Out of the Mouths of Babes

Now I know I didn't teach my 5-year-old this word: Sexy. Having bopped downstairs with this get-up on, Baeleigh then proceeded to walk over to me and say, "Sex-y!" What?! And, just where did you learn that word from? Ummmm. Yeah, suddenly we draw a blank. Who do we implicate? Well, I'll spare the accused but let's just say it was from daycare. Oh, what wonderful things they learn at daycare. Needless to say, Baeleigh was told not to say that word again. But I have to wonder, does she have some spirit in her reliving the flower power days of Woodstock and the 60s? Where in the world did she come up with this outfit? Kids.

Go West, Young Woman

Colorado

For the first time in about 13 years, I went out to visit family in Colorado. Not only were we visiting Stef, having moved out there about 6 months ago, but also my Aunt Debra and Uncle Tab, Kaitlin and Justin. I haven't seen Kaitlyn since she was about 5 and I think Justin was maybe eleven. Ironically, it was Jess, Stef and Aunt Vickie that I went out with the last time as well and since then we have carried on the saying, "bada bing, bada boom". It was just a cute little phrase that Kaitlin said one time while we were out there and it's just stuck with us every since. Kaitlin has no idea what we are referring to at this point, yet we still find it hysterically funny every time we say it.

Everything looked the same to me. Their house, the mountains, the town. Though, I'm sure to them it's very different. It's still difficult for me to digest the fact that Kaitlin and Justin are in their teens and early twenties. It was so great to catch up with everyone. I can see in Justin where I was in my later years of college. And, I know that he will find his way. He just needs to hang in there. Looking back at that time in my life, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life anymore. I had basically done an about-face on my direction in life, thinking originally that I wanted to be an attorney or judge on international environmental issues. It was as if someone just turned off the treadmill on me. But, I found my way, and he will too.

I can see that has taken her first steps at settling in to a new town, with new friends, and new horizons. I'm so proud of what she has accomplished. Just turn the heat on and stop freezing yourself. (Not that I have room to talk when I keep our house at 69.) And it was nice to just have some girl chats and hear some well-needed advice to know that you aren't the only one with your demons.

I'm so glad that I made that trip. I just reaffirmed for me how much I love my family and how much I enjoy our closeness. I hope that never changes.

Until next time girls, bada bing bada boom!

Back to Christmas Basics

As I said before, I wanted nothing more than to just savor the whole idea of Christmas this year. With Gavin sick all month and my Dad recently discovering that he has melanoma, it only underscored how important it was to enjoy the time with my family and just appreciate what we have together. I think my Christmas wish was granted.

This was our second year of testing out the whole breakfast at my house with my parents, then off to Tommy's parents for linner (lunch/dinner) and then lastly my Dad's side of the family for dessert and games. In theory, it seems that this should work out. It's roughly 3 hours for everyone, though everyone is never satisfied with the schedule. Oh, well, you can't please everyone. And, this seems to work out the best for us right now. This was the kind of tediousness that I vowed not to have interrupt my "perfect" Christmas. I guess you could say that this is also a New Year's resolution for now. Not to worry so much about what others want or how to please everyone, to just do what makes Crissy happy. It's a hard one, I know, but a good one.

Leading up to Christmas couldn't have been more exciting in our household. Baeleigh was very much into the whole Santa thing. As a matter of fact, Tommy even found a Santa radar website that tracked Santa on Christmas Eve. It had broadcasts of Santa in whatever particular city he was in. Pretty cute. She loved it. We even showed her where Santa was before she went to bed that night. Nova Scotia - very close. She was so excited. As a team player Tommy of course felt obligated to eat the nearly pound of fudge and milk left for Santa, including the one that was accidentally dropped into the glass of milk. Tough job.

Baeleigh, You're Toto

For about a month leading up to her daycare's annual play, Baeleigh had been teased that she was Toto, the dog. (This year the play was Wizard of Oz.) We've had to explain to her that being Toto was actually cool and that her friends were probably just jealous that she had that part. I mean she was actually in the whole play, not just one scene after all.

The play turned out to be adorable. Baeleigh came running down the aisle barking to start off the play. In true Baeleigh-style though, it was sprinkled with well-timed interjections of "I can't see", "Stop hitting me with your axe" and just generally readjusting her hugely over-sized costume. Baeleigh never fails to be the life of the party.