Holiday Traditions: The One We Won't Have

It's my favorite time of the year.

I just love the holidays.  I always have. And now that we have kids of our own, everything just moves to a whole new level of awesome!

There are so many neat ideas out there for creating lasting traditions and fun memories with your kids.  The girls already look forward to the family Christmas Eve gift of a new movie and PJs.

There is one tradition we will not adopt.

Ever.

Elf on the damn shelf.

https://goo.gl/1oZjQm

WHAT???? But he's soooo cute and your kids will act better when they know he's watching.

You see, for me the reason to say NO to that creepy little doll is a simple one.

I don't need something else to forget to do.

I burn my candle at both ends with (soon to be) 3 kiddos age 4 and under, teaching full time, and all the things that go along with being a wife, mother, and teacher.  I am picky about adding things to my plate, because I have to be.

I am not attracted to things that are just cutesy, silly, and "fun."  In order for me to want to add it into our lives it has to serve a purpose.  I love the idea of building our traditions around the kitchen.  Decorating cookies, creating different designs on the tops of pies, and learning lessons from grandma on how to make home-made noodles.  I will make time in our schedule for things like that. Things that teach my children something valuable.  Learning how to behave in the kitchen, wait your turn, and create a plate of goodies to share with family and friends.

I know that not everything we do has "value" and is a "learning opportunity."  But the those things don't need much of MY time and effort.  Disney movies are perfect forms of fun for my girls to watch that actually give me time to fold one of the 12 loads of laundry and fix dinner.  Hopefully in this process I am also modeling for my girls how to be both a mommy and hold a full-time job.  It is possible, but it comes with choices on what to do with the time we have.  I don't always make the best choice, but I know that moving an elf to a different spot each morning is an easy one to avoid.

This in no way means that I am judging the families whom Elfie is already formed in their traditions or those who can't wait to use him someday.  That's awesome and I enjoy looking at your pictures on Facebook each morning where Elfie ended up!  I'm just not going to set my kids up for the disappointment of Elfie showing up the first day and then forgetting.

Little Katerina

Happy 3rd Birthday, little one.

Although it won't be too much longer that we'll be calling you "little."  You are three-years old today. THREE!  Your daddy asked me the other night, when exactly did that happen.  You were so tiny just yesterday...

You were only two-weeks old when we nicknamed you "high maintenance" and you've lived up to every part of that name.  I was so excited for you to make your big sissy officially a big sissy that I wasn't prepared for how different from her you would be.

You are rock solid.  Confident.  Stubborn as all hell.

You refuse to be bribed.  Which makes it difficult to get you to do anything you don't want to do. I am sure I will have a much better appreciation of that trait when you are older. `

You haven't figure out yet that sleeping later than 6:30 AM is a good thing.  I'm hoping you pick up on that one soon.

Any request for food or drink from you usually involves sweets.  Candy, chocolate milk, or brownies are all acceptable breakfast items in your mind. You are less than thrilled when I tell you no.

You love ladybugs.

You hate any other bug.

You would swing all day long if daddy would push you.

Speaking of daddy.  You look just like him.  Blue eyes, curly, thick hair, and more silly faces than you know what to do with.  He is in BIG trouble if you ever figure out how wrapped around his finger you are.

You throw fantastic toddler fits, and HATE it when I tell you "no" or "not now" or "wait until after dinner."  Basically anything that doesn't grant you your request immediately is followed by sad eyes, tears, and screaming.  It's delightful.

You love puppies, kitty cats, and baby dolls.  So it's not a surprise that your favorite movies involve animals and babies.

You copy your big sissy in all that she does.  Making you a true Copy-Kat!  This means that you can speak full sentences, you know your shapes, animals, the ABC's and how to change a DVD.  I didn't teach you any of that.  Your sissy did.

You are a social little butterfly and make friends with little kids at gymnastics and daycare.  Your feelings are hurt when someone doesn't say "hi" back to you.

You are three! I love your little spunky personality and look forward to seeing who you become. I have my predictions of course, but I'll keep those to myself for now.

You will soon be thrown into the world of "big sisterhood" and your world will change more than you know.  I have no doubt that you will love having your little brother around, I'm not so sure how much you will love the amount of mommy and daddy attention he will need.  We'll tackle that issue when it comes along.

For now enjoy your time at 3.  As we have figured out...it won't take long until you reach 4!