Those Magical Memories

I got myself all worked up and excited the past couple weeks over a new tradition I cooked up for my kids. It pretty much sounded like BEST DAY EVER to my 5 year old self, so I decided to start it this year with the girls so by the time they are old enough to really anticipate it they will already have warm fuzzy memories. I called it SUPER SANTA DAY. It included sleeping in (this was added on because it happened to occur today) eating a big eggy breakfast (also today's breakfast request) and then heading for the mall a couple days before Thanksgiving, before things get out of control, and see Santa. This would involve no waiting in line because it's so early and everyone is at the grocery store, plus kids are still in school. (This part will probably need to be altered as years go by, but this year--ideal.) Then we would walk on down to SANTA'S MINI-WORKSHOP aka Build-a-Bear, and each kid could pick out an animal to make and it would be incredible. Then we would make a stop at the Chick-fil-a for my favorite nuggets, and then home for naps and laundry. And then I pretty much avoid the mall until January, or later.

Of course in this fantasy my kids are darling and well-behaved and I am able to use the Santa picture for Christmas cards this year because we were sick on our scheduled family picture day a few weeks ago. They smile like angels and are grateful and sweet.
Here is the resulting Santa Picture:

Not the worst ever, but certainly not one Christmas card worthy. In fact, this is more like those pictures you see of yourself as your get older and think..."Huh. I thought I was cuter." Instead you find yourself looking perplexed and not all that intelligent, and Santa appears to be slumped to one side and ever so slightly creepy.

Santa was also not all that excited about Ella's new Tigger toothbrush she waited all morning to show him, and of course once on his lap she couldn't managed to choke out her request (an umbrella) and Ava screamed bloody murder the moment I stepped out of view. So that was fun. Luckily I'm well seasoned enough as a mom to not bend under pressure and buy the $40 picture package suitable for over the couch framing, and instead sprang for the cheap-o
"Dasher" package, as in "You will "Dash" all your children's Christmas Dreams" for $24.99. Arg. But, happily, no line.

Next on to Build-a-Bear, were I was expecting to drop a chunk of change on Childhood Magic. I had promised myself I would allow Ella to choose whatever bear she wanted, (except the ultra-luxury ones) no matter how offensive it was and even if it had peace signs on it or smelled like stickiness or was something dumb, like a stuffed vegetable or something. However I did stand in front of the stuffed Angry Birds during the choosing process. Ella chose a baby blue fluffy bear, and tried to force the pink one on her sister, but I steered Ava towards the more natural looking bears and she picked out the Midnight Bear, which would have been my fourth choice or so. So far so good.

I didn't understand that the noise maker for putting inside the bear was optional until after Ella had chosen one that sang a verse of "True Colors" so we splurged on that but Ava did not get a noise maker. They enjoyed stuffing the bears and REALLY enjoyed fluffing them in "the bath tub" where they are sprayed with air and brushed, so much so that Ella had to return 4 times to the tub and had to be carried screaming from the store after an hour. Also she chose a Buzz Lightyear costume for her bear, and after she was all dressed in it (and therefore committed to buy) she decided she needed another bath and announced she preferred her bear naked. Ava was thrilled with a striped sweater so I didn't push it. So we made birth certificates we forgot to ask for at the end, and the bears were named "Ella" and "Black Bear" and a mighty fit was thrown when they were put into boxes at the cash register, and then we left. I'm not going to share the grand total on this piece of holiday cheer because my husband reads this.

However, here is the happy at home photo of the girls with their Christmas Bears, or their bottoms anyway, to protect their identity.

Also my husband has hidden my camera, so these were taken with my iphone, aka my birthday and Christmas gift for the rest of my natural life.

Now the kids are taking little naps (we skipped the chicken in the end...boo.) and Ella is topless because she wants to be naked just like her Ella bear, and by the way, her name is now Mickey, you know, because the bear is Ella.

I can't help but think that for all the happy memories we made today, this little preschool place mat will become our treasured 2011 Thanksgiving tradition, and perhaps we should make one with Ava when she wakes up.

Ava even has a matching forehead boo-boo I could put an Ariel band-aid on. I think I will do that. Maybe Super Santa Day should be every-other-year.