Who's The Boss?

Christmas

Darius woke me up early Christmas morning in a panic.  He tugged at my hand and told me to "Get Up.  Get Up. Get Up."  He had checked out the living room before he came to me and saw that Santa had eaten all the cookies and drunken his milk... but Darius couldn't find any new presents under the tree.  To think that Santa would have committed the ultimate sin of forgetting a good boy on Christmas was too much for Darius to handle alone.  And so I was woken up with my child acting like the house was on fire.  This was a serious EMERGENCY.

Yeah, turns out Santa left the presents next to the fireplace instead of under the Christmas tree.  Apparently the man in red was in a rush and didn't have time to walk all the way across the other side of the room to deposit the presents under the tree.

Or perhaps Santa never thought that Darius would only look in one place and then end up in a morning panic which would result in waking up his mother at a time that no mother should be woken up even if it is Christmas morning.   Regardless, I've already sent Santa a memo to remember to put the damn presents under the damn tree... and while we're at it, can this mother please not get woken up until after the clock reads 7:00 (or even better 8:00)??

We kept our Christmas small this year.  Thanks to the Leapfrog event I attended in November, Darius opened both a Tag and a Leapster2.  After the shouting match he had with Santa in Disneyland, I made sure that we had a Star Wars Lego set as well.  Little did I know that the real present would be getting to put together 82 pieces of teeny tiny legos before a cup of coffee.  We also raided the dollar store for lots of stocking stuffers.   Neville and I continued our 9-year tradition of not buying anything for eachother. Although I did splurge with a pack of Costco underwear in his stocking.  Because, frankly, Neville would wear his undies until they had holes in places that underwear shouldn't have holes if I didn't buy him new underwear.

The opening of presents was nearly over before it began.  And yet, the living room still looks like we had an excessive holiday with lots of people over... which is even more strange considering we left the house at 9:30am to suprise my mom for Christmas and didn't get home until after 10:00pm.

Worse than coal

"Darius, who are those cookies for?"

"Santa"

"Really?  I thought those were for daddy."

"No.  Those are SANTA'S cookies."

"Well, what if daddy eats them? What would Santa bring daddy?"

"If daddy eats Santa's cookies then daddy would get a BARBIE."

So much for that blogging break

I should have known that as soon as I posted about how I wanted to take it easy for the next couple of weeks, something would happen to fill all of my "free time."

Darius has been diagnosed with walking pneumonia. 

Good news: the name sounds much worse that the actual illness. 

Bad news: any time saved from not blogging has been spent catching up on work for the last four days.  I've been home with a sick boy who is sick enough to want to spend his waking moments right next to me but isn't sick enough to just. sit. there. 

Balancing work with a sick child is proving to be very problematic.  I'm just glad that this is the slowest time of the year at work.  Most people are out on vacation anyways.  My goal was to get ahead of the curve and created a long list of things to do for this week.  I'll be lucky if I finish this week without being further behind. 

We are watching lots of Disney movies. Our current  line up includes Lilo and Stitch, Mary Poppins, and The Jungle Book.  Instead of popcorn, I'm serving up chicken noodle soup. 

Plus I am bribing him with Skittles to take his medication.  I tasted that stuff and good grief it tastes awful.  What happened to the bubble-gum flavored goodness I remember as a child?  Darius get three skittles in exchange for his daily dose of antibiotic.

And I get a nightly does of red wine to celebrate making it through another day juggling work with the holidays with a sick kid.  Santa better bring me something good this year....

Hint or Else

I saw this commercial this week and can't stop laughing.  Darius is still way too young for me to find contraband in his bedroom.  But for those with teenagers, consider yourself warned. 

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Lost: Motivation

I don't know if it is the chilly, wet weather that has descended on Silicon Valley, but my motivation is missing.  Blogging seems like a chore.  Work seems like... well, like work.  The house has never been dirtier. 

Perhaps it is the busy-ness of the holidays.  I'm already tired of the holiday parties.  After baking one set of cookies, I gave up on my holiday bake-fest.  The ingredients for the remaining treats are sitting on the countertop. 

Everynight, I try to pretend that we really don't need to eat dinner.  And it we are going to eat, it's going to be some sort of cold meat housed between two slices of bread.  Because the last thing I want to do is cook. 

I'm not depressed.  I'm not sick.  I just don't really feel like doing anything. 

And so for the next two weeks, I am taking a break.  I can't give up on my job - the last thing I need right now is to be unemployed.  And I can't give up on my family.  So I'm taking a break from social media.  My twittering will slow down.  My blogging will come close to a stand still. 

Consider it like a company shutdown during the holidays.  I'll be back soon.  And better than ever. 

Multi-tasking

While listening to an All Hands Call (for those of you not in the software world, that just means a staff meeting), I bought condoms online. 

Yes, this is "the juggle" at its best.  I'm listening to a Senior VP talk about the recession and how our company is positioned to withstand the storm, all the while taking a look online to find the lowest priced rubbers with free shipping.

And let me tell you, condoms are way cheaper online than they are in the store.  And you get to avoid the embarrassment of bringing them to the check-out counter.

Not sure this is what the VP meant by finding ways to reduce costs.

Christmas at Disneyland

To say that our weekend at Disneyland was magical is a complete understatement.  We had a phenomenal time.   The weather was unbelievable (high 70s!).   The lines were reasonable.  And Darius is just the perfect age to get caught up in the magic.   Watching him was THE HIGHLIGHT of my weekend.  To see him get so excited about riding Space Mountain or taking a photo with Pooh Bear... To see him love the things about Disneyland that I loved as a child, it was more than magical for me.

I've never been to Disneyland during the holidays and didn't know what to expect.  It surpassed my wildest dreams.  I'm telling you, a weekend in Disneyland decorated to the gills in Christmas themes will fill you with the spirit of season. 

It's a Small World had Christmas carols playing throughout.

 

We were serenaded by super-talented Disney singers in our hotel lobby.

 

But the best part was Santa

 

When Darius saw Santa headed our way in the Holiday Parade, he immediately stood up and started to frantically wave at him.  He was so excited to see the man in red.  When Santa got closer, Darius turned to me and said "I have to tell him what I want," and then shouted at the top of his lungs "SANTA, SANTA! I WANT A STAR WARS LEGO SET FOR CHRISTMAS."  He said it with such sincerity and passion.  So sweet.  Neville and I are still getting a laugh out of it. 

Good thing, I picked one up the day before.  Afterall, he has been a very good boy this year.

Jedi Training at Disneyland

 

My young Padwan is fighting "Dark Vader."  I think Darius nearly peed himself from the excitement of it all.  He hasn't stopped talking about how he defeated Darth Vader.  This is by far the most memorable part of our trip to Disneyland so far.  And totally sealed the deal on Darius being one of those total Star Wars geeks when he grows up.  I see many conventions in his future.

Disneyland Day 1

 

the unhappy daddy mouse

   

the very first ride

 

the nightmare before christmas has haunted the mansion

 

the encounter with the most famous mouse in the world

 

the spectacular fireworks show to end the night

We're going to Disneyland

We are heading to the most magical place on earth for the weekend.  The last time we went to Disneyland, Darius was just barely 2 years old.  Time for an updated family photo, don't you think?

   

And the winner is....

And the winner of the Leapfrog Didj is.... (drumroll please)

Nanette!

 

 

Darius and I pulled her name out of a hat.  I've used random.org in the past, but then noticed that it often pulled the same number whenever I ran a contest (one smack in the middle, if you are curious).  So I am relying on the old hat trick for a while. 

Also, I am moving all giveaways over to my review blog.  Betchya didn't know I have a review blog, eh?  It's grossly neglected.  Lots of cobwebs and dust and spiders over there.  Poor little neglected blog. 

To make it a shiny happy place, I'll be having a giveaway a week for the month of December starting with a free laptop skin from skinit.com.   Plus I just reviewed a fun toy that can keep your kids occupied for hours.  So come on over and check it out.

Damn you, Santa

I rely on the "Santa Syndrome" as a disciplining techinque from Halloween until Christmas.  Every parent who celebrates Christmas uses this technique.  You know, the same one that your parents used on you when you were a kid.  The one in which you pretend to call Santa or let Santa know that your child is acting naughty.  The one in which you threaten coal in a stocking.  When you remind your child that Santa is making his Good List and Naughty List, so he best start acting like a good little boy or he may get nuttin' for Christmas.

It's cruel and manipulative, I know.  But it works, people!  It works like a charm. 

That is, until Santa ruined it for me. 

My dad took Darius on a shopping trip to the mall this past weekend.  While they were passing the Santa photo op, Darius waved and said hello to the man in red.  And wouldn't you know, Santa smiled and waved back.  My sweet, Christmas-loving child took that to mean one thing and one thing only...

He's been a good little boy this year and Santa will be bringing him LOTS and LOTS of TOYS.

In otherwords, I'm totally screwed.

Darius came home from the mall so excited about his encounter with Santa.  And totally convinced that the verdict is already in about his "goodness."  No amount of me trying to threaten otherwise has made a crack in his resolve.

Sure, he's a good kid.  In fact he's a great kid.  He's generous and sensitive.  He's kind and cuddly. 

And thanks to Santa, I have no power over him.  By Santa acknowledging his mere presence, Darius has deduced that he is good. 

Santa wouldn't wave and smile at a naughty boy, right?

I hate bad drivers

For all of those returning to work after the long holiday weekend, I urge you to read my piece on considerate commuting.  Apparently all that turkey and stuffing has caused a nuclear meltdown in the area of your brain that controls safe driving. 

Swirving around pedestrians in a crosswalk is not OK.

Tailgating cars already going over the speed limit is not OK.

Reading a newspaper while driving is not OK.

And for peet's sake, it is against the law in Calfornia to be talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device.  Looking around for a cop so you can drop the phone into your lap is not OK.