future teen years?). Before long, though, we were taking showers, frantically packing suitcases (next year - we pack the night before) and corralling everyone into the CR-V. Greatest part of driving north on Christmas morning? No traffic - it's a Christmas Miracle!

We spent the afternoon at Nana and Pop Pop's house, with both kids getting even more cool gifts and using their stealthy kid tactics to score nibbles of food from pretty much every person in the house. Then, onward north to Great Uncle Dennis' house, where Lindsey showed off her ever-expanding walking skills (wood floor + black baby tights and no falls! Go LP!) and Ryan passed his latest initiation test by Dennis himself.

The day after Christmas was fairly low-key, spending time in PJs and opening more gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Bonus - a snowstorm! Finally, the Christmas Shuffle ended on my birthday (bring on 28!) with a visit at Uncle TJ and Aunt Eileen's house, which included Poppy, Gram, Aunts Laura and Rachel, Uncle Ben and, of course, Grace and Evelyn!

The second Christmas Miracle of the season? I just fit 72 hours worth of family visits into two paragraphs. You're welcome. And now, some photos to prove it all happened.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except the hundred or so baby spiders that decided to hatch in our basement! Ok, so I messed up the flow of the poem, but those darn spiders messed up the flow of our Christmas Eve!

Luckily, Nate sprung into action and after a few failed attempts to discard the baby beasts, they were gone. Whew.

On to more important things. Traditions. It's the theme of the season, right? So this, being our first Christmas Eve at home as a family of four, required some more traditions. First, thanks to technology, Nate and Ryan kept an eye on Santa's whereabouts around the globe all day. Second, Rye helped me write a note to Santa from him and Lindsey to make him feel welcome when he strolled in to Delaware (that circle on the note, courtesy of my little man who is awesome at drawing shapes). Third, a must, we left out some cookies, milk (for him) and carrots (for his reindeer team).

And finally, we put Lindsey and Rye into their warm, Christmas PJs, read a christmas-themed bedtime story, kissed their heads and waited, excitedly, for Santa to arrive.

It's 2:30 a.m. - do you know where your kid is?

Nate has always been interested in outer space, so when he graduated from college his mom bought him a huge telescope. Though it's extremely impressive, it sadly doesn't get much everyday use. So, naturally, he's thrilled anytime there is just cause to haul it out and set it up. And what better time than during a lunar eclipse that coincides with the winter solstice (the first one to occur since 1638, people!)?

Of course, instinct and pride kick in and Nate wanted to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (literally) with Ryan. Problem was, the total lunar eclipse was set to occur around 2:30 a.m. - slightly past Rye's bedtime. Solution? Wake his butt up anyway and let him have a story that he'll eventually forget, but we'll always remember to share with him!

So, after we groggily woke up to our alarms at 2:15 a.m., and made sure the telescope was in the right position, we woke Ryan up to join the party. At first, he was barely alert and probably thought this was some weird dream. But then, something clicked. We didn't say anything to him, but as I got his coat, hat, gloves and shoes on (it was damn cold and miserably windy that night), he looked outside and started furiously kicking his feet, saying, "We're going to see the moon!"

He loved it. He peaked in the viewfinder of the telescope and even closed one eye to get a clear view and there, in all its glory, was our moon - tinted red by the sun.

Unfortunately, as I indicated a second ago, it was damn cold. So while this was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we only have a few pictures to prove it actually happened. But, hey, we were a part of history, baby!

Snow!

The first few years Nate and I were living in the MD/DE area, we experienced a much different winter climate than we were used to. Instead of snow showers, we were often treated to ice. And while ice is certainly pretty to look at, it's scary to drive on (especially on 95) and is not as fun to play in.

Then, Michael moved to town.

My brother had been holed up in Erie, PA for the better part of four years, earning his degree with a minor in snow removal. Seriously - they get snow like Hawaii gets sunshine. All. The. Time. When we drove him up for orientation his first year, we woke up on day two to about 6 - 8 inches of snow on the ground. It was APRIL.

Suddenly, he moves 6 miles down the road and our ice storms disappear and we have epic snow storms. We quickly and hastily had to run out and get snow boots for Ryan last year and were, thankfully (depending on how you look at it), able to get good use out of them.

A few weeks ago, Ryan started asking for his boots again. And while they're very cute (he has a pair of awesome Transformer boots and a pair of classic, black rubber boots), they're not very practical. The easy excuse has been, "They're for snow, bud. And it's not snowing out."

Until now. We hoped last years storms were an anomaly, but here we are - a week before winter even officially begins - with our first snow storm of the season. Ryan's first words when I picked him up for school? "It's snowing, mom! I can wear my boots!"

Luckily, this was not an epic storm. Just enough for Ryan to have a good reason to wear his boots, go outside and sweep some snow around the deck.

Oh and don't worry - Lindsey has boots too. They're white and furry and coordinate well with her movie star (faux) fur coat and diva attitude.

Improvise

Back in the day - there was Show and Tell. I don't remember much about it (which isn't a big surprise), but I do remember that we had show and tell in kindergarten and it was a day to bring in a cool toy or other object and show it to your friends and tell them why it was so cool. Sadly, though I was only 4 or 5 at the time, I do remember already feeling a sense of trying to fit in and trying to find a toy that others would deem "cool enough" to be awed and admired by others. Bleh.

Now, there is Show and Share day (close enough). The major difference is the toy or object has to coincide with the lesson of the week, which always involves a particular letter and particular color. This week? Ryan had to bring in something that was either red or began with the letter N.

Instantly transported back to kindergarten, I was looking around for something others might think was cool - nothing. I almost thought about giving him a red duplo block and calling it a day when I decided we could get a little creative.

I decided to improvise.

Now, improvisation is a great tool to have. My best improv story was from college - when I used a carrot as a rolling pin. As a mom, improv is easy because oftentimes it's just a matter of having your kids use their imagination. But sometimes, improv is hard because it's almost like being Magyver. You need to use what little things you may have in your possession to turn it into something bigger and grander. My Magyver tools that day? Three pieces of sewing string (red, black and white), red pinwheel noodles, red buttons and tape. I decided to go for the trifecta of show and share objects - It met the color and letter criteria and was homemade to boot! We made a Red Noodle and Button Necklace. The only string I had for the necklace was sewing string, which, singularly isn't strong enough to withstand curious 2 year olds. So I busted out some old-school friendship bracelet-making skills and braided three pieces together to reinforce the chain (take that, Magyver). Then, for good measure, I had Ryan help me string on the noodle and button "beads" - a quick lesson in colors and hand eye coordination. We are on fi-yah!

He was so proud of his noodle necklace and his friends loved it. Most importantly? It was a subconscious lesson that you don't need to spend a lot of money on the "cool" toys in order to make a good impression with others. Dig it.

C is for Cookie

In keeping with discussions focused on holiday traditions, it's only fitting there be a post focused solely on making cookies. In years past, holiday cookie making has been a great excuse to get the girlfriends together and bake, chat, drink wine and be girls.

Things are different this year, for a variety of reasons, so I'm tackling cookie making sans girlfriends. Luckily, I have a husband who is finally getting into the holiday spirit - despite his disdain for cold weather - and two kids who are just as fun to bake and chat with.

I will admit that most of the cookie making was done while the kids were sleeping. It gave daddy and mommy a chance to remember what it was like when there were no kids. Quiet house, with nothing but classic Christmas music playing in the background, some red wine and enough flour, sugar and butter to make an entire army of cut-out cookie soldiers.

We did, however, purposefully save the cut-out cookie dough for last so Ryan could help make the shapes and add the colored sugar crystals. The hope was that we could use the cookie making experience as a great incentive for Ryan to stay dry and have a good day (no time in the thinking chair). It didn't exactly work out that way, but it did become a great bonding experience for Rye and Daddy. And Ryan is getting better at actually getting the sugar on the cookie.

Meanwhile, little Miss Lindsey is getting better and better at moving around upright. Though she still hasn't taken any steps without the aid of furniture or our hands, my bet is we're only days away.

A little bit of behind-the-scenes info: Just seconds after the picture of Lindsey was snapped, Rye managed to spill an entire dish of sprinkles on the floor, followed by a mini-meltdown by LP. So, this picturesque scene quickly went from serene Kodak moment to mommy slinging a baby on one hip and vacuuming up the mess of the other child, while Nate kept the cookie baking flow going strong. Never a dull moment.

Let the traditions unfold

There are countless reasons why this is my favorite time of year - I won't bore you with a long list. One of those reasons though, is that now, more than any other time throughout the year, is when family traditions really come alive.

As a kid, I loved crawling around in our basement crawlspace (cause I was the only one who fit), dragging bags and boxes full of ornaments, garland and other Christmas decorations to the opening, where the assembly line to the living room began. After all the pieces were out and up, the decoration dance would begin. Items would float to their prospective places and we'd slowly piece together our artificial tree, string the lights and add the ornaments. All the while, classic Christmas music would be playing in the background. Shortly after our house was taken over with red, green and glitter, the cookie baking would commence. Of course, baking is a loose term when it comes to the holly leaf cookies (a tradition all their own). My job: head red-candy-putter-on-er (it's a highly coveted position). These were our traditions. And I loved them.

So, now I'm the mom. And, quite frankly, I'm feeling the pressure. I want the holidays to be as special and magical for my kids as it was for me. The past two years, with just Ryan, have been somewhat muted. He didn't really "get" what Christmas was all about and with our families up in PA, we spent most of the holidays up there, living out of our suitcases and darting from relative to relative trying to squeeze it all in.

Now that Rye's older and LP has joined the party, it seems fitting that we starting busting out some Bachman family traditions. First up - we get a real tree. This is a Nate tradition that I wasn't so keen on at first. But now, I love going to see the real reindeer, ride the wagon, drink the hot warm chocolate and pick out our own unique tree each year.

Second - instead of classic Christmas music while we decorate, we have Elf playing in the background. We've done this every year, but this is the first year we actually let Ryan help with the decorations, so it was the first time he saw the movie. He was mesmorized by Buddy. He actually sat still for more than 10 minutes.

Third - we have Finnegan. We got him as a gift last Christmas and were excited to have him join our family this year! He's an Elf - direct from the North Pole - and he has one job: keep an eye on Ryan and Lindsey every day and see if they're being naughty or nice. Then, every night he flies up to the North Pole to deliver his daily report to Santa. He flies back before we wake up and finds a new place to perch and keep tabs on the littlest Bachman's. Ryan has a love/hate relationship with Fin. When he's good - he loves telling Fin all about his day and bidding him a good night when he goes to bed. When he's bad - he hates Finnegan and doesn't want to even look at him. If he could pick him up and throw him at those times, I'm sure he would. Luckily, Finnegan is a smart elf and stays just out of reach no matter where he sits.

These are our traditions. I think we're off to a good start. More to come as the holiday season rolls on.