Last year one of my New Year’s resolutions was to be more patient and loving with my dog, Charlie, and to give her more attention and exercise.

I passed with about a B-.

This year I want to get at least an A-.

She’s kissable, right?

I figured out how to get her to look attentive for these photo sessions. I just say “Kitty.” No kidding. It gets her every time. See her ears?

When I brought Rachel home from the hospital Charlie was in shock. The first night home it was as if Charlie was the one having to wake up with her. She paced our room the whole night. The next day she just moped and stared at me from afar.

When I brought Hannah home from the hospital, Hannah was sleeping in her carseat and we set the carseat up high. Charlie didn’t see her. For the hour that Hannah was sleeping, Charlie was beside her self with anxiety, pacing back and forth. She wouldn’t settle down. Then Hannah started crying. Charlie jumped up and was ecstatic, wagging her tail, smiling and running to the carseat and back. She had known I had given birth (by sniffing) but was not able to figure out where the baby was.

Then for a year of more, Charlie got virtually ignored.

For Christmas, Hannah and Rachel got dolls that cry “real” cries. You have to try to figure out what they need to get them to stop crying (changing diapers, feeding, or burping.) What was I thinking? Since the girls were enjoying the dolls without batteries we didn’t introduce them to this crying function….until last night. My husband put the batteries in. Somehow I was the appointed “babysitter” while the girls set off countless times with their strollers to the “park.” Why does it entertain me to see Rachel a bit stressed out trying to calm the baby? She tries the burping, then the feeding, then the binky, and then sighs if she has to change the diaper. She hates that.

When Charlie heard the cries, she went nuts. Happy nuts. She looked at me with tail wagging and eyes wide, as if to say, “We’ve got a job to do. Let’s get started.”

Is she a glutton for punishment? She’s smart, but in this case instinct wins out over brains. She just wants to have a job, I think.

Too bad she can’t fold laundry. (Ba-da-boom. Canned laughter.)

I took another look at the scene, raised my eyebrows, waved good-bye, and went to the grocery store. Apparently the babies went to sleep while I was gone.

Night-night.

Shhhh. Here’s a secret. I kind of like burping the babies.

Call me grandma, then hand me a blanket. I’m retired and it’s time for my nap.

Or as Hannah says, “Happy Birthday, Hannukah!”

By the way, Rachel has determined that the happy dreidel in the middle is not a man, Mr. Dreidelman, or a woman, Mrs. Dreidelman. “It can be anything it wants to be!”

Now, imagine us dancing around the living room to this music.

(I promise I am not on this audioblog. Professional Hannukah singers only.)

Now smell a brisket in the oven. Hannukah party tomorrow night.

I think I just may be becoming a good Jewish mother.

(Oy. Talk amongst yourselves.)

I know I promised you all a post on being an interfaith family. The truth is, I’ve thought a lot about how I would write such a post and have come to conclusion that I’m a little shy about getting that personal. Let’s just say it is a work in progress and a lot of work, but very rewarding. Before we had kids we joined an interfaith discussion group, which helped a wee bit, but after having kids I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to just jump in and “do it” and learn as you go. I believe God brought my husband and I together, so how can our union of faiths be wrong. At the same time, it is easy to just let religion go in an interfaith union, because it is harder work than in a normal marriage. If you are willing to put in the work, however, you have really thought about your faith, articulated what it means to you, and are able to share that with your family in new and creative ways. Your faith becomes a true working, living faith. I don’t know how the story will end, but I will work hard to make it a happy one. Stay tuned….

Every Sunday my grandmother and father parted ways in small town Minnesota, my grandpa heading toward the Catholic church and my grandpa towards the Lutheran. They continued this until my grandfather died a little over a year ago. I’m not sure this relates here, but it sure fascinates me. My grandfather made sure all six of kids followed him to the Catholic Church while my grandmother worshipped alone. I wonder how my life would have been different if she had been given charge of their religious upbringing. Hmmm. I think it would have made an interesting difference.

I’ll think about that while I check the brisket.

Now go on. Stop kvetching and talk amongst yourselves.

Thirteen books on the shelves of Raehan’s nightstand.

1. Carson McCullers, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (In progress) I love the book, and am so sorry, Kimbofo, that I did not finish it in time to join in the book club discussion. I’m still working on it.

2. The Journals of Lewis and Clark

3. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (An old favorite of mine.)

4. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (Haven’t read it yet.)

5. Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (I taught this book as a teaching assistant once. It caught my eye when I was cleaning the garage this Fall.

6. David McCullough, 1776 (This one looks good. It’s on the American Revolution, and I hear he actually has something new to say about it.)

7. Jerome W. Berryman, Godly Play: An Imaginative Approach to Religious Education (Montessori approach to Sunday school. I’m curious.)

8. Jim Wallis, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America (Will a Religious Left ever catch fire?)

9. Sunset, Western Garden Book (There’s always hope for me and my thumb.)

10. What to Expect The Toddler Years (I’m sure I read every page of this weathered book when my oldest was toddler. I don’t pick this one up very often now.)

11. Mothers and Motherhood: Readings in American History (I once had the boring idea that I would have a regular feature here discussing the history of motherhood. Turns out very few historians have written about Motherhood, and I don’t want to be a historian here. This is my place to relax.)

12. Louise Fiszer and Jeannette Ferrary, Jewish Holiday Feasts (Because I’m not Jewish and need/want to make latkes and strudel occasionally.)

13. National Museum of the American Indian: Map and Guide (Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.) (Because I was there.)

Diid you learn anything about me? Does it surprise you that these are the books on my nightstand, or are these what you might have expected to find.

Now tell me, after I finish The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, what should I pick up next?

Maybe I’ll start a “From Raehan’s Nightstand” feature, or does my nightstand bore you to tears? Never mind. Don’t answer that.

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I believe I indicated in my last post that I had a very nice Christmas Eve evening with my family.

I did not mention our Christmas Eve morning, which was spent frantically running around doing last minute errands. First, the Bagel shop for…well, bagels. Then, Costco for the lobster tails. The kids were in tow. We were running errands as a family. They were reaching their limit. I suggested to my husband that one of us go back home and stay with the kids, who in my opinion needed to relax and play. My husband, with the fortitude of a boy scout troop leader, wanted to “stick to the plan.” So, we did. Yes, sir. Hannah threw a tantrum the minute we entered the mall. “Go. Just go get them [the shoes]” My husband ordered. “I’ll deal with her.”

I was off to Stride Right. Rachel’s grandpa had given us money for Christmas. Since we had already bought presents for the girls, I thought about what else they might want. What had I said “no” to? Rachel had been wanting fancy shoes for about a month. We had put a moratorium on fancy shoes because she had received many expensive shoes as gifts in the past that she had asked for and wouldn’t wear because they were uncomfortable. She only really felt comfortable in a particular pair of black leather shoes that Stride Rite makes. When she outgrew them my husband searched along time to find a pair in her new size. We had invested in those. No more fancy shoes. The ones she had were nice enough, and she wore them. She liked them. No need to complicate things.

For Halloween I bought a pair of cheap white slip-on shoes for her to wear with her bride costume. They were too big, but she loved them. I never returned them, thinking she would grow into them eventually. When I took her to the ballet with her two friends from school, she wanted to wear the white “fancy” shoes. I gave in and let her wear the whites, which were so big they kept slipping off her feet as she walked in them. It was pouring rain, and I let her ride on my back from the car to the auditorium, not wanting her feet to get wet and cold as her shoes slipped off. During the ballet I saw how proud she was of those damn white shoes. She kept showing them to her friends, who had much fancier black shoes on, and like normal smart four year olds, let her know it. I immediately stopped the shoe comparisons, but was bursting with pride at her for wearing those silly shoes so proudly without complaining.

So as Hannah wailed behind me in the mall that day I was running to go spend some of Grandpa’s Christmas money on fancy black shoes that would fit her, and that she could run in at school, comfortably. I found them, and then spent time finding a cute pair of running shoes for Hannah’s wide feet. (Poor Hannah has a hard time finding shoes tht fit her.) I wasn’t buying the fancy black shoes because I wanted Rachel to be like her friends, but because I was so proud of her for the way she joyfully wore those silly white shoes at the ballet.

So I got the comfortable shiny black shoes and a wide pair of sneakers for Hannah, and hurried back. Hannah was no longer crying. I sat on a bench with Rachel and Hannah while their Dad went for smoothies.

Then a man suddenly stopped to talked to us.

He LOOKED normal.

Out of the blue, he said, “You know if you go for a third, chances are you’ll have another girl.”

I stared at him.

“Are you thinking about having another?” He asked.

“I think I might.” Why the hell did I answer this idiot?

“Two things you can do to help.” he offered. “Diet and Timing. I think the male sperm swim faster or something…you gotta hit it right at ovulation.”

He starts gesturing his hand in imitation of sperm. Rachel stared at him blankly. Hannah sucked her thumb.

I was speechless.

“Ah well. You did good work with these two.” He moved on.

Yeah.

Had he even considered that I might just know a little something about this timing thing?

And that maybe I had wanted two girls.

I do good work. Yes indeedy.

I like to feel powerful once in a while. Indulge me.

…and I need a couple of Tums.

Seriously. I went looking for some this afternoon and instead I found chocolates.

Holy moly, talk about rich food. Last night we had lobster tail, beef filet, wild mushroom and sausage stuffing, potatoes, cranberry relish, pineapple mush, crab salad as an appetizer, crescent rolls, spinach souffle, the list goes on. This was AFTER a lighter meal of artichoke soup and raclette (a swiss fondue-type tradition) the night before, and cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. I made it all (except the cranberry relish which was delicious and made by my husband), way too much of it. We have so much food in this house it’s absurd. And we’re saturated…..with…um richness.

Last night before bed my husband made a comment about his stomach being a little upset. I asked him why and when he said the food was very rich (this was after giving me high compliments during the meal), I got a little defensive about it. The truth is it was a humdinger of a meal but very rich, so we joked about it all day today when we were eating leftovers. We kept skirting around the “R” word, laughing because I was allowed to say it, but not him. Last night I made the mistake of having like three glasses of eggnog before meal time because I poured a whole punchbowl full of eggnog with rum and only one other person was drinking eggnog. I had waited until Christmas Eve to buy or drink eggnog, so it felt like a novelty. By the time I sat down to eat I felt like there were half a dozen eggs sitting in my stomach. I had this lobster tail and big hunk of meat on my plate and couldn’t touch them, instead I chowed down on the side dishes.

The recipes, by the way, were all great. We enjoyed them all, and I’ll keep them in my repertoire now. After we put the girls to bed on Christmas Eve, I was really excited because we had such a sweet time together. My goal was to do as much cooking as I could ahead of time so I could relax Christmas day. I put a bad Christmas movie (Lifetime Channel, something I haven’t turned on in quite a while) on and started cooking, and cooking, and (yawn) cooking, until 11;00 or so. Then when I was starting to hit the wall, I faced the clean-up. It was taking a long run in one direction and realizing that you had to run all the way home after you had reached your limit. I did it…with another bad lifetime movie on in the background. Then I finished setting up for Christmas. It was a late night, but I’ll remember it for a long time (not the Lifetime movies, though). If you noticed me lurking frantically on your blog late on Christmas Eve, I was probably double checking a recipe.

Why am I talking about food so much? It’s not very inspiring or mommy bloggish, but I still feel like I have a big punchbowl of eggnog sitting in my stomach and I’m a little rusty at this blogging thing after taking so much time off these past weeks. Thanks to Leanne and Running 2K for nominating me over at the Best of Blog awards, a place to draw attention to blogs with smaller readerships than the big guys. I go over there to nominate people and feel overwhelmed and humbled, like a shy girl at a big party….with a stomach full of eggnog. It sure is a good place to find new blogs, though. Have a look, if you haven’t already. There is also still time to nominate someone you think deserves attention.

Our Christmas was wonderful and lovely. At the same time I am ready to clear my refrigerator of the rich foods and get all the Christmas clutter cleared away. I am not sure if i can handle six more days of Hannakah. I need to fast for two days before I’ll be able to think about brisket and latkes. I have a Hannakah party here on Friday.

We lit the candles on the Mennorah for the first time tonight and Hannah started singing Happy Birthday. Rachel was fascinated by the candles and after dinner watched them until the very last candle flickered out. Hannah was terrified that Rachel was going to burn herself. “Scare ME….burning!” she’d scream every time Rachel’s hands touched the counter near the Mennorahs. It was dramatic, challenging and lovely all at the same time.

Does anyone have advice on digital cameras? We received Christmas money from my in-laws and are looking for a camera that has great shutter speed and can handle close-ups. My camera really sucks. I took pictures of the food and my house (to show the new paint) but they aren’t very good. So….give me your input, please, if you can help me out.

I’ll leave you with a letter from me to Santa written to ease Rachel’s fears about Santa entering our house. She wanted him to leave the presents on the porch and couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve, worried that he would get confused and come into the house anyway. When I dictated this note to Santa while sitting on her bed, you should have seen the relief and happiness on her face. It was like suddenly everything fell into place for her, and she was finally able to relax and settle down for the night.

“Dear Santa,

We love you very much. We know you are very busy. No need to come in. Mom will bring the presents inside.

Thank you very much. Please enjoy this cookie and say hello to Rudolph….”

This Santa thing is a challenge for me, coming from a German tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve. Please don’t think I’m the grinch, but I find it a bit stressful to lie to my kids on this one. Yes, yes, it’s all good fun and I swear I do my part and give them a good time, and I hope, wonderful memories, but it’s still hard for me. A few months ago, Rachel started saying with strong, innocent convinction, “God’s not real.” I insisted God was real, but she continued to insist God was not. Finally, I quelled it by looking her in the eye and VERY strongly stating “Rachel, God IS real!” She got it. It’s not that I expect her to go through her life without questioning God’s existence. She will have her own journey, just as I did. It’s just that I want her to know that when I looked her in the eye and told her God was real, I meant it; I believed it. Just as I want her to know what my values are, to give her that part of me. So when she asks me questions about Santa, I don’t want to look her in the eye with the same conviction that I looked her in the eye with when I told her God was real. Instead I try to return a question with a question. “How did Santa know that I wanted a fairy doll?” she asks. “We wrote him a letter on the computer, didn’t we?” I ask back. It’s not exactly a lie, but it’s not the truth. And it will all work itself out, I know. I’m overthinking it. It’s just my mind swirling around, as my stomach aches from eggnog and chocolate. I’m just trying to get a little more comfortable, while I’m enjoying the ride. No more eggnog for me.

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Silent night! Holy night! (translation by Frank, 1997)

1. Silent night! Holy night!
All’s asleep, one sole light,
Just the faithful and holy pair,
Lovely boy-child with curly hair
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!

2. Silent night! Holy night!
God’s Son laughs, o how bright.
Love from your holy lips shines clear,
As the dawn of salvation draws near,
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!

3. Silent night! Holy night!
Brought the world peace tonight,
From the heavens’ golden height
Shows the grace of His holy might
Jesus, as man on this earth!
Jesus, as man on this earth!

4. Silent night! Holy night!
Where today all the might
Of His fatherly love us graced
And then Jesus, as brother embraced.
All the peoples on earth!
All the peoples on earth!

5. Silent night! Holy night!
Long we hoped that He might,
As our Lord, free us of wrath,
Since times of our fathers He hath
Promised to spare all mankind!
Promised to spare all mankind!

6. Silent night! Holy night!
Sheperds first see the sight.
Told by angelic Alleluja,
Sounding everywhere, both near & far
Christ the Savior is here!
Christ the Savior is here!

Merry Christmas!

I seem to have put myself on vacation from blogging. I’ll be back next Thursday to report on our Christmas and Hannakah celebrations.

Here are thirteen things I plan to to do while I’m gone.

1. Raclette and chocolate fondue and Mistress Mary’s artichoke soup on Christmas Eve.
2. Homeade gifts and pajamas on Christmas Eve.
3. Lobster Tail for Christmas dinner, with Filet Mignon.
4. And MommaK’s pineapple mush,
6. and Lucinda’s stuffing and potato dish..
7. If budget allows, Vicki’s crab meat appetizer.
(Sorry I have no time to link tonight. Yes, I do have an imagintion, but your photos and descriptions got my attention.)
7.5. German Apple Pancakes and Bagels and Lox on Christmas Morning/Lunch, and perhaps an egg casserole and fruit salad. Update: I’m goign to try Angie’s Cinnamon rolls and keep the bagels and lox for lunch.
8. My children will be receiving their own children’s Mennorah for Hannakah this year. I think they’ll love it. It’s very sweet. I’ve ordered a new one for us, too. It has a dove, and is in the shape of the word, Shalom.
9. I’ll be attempting to replicate my friend’s awesome latkes, brisket and apple chutney.
10. No specific plans for New Year’s Eve yet. I guess that means we have a cozy date at home.
11. Will have anywhere from four to nine guests for dinner on Christmas. I’ve decided to relax and go with the flow. If there are too many I do a roast instead of the surf and turf.
12. Rachel likes the idea of Santa bringing presents, but not the thought of Santa in her house, so in the past we’ve worked out a deal where Santa sends the reindeer in the house to deliver the presents.
13. Hannah freaked out at the sight of our yard-decoration reindeer in our house, so I think we’ll have to work out a new arrangement this year. Rachel wants Santa to leave the presents on the porch and have me bring them in and put them under the tree.

As if I don’t have enough to do these days!

Be well, everyone.

Peace.

I will be lurking, lurking. You better be nice…and not naughty, if you know what I mean. Or be naughty and feed me cookies and eggnog. I’m easy that way. That’s why my tummy jiggles like a bowl full of jelly.

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Thirteen Things on Raehan’s mind this week. 1. I used to fit blogging comfortably into my schedule. These days it does seem to cutting into my time. What’s up with that? Does this mean I actually have a life now, or that I’m slowing down in my old age. To answer my own question, I think it has more to do with suddenly wanting sleep and an ordered household. This doesn’t mean I’m getting these things. I’m just working harder, striving harder for them. 2. Our carol singing has been continuing. These sessions are quite interesting events. Last night, I strummed and sang solo to “Away in a Manger” while Rachel sang a dramatic rendition of a Christmas song that she made up. Twenty times or so. The performance went like this: (twirling in circles with hands held high) “Oh, thank you God. Oh, thank you God…for my wonderful Christmas. (stop, put hands in praying position under chin) And lots of peace.” I had nothing to do with this. I have no idea where it came from, except that she may have been picking up on the religious tone of many Christmas carols. She kept wanting me to sing it with her, and I did try a few times, but the melody lacked a certain ‘je ne sais qoi.” 3. I keep using French phrases. Perhaps I am remembering last year in Paris. Sigh. 4. I picked Hannah up from preschool today and suddenly discovered why she has been singing Jingle Bells with such gusto. She had a reindeer shirt on (made by her teacher), paper antlers, a red nose, and jingle bells. So did the rest of the class. They sang Jingle Bells for us. She was much more subdued than she is at home when we sing it. 5. I was trying on dresses today for an upcoming Christmas dinner. Rachel gave me fashion advice while Hannah said “pretty” and rubbed deoderant on my legs. I felt like Cinderella. 6. My mother-in-law is having knee surgery this weekend. I will be thinking of her. My husband will be with her. 7. Meanwhile, I’ll be trying to juggle quite a few things on my own and am not quite sure how it will all fall into place. We shall see. It’s the painting that puts a kink into things. I’m trying not to think too hard about it. 8. I just had deja vu about something when thinking about my sister’s new baby. I think I must have dreamed about her and her baby last night. I believe it had something to do with breastfeeding. I think it involved her breasts and not mine, but I’m not sure about that. 9. Yesterday on the ride to school Hannah saw a dog and said “puppy.” Rachel said, “No, it’s a doggie.” Hannah whined and said “puppy.” This repeated gratingly about 10 tens until I snapped and yelled, “Rachel, I don’t care if she says it’s an ice-cream cone. Just say, “Yes, it’s an ice-cream cone.” She laughed. 10. Later that day on our way to Target Hannah insisted that we were going to a “diffwent” Target than the one we usually go to. Rachel said, “Yes, it’s a different Target, Hannah,” in a sweetly patronizing voice. It was the same Target. I’m not sure how long we can keep this going without causing damage. 11. My dog steals food from the kitchen and brings it upstairs and places it under my pillow. She particularly likes to do this right after I’ve changed the sheets. I don’t know why she doesn’t just eat the food. Do you want to borrow her for a month? 12. My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas last night. Apprently he’s under the impression he bombs every time he buys me a present. This is NOT the case. Honey, I’m still planning to use those spa certificates that you gave me in May. I’m just waiting for the perfect moment. 13. I procrastinate on redeeming luxury gift certificates. It’s a problem. I have another gift certificate for a massage that I got at a school auction, and two free in home yoga lessons I haven’t used either. I’m going to make those phone calls this week. The truth is I like to hold these things over my head as incentives, as in “I’ll redeem that when I’ve lost five more pounds.” And by that time I forget about them, until I need another incentive for something else. I don’t wear an engagement ring, because we were young and broke when we were married and didn’t have engagement ring on the brain. We would like to get new rings, but I always say I don’t want it until I weigh what I weighed when I got married. I don’t think the ring is going to happen. Not just because I’m probably never going to be that cute and skinny again, but because I would much prefer something like this. or getting my slope and front yard landscaped according to the landscape design we just got back and are contemplating. It’s fantastic but pricey. This is also why I don’t drive a fancy car. And why I asked my husband for Steinbeck’s journals, rather than jewelry, for Christmas. As much as I would like the sleek car and the glitter on my hand, I dream about the Baldwin baby grand and a garden of cascading lavender and other lovelies to read Steinbeck in. I want to make those happen. P.S. With our bedrooms being painted, events to attend, school vacation, etc. coming up, it is possible that I disappear for a while. If that is the case, have a wonderful Christmas or Hannakah. We’re doing the whole she-bang. (Suddenly Ricky Martin is playing in my head. No, that reject from American idol who sang “She-bang” or whatever the heck the song is called.) I’m very excited about what we have planned. We’re finally starting our own traditions and I’m loving it. I will be lurking/commenting if I’m not posting. Who am I kidding? I’m sure I’ll want to stop in and let you all know how it all turns out. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. MommaK 2. Squashed Toad 3. Buffi at Sugar Mommy Tammy/Mom and her Blog Sleeping Mommy Holly Running 2k Leanne Better Safe D Ladybug Crossing Carolyn Colleen Chickadee Enigma Marie Lisa

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Okay. I have some material.

We put up the Christmas tree tonight and decorated it. We brilliantly decided to put a frenzied Hannah to bed first. (Yes, we’re learning.) It was fun watching Rachel decorate the tree and really get it for the first time.

When she’s not tired, she’s an incredibly positive spirit. It’s almost laughable sometimes, because she’s so serious while being positive. It was fun listening to her discuss each ornament as she unwrapped it. She’s a non-stop talker, if you haven’t guessed that about her already.

When I turned the tree lights on for the first time, she said, “Wow! That’s adorable, Mom!”

She always uses the word adorable in off-beat ways. One day she had made a tower out of Hannah’s nesting boxes and asked me in a very serious manner, “Mom, do want to take a look at my adorable tower?”

I smiled to myself, thinking she had used the word inappropriately. When I walked into the playroom I saw this tower made of nesting boxes, like I had imagined. However, at the very top of it was a very small rubber duckie.

Voila. Adorable tower.

Touche.

So, our downstairs was painted this weekend. It looks great. Now my head is fully into Christmas and I can start with all the fun. We'’ll get the tree tomorrow; I’m digging in on my Christmas shopping; and they’ll paint the upstairs next weekend.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is I don’t have anything to blog about.

Maybe it’s those paint fumes.

I suppose this is good news for me, too, since it just gives me more time to visit you.

My big sis became a Mama last night while I was sleeping peacefully. She pushed out a baby boy.

Welcome, baby boy, you will be fawned over by a large pack of girlie cousins for years to come. Congratulations Mom and Dad. We love you!

Now get some rest.

I have to admit I have not been following the whole “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays” debate, but I do catch snippets here and there, so I have been thinking about it.

Nobody is stealing Christmas from anyone. I say Merry Christmas when I want to and Happy Holidays when I want to, depending on what seems appropriate at the time. There is nothng wrong with the phrase Happy Holidays. It is a perfectly lovely thing to say. And when I am speaking to someone who celebrates Christmas, it is lovely to wish them a Merry Christmas. If they are not Christian, it does not feel appropriate to me, but somewhat silly. Most Jews I know appreciate getting a Christmas card. They appreciate being included. In my opinion, when you are speaking to a pluralistic audience the more inclusive phrase is appropriate, but I’m not going to pick a fight over it. If I was Jewish, I imagine I would feel more comfortable walking around Target with a Happy Holidays banner hanging from the ceiling than one that read Merry Christmas, but it is Target’s choice. If they want to make an inclusive statement so that more of their customers feel comfortable it is their decision as a business. Bill O’Reilly is a bully for making them feel otherwise.

Relax, Bill. It is a free country still. Freedom of Religion. Freedom of Conscience. Freedom to phrase our season greetings however we want to. Because if someone is standing over my shoulder telling me to say “Merry Christmas” it sure isn’t going to feel like it’s coming from my heart. And I might just wonder what country I’m in.

On the other hand, I think we should teach our children about religious holidays in our public schools. I think it makes a community more rooted, and much richer. Christmas music is appropriate in Winter Concerts in communities where there are people that celebrate Christmas. Likewise, it would enrich the lives and development of students to learn about the religious traditions of their fellow non-Christian students. Inclusive is the crucial word here. Such programs in any school should reflect the local community. Maybe parent planning committees could help in this? I’m just thinking out loud. In the preschool my girls go to parents of different traditions come in and teach the children about a holiday they celebrate. It works well. I don’t think banning religious education from schools is a solution. We can nourish our local traditions. We can do it well and comfortably if we learn from each other and not simply spit out state-run religious values. Requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments in schools is an empty gesture. Our schools should nourish who we are as local communities. It requires shaking hand and pulling up our sleeves, and not hanging posters. That’s just my two cents.

There, did I save Christmas? Oh, I forgot. Nobody stole it. Phew.

This columnist expressed some of what I have been thinking, too. It is somewhat unChristian to be accusing someone of stealing Christmas when the holiday is thriving. Don’t you think? Or do you agree with O’Reilly. You can tell me what you think. I really do believe in pluralism. : ) I’ll love you even if you think I’m dead wrong on this one.

We may not have the tree up yet, but the Christmas singing is starting.

We made a recording yesterday, but you'll have to put your volume up. it's a little low.

Rachel wanted a lesson in how to sing the Sleigh-"hay" part.

Hannah is in heaven everytime we sing jingle bells because her job is shaking the bells. She shakes them and runs around in circles like she's in a trance. So even though Rachel interrupted her chance to try the verse here, she’s having fun. At the beginning of the song you can hear her saying “wait” because she doesn’t have the bells yet. She also sings “hey” at one point and starts into a verse of “jingle bells” before Rachel jumps in and starts re-singing it. Then she continues ringing the bells.

We did a little concert for Dad at night. Hannah was very serious about her bell ringing and dancing. She got upset when Rachel picked up more bells and invaded her bell ringing space. Nothing goes smoothly here. It is what it is. That’s my motto simply because I am so not in control of these things.

I'll add my Thursday Thirteen to this post tonight. I'll be writing thirteen Christmas memories.

I’ll try to get another recording of Hannah singing if I can. If I do, I’ll add it here.

Hannah (not singing)
Reindeer, dammit?

Thirteen of Raehan’s Christmas memories. 1. The advent wreath. Watching the candles every night at dinner anticipating getting to that big one in the middle on Christmas. 2. Christmas Eve. We followed the German (European) tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve. I loved it. We had St. Nicholas come on St. Nicholas Day, but Santa Claus didn’t play a role in our Christmases. I didn’t know any differently, so I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. And honestly, I still don’t think I was. Christmas Eves were lovely and we got to wake up on Christmas excited to play with our new presents. 3. Homemade ornaments. My Mom made ornaments of clay and then we painted them. Some were painted like candy-canes. Our neighbor, Peter, took a bit out of one. For some reason, we continued to hang that one, with the bite out of the bottom, for years and years. 4. Comfort. I look back on on my Christmas seasons and what comes to mind is comfort. Napping, reading, anticipating, eating comfort foods. Doing all of this while it got dark early with the lights of the season shining. I think this season of lights is really all about comfort, even on a religious level. Both the Christmas and Hannakah stories tell us that there is light in the darkness, that all will be okay. 5. Epiphany. My mother always gave us Ephiphany presents in January. Every year it surprised me because who else did that? In fac, I have a present in my closet right now from my mother to open on Epiphany. Epiphany is the day that the three wise men arrived. I believe it always comes 10 days after Christmas. Am I right, Mom, cause I need to know when to open that present. 6. Lying on the couch in the dark and looking at the lights on the tree. 7. Waking up from a nap in my room and it being dark. I loved that about Christmas vacations. 8. Christmas Carols. I went to high school in Minnesota where music was incredibly strong in the public schools. I learned the classic religious carols inside and out. Love them. I judge a song by how pretty the alto part is. I get chills every time I hear any part of Handel’s Messiah. (I’m going to write more on my Minnesota Christmases soon.) 9. New York City at Christmas time. My parenfs moved to Manhattan after I left for college. I loved walking around Manhattan in the winter. I’ve got so many memories of this I don’t know where to start. 10. Movies. There were/are so many good movies to look forward to in the Christmas season. Nowadays I can’t go out quite as often, so I usually only see one or two. I may sneak out this week to see Pride and Prejudice. I feel guilty, because I know I will fall in love with a new Darcy. The Lizzie in me feels that would be disloyal to Colin Firth to see a new P & P. I also remember the days when “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street” were run in black and white on channels like TBS constantly during the Christmas Season. Now “It’s a Wonderful Life” is only broadcast once on a major network with annoying stars like Tara Reid talking about their memories of the movie. Um, Thank, Tara. Always good to get wisdom from a 19 year old club-hopper. Especially when it comes to describing a movie about a man who sacrificed for the greater good. 11. Christmas snacks. When we lived in New York, my Mom and Dad would always pull out gourmet treats from stores like Zabars on Christmas and Christmas Eve. Love the gourmet markets in New York. 12. Christmases abroad. When I was 19 I spent Christmas with my very good German friend on my way back from Jerusalem. They had real candles on their tree. I didn’t speak German at the time and when her brother-in-law showed me a wooden back scratcher that someone had given him I thought he was giving it to me and I said “thank you” and took it. When I was 21 I spent Christmas in Japan ( was there for a five month stay in Kyoto). They don’t celebrate Christmas there, but the sweet family I was staying with tried to make it special for me. I also spent New Year’s with them. New Year’s is the sacred holiday in Japan. It was lovely. I”ll write more about it sometime. After I got married, I moved to Scotland with my husband. The first Christmas there we got a small tree and decorated it with handmade ornaments. (We had very little money). I made paper cranes and popcorn and cranberry strings. We spent Christmas dinner with some Scottish friends near us. It was very traditional British with a wrapped coin in the plum pudding and Christmas crackers. We still buy Christmas crackers every year in memory of this. Last year in Paris with my same German friend and her husband and daughter. 13. Sure I remember presents that I got, and sure I was focused on them when I was younger, but the presents aren’t what stand out now. My parents didn’t have much money, so my big presents weren’t big at all when I was a small kid. \ They were things like the Little House Books, or the Annie album. I was thrilled to get them and savored them. I’m trying to keep all this in mind now that I’m putting together our family traditions. I want my kids to remember the comfort, the music, and havng felt a thankfulness for all that they had and all that they received. And darkness and light, and all that good stuff. (Okay, Mom. Ephiphany, too). Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) 2. Marie 3. Better Safe 4. MommaK 5. Leanne 6. Holly 7. Chickadee 8. Interstellar Lass 9. Angie 10. Running 2K 11. Lilybleu 12. Triniy 13. Uzi 14. Squashed Toad 15, J & J’s Mom 16, Sleeping Mommy 17. Ladybug Crossing 18. Buffi Carolyn

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I was up last night into the wee hours of the morning finishing my final exam. I mailed that with my group project this morning. Then I dropped Hannah off with her old babysitter so I could get some sleep.

I couldn’t sleep.

Now it’s nap time and I can’t nap.

I can rest now, though. The holiday season is officially beginning in Raehanville.

No, I’m no being politically correct. We actually celebrate both Christmas and Hannakah here.

More on all this later I need to get back to not napping. I’ve got a Christmas memories post brewing though, and another about religion and being an interfaith family. You are on the edge of your seats? No? I need a nap, so cut me some slack.

And I did tell you that our house is being painted this weekend, didn’t I? That’s why our Christmas tree is not up yet.

So, I’m singing Rachel a lullaby that ends with a verse about going out into the world and sharing her special gifts when she’s a woman.

I look at her. She has a big cheesy grin on her face and she says, “I’m going to live with you always.”

Then she asks me if I’m going to become a Grandma. We talk about it a little, and tell her that I probably will. She says she doesn’t want me to turn old like a Grandma.*

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond so I thought about it and then said, “Well, maybe I can stay kind of young.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah!” Then she thought about it and said, “We’ll have to see if God changes you.”

Uh-huh.

So I’ve got some news to break to her. Sue me.

*Don’t call the Grandma police after me. She adores her Grandmothers and thinks they are beautiful.