Wordless Wednesday

First, I'm going to steal the Cheerio box from my diaper bag.  

 Then I'm going to dump them all over the floor and giggle evilly at my brilliance.  

 Then I'm going to eat the Cheerios off the floor because they are too delicious to resist.  

 Then I'm going to stomp on all the Cheerios.  They make a fun crunching sound.  

 Oh, I see something else to destroy!  Peace out, Mumma.  Have fun sweeping up my mess.

Fin.  

Spreading Christmas Cheer...

Our weekend kind of looked like Buddy the Elf came along and vomited holiday cheer all over the place.

Saturday afternoon we did some Christmas shopping.  Shopping for Madeline is so easy while she can't remember what presents we her.  Next year will be hard.

On Saturday night, we went and saw Zoo Lights at the Stone Zoo.  They decorate the entire zoo with thousands of Christmas lights.  It was beautiful.  

 Sooooo many lights that you can't even see us!!!

I LOVE Christmas lights.  A lot of people in our neighborhood have those golden deer lights in the yard.  Apparently that's the thing to do in these parts.  I like them because they remind me of Harry Potter's patronus.  (No, that is not a sexual innuendo.) I saw one on sale at the store, however, and I almost lost my mind.  I could buy a real Reindeer for that price.  Much to Eric's delight, there will be no glowing deer in our yard this year.    

In addition to the lights at the Zoo, there were a few nocturnal animals on display.   There were also rides and fried dough stands, and the world's creepiest animatronic Santa Claus.  His skin was slightly green and peeling off.  Horrifying.    

Madeline has very rarely, if ever, been outside in the dark for more than five minutes, so she was slightly   

 bewildered as to why we were standing out the cold with a thousand other people.  (Six pm means bubba and night-night, Mumma.  What were you thinking?)

 Yet, she handled everything very well.  She did not get cranky, and she did not freak out.  Madeline has developed a recent fear of all living things.  Surprisingly, except for the parrots, she didn't seem to mind any of the animals.

 If you live in the Boston area, go to Zoo Lights.  Kids under two are free, and it was six dollars for adults.  Santa is there too although we did not go to visit him....the creepy robotic Santa was more than enough for one night.

On Sunday, I took all the Christmas decorations out of storage, and I decked the halls.

Do you like my candy cane star?  I saw them on Pinterest and figured it was a good way to use up my three-year-old candy canes.   

I plan on cramming as much holiday spirit into the next three weeks as possible.  On Friday, we're going to bring Madeline to see Santa, which we may live to deeply regret.  And we'll also be picking up the Christmas tree next weekend!  Hizzah!  

Away in a Manger...

You know it's truly Christmas season when these guys...

 come out of storage.  Adorable, right?  

We've been letting Madeline play with it, but the pieces keep going missing.  We lost the Baby Jesus for an entire day.  He was behind the TV console.  We lost Joseph for about an hour.  We filled in his place with the Little People zoo keeper until he was found.  He was under the TV console.

At least Madeline's not frightened of this Baby Jesus.  Gal's got to get her religious education somehow, and since she's not baptized and her parents are unmarried, this is probably her best bet.  (At least until she's old enough to watch The Ten Commandments.)

Arts and Crafts with Madeline

I've been looking forward to doing arts and crafts projects with Madeline since she was born.  Last weekend, I figured it was time to test the artistic waters and make a Christmas-themed project.  

Note the look of glee on Madeline's face, and the look of fear on mine.

 Or we could just use a paintbrush instead.  

 Madeline felt it necessary to taste the paint for freshness.  

Ta-Da!  It's a Christmas tree! Sorta...

We also made some thumb-print Christmas trees.  I added the stars and tree trunks...obviously.

Thanks to Everyday A(my) for playing photographer, and for the suggestion to put down some paper on the table before we started...good call, my friend.  

30 Days of Thanks: Day 30

And we've reached the finish line, folks!!!

Today I am thankful to all the people who care enough to read my blog.

Madeline's digital baby book is a fun hobby for Mumma Bear, and it always surprises me that anyone besides my parents,(And maybe Eric's) read my ramblings.

Thank you family, friends, Internet friends, and faceless viewers who swing by my bloggy-wog.  It means a lot.

Rock Me, Rock Me, Rock Me, Baby Jesus!

In spite of the fact that most, okay probably all, of my religious education comes from watching The Ten Commandments and The Passion of the Christ, (Only once, and holy Mel Gibson, what was I thinking!?) I love me some Baby Jesus.

 Every time I hear a Baby Jesus carol on the radio, I weep.  That's why I don't listen to country music.

Therefore, imagine my delight when my sister whipped out this priceless nugget at her house last weekend:

It's my very own Rock Me, Rock Me, Rock Me Baby Jesus!

It seems that my sister's nativity had twin Jesus-es,  (Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she also has two Joseph-es?  Bet nobody every taught you that version of the story.) so knowing about my deep love for the Baby Jesus, she graciously bestowed the spare heir on to me.  Hooray!

I tested out several locations for my Baby Jesus because I wanted to make sure he had a place of honor in my home. He made a great centerpiece on my kitchen table for a while.

The problem?  Madeline is petrified, and I mean petrified, of Baby Jesus.

I can't imagine why.

She won't even go into the same room with him.

I was hurrying around the kitchen attending to some chores the other afternoon, when I noticed Madeline whimpering softly and trying desperately to climb up my legs.  Distracted, I finally looked up from whatever I was doing and huffed, "Madeline?  What's with you?!"  I followed her horrified gaze to the kitchen counter top where the Baby Jesus lay in state.

Ironic considering the name Madeline comes from Saint Mary Magdalene.  Don't you think?

We toyed briefly with the idea of using the Baby Jesus to guard things we don't want Madeline to touch the same way we use our stuffed dog, Bird.  Yet, while I think a healthy fear of the Lord is natural, I don't want to inflict permanent psychological damage on my child.

Then I thought I could use the Baby Jesus like other people use the Elf on the Shelf.  It might be a fun kind of game for Eric and I to play until Madeline got over her fear, and then she could play too.

Each morning we'd wake to find the Baby Jesus up to some new shenanigans in our house.  One day we might find him reenacting the Last Supper with Madeline's toys.  One day we might find him turning our water into wine. (Shyaa, I wish!)  One day we might find him in the freezer eating some ice cream.  Then the Baby Jesus could tell Santa whether we'd been a good boy and girls all year so that we could get our gifts.  

I told Eric of my divine plan, but he hinted that he'd leave me if I tried such a thing.  I guess the idea of waking up to find the Baby Jesus curled up beside him in bed was just too much for him to handle.

In the future, I hope to build him a creche so he can live on the lawn where he belongs.  That way, the whole neighborhood may behold his radiance.  

But for now, the Baby Jesus lives in on the desk in our office.  I am gazing at him with love and awe as I type, and from time to time, I start bellowing, "Come let us adore him!" at the top of my lungs.

"OH COME LET US ADORE HIM!!!!"  (That one was for you, Eric.)  

*If you are a bigger fan of the Baby Jesus than I, I hope this does not offend you.  I take the real Baby Jesus quite seriously...just not plastic ones.  

 

30 Days of Thanks: Day 29

Today I am thankful that Madeline finally decided to eat something.

She gobbled up the last of the Thanksgiving turkey and some Stove-top tonight.  It took some crafty trickery on Mumma and Dada's part, but once she tried it, she loved it.

Phew.  I was starting to worry.  My baby was looking a little thin around the middle today.

Mange, Mange, Madeline!