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.

MONEY IS NO OBJECT

With Maggie being seven years old (almost eight), I know that our time is limited as to how much longer she is going to believe is such things as the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. I have expected questions regarding the feasibility of such from her any day, but so far, she has shown nothing but unfaltering belief in a tiny winged creature that exchanges money for teeth, a large rabbit that hides plastic eggs full of candy, and a fat guy in a red suit that is pulled around by reindeer in a sleigh on Christmas Eve to bring presents. In almost any other regard, Maggie is pretty sharp and seems to be very perceptive about sensing subtle nuances about situations that others her age usually don't pick up on. I'm actually quite surprised that she hasn't shown even a shadow of doubt about these time-honored children's figures.

I had to hold back a laugh while we were shopping at Target today. The kids, of course, always ask to go look at the toys once we are done getting whatever it is we actually came for. As long as we're not pressed for time, I have no problem letting them longingly stroll through the toy aisle - - always the Barbie aisle for Maggie, and action figure aisle for Aleita. Today as we walked through the toys, Maggie and Aleita continually commented to each other about various toys that they wanted. They are both actually usually quite good about understanding that they are just LOOKING at the toys and that we will not actually be PURCHASING any that day. I have seen a few kids have melt downs in the toy aisle over the denial of that moment's heart's desire, so I am at least glad that my kids understand that throwing a fit will in no way further their cause of getting what they want. Anyway - they were both talking about which toys they planned on asking from Santa for Christmas. As we left the toy aisle, Aleita spied a large camping tent hanging from the ceiling above the sporting goods department. "I am going to ask Santa for that tent!" she declared.

Seeing the price tag of $299, I said to her, "that tent is pretty expensive, you know."

Maggie very nonchalantly replied, "That's ok, Mommy. Santa can buy anything he wants."

"Is that so?" I asked her.

She looked at me as though I had an IQ of 15. "Mommy, " she said, "how do you think I got my bike last year? It's not like you and Daddy could have bought it for me."

I shook my doltish head to show that I understood. Perhaps Santa will come through for her, but somehow, I am guessing not.

AN UNLIKELY REQUEST

Tonight after work, Maggie, Aleita and I hopped in the car to take a few things over to our friends, the Ritters. As we were driving, Maggie commented, "Tom and Diana have three sons. You don't have any sons, Mommy. Just daughters."

"That's right," I answered.

She thought for a moment and then said, "I wish I had a baby brother. She then excitedly added, "Hey! I know! I am going to ask Santa Claus for a baby brother this Christmas!" She then queried, "Hey Aleita! What are you going to ask for for Christmas? A baby brother too?"

Aleita calmly replied, "No. I am going to ask Santa Claus for a Superman costume."

And that, friends, is the difference between my two children. (I also commented to my children that Aleita probably had a far better chance of receiving her request.)