Wish No. 13 - Gratitude { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads: You are almost three years old, and you are really getting into pretend play. Today we played with your Little People nativity, and I jumped at the chance to tell you the real story behind Christmas. You loved the idea of giving presents to Jesus on his birthday, and thought it would be cool for your race car driver to give Jesus his winning trophy just like the Three Wise Men. I thought it was pretty darn cute myself. You’re getting to be such a big boy with a big heart... and I love you so, so much.

We had another low key day today. I spent the better part of the day grading papers, and will do the same tomorrow for final grades. I'm SO looking forward to this session being over and for a much needed break. I will be taking the January session off... 8 weeks to recharge my batteries!

I'm happy with how this spread came together. Doubly happy that I snapped a decent photo to tell a good story about what Sean and I did together today. He spent the better part of the day playing with his Little People, Mega Blocks, and Geotrax... as well as running and spinning (he likes to get dizzy!). The poor little guy pooped himself out, and ended up falling asleep on the couch for a few hours. We're at the in-between stage of naps versus no naps. And since he took a nap late this afternoon, it meant he didn't want to go to sleep... I was repeatedly putting him back into bed tonight until after 11pm. Heaven help me.

Wish No. 12 - Simplicity { December Daily 2010 }

Yep, I skipped day 11. And it's not because we didn't do anything. In fact, we did a lot but it's not yet finished. So I want to wait until it's finished to take a picture of it for my album. You'll just have to wait and be patient.

Now, day 12 was a really simple day... since there was a winter storm outside we didn't leave the house except to go to church. I wanted to capture the storm somehow in a picture but it wasn't happening. This picture was one of the many I took out the patio door.  Believe it or not, the white you see is overexposed snow!

Journaling reads: A winter storm today, with below zero wind chills. A great day to stay inside, watch the Bears, and make frozen hot chocolate. I’m battling a chest cold so I’m all about keeping it simple today.

Wish No. 10 - Believe { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads: You were so excited to see Santa today. All day you kept asking, “is it later? is it night time, mommy?” This morning we worked on writing a letter to Santa that included all of your wishes, just in case you forgot when you saw him in person. You promptly dropped it in his mailbox when we arrived at Santa’s temporary house in downtown Crystal Lake. The wait to see Santa was a little long, but that was OK with you. You were finally able to play in the snow! And then the moment arrived - it was your turn! And you easily jumped up on his lap and remembered everything you wanted to say. The best part? Santa gave you a candy cane.

We worked some more today on decorating the house. Still a little more to go, but it can wait. The big story today was a visit to see Santa this evening. We're very lucky that our town sponsors a free Santa in a heated little house (temporary) in the downtown area. Tonight the wait was a little long, but Sean didn't mind in the least because he was finally able to play in the snow. And then see and talk to Santa. He was a little shy at first, but then remembered everything he wanted to say, including Merry Christmas when we left. He really loved every minute of it.

I'm not stressing over this spread like I did yesterday. While my creative mojo feels a little stunted by my simple approach, I can't limit the big guy himself. He deserves a page and some more.

Wish No. 9 - Peace { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads: Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.  -unknown

We decorated our Christmas trees today - you loved helping mommy. We also spent a better part of the day building and playing with Geotown. This you really loved.

We really did have a lovely day. Sean and I decorated each of our Christmas trees, and he was an excellent little helper. I even snapped a few pictures of him, but it was pretty late and the low lighting made for very grainy shots. Bummer. I didn't even care so much and desperately wanted to include them in this spread. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Today's story was really simple (and important!) and I loved all my pictures but they just weren't all coming together as easily and simply as I would have liked. I think my problem was I wanted to tell two stories (decorating trees and playing Geotown), and that doesn't fit so nicely into my template/flow of the album.

I started working on this briefly late last night, and decided quickly to put it (and me) to bed and come back to it in the morning. And then I was fiddling around with it way too long. So I made myself stop and went with two full bleed pictures and called it a day. Boring? Perfect? So-so? How about peaceful? Ah, it is what it is... moving on.

Tonight, Santa!

Wish No. 08 - Joy { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads:

Dear Sean,
     You are really loving Christmas this year. Even with being sick and itchy all over, your eyes twinkle when you see anything that has to do with Christmas. You know your Santa wish list down pat, and are very excited to tell him what you’d like - dinosaurs, a lobster (Leapster), and Stinky the Garbage Truck. You still really love trains and today, in fact, all you played with was your Geotrax.
     You are so smart, buddy! Daddy and I are in awe of how much you know, remember and talk about - it’s amazing! One of your favorite things to say lately is “I don’t have time for this, Mommy.” You certainly have an independent streak in you, but you also love to be silly and dance, march like a dinosaur, and give kisses, hugs and fist pumps eagerly.
     Tonight as we were getting ready for bed you invited me onto your train (your room) for a ride to the North Pole to see Santa. My heart literally bubbled with joy. You’re at this stage in life where you question everything (why? is your favorite question right now), and you’re starting to get scared of things. Especially the dark, and you have a hard time falling asleep because of it. Tonight you told me you weren’t scared because your train isn’t dark and scary. As you say often, “I grow up, Mommy.” Oh yes you are, little buddy. Much, much too fast.
                                                         Love & kisses, Mommy

Wish No. 7 - Wonder { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads: I’ve talked a lot on my blog lately about how we still have our Fourth of July bunting on our front porch. And here’s the proof. It’s Dec. 7 and this is what you will find if you came to visit us. Needless to say we still have a lot of work to do to not look like the Pollacks we truly are. Heck, even Eddie came to drop off the evergreen garland and didn’t think he was at the right house. But then he came to the door and saw toys strewn everywhere inside and knew he was at the right place. I wonder if Santa will pass us by?

Another PJs day and trying to get caught up with things around the house, and get work done. I tell ya, this WAHM (work at home mom) stuff is for the birds. It definitely has its perks (such as being home with the little people), but it puts so much pressure on us women to do everything really well. So I'm in the process of reprioritizing, and considering switching my role to a SAHM (stay at home mom). Such a distinct difference, and one I think I'm ready to take on! We just need to crunch the numbers and make sure we have our ducks in a row before we make the decision. Then hopefully next year we won't be having holiday schizophrenia like you see here.

Wish No. 6 - Visit from St. Nick { December Daily 2010 }

Journaling Reads: We continued our tradition of honoring Saint Nicholas' feast day. Sean placed one of his new snow boots outside his bedroom door, and was thrilled to see St. Nick left him a few treats.

During mass last night I suddenly remembered that today (December 6) is the feast of Saint Nicholas. Clearly God didn't want me to forget. So I headed to Target to pick up some new snow boots and other treats. Last year we started the tradition of leaving a boot outside your bedroom door in hopes that St. Nick leaves a few treats. I remember doing this when I was a kid, and it was always fun to have an early surprise in advent. And I like the idea of being able to share with Sean the history of the real Saint Nicholas, and how we honor him today. I have a few years yet before we need to figure out how to link him to Santa??? And today I read about an idea of St. Nick leaving a special ornament for each child. I really like this idea and will incorporate it next year.

Sean is still battling the rash/eczema -- which you can see on his cheeks -- but it appears to be under control with copious gobs of Aquaphor and regular doses of Benydryl.

I'm really loving my simple approach to this year's album -- 1-2 photos per day, 1 story. It's definitely much less stressful. Here's a look at the full spread.