From our family to yours, a very Merry Christmas!  We hope your holiday is filled with everything it should be- family, friends, laughter, love and wonder.

The Good

The Hubs is feeling better and no one else has gotten sick yet.  I’m not declaring us disease free yet because, as my dear friend Karin (who is a nurse) informed me earlier, we’re not out of the woods yet. I should have coughed on her for being so darn practical about the matter.

The Bad

We took the kids to the store today so they could buy presents for each other. I took Beaner with me, The Hubs had Scorch.  2 minutes into our trip, the Bean (who was sitting in the shopping cart) took her boots and socks off.  Wonderful, I am that white-trash mom who lets her kids go barefoot in the store during winter. Awesome.  Then on the way out, Scorch threw an almighty fit because we didn’t get him anything on this trip other then a present he couldn’t even open yet.  The injustice was just too much for my 4 year old and he made sure the whole store knew it!

The Ugly
I have yet to start my wrapping.  I don’t like to wrap and quite frankly, I stink at it.  I would say it looks like a blind 4 year old wrapped my gifts, but that would be an insult to blind 4 year olds.  Let’s hope our friends & family open their presents so quickly they don’t notice, k?

You know how sometimes you live with someone so long that you stop noticing things about them? The gray hairs on your spouses head? The dogs weight gain? I’m like that with my kids- only in reverse. I notice that they are getting bigger all the time. This morning, for instance, I realized that I couldn’t take Scorch’s shirt off of him while I’m sitting on the ground any more because the kid is too damn tall.  I marvel daily at how the Bean is putting together crazy complex sentences.

What I forget daily is that my kids are still babies in a lot of ways. Today they both reminded me of that-

> Scorch is having a Harvest Party at school tomorrow and he keeps calling it his Hummus Party.

> The Bean pronounced the word Ghost as “goat” and is convinced that ghosts say “moo,” not “boo.”

I do love those little buggers!  I hope you all have a very happy Halloween!

I’ve really got nothing to say today. Shocking, I know.  I’m missing our beautiful fall weather- this rain has got to go!

I was never, ever going to live this close to home.

Growing up, all I could think about doing was getting out. Out of a place where you couldn’t go to the gas station without knowing someone. Out of the place where it snows 5-7 months a year. Out of the place where there was nothing to do and limited opportunities. Just OUT.

After graduating college, the Hubs and I moved to the DC area for his job. We loved it there- the shorter winters were a huge bonus. If we were ever bored, it was our fault for not finding something to do. We hit all the museums, drove to the beach on the weekends, went into the city for dinner, went to see the O’s play in Baltimore.

But it wasn’t home. People didn’t say hello or thank you for holding the door for them. They didn’t look you in the eye or make small talk. Nobody said “God Bless You” when you sneezed.  So when the Hubs job offered us a transfer back an hour from home, we jumped on it.

We’ve been back a little over 8 years now and I can’t imagine living anywhere else- especially this time of year.

So life in the Wickedly Crazy Awesome (WCA) house has been in turmoil the past 24 hours.

The Hubs job has a lot of pro’s to it, but the two biggest cons are (1) lack of planning and 2) lack of consideration for families) can make life a tad bit difficult. We know due to the Hub’s job we’re going to have to move- we were told we’d have to report to a new location in Aug 2011.  We could deal with that.  Scorch could have one more full year at his kick-ass school and start a new school for Kindergarten and the Bean could start preschool in our new city.  So, while still a crappy situation- that is the least crappy timing for us.

But…we were told yesterday, Surprise- you have to move in March.

Not. Good.

BUT then today we were essentially told “whoops- just screwing with you! We don’t know when you’re moving anymore!”

That sound you heard? It was my head exploding.

This past weekend my amazing mother-in-law (MIL) came to help out as the Hubs recovered from his surgery. My MIL spoils my kids rotten- a tradition they all love!  And let’s face it, my kids don’t go without thanks to the Hubs and I either. We do make Scorch earn enough stickers doing various things throughout the house to get something extra special. But this summer was filled with a million big and little trips- each one requiring a souvenir according to the Hubs.

Unfortunately all this spoiling and the gluttony of things have turned Scorch into a child who only wants more. Yesterday at dinner I asked him what his favorite part about the day was. He said he didn’t have a favorite part because we refused to buy him the football he wanted.  Mind you- over the course of the weekend, he got 4 new pairs of shoes (including much coveted cleats), a new baseball glove, was taken to a Bounce House and countless parks and out to dinner each night.  So…yeah. Spoiled much?

I don’t mind getting these things because the Hubs and I usually only stick to the necessities and the fun stuff is only bought once Scorch has earned them or for holidays.  But what I do mind is his complete lack of gratitude.  And I don’t know how to teach him that at this age. Reasoning with him doesn’t work because he’s 4 and doesn’t get a lot of the abstract “there are starving kids in XYZ country- don’t you know how lucky you are?” conversation.  Do I take him to volunteer? Do I just keep talking to him and pray that this will finally click?

I’m at a loss! How did you teach your kids to be grateful?