It's Beginning to Look Just a Little Tiny Bit Like Christmas....

Christmas decorations seems to come out earlier and earlier every year. This year is no exception. With the economy being the way it has been, it is no surprise to me that the stores decorated early to try and increase sales. I think this has worked for me, as I am almost 100% done with my shopping. No, I did not go to the stores, but I would like to thank Amazon.com for their free shipping. Blissful I tell you.

Bryan and I put up their tree today and have been decorating the house. As I sit here typing, I can see the garland on the banister (I just love lights going up the stairs) and the very large and jazzy Christmas tree is to my right. His tree has both white and colored lights and it about 9" tall. Awesome I tell you! Christmas music is already being played 24 hours a day on KOSI 101.

On our way home we drove around the neighborhood and were surprised at how many people have their tree up already. Granted, I love Christmas and I would like to keep a "holiday" tree up all year, but I am just not feeling it yet. The music is on, the presents are almost all wrapped, but I am lacking the motivation to make my Christmas cards. People throw them out anyway so why do I make them? (I know a few of you keep them, so thank you!) Tomorrow we are decorating the tree with Camden and Torrin, and tonight Bryan and I went and bought Elf on Blu Ray so we will be watching that in a few. Maybe that will spark the Christmas magic for me.

I think part of my issue is I love Christmas so much that I don't want this time of year to end. I love the decorations, the music, getting cards in the mail, seeing the stores decked out, etc. so I want to prolong this time of year for as long as possible. I love the snow and pray for it to fall every year on Christmas. So far the big man has only listened a few times. Sadness. Santa needs snow to have his sleigh run better (which is does as it glides on the snow), so why can't it just snow every year on Christmas Eve and day?

Speaking of Santa (I know, I am random but I write like I think).....the more I think about it, the whole Santa thing is kind of mean. You grow up believing that this jolly chubby man is able to grant you wishes, make all the toys (or purchase them), wrap all of them and travel the entire world making it down the chimney with a huge bag of toys and making it to every child's house in one night. Seriously?  How would you even organize the bag of toys? A bag certainly would not fit all the toys for the entire world, nor would the sleigh fly unless everyone was getting gift cards. In reality, he would need a few semi trucks and several weeks for delivery and transit times.

I had a lot of questions when I was a kid, but why did the logistics of this Santa person never cross my mind? Why is that when we went to several malls in one day, I did not pick up on the fact there was no way possible that the Santa at one mall could get through the entire line of kids, hop in his sleigh and make it to the next mall before we did? Where did he park his sleigh? Parking is TOUGH at the mall during the holidays. How did he manage to park a sleigh WITH reindeer in a crowded mall parking lot? Why was I terrified of a burgular breaking into our house, but a strange man in a red suit was allowed to break into our house after everyone was asleep and I thought nothing of it?  I remember sleeping in my sister's bedroom on Christmas Eve. They told me that if I slept in my room I would hear the reindeer and Santa does not come unless I was asleep. Denise and Johnny are older than me, so when they would tell me this they knew they were lying, but hey, thanks to my siblings for keeping the magic alive for their little sis.

As many of you know, I am an emotional person. Commercials can make me cry, something sweet makes me teary and I do not hide my emotions at all. I have very vivid memories of good and bad times in my life, but I am not sure why I do not remember how I found out there was no Santa. (My sincere apologies if you are learning the truth about that from my blog. I am here if you need me....) Was it so painful that I blocked it out?  I know it was around the 3rd grade because in 5th grade my friend was telling people about Santa and the other students said he was not real. He got VERY upset and went to the encyclopedia (we had no internet back then people) and he showed us a picture of Santa in the book. To him, this was proof. But I honestly have NO memory of learning the truth about Santa. None. Nada. Zip.

Now that I am older, I think the concept of Santa is a beautiful idea. A man who takes care of everything AND delivers wrapped presents to millions in one night? If I were a kid now, I would probably think Santa is real. After all, there IS Amazon.com with free shipping, so he would not have to fly all over the place to get his job done. Fed Ex would do it for him. Or maybe UPS.... "Brown" could do a lot for Santa.  Plus, I would think hey, everyone is all about being "green" these days and animal rights, so why on earth would he fly around the world, polluting the air, and yanking on chains that are connected to animals? See, much more feasible these days.

I feel bad as an Aunt lying to my nephews and niece. Sure, it is a wonderful, magical part of being a child, but it really is a big fat lie. I am thinking that if I have children, the presents they get from Santa will be things like socks, really bad candy, ugly clothes and toys they want nothing to do with. This way when they find out there is no Santa they might be sad, but they will think, "Well, he gave really crappy gifts anyway." See, years of therapy avoided.

Off to watch Elf!

Sick....again.

I have been wishing I could live in a bubble this cold season. They say that the Z-Pak stays in your system for 10 days. For the past 2 times I have been on it, Day 11 is when I get sick. Seriously? I am over being congested and waking up feeling like crud. I am convinced between Bryan's kids and my nephews and niece, we are just going to keep passing it around all season. I just want to feel better. We leave on Tuesday for California and I am praying the congestion is gone that day. Being on a plane with congestion is not my idea of a good time.

Yes, I am whining.

How did this happen?

On my way home tonight, I stopped by my brother and sister in laws house to drop off a pan we borrowed. My 7 year old nephew Justin was upstairs reading to Noelle when I arrived because he is required to read to someone 20 minutes each night. Noelle had to go take care of my other nephew Tyler so Justin read to me. As he sat there reading, my ears got teary. Thankfully he did not see this. Why was I misty eyed? Because I wondered how this all happened. How is it that 7 years have gone by so quickly? I remember getting the call that he was about to be born. It seems like only yesterday I left recess duty and rushed to the hospital just in time for his arrival. He had the most hair on a baby I had ever seen and it was all over the place. He looked nothing like a Diak until months later! I already had two nephews that I adored but since I was no longer in college and living in Ft. Collins, I did not get to see them as much as I would have liked. My brother and Noelle lived in Parker so I was excited to be part of this little guys life as much as possible. I remember the first time I fed him, the first time he rolled over, the first time he called me Tanta. The time we took him to see Santa and I taught him to say "Santa says Ho Ho Ho." As we waited in line to see Santa, all he kept saying was HO! I called him Monkey from the very beginning and I still do.

When I moved away I missed my nephews so much (there were 4 at the time). Justin would call me and talk to me on the phone and when I would come to visit (from "New Jesus" as he called it) he would run into my arms the second he saw me. He was my buddy.  Now that I am back in Colorado, seeing me no longer excites him. I don't get hugs without asking and certainly no kisses. Sometimes on a VERY rare occasion he will sit next to me and snuggle but I can't tell you the last time this happened. He is growing up and I am not a big fan of that. I realize this more and more every day, but tonight really shook me. Here he was, this second grader reading me big words (well, for a second grader). Of course I am thinking he is a genius because I remember when he would just scribble. Now he is reading, writing, making amazing pandas out of clay, and is a whiz at the Wii and on the computer. In a blink of an eye time flew by, and I am certainly not happy about it. What happened to the sweet little boy who got sad when I left him, who had no say when we dressed him up in the duck jammies, or the skunk Halloween costume? Yes, he is still so sweet and SUCH a good big brother, but I just don't want to accept he is a second grader. I love seeing the person he is becoming but it does make me miss the past.

I love all my nephews (and niece of course) and I feel this sadness with all of them. Time has gone by way too fast. I remember getting the call that my nephew Quinn was about to be born. That was 14 years ago. Now he is in high school, going to Homecoming with 3 girls (Go Quinn!) and is an all around awesome, talented kid. His brother Ethan is 12 and he also grew up way too fast. I love their personalities and they are so much fun now. I love spending time with them. They make me laugh, they are just awesome. Going on a road trip was a blast with them. They bring so much laughter in my life, but they will always be the kids who were my first two nephews. The ones who started the Tanta name for me (which has evolved into Tantalicious) and gave me the opportunity to be an Aunt. When I moved to Florida in 99, I received an email from Quinn on January 19th that I still have in my Inbox. He hit some keys on the computer (At age 4) and then my sister translated them for me. Here it is (and yes, I really did keep this!)

ILT

QUINTON

C

M

D

D

PAPA

NANA

1234567890

F

G

O

N

V

QJ

Quinton did this all by himself.  I thought I would translate for you...

ILT= I love Tanta

C=Cody   M=Maggie

D=Denise    D="Is for Tanta"

He is very proud that he can type papa and nana all by himself.

F=frog        G=gorilla        O=owl

N=nose        V=violin

I asked him what the QJ is for and he said, and I quote, "Cause I just fought it would be fun."

Then in April he sent me another email:

mommy is going to type for me...
i'm not gonna be 5 til next year. 
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
i love you tanta

quinton's turn...
gcgvdfufgfdhfgsfh
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
no

In my mind I still think that is how they should type because they will always be little boys in my mind. Now when I see them on Facebook (which was hard enough to accept as it is) I think WOW! They are geniuses! They can use a computer and type! Well, they are in junior high and high school and if they were not doing these things, we would be a little concerned.

I know I have rambled on and on, but tonight was a trip down memory lane for me. I love all these kids so much. At least I have my two year old niece Mikaya who runs to me when she sees me,who always kisses me and cries when I leave. But I know this will change eventually so I cherish these sweet moments.
I love these kids with all my heart and I am so lucky to be their Tanta. Just stop growing up so quick. Please.

The Snuggie....

Ever since I heard about the Snuggie, I thought it was a silly idea. A blanket with sleeves? Who wants THAT? My friend Nicole and I kept getting numerous emails trying to sell us a Snuggie. This turned into a joke among some of us, and we even purchased one for our friend Elizabeth. I am not sure E has ever taken it out of the box, but she does have one.

Snuggies are now everywhere. They have them for kids, in animal prints (anything in animal prints should be burned) and today I saw the ones for dogs. Now that the colder weather is here, I am often under a blanket on my couch or at Bryan's house. While on the couch, I like to use my laptop, as I am doing now. My lap is warm, but my arms are still quite chilly. This happens almost every night. I am tired of putting layers and layers on. This has made me seriously consider getting a Snuggie. *Note to family, friends and of course Santa: I am NOT committing to wanting one of these so please do not get me one for Christmas.*

While Bryan was at his computer and I was freezing on the couch, I mentioned that I was thinking about getting a Snuggie. He told me if I were to get one, I was not allowed to wear it in his presence. Turns out Camden "wants to stay warm" and would like one too. I think Camden and I are on to something. Bryan thinks Camden and I watch far too much TV.

Wouldn't I look good in a Snuggie?

Snow!

The snow makes me giddy. To other members of my family, it seems to cause stress and anxiety. Not me, I love it! I especially love when it snows for days on end and I have nowhere to be.

It started snowing yesterday and when I woke up this morning it was still going. Here are some pictures! The first one is from my front door, the second one shows how much snow was on my deck at 8 a.m. and the last one barely shows the sun coming out. That makes me sad. I want the sun to go away. It is still snowing though, and Mr. Sun has seemed to listen to me. The shocker of the day is we are all still getting together for family pics and the Diak/Holder Thanksgiving!  I am going to see if people will be willing to take the pic outside since it is so pretty. I know I will be told NO. More pics to follow....