Seventeen years ago, I had to drive the old Volvo station wagon I'd been using to back to trade in for what my parents assured me was a good deal. In my head, I must admit I was a bit perturbed, because how can one fit a double bass into a sedan? I already had been through that with my grandma's Nissan in high school. A station wagon is so much more useful even if I had been labeled the "soccer mom" of the KU dorms. It's still weird to me to think back that as a Math and Econ major I was more concerned at 20 with getting my bass and amp to and from gigs easily then I was with econometrics and optimization problem. But my parents insisted, and I really couldn't find any fault with the privilege of getting a new car. My dad was usually (always...) right about these things too (though as any good child I refused to admit it for a good ten years).
Over 17 years I moved from L, KS, to D, TX, and back to L, KS, to M, TN, and then to C and A, TX. I got my future wife and I lost on dates to the D Opera in that car. I took Miss E home from Lawrence hospital in that car. I drove through a MTN ice storm to help safely bring Mr E into the world as well. It really only started to have problems after a trip to San Antonio when a truck tire blew out in front of us and we couldn't avoid running over a large piece of tire. We still made it to San Antonio and back, everyone safe and healthy. Even then, it was years before I finally faced the inevitable and repair costs began to outweigh just buying a new car.
So tomorrow morning, I go to trade in my 17 year old Honda Accord. We have not yet told Ms E, because she very often has reminded how she will get it when she's 16 and wants to paint it pink. Or purple. Or whichever color has caught her fancy that month. I am sure her affection will change quite quickly to the new car.
So to my parents, thank you for the 17 wonderful and safe years. To my wife, thank you for letting me drive this poor vehicle into the ground for sentimental (rather than cheapskate, although that's part of it) purposes. And to the old silver car, thanks for getting me from point A to point B. May the new car fill your considerably large tires. (and for those musicians wondering: yes, you can fit an amp and a double bass into a 2003 Honda Accord, and once I figured this out I couldn't help but smile each time I was able to get it in and back out with ease).
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That post was written by my husband, before going to the dealership. The best deal was given to us by a dealership a few towns over, so he made the drive this morning. He came back around noon, ready to surprise the kids. He meant to surprise me, too. But last night he decided to tell me so I could help with the surprise. The kids didn't guess correctly (Q gave them a clue or two) until the very last moment, and though Miss E did in fact feel a little sad to let go of our old car, she was so happy about the new one that I think it very much felt to her that the trade in was worth it.
The new Honda is a CRV, and it is just perfect for the needs of a little family! So far, we're all very much in love with it. Needs a name, maybe. Though in 20 years when we have to trade in again that might make things difficult...
We took it for a quick drive around town and got ourselves some Starbucks! The only other two times we've allowed ourselves the exposure was for my birthday, and then for the traditional Christmas lights drive. It was fun, and the kids were wanting to go on a trip! haha! We will, in a few days.
This is what I woke up to on the morning of Mr E's birthday. We had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV with the kids the night before, and then Mr E had woken up really early because at some point the middle of the night he got up and realized his dad had bought laser tag guns for us all to play with for his birthday. Well, this is Mr E, jumping through the living room to get to a safe spot or something. He and Quijote were playing laser tag at-- well, I don't really know what time it was, but it was some disgracefully early hour of the morning. And these guns are loud. But way fun! Mr E looked so happy!!! So I peeled myself off the couch and Q and I started making breakfast so we could all eat and go to the park to play tag.
Here is Mr E with his birthday breakfast :)
Mr E got calls during breakfast and on our way to the park, where the kids kicked Quijote and Mami butt. We played all morning, until we got hungry, and decided to pick up a special meal of Mr E's choice home. He wanted Wendy's of course.
At home, we ate our very nutritious Wendy's meals, and then there was some serious napping- we were all pooped from all the running around!
But not very much later, the kids were ready for more laser tagging. This time we played inside, and were surprised at how fun it was with all the things around the house. I thought the trees would be plenty, but being in the house was like being in scatter terrain! It was tons of fun.
Then was the turn of a very easy to break little pinata. It was seriously down in just a few hits. Haha!
It was cooooold outside, and chilly and windy. So it was perfect timing to come back inside for some hot cocoa, watching the Mandalorian, and having cake. Miss E and I set up a pretty nice little spread on the dining room table, and even made tiny party hats for the dinosaurs. The cake was made by the kids, and decorated mostly by Miss E. They wouldn't let me help!
We finished the night by the light of the fire. It was cozy and warm and the perfect time to tell stories.
Before falling asleep on the couch... again. Jaja. Happy birthday, Mr E!!! Here are a couple videos from his special day.
I've been meaning to write a post about Mr E's birthday interviews. I started making little videos of the kids talking or telling a story when they were very little because I remember being a teenager and listening to a recording of myself singing as a very young kid, or watching home videos from when my siblings and I were all kids, and being so intrigued by this strange other self I was being exposed to, and thinking that it felt a little like time travel! I wanted that for our kids. I copied the exact birthday interview idea from elsewhere -I honestly don't remember where- and started doing those when the kids turned 4 or so. You know, when they seemed old enough to communicate their thoughts. Or when I got the idea from somewhere? Haha. Whichever came first. The birthday interview idea is really very simple: you try to ask the same questions over the years, and see how they answer them differently as they grow up. It seemed like a fun thing to do! They are both now 7 and 9, so there's not a whole bunch of them yet, especially Mr E, since if you think about it, he hasn't been talking for that many years, but at least we have a a few interviews for each of them.
The super early ones might still be in one of those expensive memory things we bought back in the day, especially early ones of Miss E. I think there are a few interviews with Miss E on this blog... I'll look for the link...
I think there might be one more interview I haven't found in one of those memory blocks, from when Mr E was 3yo.
The interview I did find is from when he had just turned 4 years old!
Here it is:
And while I was at it, I found a couple more videos from that year (he was 4 or 5 years old in these, since they are from 2018. These are not interviews, but are "talking videos" in which I have a short conversation with him, so you can hear his little kid speech. Very very cute!
Mr E forgives me for making his dinosaur fall. And gives yummy oatmeal to the "fallen" hero.
And one more.
Mr E has a very complex dream involving a TRex and some jello.
Let us belabor the subject. Since I am always inclined to do so... and perhaps in this case also a little worried that my adult children might in the future see an inconsistency in this. (Skip to the cute pictures if you're just here to see the kids' fun activities. No one will ever know. Haha)
We, as a family just do it for fun. These elves aren't snitches jaja. For many reasons, we also do not do the Santa Claus thing, so there is no secret to keep. Which is a good thing, considering the kids have often walked out of their room in the middle of the night to get a drink or use the restroom (or, yes, to shamelessly try to sneak into our bed, which we still let them do on occasion... ok we let them do it a lot.) I can see how this might be confusing, though, that a family that does not do the Santa Claus thing has started doing the elf on the shelf thing...
Last year, in the middle of Advent, Miss E made an official request. She had heard all about the elf on the shelf tradition from her friends and really wanted to do it. If you think the elves are creepy, I have to admit I don't disagree with you! They look kinda creepy to me, too, and I had sort of automatically decided we weren't doing this, for reasons I thought would be obvious to her. But she really wanted to do it, and honestly, I knew if the children understood it isn't real- if they knew it was totally just me doing fun setups for them to find the next morning- then my main concern was no longer an issue: They would not feel the pressure of a negative reinforcement the narrative behind which we do not believe in to begin with. We also have had several conversations about gifts, the true reason for the Christmas celebration, and how the stories of Santa Claus affect families who, often for unfair reasons, do not enjoy the financial privilege and social status that other people have. These conversations are not necessarily always elf related and we were having them as soon as I thought the kids had a sense of their spirituality (and frankly, a sense of their social status), since I think it is very important for them to understand that while it is okay to enjoy the blessings we have been given, it is absolutely a part of our family's belief system that we should also share these blessings with our neighbor, and that this responsibility comes first (the story of the Good Samaritan comes to mind). Though they are young, our children are privy to the otherwise somewhat private ways in which Q and I invest our time, effort, and finances into big and small ways of helping and sharing with others, and they are encouraged to share whatever they as children might be able to share with others. With all of this in mind, I am confident in our kids' innate and learned ability to see the difference between tons and tons of fun and irresponsible overindulgence. So though I admit it felt like the inner conversation was necessary last year, when I did have it, I was able to give my more conservative self the freedom to do this unorthodox thing.
All of which brings me to the simpler, fun little fact, that we bought an elf for Miss E last year, in the middle of the season. It took us a few tries too, because we were late, and because I wanted a brown skinned, brown eyed girl elf, and because I didn't want the book- I was hoping to buy just the elf. Even this year, when I tried to buy a second elf for mr E very early in the season (he didn't ask for one, but I started worrying about things being equitable between him and miss E) I still couldn't find an elf that I could buy without having to get a second book-- seriously, what do they expect families with more than one child to do after the first, second, third elves? People just have to let those books pile up, I guess. I'm pretty sure they're only sold as a package. But it seemed so wasteful to me, so I bought a slightly different elf- also, and this is what I told the kids, I think this one is actually cuter in style and in my opinion is also better built! And I decided a little representation was a good thing on both accounts, and so now we have a slightly fairer boy elf for the kiddo. I'm still going to paint his eyes brown, though. Haha. This whole thing makes me wonder if I take our parenting too seriously... but goodness! if that isn't a whole other can of worms...
This year the elves came to visit us very early. I called it an emergency landing (because we have found new levels of boredom, now that the weather allows for even less outings than before) and started in early November. Yup. I am crazy. And I will have used up two years worth of Pinterest elf ideas in one year. Nevertheless, we needed the little extra bit of sugar in our lives, methinks, and we have had lots of fun with it. Honestly, I do have a lot of fun setting these up at the end of the day. And I really enjoy the children's reactions in the morning.
And now that I've given you my spiel, I will continue to reel off in a different way and share a very silly collection of videos and pictures of my favorite set-ups and the activities "they" (though the kids know it's me, of course) brought about so far.
There's a couple videos, which don't seem to show for me when reading on my phone. If you don't see the videos but would like to watch them, click on the "view web browser version" option under the home button. Then, the videos, not just the pictures, will also show.
Ok. Sooooo:
This was our first set-up this year. "We're back!" "Actually, I'm new!"
Here they are with the Nativity scene. Oh come, let us adore Him.
And zip lining through the breakfast room...
At one point, I announced I had had an exhausting (though very good) day, and was expecting the elves to not have a helper that night, so the kids did a set-up themselves >.< Haha! Miss E served tea and cookies for her elf, and Mr E had his elf take a wild ride on one of his stuffed dragons.
We had a gingerbread house activity...
We turned on the Christmas music. Daddy took a well deserved nap. The kids played that their tiny dolls and dinosaurs lived in the houses. At some point the tiny dinosaur got kicked? Kicked out? And by the end of the night, the houses were mostly devoid of any candy and I threw the rest away haha.
Miss E helped me sew pajamas for the elves and was rewarded with pajamas for both her and Mr E. When I woke up the kids were both in the breakfast nook waiting for me to move the elves so they could try on the pajamas. I was like... why??? hahaha. I guess even the rules are part of the fun. But then I knew I could use that setup where they are in a special pod for kids to take them around for a day, so I did that too.
And all the usual stuff...
The elves went sledding on the morning of the day it snowed... Haha! That scarf looks more like a beard!
And they had a spa day (night?)
The night before that they set up a Santa and elf mirror prank
I thought this one with the car and the dinosaur was funny jiji
Yoga, of course, since the kids were doing yoga every morning.
But it was this one that brought on the biggest giggles so far, I think. They were audible in the kitchen all the way from the other side of the house. Q even posted about it. I think he's surprised I wake up early for some things ...some times... LoL
I am not a morning person. Jejeje...
It was a happy discovery, though! The realization that Barbie doll outfits fit the elves! It occurred to me that they should have a dress up party! It was awesome! The kids loooooved it!!
I've done maybe 30 or so this year, so I could just keep going and going... but this is basically the gist of the thing. We have really found it to be a great creativity outlet, and, even better, a great excuse to have fun or give to the children the usual little Christmas things they get each year in a more "special" way. I still have another set of pajamas and some ugly Christmas sweaters for them. Can't wait!
