Tis the Season

"This is growing right out of your face? Woah"



Yep. The Christmas season is upon us. Music playing, sleigh bells ringing, chestnuts roasting and all that jazz. Or - music playing, salvation army bells ringing, and throngs of crazy shoppers charging their way through the malls, consuming everything in their paths - like a manic cloud of hungry locusts.

(shudder)

Well, we try and focus on the positive here at Camp Chaney. We decorate trees, bake cookies, dig out our favorite Christmas C.D's and re-watch our favorite holiday movies. ("Merry Christmas you old Building and Loan!") We don't worry about overspending...cuz we really don't have any money to spend. (3 cheers for poverty!)

But this week I decided to shake it up a little. What the heck. Live a little! Its the babies first Christmas...and I'm a mommy!! So...I joined a lot of other ambitious mommies and took my kids to visit Santa...in the m-a-l-l.

Ok. I have to be honest here. I avoid the mall like the PLAGUE this time of year. But...I'm a mommy. And everyone knows Santa lives at the mall. With Elizabeths help - we took the babies on a little "Santa sojourn".

It was Monday. (I was taking a break from school, after a successful opening weekend of my fall production of Jane Eyre). The mall was not as busy...I guess. We arrived MOMENTS before Santa took his merry one hour break. They were seriously - just about to close the gate, when the jolly ol' fellow took one look at the twins and let us come in. We were in line after a mother and her 3 kids. They were all squished onto Santas lap - and the younger child was screaming and screaming - with a big open mouth - formed as an "O" screeeeaaaming. The mother is calmly looking at Santa's picture lady and saying "Go ahead and take the photo. Its okay that he's crying."

Now. Aside from meeting a mother that I COMPLETELY don't understand - this was doing very little to install confidence in the old chubby dude in red for the twins. I worried that this might freak them out a bit (because god knows, it was freaking me out) but it didn't.

I had already decided that if the kids panicked we were out of there. But...it actually went ok. We all watched in fascination. Santa was a good Santa. This guy wasn't wearing a costume ~ he really looks like that!

Well - the kids didn't panic. They didn't really smile - but they didn't freak out either. All in all - not a bad first introduction to Santa!

Ross and I spent that evening decorating our Christmas tree. It was a quiet evening, spent listening to Christmas music and quietly unpacking and hanging Christmas ornaments. Our friend Judson, lent us the groovy baby barricade and so far - it seems to be working. The twins like their first Christmas tree - though I have a theory they are conspiring daily on how to get around that barricade. Ho ho ho!

My parents will be here in about 10 days. We are all excited and ready for Christmas vacation!



Babes in toyland


Babies First Christmas Tree

Contemplating how to get over the baricade and to that twinkly tree!