IDLE THREAT

"Look, Mom! Apparently all that

'be good or Santa won't come'

business is just a bunch of crap!"

SANTA'S LAST HURRAH?

This holiday season has been a particularly fun one. Aleita, at age four, has reached the age where she really understands the true meaning of Christmas is biblical, and not just about Santa and presents. That is not to say that she is willing to forgo the presents, mind you - - not by a long shot. At age four, she has also firmly embraced the idea of Santa Claus. She and Maggie also both really love Christmas carols, and most anything associated with holiday cheer in general.

This year is also a little bittersweet because I think it is probably the last year that Maggie is going to hang onto the idea of Santa Claus. She is eight years old, and she has relayed to us that kids at school have told her that he isn't real. Her logical response to the naysayers has always been that there is no way that her mom and dad could buy all the stuff that Santa leaves for them. Despite this confidence in Santa's deep pockets, I can see that she is starting to have some lingering doubts about the whole thing through questions she asks and looks she gives.

Her conviction to Santa is far stronger than her doubts this year - - as we were heading home from my parents' house tonight, she and Aleita were about ready to burst with excitement because they wanted to get home and get to bed so Santa could come. Maggie even commented that her stomach hurt a little bit because she was so excited about the thought of Santa coming. It is almost hard to remember what it was like to be that age - - do you recall hardly being able to go to sleep because you were so incredibly excited? Remember waking your parents up at 5AM to go see what Santa had left? I love that both of my kids have that bit of magic in their lives. However, I imagine that 2008 will mark the end of Maggie's belief in the big guy in the red suit with the flying reindeer.

It is at times like this when I realize just how fast she is growing up. You never notice the changes in your own kids day to day because you are there with them all the time. But, there are certain moments in their lives though when you look at them, and it's like, whoaa....how did we get here? When did you get so big? How did this happen? It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital on a bitterly cold November night...and yet, here we are, eight quick years later, almost ready to give up on Santa.

I'm so proud of the beautiful young lady that she is becoming, yet want to her to be my little girl just a little while longer. I love that she is becoming more responsible and able to do so many more things without my help, yet I dread the day when she will no longer need my help at all. I have heard people say that the older you get, the faster time seems to go. I am finding more and more just how true that is.

From Christmas past:

Maggie (age 3) & Dempsey (age 5) - taken in 2003

Maggie (age 4) & Aleita (9 months) - taken in 2004

HE KNOWS WHEN YOU'VE BEEN BAD OR GOOD. . .

This week, Aleita has chosen to be the hellion of rebellion at her school. Though for the most part, her behavior and attitude has greatly improved in the past few months, there are some days (or weeks, as is the case here) that she opts to push the boundaries with her teachers at her preschool, just to see how far she can go. She has had phone calls from both Chris and me that have brought her to tears at school, but yet she still can't seem to pull it together and act right for very long. We always follow through with punishment at home as well to let her know that we aren't happy with her actions. This week, she has spent every night in her room alone after school, been spanked, lost her toys and her favorite blanket and pajamas, and even had to dine on different food than we did a few nights (On Wednesday, Chris and Maggie had smoked sausage and tater tots - something she loves. She had a PB & J. A different night, Maggie and I had garlic bread with our tortellini, but she was not allowed any garlic bread -- one of her favorite foods. She was quite upset.) Apparently, all these deterrents to her bad behavior were in vain, as she even made a half-hearted escape attempt on Thursday afternoon. After a call from the school, I picked her up at 2PM and after a spank, I took her back to my office, where she promptly fell asleep on the floor under my desk.

However, nothing really seemed to drive home the point that she needed to reform her behavior until this morning. We apparently finally figured out something that will get her attention - - or actually, Santa Claus did. You see, we have an advent house that counts down the days until Christmas. Each day has a small box, and the kids are oh-so-excited to get up each morning and see what one of Santa's elves has left for them in that day's box. We had warned her that this may happen if she didn't change her ways, but she chose not to heed our warnings.

You see, this morning, Santa had his elves leave Aleita a rock in the advent house, while her sister got a package of fruit snacks. You can imagine how well that went over. Aleita stood in stunned disbelief for a moment when she opened the house. (Today was her turn to open the door.) She tried to give the rock to Maggie, who shook her head and said plainly, "that ain't mine - I've been good!" Aleita looked at Maggie hopefully and said, "we can split the fruit snacks, right?" I then informed Aleita that Santa must have seen how bad she was being this week and meant for her to have a rock. (Aleita has told us on many occasions that if you are bad, all you get from Santa is rocks and dirt.) After letting it sink in for a moment, she promptly burst into tears and ran to her room to throw away the rock.

Miraculously, her days was much improved. Now granted, I only worked a half day today and picked her up about 12:30PM, but her teachers said that her behavior was unbelievable good during the time she was there. They said she shared with them the story of the rock in the advent house, as well as the fact that she has been denied partaking of some of her favorites during mealtime, and that we had taken her blanket. (I explained that I took her favorite blanket and wasn't actually denying the child covers at night.)

Aleita is jazzed tonight about the fact that she had a good day and thinks that she has redeemed herself enough to Santa to earn something better in the house tomorrow than a rock or some dirt. I am betting she is right on this one.

We'll see what next week brings though. . . .

Just remember, Santa IS watching.

What's on YOUR list this year?

Tonight, Maggie and Aleita and I went to Lowe's to look for a light fixture for our new home. (It seems I am spending a lot of time in home improvement stores lately, doesn't it?) As you enter the store, they have a large Christmas display, particularly of the variety of the ostentatious yard displays that feature such things as an eight-foot waving snowman or a Santa Claus stuck in the chimney showing his britches.

Maggie and Aleita immediately spotted the Christmas stuff and insisted we take a closer look. This somewhat surprised me because up until now, Aleita has been absolutely terrified of Santa Claus. She insisted last year that Grandma, rather than Santa, had brought her gifts. She seemed pretty ok with the idea of Santa while we were at Lowe's today. . . .though keep in mind that this Santa was a blowup one perched on top of the shelving. Last year, when encountered with the "real thing" in Central Park, she would shriek everytime he would look her way and bury her head in Chris's shoulder. She insisted that Chris stay as far away from him in the corner of the room while Maggie sat on his lap and talked to him.

Maggie - apparently in the Christmas spirit from her brush with this holiday cheeriness - began talking about Christmas, and in particular, what she wanted Santa to bring her this year. She listed off some obvious things, like Barbies and Polly Pockets. She then asked Aleita what she wanted for Christmas. Aleita's answer? Hot dogs and Little People. Now I think that is one little girl's wish list that Santa will have no trouble fulfilling.