This Annum Needs to be Keelhauled (or, "Finally, the End of 2011")

The past few years have been a complete whirlwind.  Witness the following:

• 2008 -- The year Hubs (who was not-yet-Hubs back then) and I each moved from LA to San Francisco and started new career paths.  We also got engaged and started making a (teeny-tiny rented) home together.
• 2009 -- We married, we traveled, and we decided to start a family.  We also started the super-duper-amazing-I-mean-no-it-sucks-shoot-me-now process of house hunting.
• 2010 -- On New Years Day, we placed an offer on a beautiful Victorian house (20 miles south of our old apartment).  It was accepted, and we moved from the city to the 'burbs to become real mortgage-paying homeowners.  Hubs did a ton of travel for work; I got a promotion.  And of course, we became parents to the awesomest kid on the planet.  It was sort of a monster year for being thrust face first into adulthood.

So on New Years 2011, Hubs and I decided that we had had enough change to last us for awhile.  We said that our resolution was that 2011 would be the calmest year ever.  Keep it nice and easy, just work on our house, do our jobs as well as always, and have fun being parents and learning about our new town.  Apparently, God thought that was pretty funny.  And life continued to happen, you know, as it does.  

This year has had plenty of good, and definitely some bad.  It sure as hell threw a lot more change our way than we anticipated.    Another unexpected promotion, a new job for Hubs (so grateful and amazed that I can say both of those things in this economy).  Both of our brothers got married, bringing two awesome ladies into our family.  Our teeny gurgley baby became a walking, talking, hilarious drama queen.  We had a health scare that rocked our little family, and we managed to come out ok on the other side.  It's all been a lot more stress than we counted on.  But it was never, ever more than we could handle.  Every bit of it has made us stronger as a family.  And despite any anxieties we faced, we have a pretty good life.

With that, I can safely say that we have no resolutions for 2012.  Just goals and hopes.  To do everything we can to stay healthy, to strive for kindness, to be a good example for the kid, and to have fun.  Oh, and to blog more :)

Hope 2011 taught you all as much as it taught us.  Here's to a bright, shiny, unblemished new year!  Bring it, 2012!  

(And now, for a completely random video)

Pirate in Red, with Crew o' Reindeer (or, "HD Meets the Big Guy")

We've definitely been a little holiday-themed here at The Dread Pirate Mama, but that's kind of the way the daughter is rolling lately.  Kid is obsessed with St. Nick.  Hubs and I had to wake her up yesterday morning, and the first words she uttered the actual second that she opened her eyes were "Santa Claus!"  Keep in mind that HD's only 1.5 years of age, so it's not like she's got a complete understanding of presents just yet.  To her, the Santa excitement doesn't stem from the bringing of toys...it's more the fact that he's basically a new puppet-type character in her life, like her beloved Cookie Monster.  He's a brightly colored squashy dude in an outlandish outfit with corresponding songs and catch phrases. 

She demands Santa songs at odd times of day, usually while being changed.  She takes ornaments from our tree and lays them at the feet of our 10 inch Santa figurine like sacrificial offerings.  She runs around the house chanting "ho, ho, ho, Meery Keefmiff."  So when Hubs and I talked to HD about visiting Big Santa Claus (not to be confused with our little figurine), she could barely contain her excitement.  I was wary, as I have heard many a story about toddler freakouts once in the presence of Santa. 

Last week, we headed to our small town's local fire house.  The amazing firemen hold a free event there each year, and it is 18,000x better than any mall Santa experience.  They have free hot drinks and cookies, a coloring station, and a big pile of actual snow out on their driveway (HD takes after her mama, and flat out refused to touch the stuff).  As the crowning glory of the event, Santa Claus hangs out in a black leather easy chair so the kids can visit him.  We went in the beginning of the event, and got to witness several nervous kids throw mini fits over visiting Santa.  Not so our HD.  Kid full on broke away from Mama and sprinted to Santa.  Thank goodness there wasn't a line to see the big guy.  She was in awe, and all smiles.

We decided to give Santa a break from all the love and allow other kids to visit him.  HD was only mildly pouty about saying goodbye, but was mollified at the coloring station.  Here's her I'm-so-not-sitting-in-the-cool-lap face:

Before we left, there was again no line for Santa (weird since the place was crawling with kids, and he wasn't a creepy Santa).  And HD sprinted up for a return visit.

You may be wondering, in the midst of all this Santa-love, have we discussed the true meaning of the holiday with our child?  Why, of course.  But only because one of the kids at day care taught her how to say "little baby Jesus."  She's now named one of her baby dolls "Little Baby Jesus."  This doll is a Cabbage Patch looking babe with pig tails that my grandmother sewed years ago -- the Jesus moniker would definitely would have warmed her Catholic heart to no end.

Thankful I Be on This Day Again (or, "My Thursday Ritual")

HEY, YOU!!!!  Get Thankful!

















Yes, it's time for Thankful on a Thursday again.  As mentioned before, I normally do this on Facebook, but I figured the above photo was reason enough to post it on the ol' blog.

Thankful on a Thursday: for Hubs insisting that we get a gym membership (and the glorious 45 minute lunch time classes they offer), for the tastiness of holiday business lunches, to Neil Gaiman for being such an incredible and creative author, and to a little kids who are infectious in their wonderment over the magic of this time of year.

HD's holiday lingo has expanded to: nutcracker, snowman, baby Jesus, and Santa-Claus-is-coming-to-town.

What's up tonight?  Me merry crew will further our Christmas spirit by visiting Santa Claus.  Even better?  We're not doing it in the mall!!!  Our local fire station invites kids over each year to meet Santa and donate toys.  Way more fun, helpful, and Christmas-spirity than being charged $25 for a basic photo package.  Color the Cap'n stoked.

Yo Ho Ho Ho (or, "Christmas Tree Is Up!")

November was National Blog Posting Month.  The idea is that you try to post once each day for the whole month.  Let's just say that whoever picked November is masochist.  I was doing ok, and then the holiday and all its preparation kicked in.  So...glazing over the past couple of weeks?  The busiest time of year at work (for me, anyway) passed in a whirlwind, HD impressed everyone by chowing brussels sprouts at Thanksgiving, and teething incisors is the work of the devil.  You're all caught up! 

We focused this weekend on getting our Christmas on.  Heading out to get a real tree, we ended up getting dazzled at Home Depot by a glorious imitation 7.5 foot Black Hills Spruce, completely pre-lit with LED lights.  Both Hubs and I are from families with a known legacy of fake trees, so we jumped.  We put HD down for her nap, lit my mistletoe-flavored Yankee candles to complete the illusion of our faux tree, and got to work.  The beauty took about 15 minutes to put together (*choirs of angeles sang*), so we got to dive right into ornaments.  We thought for about 35 seconds about how to toddler proof the tree.  I personally think methodology should vary from kid to kid.  Our nugget?  Curious, but relatively obedient.  She puts stuff back if we tell her too...repeatedly.  Rather than go all out with a baby gate to block off the tree, we decided to stick it in a corner (protected on at least 2 sides without even trying!) out of her normal path of destruction (i.e. it's in the dining rather than living room).  

Upon waking from her nap, HD came down to behold the essence of merriment.  We even saved a few ornaments for her to put on.  She got so excited, she full-on attacked me.  I have the mussed hair to prove it.

But it's all good, because then I got her to say Merry Christmas for the camera.  Eh, sorta.

Kid has also taken a recent shine to that Santa Claus fellow.  She points him out everywhere, and repeatedly reminds us that he is coming to town.  Anytime she's thrown a fit this week, that song has talisman-like soothing qualities.  I think the "better not cry" line is what tames our beast.  HD also has rediscovered the same love of nutcrackers that she demonstrated this time last year.  We have a pirate one on our mantel (natch), which totally made her giggle last year.  Vid below was neigh on impossible to shoot -- me holding baby, maneuvering nutcracker and attempting to film all at once.  But I'll leave y'all on that note, so I can get back to my hot chocolate.