I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

Christmas Day, 2012.  SNOW!  Lot's of it!  We were in Weatherford when it started.  I would say the kids went crazy with excitement, but truth be told, we ALL did.  It was unexpected, beautiful and magical.

Magical Holidays - Gabriel

My son likes surprises.  So it was no surprise to me that I didn't hear anything about his class singing in the school Christmas pageant until the week before it was supposed to occur.  Another entity that apparently likes surprises is his school.  They do not do a good job, in my opinion, of letting we parents (especially the ones new to the school) what is going on.  If they think that our Kindergartners are going to come home and remember to tell us stuff, they're a little crazy.  There had been a couple of handouts on the pageant mentioning rehearsal times and costumes in Gabriel's folder, but the youngest grade mentioned was 1st grade.  We were not even going to attend, but then Gabriel let it slip that they had been rehearsing (thank goodness!).  They were going to sing five songs, no less.  I made a mental note that we might want to tell grandparents about it.  Within the next few days, he mumbled something about his costume.  Me:  "What costume?"  G:  "Me and three other kids get to wear the special costumes."  My first thought was, "how much is this going to cost us?", but then Gabriel said that Ms. B had found the costumes for them out of stuff the school already had.  So after pondering all of this for awhile, I asked, "Gabriel, do you have any lines in this pageant?"  He just smiled really big and said it was a surprise.  Of course.

The day of the show, which was to begin at 7, he had a flyer in his folder that I luckily read before leaving the parking lot.  It said to bring the kids back up to school by 5:15 at the latest.  "Why so early?" I pumped Gabriel.  He had no idea.  I called the office, still sitting in the car in the parking lot, and asked when the start time was.  Ms. Hernandez, School Secretary, asked:  "How old is the student?"  Me:  "Kindergarten."  Mrs. H:  "Their pageant starts at 6 in the church.  The older kids go on in the gym at 7."  WHAT?????  Do ya think this information would've been helpful at some earlier point in the day, or perhaps week, or perhaps MONTH????????  They have a completely separate pageant?!?!?!?!?!   And it starts at SIX?!?!?!?!?   I started frantically calling Jav, told him to call his sister and mom, called my parents, then rushed home to give baths, snacks and get ready to go back.  ME:  "Gabriel, what do you need to wear back up there?"  G:  "I dunno.  I guess my school clothes?"  Sigh and double double sigh.  

We made it back on time, I remembered to bring the video camera, and Joel and I settled in to wait for other family members.  Jav almost didn't make it, wandering in to the church as the kids were lining up at the back for the procession in.  We saw our cute little brown donkey right away.  They marched in and began to tell the wonderful story of the Nativity, complete with narrators, angels and shepherds. Gabriel moved toward the center, where the microphone was, as they all started to sing, "The Friendly Beasts", a song I was not familiar with.  Jav was at the back taping, and I got my phone ready just in case.  Then something amazing happened.  My sweet 6-year-old, who had such stage fright two years ago that he refused to get up on stage and sing one song with his class, stepped up to the microphone.  By himself.  And started singing.  He sang a solo.  He sang with confidence, he sang on tune, but best of all he sang with joy.  He started off the four soloists of the song (and the only ones for the entire show, I might add).  I was so shocked/proud/happy/ecstatic that I really don't remember the rest of the show.  I remember my parents, and Jav's mom and sister just beaming.  My mom was practically laughing she was so proud of him.  

The kids returned to their classroom after the show to wait for us to pick them up.  I was in a daze as I agreed with other parents that they had all done such a good job.  After some other teachers came up and told me they couldn't believe what a great singer Gabriel is, I think I mumbled that I knew he could sing, but that I thought he had stage freight and therefore had no idea he was going to sing a solo.  Some parents heard me and said, "You mean he didn't practice?  Ours practiced over and over and over this weekend!"  "Nope, not one note".  When I picked him up, Mrs. B said, "Mom and Dad, I can't believe how musical he is!"  We praised him for days afterwards.  

Gabriel got to do another really cool event at school this Christmas, and it turned into a truly magical event before it was all over. Mrs. B (who is raising the bar so high as a teacher that I wonder how any future ones will live up to our/Gabriel's expectations)  sent permission slips home for the kids to go back up to school the night of the 21st, just their class, to watch Polar Express in their jammies and sleeping bags.  I knew Ms. B would need someone to help her with all of that Christmasy, frenetic 6-year-old energy, but I never would have guessed it would be the principal!  Maybe she HAD to be there since it was an after-normal-school-hours event.  Either way, i thought it was great because it gave her a chance to get to know her Kindergartners and future school leaders a little better.  

They ate hot dogs and drank hot chocolate, and had cookies for dessert.  What a special thing to do that close to Christmas!  But that wasn't the end of the story.  Right before Gabriel went to sleep in his own bed that night, he found a SLEIGH BELL under his pillow!  Just like in the movie!  He figured out that it had to be from Santa, and was so excited he could barely go to sleep that night.  And then he got to school the next morning, and guess what?  ALL of them had found sleigh bells under their pillows!  Talk about lighting up the Christmas spirit in a bunch of little hearts.   

I just can't help myself.

So, I must admit I have cringed when seeing pics of clever places that Elves on the Shelves end up.  But I just have to brag about ours, because he proved to us this Christmas that he is the absolutely best elf we could ask for.   

Dipsy's been visiting us for three years now.  Gabriel has always been a little afraid of him, with good reason.  We never know where he'll pop up, and he seems to always be there, lurking in the shadows and watching for bad behavior.  At least that is what we thought.  This Christmas, Dipsy figured out a way to bust that myth and show us that he doesn't come on December 1st to start watching and reporting to Santa.  He comes to make our holiday more fun!  He hid in some really cool places this year, the first of which was in the kitchen the morning after Joel's birthday party, cleaning up the leftover cake and icing crumbs.  

One morning Jav and I found him in our room, lounging on our big comfy red chair and reading Gabriel's Rolling Stone issue of the 100 Greatest Guitarists.  Dipsy is apparently a Who fan, because when we found him he was reading the article on Pete Townsend.

We knew at this point that he loved music, just like our boys.  So it was no surprise to find him hanging on the Christmas piano music, waiting for someone to play We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Then we found him on the radio in the kitchen, where he had been enjoying a Christmas music CD, and probably a tummy ache from eating all of that chocolate!

At this point, Gabriel realized that he was no longer afraid of Dipsy, and that he was a pretty cool elf.  I started calling him our House Elf, sort of like Dobby in the Harry Potter books, but with nicer clothes.  (ANY clothes would have been nicer than Dobby's!)
Imagine our delight when we found out Dipsy played guitar!  Our wish was that he could move so that we could have heard him play.  But we know that it's impossible.

 I was glad the morning we found him wrapped and tangled up in ribbon and bows, because it inspired me to start wrapping presents for the whole family.  

The last morning Dipsy graced us with his presence was the best of all.  Gabriel's godparents got him a Toy Story train and track one Christmas.  The engine puffs what looks like real smoke and it has sounds and is REALLY cool.  The last two Christmases we put it around the tree, and started calling it the Christmas Train.  But for some reason we just never got around to it this year, and seemed to be running out of time.  I promised Gabriel we would put it up next Christmas, but I know he was a little disappointed.  Imagine our shock and delight when we woke up to see the train, all put together and going around the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve.  Well played, Dipsy!!!!    

He truly made our Christmas magical.  And I cried, just a few little tears, Christmas morning after Santa took him back home.  I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him helping to make the boys realize that Christmas is not about being good for a few months before Christmas so that you can get more stuff.  It's not really about the stuff at all, is it?  It's the joy, the happiness, the time with your family, the making of memories, and the magic and mystery all rolled into one big package.  

My proof that LOTS of people in this country have lost their minds.

This joker has hundreds of thousands of listeners (he even claims millions in this clip).  He's from Texas (big surprise).  And apparently a stark-raving lunatic.  How can those of us who want to have rational discourse about gun control compete against this kind of person, and all those who follow and agree with him?  Scary stuff.  And he is SO part of what's wrong with this country right now.









I promise I will stop talking about guns now.

Big guns and little guns

The tragic shooting in Newtown, CT has spurned some passionate gun debate in the last few weeks.  I have read many articles and pondered the issue until my head starts spinning.  Here are some random thoughts on gun control, or the lack thereof, in this country:

I don't think anyone needs to own an assault weapon unless he or she is in the military.  I also don't think anyone needs to be buying ammunition that kills multiple people at a time.  If the sale of these things cannot be banned altogether, then at least some MUCH tougher restrictions should be placed on the purchase of them.  The problem still exists, however, that it has been legal to purchase these things for some time now.  They are out there, and I have no idea how to lessen the number.  A buy-back program?  I just don't know.

The violent gun culture that has risen up (or has it always been here?), where guns and killing people are glorified in movies, TV and video games are a problem.  Maybe there should be a stricter ratings system in place.  But the bigger problem is parents who don't care if there kids see these things or not.  Parents who do not take the time to explain reality, and the difference between right and wrong.  On a side note regarding this issue, for months I was getting more and more angry at WalMart, who puts their "high and mighty" hat on when it comes to vulgar lyrics in CDs, but doesn't blink an eye when it comes to displaying cardboard cutouts advertising violent movies.  These can be found right by the front door, so that everyone and their kids can see them.  They were offensive to me, and I haven't seen one since the shooting.  I hope they decide to keep that policy going as time goes on.

The media needs to stop turning these killers into glorified antiheroes by giving so much air time to them.  The victims should be the focus, but only if it's alright with their families.  The media should not be allowed to show anything from the actual site of the tragedies, because once again, many parents don't have enough sense to not let their kids see something so horrific.  Maybe it's time for the media moguls to step up and take responsibility for what they report, and how appropriate it is for the general masses.

There should be stricter and more punitive charges assigned to sellers of guns who skimp on the background checks, and especially if they sell to a person with a history or record of criminal or even unstable behavior.  The tougher question comes up when dealing with a seemingly stable person (one with no record to track).  How do you train gun sellers to watch for signs that a person has psychological problems?  Seems like it could lead to profiling, so I'm not sure how to tackle that problem.  The public as a whole needs to be made more aware of signs to watch for in our fellow humans that life (or something) is getting to them and they are about to go off the deep end.  And something must be done about state budgets for mental health costs, especially state-run mental hospitals, being slashed to nothing.  One of the biggest problems I see, though, is the stigma that getting therapy from a psychologist or psychiatrist means you are a looney or weak.  This came up with someone really close to us that truly needed some therapy to get through a horrible situation, but refused because of that stigma.  And once again, the problem seems too large to solve.

I DO NOT agree with the NRA's suggestion that teachers should become trained and licensed to carry guns in the classrooms.  Let's tackle the gun problem with MORE guns!!!   No.  I do think added security, like metal detectors and on-site trained police or national guardsmen, would not be a bad thing for schools.

So that's my thoughts these days about big guns.  And if you think these ideas are confused and convoluted, wait until you start reading about the next topic:  Little guns.

When I became a parent, I vowed to not let my kids play with toy guns.  We don't have guns in the house, and in the past you could even say I hated guns.  My thoughts about things are very confused now.  A while back I posted about this - HERE it is.  Maybe it's a bit paranoid to think that one day the boys would possibly have to know how to hunt to survive.  Those were my worries then, but now there are other motives for my changing opinion.

Jav thinks that the boys' attitudes about drinking alcohol could be somehow influenced by our attitude about it.  If we are laid back about letting them have some wine or beer at family events, when they are older and more curious about it, then perhaps they would be less likely to go out and get hammered because it wouldn't be a forbidden thing.   I'm not sure I agree with this theory, (it damn sure didn't work for me, but that's a whole 'nuther story), but the thought process started me thinking about guns.  If we tell the boys that guns are horrible and never to be touched, and don't allow them in the house, maybe the mystique about them would be so appealing they might seek them out due to curiosity.  If nothing else, it would definitely not work in their favor if they were to ever come across a gun at a friend's house.  In this case, what you don't know COULD hurt you, and possibly even kill you.   I have been feeling a little jealous of friends who have kids that have been raised around real guns and learned how to be safe around them from a very early age.  Once again, good parenting was involved.  These kids have no question about the difference between toy and real guns, and know how to respect the power a real gun can have.

So gun knowledge and safety is one issue I've been thinking about.  The other is back to paranoia.  We live in an area where there are more Tea Party loyalists than in any other part of our state.  Many of these people live and die by their rights under the Second Amendment, own a gun, or many guns, or a store of guns.  I know that the majority of these people are responsible gun owners and law abiding citizens.  But there are extremists in every group, and that's who scares me.  Who knows - something could happen in this country to cause complete anarchy and chaos, where those few gun owners who believe in the lawlessness of the Wild West could become gun-toting vigilantes, roaming around looking for helpless and gunless victims to push around or worse.  It just seems like owning a gun, having at least a basic knowledge of how guns work and learning how to fire them at a target has become a necessary evil in this crazy state we find ourselves living in today.

So to make a long story short (too late!), I have definitely changed my opinion on having toy guns in the house.  The Nerf pellet-shooting guns pictured above were gifts to the boys from Gabriel's godparents, and we'll be opening them up soon to let them shoot away.  As long as they follow OUR toy gun safety rules, like never shoot at someone who isn't playing and don't shoot anyone in the face.  I am even pondering letting them get BB guns when they are a little older, (if they seem interested in such things), so they can learn how to keep them clean and safely unloaded when not in use.

And, ever so slowly, my opinion on real guns is changing.  I still don't want a hand gun in the house.  But a rifle or shotgun?  I'm not so sure now.  Maybe.  I'm starting to feel like having a zero-tolerance of guns is a bit like an ostrich sticking its head under the ground.  I would love to learn how to hit a target with a gun.  I want to go to a shooting range or go skeet shooting.  I don't believe in hunting.  I love animals and could never kill anything unless it was about to harm someone I loved.  So having a gun would be more about learning safety and being able to use it properly, which seems right now like a good enough reason to have one.  Like it or not, this is our reality right now.