Bye Bye 2009

So 2009 has come and gone and like always the holiday season already seems like a blur. We kicked off the season by hosting a holiday party. With close to 40 white elephant gifts being exchanged, you can only imagine the creativity that was unwrapped. Some of the favorite steals were the Snuggie, slap chop, and Marlo's beautiful hair bows. The ones that got the most laughs included the edible underwear, a Karma Sutra book, sausage with nuts, and some special lotions and potions... Next year I'll be better about capturing some of the fun on camera! Fun times!!!

I have to admit one of the highlights of this season (besides my annual Christmas prime rib dinner that I'm the only fan of) were the gifts that the boys made for me at school. Ty made a beautiful pine cone ornament that I'm tempted to duplicate next year in large quantities. I love it! Connor made this darling snowman decoration that was so creative made from a jar, holiday sock and some paint. It will be found in our house for many years to come.



I love watching the new traditions that spring up each year. Things like letters back to the kids from Santa, surprise after dinner gifts, and this year Ty added his own new tradition, feeding the reindeer. We always leave our cookies/caramels and milk for Santa but Ty was certain we needed to leave a snack for the reindeer (after all, they would be very tired from pulling all the stuff that would be dropped off at our house). So he gathered a bunch of bowls and cups, labeled them with each reindeer's name, and filled each one with 6 baby carrots before placing them in the backyard. He was very excited on Christmas morning to find that all the reindeer had partaken of his snack (with the exception of Donner whose bowl was still full). Oops! Tyler was certain this meant that Donner must have been sick and unable to make the trip but I assured him he must have just been full from all the other houses he had visited that left snacks out. Note to self: be more thorough next year about removing all traces of food...



So everyone who knows me well knows that I'm not a huge spender when it comes to Christmas or anything for that matter (with the exception of vacations). I hate to see waste which means I hate to buy things for the kids just to have more stuff for them to open. I try to think long term about what will keep their interest and also focus on the stuff that they repeatedly request. At the end of the day, the things they tell Santa on our annual photo with Santa are usually the things that must end up under the tree.

Well, I knew we were in trouble back in November when on vacation the kids bedroom at the resort included an xbox. Unlike Ty who could really care less about video games, Connor loves them. He received a plug n play as a gift years ago and has since collected a few others that we've tolerated. He seemed to get his fix from playing the Wii at his friends houses and has never really asked for his own. But this vacation changed all this and suddenly the Xbox took over his mind. All Connor talked about from this point forward was how he was going to ask Santa for an Xbox and a Lego star wars game. Of course I wasn't thrilled with this. I was so proud we had gone as long as we had without giving in to the video game consoles. I have no interest in watching my kids lay around the house playing video games every waking hour. It was much like the feeling I had for years about DVD players in cars. But 2009 marked a year of change for us and a game console was going to have to make it's debut or it would be a devastating day in the Roddy household on Christmas morning. The good news is that according to Ty, we're not going to have to worry about being accused of being the type of parents that spoil their kids rotten on Christmas as he insisted that this Christmas he "didn't get that much". I seem to remember him uttering these same words last year...

So, although Ty may not admit he had a great Christmas, I feel pretty confident it was pretty good. Especially since he has yet to tell me something he asked for that he didn't get. Some of his favorite gifts were his telescope (which sadly was missing a piece so couldn't be set up and since the piece has to come from some warehouse in Mexico, we expect it to arrive just in time for next Christmas), a skateboard which he has now already tested at the skate park and we are certain the next Tony Hawk is named Ty Roddy, his Lego Space Police building set which within a few hours he had completely put both space ships together, and a remote control car.



It's not hard to tell what Connor's favorite gifts were being that every photo I had of him opening up any gift other than the Xbox or Lego Star wars game included a look of "next".



Can I admit how much I love shopping for Sage. She LOVES her doll house! I'm amazed at how much time she spends playing with this house, moving her barbies from room to room. I love listening to the conversations that take place between the barbies. Thank goodness Jack surprised me and her with the Princess and the Frog doll because the scream that came out of her mouth as she unwrapped this gift was priceless. I was sad to see that she didn't have much interest for her dress up chest which was such a huge hit last year. She claimed that this year's dresses were "itchy".



Jack doesn't realize it yet but I believe his favorite gift will be his wet/dry vac. Right now he'd tell you it's his drum set. (Yes, I too believed he was going through a mid-life crisis when he mentioned he wanted some drums until I started playing them and have now realized he is not the only closet drummer in our home.) The beauty is he can hook up his ipod, puts on the headphones and play along in peace.



You should also start to notice a new and improved me when I figure out how to use Photoshop which I got for Christmas... ha! Hopefully it won't end up like my camera whose instruction manual has yet to be read, two years later...



Cheers until next Christmas. Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!