Dear Santa Claus

Emily has been so cute this Christmas season. She has been trying to understand Santa Claus and how the whole reindeer, naughty and nice, and present thing works. She has been trying so hard to be extra good so she will get some presents. Earlier this month she even wrote a letter to Santa Claus tattle-telling on Sam (just to make sure Santa was well informed).

The entire day on Christmas Eve she tried so hard to do everything right. She worked diligently cleaning up her toys and not making any messes (because at our house Santa Claus doesn't come to a messy house). She spent some time drawing a picture for Santa and taped some treats (leftover Halloween candy) to it (see above). She also left him a present along with some cookies (that her Primary teacher gave her). She left her sweet offering near the Christmas tree so Santa would be sure to see it.

Another Sammy Says...

Early one morning there was a beautiful frost covering everything, Sam looks out the car window and says, "Mom, look! There's a snowflake tree! (Just as you would say, "Look! An apple tree.)

The picture doesn't capture the beauty of that morning. The sun was glistening off the frost covered trees. It was amazing.

Sammy Says...

The other day Sam was running around the living room yelling:

I'm a spaceship!

I'm blasting off!

I'm squirting fire!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I love the Christmas season. There is always so much to do to get ready for the big day. Christmas cards to send, presents to buy, packages to ship, food to prepare, and so much more. Because of all the excitement, I have to admit, I have not had time to blog lately. But, never fear blog readers, I'll post more soon. In the meantime, Merry Christmas!!

A Tablespoon of Honey is the Medicine That Goes Down

I have had a cough since Saturday and it has been driving me crazy. Brad read an article that said that a tablespoon of honey is more effective than an over-the-counter cough suppressant. So I decided to try it and I have to admit that it works great. For the past two nights I have taken a tablespoon of honey at bedtime and I did not wake up coughing. This afternoon I was coughing a lot (Sorry Sarah, I was coughing throughout your lovely birthday luncheon) and I took some when I got home. Sure enough my coughing has eased.

I have to admit, I don't usually use alternatives to drugs. I'm more than happy to relieve my symptoms by taking a little pill but I'll vouch for a tablespoon of honey (just don't give it to babies younger than one).

No by David Walsh, PhD

This book was reviewed in our local newspaper awhile back and it interested me so I checked it out from the library. I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it reflected our parenting style. It was nice to have a book validate what I have always believed in.

Here are a few chapter headings:

• No: Why Kids Need it
• Saying No in a Yes Culture
• No and the Brain
• Self-Esteem: Kids Need the Real Thing
• Taming the Gimmes
• Raising Media Wise Kids
• No is Not a Destination; No is the Road to Yes

He also has a chapter on different stages and how No is applicable and important during that stage such as toddler, middle years, teenage, etc.

At the end of each chapter he has Do's and Don'ts as well as a checklist to see how you are doing and where you need to improve.

Some points I like in the book:

• Tell stories that promote values.
• Slow down and take time to listen to your children.
• Limit your child's media.
• Teach your children patience. Make sure they periodically have to wait for things.
• Evaluate whether you allow your child to face No.
• Make family a priority.
• Decide if your kids are doing too much.
• Don't do things for your kids that they should be able to do for themselves.
• Don't become a nonstop entertainment committee for your children.
• Don't give your children everything they want.
• Don't become a doormat for disrespectful behavior. Tolerance and patience are important parental traits, but you are allowed to insist-and should insist- on courteous and responsible behavior by your children.

Here's what he has to say about balanced parenting:

• Clearly establish limits with judicious use of No.
• Firmly, consistently enforce consequences.
• Be respectful and engaged with your kids and require that from them in return.
• Keep an emotional connection with your kids.
• Demand accountability and responsibility, but always combine your demands with respect and warmth.
• Negotiate, up to a point, You set the rules as the parent.
• Give and take and-only occasionally-compromise.

My goal as a parent is to raise children who will be able to handle being an adult. I hope they will become successful, competent, loving, hard-working, spiritual adults (to name a few). If kids are not given a chance to face difficulties, how will they learn once they leave the nest. At least when they are at home, they can learn what they need to in a loving, caring, safe environment.

I also like how Dr. Walsh discusses how media influences children. Brad and I take the media's influence very seriously. Our kids do not watch any TV at home. We limit movies to long road trips and occasionally a free movie in the theater. We make sure the movies they do see are appropriate for their age and maturity. We do let them play computer games but this does not happen frequently enough to be a problem and most of the games they play are educational or art activities.

Some people think this is strange but we LOVE it!!!! I could post all the reasons why and how and what and maybe I will sometime but for this post I'll say that it is a blessing in our house. At this time of the year, I'm grateful that no one is telling my kids what they want for Christmas. Since they are not exposed to commercials, they decide for themselves.

So I would encourage all parents to find a copy and see what might help your family.

Emily and Ben

Emily is the best big sister in the world. She loves her little baby brother Benjamin so much. Despite the fact that he is 21 pounds and she is not quite 35 pounds, she packs him around the house (even down the stairs which she is not supposed to do). The other morning I was in the shower and she decided to get Ben out of the crib. So she climbed into his crib, lifted him over the rail, and handed him to Sam (who is not strong enough to carry him around). Sam then laid him down on the floor. Then Emily picks him up and carries him to my bathroom. I was out of the shower by now and she brings him in. I, in a somewhat calm voice, ask how they got Ben out of the crib (there was no crying as far as I could tell). Emily calmly tells me how and says, "And we didn't even drop him once!"
Ben loves Emily and he smiles and gets excited when she comes home from school. He is very tolerant of what she does to him and is happy to be included in all the fun. Here is Emily dressing Ben in her dress up clothes. He was quite adorable and he even left the headband on for awhile (then he chewed it.)
Emily is a great helper with Ben. One morning I woke up to Emily, Sam, and Ben all in Ben's crib. Emily was getting Ben dressed. She had changed his diaper and was putting on his clothes. It was so wonderful to wake up to three kids all dressed and ready for the day!
Thanks Emily for all your help! You are a great girl and I appreciate how much you help me. You even do it with a smile!

Sam and Friends

Sam is a shy boy and is very happy staying at home with me. He doesn't have a huge need to be with friends but he does have two best buddies. Here are a few pictures I couldn't resist posting.

Here is Sam with his #1 best friend, Mason. Sam and Mason have played with each other since they were little. Emily and Mason's older sister, Sarah, are best friends and we spend a lot of time with their family. Even though Sam is about 9 months older than Mason, from the picture you can tell he is much shorter. Sam and Mason love to play with each other. They get so excited to go to each other's houses to play. Here they are dressed up as firemen, ready to go outside and put out some fires! (This picture was taken in November when the weather was still nice.) Here is Sam with his other buddy, Blake. Blake's mom, Hillary, is my visiting teacher and we have become friends. Blake is a fun boy who loves to dress up. Since he has no sisters at home, Emily's dress up is exciting and new to him. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of these two little guys all dressed up as queens and princesses (it was their idea-Emily wasn't even home). Don't worry within a few minutes they were sword fighting and playing with trains and cars.P.S. Blake is only 1 1/2 months older than Sam but much, much taller. My Sammy is a short, little guy.

Ben in Time Out

Somehow, Ben ended up in the time out corner. I'm not sure if he had help getting there (i.e. Emily or Sam). But he was was too cute sitting in the corner, eating a slipper, to not take a picture. So here is my cute baby. Excuse the slobber and runny nose, just look at those chubby arms. He definitely has not done anything that would send him to time out-he's just too adorable and sweet natured!

Emily and "Nancy"

Brad and I have this little "debate." I love the name Nancy. I would love to have another little girl and name her Nancy. Brad absolutely does not like the name. We were joking about it the other day. Emily was listening and she came up with a solution. So let me introduce you...

...This is Nancy. Emily spent about an hour and a half creating Nancy. She traced her own feet and hands for Nancy's feet and hands. She colored the entire body. She made a dress for her and decorated it with flowers and colored it yellow (her favorite color). She gave her hair and included a bow that doubles as a handle to hold her.

For about three days, we had to include Nancy is most family activities; bed time stories, dinner time, etc. She is now hanging on our art board as an honorary family member.

Will I ever get a "real" Nancy. Who knows...I'm still hoping.

Snow Sam

Sam went outside this morning to shovel snow. I thought he meant the driveway.
Silly me.

First Big Snow of the Season

On Saturday we had our first big snow of the season. My unofficial report is that we had about 4 inches of snow and ice. I say snow and ice because the snow at times felt like little ice balls which stung your face as it fell from the sky. It also plastered our front window with ice which gave it a frosted look.

Later, the snow started to melt but then froze which made everything very icy. It was very pretty though. Our mailbox, roof, and house were covered with ice which glistened in the sun. Once it stopped snowing, we started to shovel. It was difficult to shovel the snow because of the ice layer on top. We had to break the ice with either the shovel or in some cases a heavy, metal ice scrapper before we could get to the snow to shovel it out of the way.
The kids had a great time playing outside. They bundled up and played for quite awhile (and Brad thought I was crazy to buy snow pants:-). They thought it was really neat because they could walk on top of the snow and not leave footprints (because of the ice). Emily and Anders, the boy across the street, slid down the sidewalk with sleds. Everything was so slippery, they had a blast.

Eventually, we all got too cold and tired of being outside. So we went inside and had hot chocolate with candy canes. Oh, it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

200 Days

Today is a milestone in our lives. Brad only has 200 more days left in his residency (not that he's counting down or anything ;)

We can't believe it. Our long journey is almost over-5 years of graduate school, 4 years of medical school and almost 4 years of residency.

Two hundred days seems like nothing.

All I Want For Christmas Is....

We went to a Winter Carnival today and the kids were able to sit on Santa Claus' lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Emily woke up bright and early and came into my room to make sure I had not forgotten today was the day of the carnival. I was worried that Sam would be scared of Santa Claus, but he wasn't. Ben didn't seem to mind this white bearded fellow. He had no problem sitting on Santa's lap. Emily, of course, was excited and spoke loud and clear her Christmas wishes.

This is what they asked for:

Emily

1. The Guess Who game (She played it with Uncle Shaun and Aunt Kelsey this summer and has wanted it ever since.)
2. A notebook (So she can write stories.)

Sam

1. A dinosaur set (He didn't give any details.)
2. A Mickey Mouse notebook (He says his friend, Mason, has one.)

Ben

1. Okay, he didn't actually ask for anything but Emily hopes he gets something.

I think that is a pretty reasonable list. Maybe Santa will be able to make their wishes come true.