Raising My Girls

Ah, the holidays are upon us.  It’s the time of year where millions parent out there attempt to figure out what their children would like as a gift.  You may beg for a wish list.  You may take the hint when your child points at a commercial for the newest Elmo doll.  You may even go to the toy store and take a wild guess.

 My children are quite unique when it comes to holiday shopping.  I start asking for a wish list around the beginning of October.  They’ll slowly add things to it until the first of November.  Then between Halloween and Christmas I’ll hear shouts of “I want that!” anytime they see something interesting on television, online, or in a magazine.  Or course I’m usually finished shopping by Thanksgiving, meaning all their desires after that are pointless.

My 3 year old wants everything she sees on television.  She doesn’t care it it’s a race track, a swimming dog, or a Tinkerbell dvd… she wants it.  What’s super funny is that her favorite character is Dora the Explorer, so anything Dora-related is just a given.  Then if you take her anywhere near the toy section of Wal-Mart you’ll hear shouts of glee and merriment as she discovers ponys, games, Barbies, and Spongebob toys.  Declarations of “I want that!” are heard throughout the store as her high squeals commence.

My 11 year old was asking for a guitar this year.  I told her that if she got one it would be the “main” gift from us and then she’d only get Santa gifts.  She was fine with that and I was set to buy a guitar.  Wellllll…..

One day the other week, she came home from school with a paper displaying the newest, holiday-related 4-H activities available.  Yep, you guessed it.  She wants to go on a trip to the theater to see A Christmas Carol and participate in the Fezziwig Family Feast.  The cost, $35.  So she and I had a conversation about money not growing on trees, especially during the holidays.  A compromise ensued and she traded the guitar for the trip to the theater.

Good deal, you’re probably thinking.  Well yeah, except now I feel bad that she won’t get anything from me for Christmas.  The hubby & I went out last night and bought her Christmas gifts, after I’d gone yesterday morning to sign her up for the trip.  LOL!

 My middle daughter is easy.  She made her list.  Is sticking by her list.  And I’ve already bought most of the things on her list.  We’re good on her.  LOL

Nevertheless, I love the holidays.  I only have three more gifts to buy and I’ll be fnished!  I’ll definitely be done by Thanksgiving!

Yes, today is November 1st.  It’s the day after Halloween.  It’s the day that all the candy received the night before must be spread across the livingroom floor to be traded, eaten, fussed over, counted, and ultimately devoured in some form or another.

My girls did this very thing a couple of hours after lunch.  They sat in a circle and spread their treasures in the middle; each keeping their goodies contained in a pile.  There was offers of this for that, suggested trades of chocolate for Skittles, and then some arguments because one wanted to trade and the other didn’t.

Once all of the commerce has been completed, the true fun of the day after Halloween begins… the eating!

I swear those girls snacked on sugar allllll day long.  Everytime I saw one walk by they had a new piece of junk in their hands.  I didn’t say anything.  I let them do this until dinnertime on the day after Halloween.  I want the candy out of the house as quickly as possible, so I don’t stop them.

By the end of the day, the older two girls have eaten nearly every piece of crap that they received the night before.  The youngest, well, she’s 3 and when she gets a piece of candy, she literally gets A piece of candy.  So she still has a lot of candy to last her for a while.

Now that it’s bedtime, the sugar rush has kicked in.  The 3 year old has been up and down in her bed for the last two hours and the big girls are wide awake.  LOL  I knew it would happen, but hey, that’s how it goes.  I just keep sending the youngest back to bed, and reminding the older two to settle down cause they ARE going to bed at their normal bedtimes.

All in all, the day after Halloween has been pretty good.  The hubby is helping the girls eat their candies, so I don’t have to worry about it tempting me as much as it usually does.  I’m happy to say that I haven’t touched a single piece of candy, so far, and if they keep it up I won’t touch any at all.  LOL!

Happy Day After Halloween!