December 2010

December 2010

Television would have us believe that on Christmas morning all kids (after having dreamt of sugar plums and such) come tumbling down the stairs to pillage the tree. All the while, mom and dad watch the carnage while sipping cider, hot chocolate, eggnog, or whatever...

Spending Christmas morning with my parents is important, and in many ways similar to this, but it starts off in a very different way.

I wake up early, before the sun rises, put the kettle on and wake the kids. As we're getting some breakfast ready and packing up the car, mom comes shuffling down the hallway like an extra from a zombie movie.

This is where I get some measure of retributionfor our Fourth of July shenanigans...driving across the state for Christmas morning and cinnamon rolls with my folks.

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of illustrated status updates called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

Daily Life 012: Abby The Explorer

January 25, 2010 - Daily Life 012: Abby The Explorer

Christmas morning on the way out the door to drive to Warrensburg and see Grammy. Abby was all dressed in her PJs with a winter coat, hat and (of course) her cowboy boots. Also the Santa lantern that Daddy Jim had given her on Christmas Eve... While Amy was watching her step out the door, she commented that Abby looked like a little explorer.

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of illustrated status updates called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

Happy New Year!

 The 2012 holiday season has been one of firsts for me. It's the first time in a long time that I've looked forward to them, planned for them, and enjoyed them. I really have my family, Abby's excited anticipation, and our great friends to thank for that.
     On New Year's Eve, I'd gone shopping, and came home with popcorn, marshmallows and hot cocoa (Olivia says Hot Doh-Doh) for our snack as we waited for midnight...or whenever. We set up the papason cushion in the center of the room for the girls to lay on while we watched "Brave" in our own little movie theater with the lights out. It was a great, quiet, family nite, ending with the noise of banging pans on the front porch as we welcomed the New Year. Looking back on the memory, it feels like a little bright spot in a sea of possible futures. :)

Party All Nite

*I was running out of time to get this book in to the Sketchbook Project, so had to cheat a little and recycle an older piece of artwork. Sorry!*

The hardest part of being a parent the week after Christmas, is getting them to let you play with their new toys. Especially things like train sets, race tracks, or the new marble tower with chutes, slides, funnels and spinny things...Man, it's soooo cool, but they keep on messing it up when I'm trying to build it. 
     There are kids out there who think that Mom and Dad have parties after they go to bed. While it's not always true, and hardly EVER true in the way we thought of parties in college, there's definitely something to having a little peace while playing with the new train set.

Or while watching those marbles roll down their tracks into the bucket at the bottom.

The Freelance Life

 The thing about my "Play all day, party all nite" lifestyle as a professional freelancer is that when an opportunity to take a break presents itself...my body pretty much MAKES me stop. By force. I'm pretty sure I've spent the last 3 Thanksgivings, and part of the last couple of Christmas' sick. I spent the ENTIRE Thursday after Christmas in bed this year, and I didn't even have the Golden Girls to watch. I think it has something to do with staying home sick when I was a kid, but the Golden Girls always makes me feel better.
     The high point of my day was that I dreamed the first quarter of the perfect Ghostbusters 3 movie. Venkman, had moved on to something easier and more lucrative, Winston stands out as a hero, Ray and Egon are back at the university, and Colin Hanks comes in as a new, young paranormal investigator.

Travel Naps

Part of the Christmas day plan is to get up, have some breakfast, open the girl's present from Santa (and one more as a family). Then we drive across the state to see Grammy and my family for Christmas. In a perfect world, the girl's will all sleep in the car...As it turns out, usually it's only mommy who sleeps. Luckily, both Abby and Olive are really good car riders.  They read books, draw, and play games in their seats so I can concentrate on how awesome the new Metallica album is...Just kidding, lately I've been listening to books on tape. Neil Gaiman is SUCH a great reader.
     So, the girls are super excited when they get to Grammy's and are just too busy to be bothered to take naps. Which means that in the late afternoon, we end up with cranky kids who fall asleep at the dinner table. Ha-ha-ha!

Speaking Of Santa

So, we do talk about Santa in our house. We talk about being kind and thoughtful. We talk about where most of our gifts come from and why, and that it's important to think about what the people we're giving to want, not what we want to borrow of theirs. So anyway, Santa only brings one present, because the rest come from people who love and care about us, and who are thinking of us.

     Leading up to Christmas, there were some questions about how Santa would get in, since we don't have a chimney. Abby, ever the scientist, came up with some Hypothesis'.

1. He'd come up the drain pipe.
2. He could come in the window.
3. He'd come through the front door.
4. He carried his own chimney to use "just in case"/
5. He's just magic.

Abby was excited to see that his snack was gone, and that he'd left a gift for her and Olive to share. He did indeed make it in.

Packing a Day Bag

 

I have to laugh when I think of how much used to seem necessary in a day bag...Of course, to be fair, the girls need a lot less now. Seriously though, shoes?!

Packing for Christmas at my parents, we try to get as much of it done the nite before as we can, because...well...the morning of is pretty hectic. This year, we were actually smart enough to write a note about things we still needed. It only took thirty-five years to learn to stop, pick up a pen, and write a note. I wonder what other new things we'll learn this year?

Santa Traditions

Our tradition on Christmas Eve is that we go to Amy's grandparents, then come home, have some family time, open a present from Mom and Dad, and then put out a cheese plate and beer for Santa. There's never been a question about this, partly because Abby's only four, but also because beer isn't really an everyday part of our life. It's special...cookies, not so much. So of course, Santa should have something special, right?

Abby got a new rag doll, made by our friend April from Riley Construction. She loved her immediately, and named her Polly...sometimes Dolly Polly.

Christmas Eve Morning.

I was AWARE of the running footsteps before I actually woke up...

We all Grow up seeing TV and movies of kids being excited for Christmas. Those images pale in comparison to a real, Excited four-year-old. Abby's been watching Christmas movies since Halloween and her excitement is infectious. For the first time since I started working in retail, I'm actually looking forward to the holiday season. The WHOLE holiday season.

There's often drawing time in our day, and it's always an interesting exercise in  speed, accuracy, and a stead/deft hand...Usually there's a two-year-old squirming on my lap as I doodle with crayons and markers, giving me an extra handy cap. I drew the top Santa first one day and as I worked, I thought it would be funny to put a shopping bag in his hand. Abby had other thoughts...

Abby: "Hey, you drew Santa! He needs a sack though. "
Me: "He has a sack, right there. "
Abby: "That's not a sack, it's a purse. He needs a sack in that hand, and a bell in the other. Maybe you should start over on a new piece of paper. "

So I drew the second one, which she was much happier with. I was told on the facebook page that his mustache is wonky, but to be fair to me, I was in a hurry, and someone was getting extra squirmy. :)

Wild Lights at the St Louis Zoo

We went to see the Christmas light display at the Saint Louis Zoo with some friends. It was cold, so we made a quick run at the whole thing first, and then a longer, more leisurely go at it after that. All the kids had a great time, running around and enjoying the light and each other's company. Some fun facts...
1. Penguins do not smell pleasant. Even from a distance.
2. Abby likes the IDEA of hot chocolate, but not so much the reality of it.
3. Always make sure that everyone pees BEFORE putting them in pants over stretch pants.
4. Giant Bug sculptures in the dark can startle even the staunchest little girl.

Raking Leaves in December

December 03, 2012 - Life With Girls
It was in the 70's again today. I don't know how people in Florida do it...I just don't really feel Christmassy when I'm out raking leaves in a short sleeve shirt. I hear it's supposed to snow next week, though.

Today's post is an excerpt from the sketchbook I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project

The Christmas List

 

To (re)kick off the "Life With Girls" comic right, we're going to do it Journal Style daily(ish) for the month of December. Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you enjoy it. All of these first thirty or so will be a part of the sketchbook that I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project

December 01, 2012 - Life With Girls

Abby's super excited about Christmas, and has been looking forward to decorating all week. Did I say she's SUPER excited? Because she is. :)