'Tis the Season

Christmas Eve is a week away!  When it comes to Christmas, I still feel like a little kid ... I wait for it all year long, and in the blink of an eye, it's over.  I'm definitely one of those people who gets the post-Christmas blues when all of the decorations come down and the carols on the radio turn back into regular old bad music.  I vote for year-round Christmas, but admit that it wouldn't be nearly as exciting as it is as a holiday that comes once a year.

Sara asks almost daily if it's Christmas Day yet.  I love seeing her excitement and enchantment this year.  We've been faithful to the chocolate Advent calendar, which really pays no homage at all to Advent since there is a big picture of Santa Claus on the front, but it has turned into an excellent learning opportunity each day as we look for precisely the right number to correspond with the date.  Among other parts of the season, the Advent calendar bit has me taking notice of my great inadequacies in teaching my daughter about the real reason for - and meaning of - Christmas.  Sometimes I think I'm totally failing in this department, but then I recognize that it's hard for me to preach what I don't practice.  That's a larger topic for another day.

Tomorrow we're heading to Flower Mound to celebrate an early Christmas with Steve's parents and brother.  We've opted to go out to eat, and neither my mother-in-law nor I are sad about the fact that we won't be cooking on this particular occassion.  As if Sara didn't come home from her birthday party with enough toys, I know that tomorrow will be the beginning of yet another windfall for her.  It's possible that, very shortly, I'm going to need a bigger house just to accomodate my three-year-old's belongings.

On Wednesday, we're hopping in the car for our second road trip to MN.  After the first one, when Sara was six months old, we found that the trip, though long, really was pretty enjoyable.  Then when I realized flights to MN for the holidays would cost $500 a piece, which would result in nobody receiving gifts as well as unnecessary financial stress, we quickly convinced ourselves that a road trip again it would be.  We have plans to stay on the Plaza in KCMO on Wednesday night.  We haven't been there in ages, and the Plaza has long been known for its holiday lights display.  I'm excited to spend a fun and festive night there, and hope we'll be lucky enough to hear the carol on the radio that says something to the effect of, "It's Christmas in Kansas City - snow is on the ground - the Plaza lights are pretty - it's good to be in my hometown..."  The song itself isn't what I'd call a hit, but it made us laugh a lot when we lived there.

Speaking of snow, I hope we'll see some in MN.  As of today, according to my mom, it has all melted.  We need enough to take at least a few good sled rides down the hill behind my parents' house.  And a White Christmas would be wonderful.  Regardless, I am looking forward to just getting home and relaxing for a bit.

The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, and I absolutely ate my way through the last week thanks to the festivities at work ... c'mon, Christmas!