"Santaaaaaaa!!!!! I know him, I KNOW him!"

Reese: [whispers at the arrival of Santa] Uhhh Mom, don't you think I'm getting a little old for this?
Me: for what? Santa?

Reese: No! Just for sitting on his lap. I'll tell him what I want, but I'll just stand next to him.

Quincy: "I want an Astrid doll (which does NOT exist, by the way) and a Luna doll (which also doesn't exist) and a Jeannette doll from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Not Britney, Jeannette."

Quincy: That's not the right Santa. He doesn't have a cherry nose!

Corbin: [His reaction went something like this.]
Today:
Me: "Reese, tell me what you asked Santa for on your list?"

Reese: "I want a Eleanor doll and a Theador doll from Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakuel and a Harry Potter lego set, and a canopy bed and a canopy closet like Fancy Nancy's and a Ballet Barbie."

Quincy: That's a lot of things, Reese....[bursts into song] Joy to the World my men come home, let every spirit sing! And M&M nature sing, and M&M nature sing and M-MMM and M&M's and nature sing!"

Reese: "Hey. I was really bad last Christmas Eve and got in a lot of trouble for throwing a big fit. But Santa still came and brought me presents....how do you explain that? Can I be bad this year? Don't worry, I'm not going to, but like if I was naughty, would Santa just come anyway?"

Quincy: Hey, guess what, Santa----

Corbin: -----SAAAAANNNTTTTAAAAAA! Mom! Santa! Mom! MOM! Santa! Christmas trees! MOM! MOM!

Quincy: Ugh, be QUIET Corbin, I was talking! Mom, Santa brings us presents if we sleep good because to remind us of Jesus's birthday.

Reese: it's his birth, not his birthDAY

Corbin: Birthday!!!!! Santa!!!!!

Quincy: That's the same thing if it's his birth then it's his birthday. There is still presents.

Dear Santa (part 1)

Ho Ho Ho! It's time for the annual Willy Family Christmas Wish Lists.

Let's begin with Aaron, this year.
Oh, that's right. He bought a boat without telling me, and doesn't get presents anymore.
Moving on.


Kidding.
Sort of.

Numero uno on Aaron's list is an acoustic guitar.
I think he must have been inspired by Reese's request for a guitar (we told her she has to wait until she is 8) and figured if he starts now, he'll have a 2 year head start.

He's been dropping subtle hints to make sure I get it for him. Every time he does this, I not-so-subtly remind him that that isn't how Christmas works. He's gonna have to wait, and just be surprised or disappointed on Christmas morning.

The rest of his list is more of a checklist, rather than a wish list. That's right. My man likes to make it easy for me to Christmas shop for him.
A lovely golf club showed up on the doorstep last week.
2 new dress shirts and 2 regular t shirts appeared on his bedroom dresser.

He also went Black Friday Shopping (against my professional advice) and bought a digital camcorder that we plan to bust open on Christmas morn.

and the George W. Bush book that he wanted.

See how easy he makes it for me?
Merry Christmas, Aaron! I really think you're going to love the gifts you got yourself.
I am totally wrapping up that golf club....and probably sticking a big bow on the boat.


Meg:
First and foremost, I really want nothing more than one of these, for Christmas.
I think that should make things pretty clear, for "Santa", in regards to what I want for our 10 year Anniversary.

Ahem, which is in July, btw.


This weekend, I learned a good lesson about the importance of waiting 24 hours to clear one's head, before purchasing furniture.

It's not important. It is stupid. When 24 hrs is up, you will go (excitedly) to the store to pick up your beautiful mid-century buffet with glass cabinet cut the perfect size to hold all of your milk bottles, and the perfect place to house your kitchen aid mixer, and 1/2 dozen drawers for everything that is currently crammed into your kitchen cabinets, and it's extra perfect because it's already been painted black, and it's so cheap that you can buy it with the Christmas money you were given, and and and...


and someone will have already purchased it the day before, and taken it home to make HIS wife the happiest in all the land. Boo.



I am still holding onto an ounce of hope that the mystery buyer is maybe, possibly, hopefully-but-probably-notfully MY husband, buying it for me, and somehow, a beautiful buffet will appear in my dining room on Christmas Day. Keeping fingers crossed for a Christmas miracle.


Lesson learned here: Don't hesitate. just buy it. That system is clearly working out nicely for Aaron.


And here we have the lesson learned in waiting for an item to go on sale before buying it. I've wanted these orange running shorts for awhile. Now that they're only $14.99, they don't carry my size anymore. So if you find them in Small in your local Gap store, please please buy them and send them to me!
Lesson #2 Learned. Don't wait for the sale price, cuz they'll run outta your size.

Winter running means frozen noses, rosy cheeks, icicles on my eyelashes, and cold hands. There's not a lot that can be done for a cold face, but I could really use some of these to keep my hands from freezing off. Huh. Maybe I should just buy them for myself. I really don't want Lesson #3 Learned to be "wear gloves or you'll get frostbite". That would suck.

I totally want these clothbound cassic children's books. Actually, I'd be thrilled to open just about ANY of the Penguin Clothbound Classics. One of the things on my 2011 "list" is to read something by Jane Austen. So maybe this one or this one.

I'd also love to add hardcover copies of books 1-6 (I own #7) in the Harry Potter series to our library.
This clothbound complete set was once available on Amazon...but it's no longer there. What the heck? I want it! BTW-check me out, I'm shopping online...well trying to, at least. Baby steps.

So I totally set myself up for disaster, this year. A week ago, Reese and I selected and checked out, "Meet Felicity an American Girl" from the library as our chapter book to read together. She loves it, and is fascinated by Felicity's character. So, when the American Girl Catalog came in the mail (now seriously, WHO ordered that??? Not me. Is this a joke?) on Friday, I (foolishly) thought it would be fun for the girls to flip through it and look at all the pretty dolls.

Yeah yeah, I know. It's Christmas time. Who gives their kid a toy catalog at Christmas time? Dummies, that's who.

Call me a dummy, but I figured the worse case scenario would be the girls asking for dolls for Christmas. Done. Tangled Barbies coming right up from Grandma, this year.

Uhhh, what I didn't expect was Reese running into her bedroom, grabbing the Felicity book (that has pictures! doh!) and finding Felicity in the catalog and announcing,

"MOM! it's the SAME Felicity! She's a doll, too! I want that one for Christmas. I love her. "

Oopsie.

Felicity has been added to every mile-long Christmas list in our house, including this one. $150 for a freaking doll. A doll! Not just any doll though. Oh no. I vividly remember asking for an American Girl Doll every year until like 8th grade. Now that I see that you have to sell a kidney on the black market to afford one, I totally forgive my parents for not seeing that part of my Christmas list each year. (I wanted Addy Walker) Sara Parker had like 3 of them, and I was totally jealous and wanted one for myself. Reading this, you might conclude that I'm still bitter that my childhood dream never came true, but that's not the case. I'm bitter because if I had gotten one of these beautiful but over priced dolls, I could have saved it for 20 years, given it to Reese, and then it would have been my parents that are out $150 and not me.

I'm thinking this will make a great Christmas gift for her when she's a little older (like when I've had time to read her the Addy books and convince her that that's the one she wants, so I can play with it too....uh, I mean...)

Lesson: I have the maturity level of a 6 yr old.

But really, I think maturity is out the window, considering I'm 28 and still make (and post) a Christmas List, every year.

Speaking of 6 yr olds....Reese's birthday post is coming atcha tomorrow.

Inspiration

I want these:

But really, anthropologie?

$698.00?!

yes!

And let's not forget the additional $87.00 added to the shipping and handling fee, because of the delicate handmade nature.

Is this a joke? I'll show ya handmade. I'm just going to have to make them.
And then I'll show you how.

I probably won't get around to it until after the holidays. But I will make them.

Yes, I will.

Be Grateful {4}

Sometimes, I wonder if my local flea market/vintage goods emporium posts certain photos on their facebook page because they know I will see it and want it.



Like these milk bottles, for example.

I could do without the lids, but the bottles? Love. I want them.

...and I want the crusty crate.



I am grateful for pretty things.


I am grateful for my mom, who taught me to look for beauty in everything, and strive to make my surroundings a pleasant and inviting place. I'm grateful that she taught me that things don't have to be expensive to be pretty, "because you can make anything cute".

(image from the nuptual notebook)

She taught me to find joy in striking color combinations, texture, old things, sentimental treasures, presentation, cleanliness, and order. My heart literally raced the other night, just from admiring the pretty lines of someone's new (old) dining table. I blame my mother for that.
Thanks, Mom!