Shoes he loved

First, the front door mat looks awful in this picture. Of course, it's purpose in life is to catch dirt. And it does that pretty well - that's why all the dirt is on the mat. :)

Yes, my son likes to wear pink socks. He's happy, and it's all good.

And, yes, he tried to fix his own shoes with duct tape. He loved these shoes (purchased used in a lot box of boys' shoes from ebay), and he especially loved that they are pull-ons with no need to tie them. He CAN tie his shoes, but he really doesn't like to bother. So when the toes wore through and his sock was sticking out of the top of the shoe, he didn't want to just throw them away. He was sure the duct tape would work (hey, they apparently mended a leaky boat with the stuff on Mythbusters, his favorite show).

But the weather has been pretty wet, and from the picture above you probably get an idea of how much fun it is to wear these shoes now. He FINALLY let me throw them away, and he picked out a new pair of sneakers at the store. Goodness, keeping the whole family just decently clad is such a chore. (Not Little House on the Prairie size chore, but still.)

museum day

Our homeschool meet-up group had a field trip to the art museum today, with the museum staff doing their school field-trip package for us. That meant a guided discussion and walk through the folk-art of Mexico gallery and then another discussion around a picture book they read to the group, and then a hands-on art project in the style of the folk art the kids had seen - over all it was a pretty good plan, and the kids had fun.

I'd never done an art museum with a guide and a large group of kids though, and it was pretty funny seeing the anxiety level around them touching things. The museum staff were very cautious and concerned about any sort of touching. I can understand that, of course, but it's pretty hard to enjoy the art and be that anxious and stressed out at the same time. I wonder if they get that anxious over bigger school groups (we were only 14 kids) or if it was the youngness of our group (all under 8 years old down to toddlers)? Or maybe they are just always worried.

Carbon was disappointed that we only saw the one gallery, but thrilled with the hands-on project. Hypatia was just tired (she woke up at 4 am this morning and never went back to sleep, so she and I had plenty of excuse to be less than our best today).

After the museum, I treated them to a lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. The gluten-free menu there is a nice treat for us, and the kids love the atmosphere and the fact that we can sit in an antique streetcar while we eat.

Christmas Caroling

On Saturday we had a Christmas party with my family, and in addition to sampling the baking that everyone brought, we also sang some carols. There was the old, old-fashioned way of doing carols, with my mother pumping away at the old organ that was her great-grandmother's. You have to pump the foot pedals to push the air through it, so her stamina didn't last that long.

Then we switched over to what seems the exact opposite: karaoke carols on youtube. Carbon's favorite carol is "three ships", and Hypatia likes "deck the halls" this year, which she calls the "holly and jolly song".

Trim the Tree, and Why We Won't be Starting Chalica Tomorrow

We had to hack the top off the tree and then just twist-tie the angel to the top - so much for my husband thinking the tree would fit with our new tall ceilings! Next year, we measure BEFORE we set it up in the stand!

It's a UU tree: there's a solstice sun on it, some angels, lots of homemade stuff, peace doves, a felt chalice, lots of fair-trade multicultural stuff. It's also our family tree, so there are lego ornaments and family heirloom ornaments.

But as much as I enjoy hanging my homemade chalice ornament on my Christmas tree, I won't be starting Chalica tomorrow with my family. I'm not anti-Chalica (we did try it last year), it's just that I'm a bit busy with other holidays. Really - based on family history, tradition, and custom we already celebrate both Solstice and Christmas. And then at church we throw in Hanukkah and Rohatsu as well. There are multiple parties to go to, plays and ballets to see, special baking to do, packages and cards to mail, shopping and gift-making to do, 24 days of Advent, 12 Days of Yule candles, greening of our home and church, charity-giving and doing, special music to listen to and sing, cookies to be carried to neighbors, bird-seed hanging, and more that I'm probably forgetting right now. With all that leading up to the darkest day of the year, why do I need yet another candle-lighting tradition, this time involving 7 days of lighting our chalice?

Chalica is a fine idea - a great way to emphasize the 7 Principles and our family's UU identity with my kids. I have no visceral or philosophical dislike of the idea - just no room to fit it in where the holiday-creators are trying to make it go. How much better it seems to me to put in January. It's still just as dark and dreary in January, so some family ritual around a candle lighting will be most welcome. But in January, there's no real competition for the holiday spotlight and it will fit into our lives. We will actually be able to focus on Chalica in January, no longer distracted by Christmas and Solstice.

That's why we aren't going to start it tomorrow, with the rest of the crowd. I'm saving it for January, and you'll probably hear all about it then.

What about you? Any UU's out there going to try Chalica this year?

We got our tree

This farm is in our neighborhood, and we've been going there for years to pick out our tree. This year, with the tall ceilings in the new house, my husband was picturing a tall tree. But then he had to drag that heavy thing all the way back to the truck!

Tomorrow, if we have time with church and all, we'll decorate the tree.

Advent begins

We've started Advent here, with the "stocking garland" that I put together a few years ago. The kids and I put four fair-trade chocolates in each stocking or mitten, so each family member gets one chocolate per day. There are only 12 stockings, so half-way through Advent I need to restock this. I haven't decided what to put in them yet for the end of the month. Toys? Candy canes? I'll figure it out.

We also have the Lego Star Wars advent calendar, and the kids have added to the whole display with some of their existing legos. It's an ongoing process combining Lego, Christmas, and Star Wars, and it's all fun. But Carbon's comment so far on the calendar (after only two days, mind you) is "It's always a huge disappointment".

Today Carbon made a wreath. I let him pick out some "bedazzly bits" at the craft store, and then when we got home I sent him out on the property with some clippers to gather greens.

The result:

And while he did that I made a gluten-free chocolate bundt cake. :)

Who needs a desk?

With the way the kids love to work at the hearth, the coffee table, or on the floor, they don't really use their desks at all. And why not, if that's how they want to work?