Warren
The Shaggy Dog Story
When I was a kid, my family would say it was time for “The Shaggy Dog Story” whenever my brother or father needed a haircut. I don’t know how that saying originated, but someone said it and it stuck. I suppose it was based on the Disney movie of the same name, though we never watched it as a family. But that’s how we knew it was time for a trim.
Warren’s hair was out of control. It was beyond the surfer look and straight into hippie. It was time for the “Shaggy Dog Story,” for sure. I love his hair long, but this was excessive. On Sunday evening, Colin took the clippers (or buzzers as my brother always called them) to his locks.
He went from this:
to this:
in about 20 minutes.
He looks like a different kid! A younger one, too. He was looking much too much like a teenager, which I’m definitely not ready to handle. We’ve got years ahead before that! Plus, I love that I can see his whole face again.
Long hair or short, he’s still got those dimples and sparkling blue eyes.
The Flurry of Christmas Day
Christmas was a bit hectic this year since it fell on a Sunday. And though we had plenty of time to get ready for church since it didn’t start until 1PM, it meant we actually had to get out of our jammies and stick to a schedule. Then we had to come home and prepare Christmas dinner. But it was nice to celebrate the Savior’s birth on the Sabbath and partake of the Sacrament on this special day.
The day whizzed by but we did enjoy the excitement the kids felt seeing their “Santa” gifts and digging in to all the sweets, goodies, and food that make this holiday so joyous.
Stockings are always stuffed with one small toy, sugar cereal, goldfish crackers, “cuties” oranges, chocolate of some sort, and candy canes. Maddie had consumed most of the candies before breakfast even started. The rest of us paced ourselves, especially since we needed to save room for our healthful lunch of cinnamon and orange rolls.
Even though Maddie asked for “pink” as her sole Christmas present, we went outside the box and got her something we knew she’d love: Darth Vader. It’s really a gumball machine (don’t tell!) but she just enjoys pushing the button to hear his infamous breathing sound.
Of the many things Warren wished for this year, we decided on the art kit and “how to draw” books. He set to work right away and created some awesome drawings. He even got his requested emergency candles in his stocking.
All of that sugar consumption must have gone to her stomach because after awhile we found Maddie hiding behind the couch. She said her belly hurt. She just needed a breather. She came out some time later ready for more.
Getting ready for church is always stressful. It’s even worse when there is the distraction of new toys and candy. Somehow we made it out the door, and on time even.
We had so much food. Truly, we are blessed and have all that we need and then some. We ended the day with a roast beef dinner, complete with potatoes gratin, salad, and coconut cake.
Our Christmas was indeed Merry and Bright.
Viewing the Christmas Lights
We decided to take the kids for a drive around Santa Barbara to see some Christmas lights. There is even a website that gives you a whole route to take, complete with directions of where and when to turn. (Thanks for the tip, MK!) It’s the same path that the touring trolley cars take. It sounded like a great activity for the Christmas season.
There is only one word that can be used to describe our evening of Christmas light viewing: BUST!
And it wasn’t because there was anything wrong with the route or that the traffic was out of hand. No. It was because our children either a) fell asleep or b) complained the entire trip. Specifically, the three youngest nodded off before we even made it off the freeway exit and the oldest whined about every single thing.
Maybe we set the stage wrong, I don’t know. All I know is that from the moment we turned on to State Street and the start of the route, Warren began complaining.
“What is this we’re listening to?” he grumbled from the back, even as the brightly lit store displays and decorative stars over the street lamps gleamed outside the car window. The Christmas c.d. had just switched to a comedic story we enjoy hearing once a year, “Polly Anderson’s Christmas Party.” Perhaps he was expecting “Frosty the Snowman” and was greatly disappointed to hear a Canadian accent instead.
After the fourth time whining to know when it would be over, I turned around in irritation.
“Warren, we’re here to see the lights. Your sister and brothers are asleep. That means this is all for you now. If you’re not enjoying the drive and happy to see the lights then we’re going to go home,” I told him sternly. His half-hearted okay led me to believe that his bad attitude would reappear shortly.
Unfortunately, I was right. We continued on the path and made it to the second neighborhood of many participating houses when he piped in once again.
“I’m bored!” he announced in a surly, Grinchy tone.
I took one last terrible picture of a lighted house (photographing in low lighting from a moving vehicle has too many limitations, even with a good camera) and told Colin to turn that car around. We were going home.
As soon as we stated that we were done and heading back, he let out a wail. And then he kept wailing all the way home.
“I want to go back! Let’s go back! We didn’t see enough lights! Please! Please! Let’s see more lights! We have to see more lights!” he cried in outrage.
In our 20 minute drive home I went from supreme irritation to disappointment to sympathy. In the end, I just felt bad for him. Sometimes it’s hard to be a kid. You just don’t know what you want or how to express it and when you do get what you want sometimes it’s overwhelming to handle.
Too much excitement? Too much stimulation? Too much sugar throughout the day? I don’t know what happened with Warren, but I do know that he deeply regretted his choice of attitude. Maybe next time he’ll think before he complains. At least when it comes to Christmas lights.
And maybe next year, more of our children will actually be awake for this outing.
Playing School
It’s Christmas Break, but that doesn’t stop Warren from attending school. He engaged us all in the time-honored game of “playing school,” with curriculum developed on the fly that morning. They were the students, I was the teacher, with heavy collaboration by Warren.
Here is how our day went:
Art– watercolor painting
Snack & Recess– Goldfish crackers and playground time
Botany– Discussion of evergreen trees (parts labeled with inventive spelling)
Writing– Practicing letters, as Jake and Joey look on
Religious Studies– Understanding the Nativity
{Really, it was just a great excuse to use my new camera.}
Visiting Old St. Nick
The big kids were excited to see Santa this year. We didn’t wait in line to chat with him at the Christmas Walk, so we made a date to visit him at the outdoor shopping mall, Paseo Nuevo. The setup is nice there because you don’t have to pay to see him and it’s generally not crowded.
Normally, we would stay for the Christmas Parade, but Colin and I wimped out thinking about how much effort it would take to contain Maddie and keep the babies from getting too cold. Instead we took them shopping for their Christmas outfits at Old Navy. Aren’t we fun parents?
But we did also treat them to dinner at Chipotle. We dined outside and watched all the people getting ready for the parade. It was almost as exciting.
Back to the Santa visit… When we arrived there was only one other family attempting to meet Santa. But the little girl, probably no older than two, that was sitting on Santa’s lap was not having it. At all. She was screaming and screaming. Maddie, who previously was bouncing off the walls to see him, shrank back with reservation.
Warren, seasoned Santa visitor and a boy with an agenda, stepped right up to Jolly Old Saint Nick. Really, this Santa was so very nice. He listened to Warren and gave him a candy cane for his efforts. Maddie hung back, still trying to determine if it was safe.
Meanwhile, we took Jake and Joey out of the stroller to have them take a picture with Santa, their first one ever. “Twins!” Santa exclaimed, in a tone that expressed both amusement and fright at the realization that they were coming his way.
“Do you mind if I put them both on you?” Colin asked with a smile. “Oh no, that’s ok, just fine,” he responded as he pleasantly motioned for them to come forward. What a Santa!
Colin placed Jake down on Santa’s right knee. I had the camera ready. As soon as he tried to release Joey so I could take the shot, he began screaming. He did not want to see Santa. Not one bit.
I wish with all my heart that you could see the look on this poor kid’s face. It is absolutely classic. You can kind of tell by his arched back and outstretched hands. But you’ll just have to take my word for it, he was not happy with our plan.
Despite Joey’s reaction, Maddie finally got the nerve to walk up to Santa. Warren stayed close by to make sure she was okay. She never did sit on his lap, or tell him what she wanted for Christmas, but she walked away with a candy cane and a smile. I’d call that a success.
Maybe Joey will think better of Santa next year when he’s able to eat candy canes.
Christmas Wish Lists
Since it’s the beginning of Christmas season, we decided to have the two older kids make wish lists. Helpful for us, fun for them. They’re too young to write the items down themselves so Colin and I acted as scribes as they relayed their ideas.
This is the first year we’ve had them do this. We told them to wish big. The sky’s the limit when it comes to writing down what they want as gifts. However, we also told them that no matter how many things they listed, they’d only be getting a couple of them, and not necessarily in the order they were written, lest they get some grand idea that putting it to paper made it official. From their lips to Santa’s ears, or something. It would just be a fun way to think about what they really wanted.
Warren was as excited as any 6-year-old boy could be to begin the task. Giddy, he paced around the living room, telling me it helped him think better, as he came up with ideas far and wide. The following is his list as strictly dictated, minus the drill, matches, and saw that he also requested:
Warren’s Wish List 2011
- Mountain bike
- Computer
- Watch (digital)
- Spy kit
- Magic Treehouse books
- Beyblades
- Telescope
- Real tools
- Drawing set
- CB radio
- Hot Wheels race track
- Hot Wheels cars
- Emergency candles
- Stereo
- T.V.
- Picture frames (for his artwork)
- A box of wood
- A box of metal
- Yarn (red)
- Pumpkin carving kit
- Chapter books
- Roll of stickers (Star Wars)
- Drawing journal
- How To Draw books
- Treasure chest
- Pretend gold and diamonds (for the chest)
- Lego police station
- Lego fire station
- Lego X-Wing fighter
- Clay for sculpting
- Sculpting tools
- Black lights
- Police badge (real looking)
- Sand buckets
- Long metal shovel
- Dice
- Chess game
- Wall paper/stickers (Star Wars or fire trucks)
- New sneakers with laces
- Calvin and Hobbes books
- Weaving materials
- Rope/lasso
- Chandelier
- Wall clock
- Ceramic water pitcher (blue and green)
- Jeans
- Giant blanket
- Money (“Like pennies,” he said)
- Droid phone
- Floor tiles
- Beyblade stadium
- Gold/silver paper
- Art from scrap materials
- Backpack
- Basket for toys
- Bureau drawers
- String
- Measuring tape
- Scotch tape/duct tape/blue painter’s tape
- Cardboard boxes
- Stuffed animals
- Watercolors
- Flossers
- Glass bottles
- Paper cups
- Air fresheners (fruit scented)
- Hair spray
We explained the same rules to Maddie. This was her chance to tell us what she most desired for Christmas. Colin got the pad of paper and pen ready and asked her what presents she wanted. Her list was a tad different from Warren’s:
Madeline’s Wish List 2011
- Pink
Perhaps she is wise leaving it up to interpretation. A quick search in Amazon’s toy section yielded approximately 5,200 suggestions in the “2-4 Years” category. Obviously, she’s found the loophole.
Lowly the Fish
Meet Lowly, the newest member of the family.
He is our first long-term pet, proceeded slightly by Goldy and Goldy II who both went the way of all gold fish last year. Only living one day, we ceremoniously (think Rudy’s fish on the Cosby Show) flushed Goldy down to the great pond in the sky. Warren cried. Even upgrading to the 99 cent version (Goldy was only 20 cents), Goldy II met the same fate, so we waited until a year later to try again.
Lowly is a beta fish. Strong and tough, we’ve forgotten to feed him on a few occasions and he continues to thrive.
Everyone loves him. Maddie and Warren argue over who’s turn it is to give him his nasty smelling fish flakes. Warren even drew the background picture you see behind his fish bowl. Hopefully, he’ll stick around a long time.
Soccer Parties and High Fevers
The end of the soccer season meant time for an award ceremony and pizza party. I was responsible for bringing the cupcakes and Colin, being the coach, was responsible for handing out the trophies and certificates.
We had just returned home from an overnight temple trip. Maddie had woken us up in the middle of the night with an almost fever. Colin had to go driving around Westwood for an open pharmacy to get Tylenol. Of course we hadn’t brought any. By the time we reached our house late Saturday morning, she was going downhill fast.
Our options did not look good. Maddie was clearly sick and would most likely need to go to the ER to monitor her fever and yet we had this soccer party obligation. I was frosting cupcakes while she appeared to be getting worse. Colin was printing out award certificates while she was passed out on the couch. It was one of those situations where we wondered what the heck we were doing.
It was ridiculous. I hated knowing that we both had to do this party even though we weren’t sure how Maddie’s sickness would play out. It’s not like we could even split the duties since we only have one car. Either we were both going to the pizza joint or we both weren’t. It felt like a hopeless situation.
We went forward with our plans, praying that she’d get better and that her fever would break completely. We went to the party, ate our pizza, clapped for the soccer players, finished our cupcakes, and headed home.
{Warren received the “Bulldozer Award,” so dubbed for his ability to plow through many players and still keep going. He had a better season than last. All the same, it was good that it came to an end.}
{My green grass frosting and soccer ball cupcake toppers were well received, even though I learned too late that putting the finished product in the cupcake carrier smashes the topper down into the frosting. Note to self: place the topper in the cupcake after transport.}
She was doing alright but we wondered what would come. When we got home, we called our Home Teacher and asked that he’d stop by and help give Maddie a blessing of healing. Then we waited to see what would happen that night. We did not want to subject her to the emergency room testing procedures if we could help it.
We never had to take her to the hospital. She slept peacefully through the night. By morning, her fever had broken and she was feeling better. A call to her pediatrician the next day provided the antibiotics she needed to fully recover. I am so grateful for modern medicine and Priesthood blessings. She was spared the trauma of the emergency room testing, at least this time. I’ll take miracles whenever I can get them.
The Art of Storytelling
Warren and I went on a mother-son date. I love these opportunities to be one-on-one with this funny kid who loves to talk. We stopped at Starbucks and grabbed a hot chocolate (complete with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips) and a caramel apple cider and then headed to the local public library for a storyteller’s rendition of The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Warren and I sat on the floor together among the throng of wiggly children as we watched the performer’s rendition of the classic version of the story. We were all captivated by his grand, animated gestures and silly voices. He was hilarious and knew how to work the audience.
I love that we went to this event. Warren and I had a great time together. We were happy to support this form of entertainment. The library is wise to provide the opportunities.
Storytelling is an underappreciated art form. As the storyteller stated, no one is still enough to listen anymore. We’re all so distracted by so many media that we aren’t able to pay attention to a story. Such a shame because a good storyteller is almost magical to hear.
At the close of his performance, he mentioned a website I’d never heard of before that has free stories for all ages told by professional storytellers. Plus, he has his own weekly Saturday morning radio show at 7:30AM (Pacific) that you can hear online. I have yet to check out either one but at least I know that there are some interesting options, that don’t involve television, when the kids are looking for something to do.
Halloween Festivities
The Costumes:
A dress-up piece that I purchased in the after Halloween sale last year. The outfit was completed by the rain boots I bought him in anticipation of a heavy rain season this winter. And because I love kids in rain boots.
On loan from Ani via her mom, Christy. The absolute CUTEST sheep costume in the entire world! Thanks again, Christy and Ani, for letting Maddie borrow it. She definitely made it work in her favor.
This year’s Pièce de résistance. If only you could see their adorable little faces! This costume was Colin’s answer to the question: “What’s a good twin costume?” Since this would be the only year we could utilize the stroller prop, it had to be this Halloween. Colin’s amazing mother took the design and sewed this winner together, complete with knitted hats. IT IS TOO MUCH! Definitely the highlight of this Halloween. Thanks again, Grandma Tuki for the fantastic work!
The Activities:
As it’s been in the last couple of years, Halloween turned out to be a three-day weekend event.
On Saturday night, we attended the church Trunk-or-Treat. The next day proved once and for all that kids are indeed highly affected by large amounts of sugar consumption. Just ask Maddie who over dosed and spent much of the day in a state of tantrum. Fun for all.
On Monday, the actual Halloween day, we picked Colin up from work and headed over to the local shopping strip mall where we let the kids get just a few pieces of candy. Warren bounced in the jumpy house and rode with me on the kiddie train, but Maddie didn’t care for either. All she wanted was to rifle through her loot and dig in.
We came home, ate spiderweb pizza, and took the kids to the street where our good friends from church live. Since the candy haul from the Trunk-or-Treat was so ridiculous we decided to only go up one side of their street and then back down the other. Period. That was about all Jake and Joey could take anyway. They were good sports, cruising around in their stroller, but when they were done, they were done.
I love Halloween. From the moment the calendar turns to October 1st, we start playing “The Nightmare Before Christmas” soundtrack, I put up our many decorations, and we eat our fair share of Halloween-themed treats. It’s a magical time full of golden sunsets with long shadows, harvest moons, and pumpkin patches scattered with orange.
This year was particularly special because it was the first time our kids went trick or treating door to door. I hope I never forget the joy I felt watching Maddie and Warren run up the sidewalk, giddy with excitement. Or how sweet and polite they were saying, “Trick-or-treat,” and “Happy Halloween!” to all who answered the door, though Maddie did try to go inside every single house. (How confusing that we shouldn’t considering every time we knock on anyone else’s door it’s someone we know who gladly lets us in!) I love how proud she was as she would drop the candy in her bag all by herself and chase off after Warren who was practically at the next doorstep. And how Warren took care of his little sister to make sure she got her share.
True, there’s not much to the holiday. It’s pretty straightforward: dress up and get candy. A silly tradition that came alive for them this year. And I loved watching every minute of it.
I hope your Halloween was as happy as ours.
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