Christmas at the Mall

Every year I think the same thing at Christmas...why do I go to the mall? I did almost every bit of my shopping online this year, and was DONE by December 1. However, I still felt the need to go to the mall on Saturday. Why did we do this? Adam and I parked the car after much discussion about how behavior is markedly UN-Christmaslike when parking a car at the mall....and proceded to go into what I think is a lovely mall the other 11 months of the year. Now, I will say that I love shopping, and love a mall at any time of year. BUT I especially love a mall at Christmas. Not just the decorations, but the people running around (and even though it's consumerism at its peak, it is still people buying gifts for other people). And Northpark is more over the top than any other mall in America. This is due to, I think, its Santa Claus. He makes enough cash being Santa at Northpark that he does not have to work the rest of the year. Some say he is the real Santa. Now, I'm not saying there is no Santa...but if there is, this guy is probably him. He has a fabulous white beard that is fluffy, not scratchy, real live soft white hair, and his suit is Oh-so-luxurious and velvety. I'm willing to put money on the bowl-full-of-jelly-jiggle, too, but I didn't see him laugh that hard. His cheeks are rosy, and there are probably reindeer hiding out in the back room with the elves. To see this man, and sit on his lap for a minute or two, you must take a number. Really. Some have taken their number at 10 in the morning, gotten in some shopping, eaten lunch, seen a movie,and still had to wait a while when they got back. My friend went to see Santa the other day. She arrived right after opening. at 10am. She was number 95. Santa also takes a lunch break, and I think the camera broke at one point. She had her little one on his lap by 4 p.m. That is, if you count getting to-and-from the mall, a full work day for most! Who says being a mom isn't a full time job ;)

All I'm saying is...if you're in Dallas around Christmas, you should go to Northpark and sit on Santa's lap. (you may just get what you ask for)

sleep & other topics

Well, I never thought sleep would become so precious. I mean, I always have enjoyed 8 hours. (Okay, okay, I need 8 hours) But who knew that I would feel so terrible after several months of disrupted sleep?? Noah was a great night-sleeper for a while--even when he was crying most of the daytime, he would sleep at night. About a month ago, about the time we went on vacation, he started this waking-up-thing. And Mommy didn't like. So we Ferberized him. It's been about 2 weeks now of peaceful sleep from 7 p.m. till 7 a.m. We still have the occasional "ahhh" in the middle of the night, but he puts himself quietly back to sleep. He's a pro now....I put him in the crib and he goes to sleep! Who knew it could be so easy? I say easy....meaning several nights of absolute hell in order to achieve this lofty goal of 12 hours of sleep. But we made it, and he still smiles at me and loves on me in the morning when I wake him up. (notice, I said, WAKE HIM up...sometimes I actually have to get him up at 7!!) It is great.



We went to Austin this past weekend for Baker's wedding, which was lovely. And our car was broken into in the hotel parking lot. Adam takes this as a personal attack....he just gets so down about it. I think, and I may be wrong, that we both like to think people are good down deep...and then something like this happens, and you're sure that people aren't good, but you have to keep on thinking that they are or else you get depressed. So you're caught. You actually know that people can be awful, but you have to (for your own sake) believe that they are good. confusing, I know.

But we have lots to be thankful for: it didn't rain on the way home, there was hardly any traffic, it was about 20 degrees warmer than usual in December, and apparantly Noah likes to ride in a car with a piece of plastic with duct tape over the window (he slept the entire way home). we really didn't have much in the car...the carseat was in there, but not taken. and we were all safe, as far as crime goes, it could have been much worse.

Adam is on the bike, Noah is down for the night, and I need to read my book for book club next week. I think if you're hosting book club, you should probably read the book, right? Happy Reading...

A little rice cereal video

new to this blogging thing

Well, today is Monday. I figured that a Monday was a good day to start. After a beautiful brunch of peas, we went to Olan Mills to have Christmas pictures made for our grandparents (surprise!)....and I believe that, after going to the YMCA, was the highlight of our day! Noah was absolutely precious for the 30 minutes we had to wait...smiles and giggles, drooling all over me. Then get him in front of a camera and he's shell-shocked...no smiles for the photographer. I guess he used them all up on Mommy.

Now that we're past Thanksgiving in the Big D, it's finally cooled down. It only got up to about 55 today. (Compared to the 80s of the past weeks, we are feeling quite cold!) So I made a pot of chili in hopes that the residual heat from that will keep me warm all night since our heat is set on 59. :) just jokes, but you know the budget man...he acts like he doesn't like his title, but he's secretly proud of it. Adam (a.k.a. Budget Man) is working ever-so-hard at his last few months as a resident before we make our big move to Jonesboro. And only weeks to go till he's not Chief anymore!! (cheers and more cheers from me for that!!)

So, right now...it's almost 9pm and Noah is shrieking from upstairs. We're not quite sure why he does that, but an hour or two after he goes down for the night, he wakes up screaming. Currently, we're working on letting him work it out on his own. I have never felt so cruel, but I know it will turn into a good night's sleep for him in the long run. I don't want to wish away his time as a baby, but it will be so nice when he is able to say "Mommy, I had a bad dream...I need a drink of water...there's a monster in my closet..." But I guess that will have it's down-side as well. In the meantime, just lots of cuddling, and hopefully he won't have too many bad dreams in the future!