Hey Santa!

The big guy definitely made a visit to our house this Christmas, and brought with him a big gift for three girls: a play kitchen! We were really thrilled by this, since Maddie had been asking for it for months and telling everyone she could think of that Santa would be bringing her a kitchen. So hooray Santa!

The problem? Apparently Mr. Claus didn't quite understand Miss Madelyn's request or...ummm...expectations.

In the spirit of the Christmas traditions I remember (and I've been reflecting a lot on the fact that I just automatically want to recreate some of those traditions in our home...so I'm thankful for the fact that my mom and dad really went out of their way to make holidays special for us!), we gathered up the kids and sat them on our stairs, while I went down and checked to make sure Santa had, in fact, come. In other words, I turned on all the tree lights, took photos of the calm before the wrapping paper storm, and got ready for action!

Video camera rolling, we brought two very excited little girls into the living room, where the first thing they saw was this:

(Another aquired tradition: gifts from Santa aren't wrapped in our house!) A rather subdued Madelyn - and by that I mean no high pitched exclamatory remarks or shrieking, which is generally her way of showing excitement - stated matter of factly, "He brought me a kitchen. Not a REAL kitchen, but it's ok I guess..." HUH? Mommy Santa experienced a moment of pure disappointment followed quickly by serious anxiety over the fact that this was the MAJOR gift, particularly for Madelyn. If she didn't like this, Christmas was pretty much going to be a bust!

Me: "What do you mean, a "real" kitchen, Maddie?"

M: "You know, one that works. This one isn't real, look. The sink doesn't have water and the over (turning knobs back and forth) doesn't work."

Me: "Oh well I don't think Santa could bring a real kitchen, Maddie. Kids can't have real kitchens you know, they're kind of dangerous. You know, working ovens get really hot and..."

M: "Well it's ok. It's cool anyways."

And with that, the excitement actually kicked it, she recovered, and she was off... ooohing and ahhing over the kitchen and everything else, including the not-so-fun things like her new winter coat.

PHEW. And thanks for okaying it, Princess M! After my moment of temporary panic, I actually started thinking about how funny it all was and how happy I was to have caught it on video. She didn't come off as ungrateful or anything (and I'll admit I was a little horrified at first, thinking she might be about to act truly spoiled), just genuinely perplexed by the fact that she had wanted a real kitchen and this one wasn't going to actually cook stuff. I guess Santa can come around again next year after all...

Nothing like a little train ride...

to spread the Christmas joy to our children!

[Side note: It's been a while since I've updated (what else is new...I need to get better about this, and I swear it's on my list of New Year's resolutions!) so I'm going to back post a number of Christmas season updates and photos. Might take me a bit, but I'll get there.]

We decided to go to Edaville Railroad on December 23rd, which is the best place I know of to get in the holiday spirit. I remember going there as a kid, and to be honest -- not much has changed. And I love it that way! Edaville's claim to fame is a lovely old fashioned heated train ride (about 25 minutes) through the woods and around the local cranberry bogs, right through their Festival of Lights. The light displays contain over 7 MILLION lights and some really fun scenes, including Noah's ark and all the animals, a Christmas Village, dinosaurs (one of Maddie's favorites!), a castle, etc. Since it was a really mild day -- but still a bit of snow on the ground -- we decided it would be a good day for a trip. We called my mom and asked her to come too, so the 6 of us headed in at about 5:30.

My mom said that my dad didn't really want to go, since it wasn't his thing...and I joked that she should remind him that it would be fun seeing Christmas joy through the eyes of a child (or three, as the case may be). But seriously, even I probably couldn't have imagined the thrill and excitement that this trip would stir up for our girls.

It took us probably 45 minutes just to get down the entrance walkway, where there were little wooden houses lining the walk, each containing a moving animated Christmas scene. Madelyn loved the one of Santa's living room with Mrs. Claus in a moving rocking chair, as well as the one with the elves making Christmas toys in their workshop. They also had a man carving reindeer, beavers, etc. out of big logs, which Sienna was amazed by. Even Lyla was thoroughly entertained by the whole night and didn't really fuss once. She is definitely at her happiest when "out and about" shopping, sightseeing, etc.!

The train ride was obviously the prime event of the night, and we all really loved it. We were near the front of the line and managed to get seats in the first car, which had comfy booth-like leather seats and nice HEAT to warm us up! Once we got off the train, the kids went on a few rides and climbed up in some of the real antique train cars. The merry go round seemed to frighten both of them, for some reason...but everything else was a huge hit.

Not to go unmentioned was the fact that it was just as fun to see how excited my mom was to watch the kids' excitement as it was to see them! It was also nice to have another set of hands, so Brad and I could enjoy a couple of rides with the older two while my mom stayed with Lyla and the stroller. Thanks, Mom!

Finally -- three cheers for Starbucks, who had set up a fabulous tent right at the entrance way and was handing out beautiful little cups of steaming peppermint hot chocolate, complete with whipped cream and sprinkles. They were giving samples both on the way in AND the way out, along with coupons to everyone for a free beverage of your choice at Starbucks when you buy one at full price. I have to say, this little touch was just the icing on the cake for a really nice holiday night. The yummy cocoa was just the right size for little kids and just the right amount to warm you up. And from a marketer's standpoint, I gotta say that it was just the right amount to make sure that I will return to Starbucks and give them some business. They're sure to get some really decent conversion out of this particular sampling tactic!

Snow Babies

Winter officially arrived here this weekend. Wow, what a crazy burst of blustery weather! It seems like it has snowed for much of the past four days or so, and we finally got some decent accumulation. Yes, that's right -- I DO like snow and winter weather! And I was just thrilled that the kids were finally going to be able to get out in the snow and make a snowman. Last year was so disappointing! The weekend storm finished up with nasty snow/sleet/rain and dense fog this afternoon and evening, which made for a real mess and kept us inside the entire day. But you know, that was ok too. It gave me a good excuse to get my holiday baking done, and the girls and I worked in the kitchen most of the day, making caramel & chocolate dipped pretzel rods, peppermint biscotti, pumpkin bread, and even fun "reindeer food" for our neighbors to sprinkle on their lawns Christmas Eve.




There's just something incredibly cute about kids bundled up like State Puff marshmallow people, playing in the snow. Of course, getting Sienna to STAY bundled is a whole separate issue. Though she kept complaining that her hands were cold, she insisted on taking her mittens off so she could feel the snow. Maddie is a bit better about it, but I remember going through the same thing with her at this age.

She's FOUR!

Happy 4th Birthday Madelyn!!

It's birthday time in our house, and today was #2...I can't believe it has been four years since I gave birth to Madelyn, and since we first became parents. It's so weird to have this actual child in our house now...it seems like we just yesterday decided to have children, and now we're already out of the baby and toddler phase with our oldest, and she's 4 going on about 14!

Four years ago today, we were in a hospital in Chicago gazing with absolute wonder at our new addition, wondering what this little person would be like, and how on earth we would ever learn the ropes of parenting. It's funny, but most days I think we still look at her in absolute wonder...and I think we still wonder how we're ever going to REALLY get the hang of this parenting thing! LOL!

Seriously though, here is a picture of Maddie today on her fourth birthday. We're having a combined party for the girls next week, but we wanted to make each of their actual birthday days special. So today, we began the day with presents and special birthday pancakes shaped like hearts and flowers. Maddie got her turn as "princess for the day" and had fun wearing the tiara I bought for the event. I think it was hard for her to watch Sienna wearing it the other day - she kept saying she wanted her birthday to be first! It was no consolation to her that hers was technically "first" given that she was born two years prior to Sienna. I was really happy that her big gift - a Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera - was a huge hit, and she was so incredibly excited to be taking her own pics with a "REAL" camera (which she kept repeating as if she couldn't believe it!).

After helping me put up Christmas decorations (one of Maddie's favorite activities!), we took the kids outside briefly...it was only 22 degrees, BRR!!! and then headed out to do some errands. While bending over and rummaging oh so gracefully through the kids' coat closet to get Lyla's hat and mittens, I hear a loud "CLICK" and knew instantly that my butt had been permanently memorialized on Maddie's new camera. She thought it was hysterical and went around hooting with laughter and showing it off proudly to Daddy. Nice one, Mads!

We ended up stopping by my parents' house for a nice visit, and my mom had set up a cute little celebration for both Maddie and Sienna with birthday gifts and a little cake candle. So cute! The kids were thrilled and it was a nice end to the weekend. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)