The Spirit of Christmas

Do you want to see something truly amazing? Something that will touch your heart? I know I sound like I've spent too much time in the greeting card aisle, but trust me on this. Head on over to The Bloggess. She posted a blog a few days ago where she offered $30.00 gift cards to the first 20 people who weren't going to be able to buy their children any gifts this year. Not surprisingly in this economy, those 20 gift cards disappeared quickly.

But since that time something truly incredible has happened. Since that initial post more than 800 gift cards have been given out. Most of those cards have come from individual donors who stepped forward have been matched up (by the Bloggess) with a family in need. Someone they didn't know who wouldn't have been able to celebrate Christmas this year without a little help.

Go look at the blog. It's inspiring and humbling. It's watching the spirit of Christmas at work.

7 years ago

I thought it was time to share one of my favorite pictures with you again.

I will forever love this photo. It was taken seven years ago (wow!). We were a little surprised at his reaction since C was one of those babies who happily went to anyone. He'd let anybody hold him without becoming even the slightest bit bothered. When we first put him on Santa's lap he seemed fine, he was his normal smiley self. I think it was our backing away that elicited the scream seen in the picture above. My favorite part of the picture is the perfect smile on Santa's face despite the obvious distress of the wee child sitting on his lap. I remember seeing the pictures and wondering if we should order them - but they were so funny, we couldn't resist.

Clearly the experience did not scar my son. This picture with Santa was taken at the Christmas festival held at our church a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, C has definitely gotten over his Santa anxiety. In fact, he wore the red shirt, vest and hat with the express purpose of looking like the big guy. They chatted for quite some time.

We don't have any screaming pictures of K on Santa's lap because she wouldn't even let us get close to him until she was 2. After some coaxing and a chocolate candy bribe this Santa was actually able to touch her hand - but that was as close as she would come. There was absolutely no lap sitting.


This year all it looks like all of our Santa jitters are a thing of the past. In fact, I think this Santa was afraid my kids were never going to leave. This year the candy bribe was used to usher them off the stage so the next kids in line could have their turn. It's amazing what a few years will do.

A Christmas tour

I've noticed that this time of year that a lot of blogs I read take their readers on a holiday tour of their Christmas decorations. They all seem to link back to other blogs and everyone's pictures look to me like they came straight out of a design magazine.

My home clearly doesn't look like a designer had a hand in any of the decorating, but it is a pretty good reflection of our family. And while I have no plans to link my blog to any of those other ones, I kind of like the idea of logging my decorations here so that I can remember what I do from year to year. I have a terrible memory & every year when we break out the Christmas decorations I wander around & try to remember where everything goes. Those people with skill at home decoration may view this memory lapse as a chance to mix things up a bit, but for those of us without that particular talent it's like reinventing the wheel every year.

I figured if I actually record what I did this year, it'll help jog my memory a bit for next year. So if the thought of looking at Christmas decorations bores the pants right off of you, please feel free to skip this post & return another day. You won't hurt my feelings, honest.


So with all that in mind, let's being the tour ...


Our good friend KK sent us this nativity set a few years ago. We all love it & it sits in our entry way every year. It's really the only Christmas decoration that you see when you first enter the house. It's small and very simple and is after all what the season is all about. I love it.

Our dining room is really the first room that is really decked out for the holidays that you see when you come to the house.

I think last year I hung a bunch of ornaments from the dining room chandelier. I couldn't really remember which ornaments I hung last year or even how I did it, so this year I scaled back (or maybe I was just lazy) and decided to just hang one ornament. It's working for me though.

The bowl of ornaments on the dining room table. These may or may not be the ornaments that hung from the chandelier last year. In a bout of confusion I decided just to place them in a bowl this year. Festive and lazy yet simple. It seems to be my theme this year.

My parents bought the kids the advent calendar gingerbread house and the train from Kohl's this year. They are a big hit. What's not to love? They are adorable and behind every door is a chocolate surprise.

In the past I always bought those cardboard calendars from Trader Joe's and after the first few days of Advent we'd start forgetting to open the doors each evening. I think there have been years where we threw away the calendars after Christmas and there would still be chocolate inside them. With these new calendars that is not a problem at all. They wake up and immediately want to know if they can have a chocolate. It's all I can do to hold off them off until after lunch.

This is perhaps my kids' favorite Christmas decoration...the nutcracker. He is played with constantly during the season. It may be the best $15.00 I ever spent at Target. Yesterday I had to rescue a small Calico Critters bunny from his mouth. K assured me that the nutcracker wasn't trying to eat the bunny, the bunny was just tired and needed a place to sleep.

One of our favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses. My parents buy the kits every year and my kiddos along with my sister's children spend an evening after Thanksgiving decorating the houses.

Not surprisingly, the kids love eating the decorations as much as they like making the houses. It's the one time of year they have unlimited access to so many sugary items. All of the kids kept looking at us with wonder as we allowed them to eat whatever candy they wanted as long as they continued to work on the houses.

My sister finally had to cut my niece off. All of the other kids had finished their houses and had gone off to play but she had figured out that the longer she decorated the more candy she could eat. Once my sister saw that every ounce of house had been covered with candy my niece was finally cut off from her sugar supply and dismissed to the other room.

It's become our annual kick off to the holidays and we all look forward to it every year.

This is my favorite nativity scene. It was made by C two years ago when he was in Kindergarten. It's just 3 small pots, some wooden beads and three pieces of cloth. Simple. Beautiful.

I probably should have taken this shot when we had an actual fire in the fireplace. It would have looked a bit more festive. The lights on the wreath were the only lights that worked as soon as we plugged them in this year. (Of course now that I think about it, I replaced the light strand on the wreath last year.)

If you are wondering what is up with the piece of wood blocking the fireplace opening, let me introduce you to one of Mr. Crackers' latest inventions. He made it last year. It is a piece of pink foam insulation that is attached to a piece of wood to appease his wife who hated the concept of pink foam as a focal point in the family room. Add a couple of handles so it can be easily removed and ta da... you have a something that is both practical and attractive. It may not look as warm as a fire, but it sure keeps out all those cold drafts when we don't have a fire blazing.

I love these 3 little snowmen on the mantle. My Mom found them in a catalog. So whimsical. They make me smile. Their hats seem to be "wiggled wildly with excitement" (to borrow a line from the Rob Scotten book Splat the Cat).

This picture contains the favorite ornaments of both Mr. Crackers & myself. Mr. Crackers' favorite are the white doves. He found the white "love birds" at Target a couple of years ago. He always puts them toward the top of the tree right next to each other. "These birds are Mommy & Daddy" he told the kids as he put them on the tree. How could I not love this guy?

One of my favorite ornaments is the Christmas moose in the top corner of the picture. He reminds me of the felt ornaments my Mom made that used to decorate our Christmas tree when I was a kid. Well, except for this moose is a bit more goofy. He makes me smile. I'm not sure what it says about us as a couple that our favorite ornaments are so very different. It kind of gives you a glimpse into our lives doesn't it? Poor Mr. Crackers.

All goofiness aside, I also love this ornament. The colors and glitter look beautiful against the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. And speaking of lights...

Our tree...it actually looks better in the daylight than it does at night. The dark mid-section isn't quite as noticeable. Mr. Crackers and I keep waiting for the bottom strand to burn out too. It hasn't happened yet, but I feel certain it will soon. The only new strand on the tree is on the top and I feel confident it will be the only one still glowing on Christmas morning.

A giant snowman and his many minions. The more I look at this picture the more disturbing I find it. They kind of look like a terrifyingly cheery snow army... I didn't even remember that we had a Christmas salt and pepper collection. I'm not sure how this collection even came into being, but the kids love it, so it's staying.

For the last item on our tour, I need to give you a little bit of a back story. Last year at Sunday school K made a nativity banner. It was made from just 4 pieces of felt on a white background. It very simply conveyed the meaning of Christmas & I loved it. I think though that K found the banner to be a little too simple. So, she corrected the problem this year with a Sharpie she found on the kitchen counter.

I like the smiles on Joseph and Mary's faces. Jesus looks a little bit toothy for a newborn to my eye though. But what do I know? I wasn't there now, was I?

And that (for anyone who actually made it to then end of this post) concludes our tour of the House of Crackers. You'll be happy to know that now that I've done it once, you won't be forced to go on this tour again next year. Since I've taken pictures of where all the decorations go, it will hopefully look about the same from year to year. So we'll all be spared from going through this again. See everyone wins!

O Tannenbaum - the update

It appears as though we've lost yet another strand of lights on the tree. Oh well. We now have a tree that has gone completely dark around the middle but is still very brightly lit at the top and has one sad and lonely light strand at the very bottom. Not quite a Charlie Brown Christmas tree yet, but give us another week and we may get there. Seriously, someone needs to remind me to buy new lights next year.

In other news, we went on our annual Christmas decoration scavenger hunt this evening & had a great time. We stole the idea from a man that Mr. Crackers works with and it's become an annual tradition around here. There are a few items we never can seem to find, but it's still fun to try.

Here's our list if you want to go on a scavenger hunt of your own:

Santa Claus
Mrs. Claus
Rudolph
Reindeer
Elf
Snowman
Penguin
Polar Bear
Charlie Brown
Snoopy
Grinch
Tigger
Winnie the Pooh
Mickey Mouse
Angel
Ice Skater (we've never found one...maybe you will have better luck)
Sleigh
Car
Motorcycle
Train
Snow Globe
Sled
Star
Christmas Tree
Ornament
Wreath
Bow
Candle
Bell
Present
Candy Cane
Manger
Hanukah Lights
Icicle Lights
Palm Tree
Cross
Nutcracker
Snowflake

Hope you have as much fun hunting for decorations as we do.

O Tannenbaum

Last Thursday we headed out to get our Christmas tree.

Every year I imagine our whole family driving out to a local farm to pick our own Christmas tree. I dream of us looking around at all the beautiful trees around us and settling on one that catches our collective eye. It is beautiful and full and fragrant.... And then we chop it down, strap it to the top of our minivan and haul it home where it will spend the rest of its short life decorated with white lights and sparkly ornaments.

But then as December comes, reality sets in. I look at our busy calendar and remember how cold December in Ohio can be. So instead of driving out to a farm, we head to our local home improvement super store to pick a tree.

Once at the store, a yearly pattern emerges. Mr. Crackers holds up a tree & says "What do you think?". Our son C is usually not even in the same row with us. He's typically running around, so hopped on Christmas tree fever that he can't even stand still long enough to look at any tree for more than 1.2 seconds. Meanwhile K is bundled up in her winter coat with her hat covering most of her eyes & the collar of her coat up over her nose. You can't really even see her face as she continually complains, "I'm cold!".

Once Mr. Crackers has the tree in his hands, I keep asking both kids, "What do think guys? Is this the one?" From the next aisle over C shouts "Yep, that's the one Mom". While K gives me a muffled, "I'm still cold! Can we go home?"

I try and give the tree a critical look while shouting "C, please come over here. Stay where I can see you please! Stop running around like a maniac!" Finally I say, "I feel like we should look at another one, before making our decision."

This goes on for about 15 minutes as Mr. Crackers continues to patiently hold up tree after tree while C runs around the store, K whines about the cold and I say, "Hmmm...I'm not sure this is the one. Maybe just one more."

Finally I reach a point where the whining and running start to wear on my patience and I decide that whatever tree Mr. Crackers is holding is the tree we are buying. Not necessarily because it is the prettiest or the most full. Simply because he is holding that particular tree when I decide it's time to go.

Thankfully, most of the time we've gotten pretty lucky. I mean, once you put lights and ornaments on a tree it typically looks really good, even if it isn't very full and has huge gaps that are missing branches. Put enough ornaments and lights on it, and usually looks just like every other Christmas tree we've ever had.

Once we bring the tree home, it is my job to put the lights on it each year. I am a crazy person about lights. I like a lot of lights on the tree, but I don't like to see the wires. I go nuts when I can see too many wires (insert Mommy Dearest joke here). Because of this lunacy it takes me a bit of time to get the lights on the tree. I blame this problem on my Dad who was afflicted with this same issue in my childhood. I remember waiting and waiting for what seemed like hours for him to get all of the lights on the tree. I also remember complaining about how long it took him to get the lights up.

So in a twist of irony and fate, I now do the same thing to my kids. Kind of... Since according to Mr. Crackers it is "EXTREMELY PAINFUL" to watch me put lights on the tree, I try to get the lights on when no one is around. That way, I get to take my time and be a true maniac about wrapping the strands of lights around each branch I come to. And the kids and Mr. Crackers don't have to watch me do it while continually asking, "are you done yet?" See, everybody wins!

Usually, putting the lights on the tree takes me a couple of hours. But since I am listening to Christmas music and am thoroughly wrapped up in the task, the time usually goes pretty quickly. This year though for some reason EVERY STRAND OF LIGHTS THAT WE OWN STOPPED WORKING! I know that sometimes I am prone to exaggeration, but I am telling you the truth. It was both incredibly frustrating and really odd. So, a job that normally takes 2 hours, took me ALL DAY!

Thankfully though last year we bought this tool:

O Light Keeper Pro Bulb Tester and Repair Tool, how I love thee!

Although it took quite a bit of time, my handy light repair tool and I finally got all but one of the strands working again. Admittedly there were quite a few bulbs out on each of the newly repaired strands, but since each strand had about 200 lights, they still glowed brightly. And honestly, I was just happy that I got the strands to work again. Now I know most normal people upon finding that their strands of lights were no longer working would just truck their hiney over to their local Target to buy new strands of lights, but as you now from reading this blog I am not normal.

So it was with a sense of pride (and also a bit of leftover frustration) that I finally announced to my family late in the afternoon that the lights were on and tree was ready to decorate.

We spent a really nice Friday evening decorating the tree and looking at all of our ornaments. While picking the tree may not have been a warm family moment, decorating the tree definitely falls into that category. Once we are done decorating, everyone shares with the family their favorite ornament and I think everyone's favorite changes every year. Decorating the tree is always one of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season. Maybe that is why I am such a lunatic about the lights.

As I came down the stairs the next morning, Mr. Crackers looked at me and said, "I have to tell you something. But first I want you to look me in the eye and take a deep calming breath. Are you calm?"

"Well, I was a moment ago before you started freaking me out What is going on?!"

"I just need you to be calm. Are you calm?"

"Holy cow! Just tell me what is happening! Is everyone OK?"

"Look at me. Just promise me you won't freak out."

"WHAT. IS. IT!"

" OK. Here it is. A strand of lights just went out on the Christmas tree".

"Oh. Is that all?! Geez, you had me really freaked out there for a second. I thought something awful had happened. A strand of lights huh? That's OK. Geez."

And it was. I'm not sure if that was his plan or not, but in terms of all of the terrible things that could have happened, the darkening of a strand of lights on the Christmas tree wasn't even a blip on my radar screen. So I may be a lunatic, but at least I have my priorities in order. Whew, dodged a bullet on that one.

Then two nights ago another strand blew out. Oh well. Our tree may be getting a bit darker, but it's still really beautiful.

Just remind me next year to get new lights.

Something's fishy

I'll start this post by telling you that sometime this past summer we took care of a fish for a neighbor/friend for about a week (I originally typed that we fishsat for a friend, but it looked really weird & I was pretty sure no one would understand what I was talking about). And despite all of the fun trips and activities we participated in the rest of the summer, the presence of a fish in our home for a week seems to be one of the biggest highlights in the recent life of my two hooligans.

For weeks after, we'd hear comments like, "When I grow up & I can have a pet of my own I want to get my very own fish." Really!? Most kids want a horse or something with fur. A fish? I would remind them that we have a very sweet dog at home & tell them how lucky they were to have her. But, in the usual way they would ignore my comment and continue to weave fanciful tales about their future lives of fish ownership.

They must come by this love of fish from their father. When Mr. Crackers and I started dating he had a 20 gallon aquarium set up in his living room. I'm sure there were fish in it, but honestly I can't remember them. For me, fish are occasionally interesting to watch, but they don't really seem like pets. I mean you can't pet them or play with them or really even interact with them in any way. I'm not really sure they should be considered pets. To me they really seem to fall into the same category as house plants. You know, something that requires a little bit of attention from time to time but really act more as a part of the general scenery.

That may be why we've never really had the fish tanks (and we have 3 that we have moved from house to house over the years) filled since we have had kids. There were years when I could barely keep a houseplant alive. Taking care of fish in addition to the kids and our 2 dogs seemed ridiculous.

But I seem to be the only member of the family that feels that way.

About two weeks ago, while I was busy upstairs on the computer (Christmas shopping, not really working) Mr. Crackers and the hooligans started to quietly pull our 20 gallon tank out of the basement crawl space and get it ready for fish. By the time I came downstairs the kids were vibrating with excitement about the prospect of owning their own fish. Their dreams were finally coming true!

That Sunday after church we headed to our local pet store to get the fish. Everyone got to pick out a few and we came home with a total of 7 fish and a crab (the crab was my pick). We also joined the fish of the month club. Who knew such a thing existed? Apparently for just $2.99 we now get to come back to the store every month and get a free fish to add to the tank. Can you think of another "pet" that you can purchase by the dozen for just $2.99?! I'm telling you I don't think I'm the only one who thinks of them more as scenery.

Once we were home the fish were eased into their new aquarium and were promptly named. K named her guppies Angel, Angelina and Katie. C chose Cameron, Sweetie Pie and Snowbell for his orange fish (not to be confused with goldfish). Mr. Crackers picked Frank the Tank for his picasimus. And I dubbed the crab Milo.

In the days that followed both Angel and Frank left us for the big fish tank in the sky. Apparently it's pretty common for a lot of fish deaths in the early stages of aquarium ownership. Something about the "nitrogen cycle". My brain shuts down upon hearing anything involving chemical reactions, so I'm not sure I completely understand what is happening. But, thankfully Mr. Crackers knew it was coming and had warned the kids about it before we even got the fish home, so their deaths were not at all traumatic. Whew! And even better, the store has a return policy on all their fish, so we were able to get a store credit for the 2 that died. Wahoo!

The kids have had a really good time watching the fish. They'll sit there and stare into the tank for long periods of time just watching them swim around. I have to admit that I am also having fun with our new "pets". While I still find the fish a little boring (especially now that I don't have to count them a few times a day to make sure they are all still alive), I find owning a crab to be fairly interesting especially since Milo (the crab) seems to be an extreme recluse.

It's like a live version of where's Waldo. It takes me at least 3-5 minutes to find Milo every morning. A few times we've actually resorted to taking the castle out of the tank and turning it upside down to find him. And both Mr. Crackers and I have caught him hanging out at the top of the tank like he's poised for escape. The crabs in the store were all out and about having fun. It was like a giant crab party in the tank. Perhaps Milo is lonely. Maybe we'll have to use our store credit to buy him a friend.

But for now Milo, Sweetie Pie, Snowbell, Cameron, Katie and Angelina will have to wait. We've still got a couple of weeks until the "nitrogen cycle" is complete and we can add more friends to the tank.

In the meantime I'll just thank my lucky stars that we didn't have to care for my neighbor's cat.