Christmas

During our trip to Point Bonita, we stopped and took picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Given the fact that we were running around in swimsuits and suffered temperature over hundred around Tom's birthday, we were shocked by the December weather break. The last month of the year is usually moist, rainy, with optimistically growing, green grass. This year we experienced morning frost and snow, well below Mt. Hamilton elevation -- in Santa Cruz Mountains towering behind our back yard. I actually made use of gloves.

This year decorations on our home matched Tom's preference.

Christmas preparation could not have come more conveniently -- one cannot any longer oscillate with the kids at the playground (especially since Tom insists on spending the whole time on his belly, pushing a bulldozer), and our indoor program is limited. Having seen first Christmas decorations in the neighborhood, Tom responded with wanting to buy new lights. I don't know how he remembered that those white lights that we had been using on our house for many years, have worn themselves out, but we really needed some new equipment. Tom chose a diplomatic approach. I mechanically agreed to his question whether I liked COLOR lights -- and my fate was sealed. Tommy declared with satisfaction that in such case, he, too, would like to have color lights on the house this year. Thus on a weekend I send my offspring with their daddy to purchase the decorations -- and Tom's excitement was limitless. Upon return, he yelled at me from the door, "Mommy, we have COLOR lights and they DID NOT COST MUCH!" And so this year, our decent white miniature light bulbs were replaced by a string of circus lights. And should I not be swayed by its decent price, Tom topped off his lobbying for spectral diversity by announcing that HE really likes the color lights and they are WONDERFUL.

Just like every year, we aimed to choose a somewhat smaller tree, and ended with one barely fitting in our living room.

Right after that, Tom demanded a tree; we tried to explain that we would fetch it on the following weekend. It began really freezing and Santa Cruz Mountains, where tree farms can be found, were sprinkled with a bit of snow. As we were pushing between the farmed trees, we got quite wet and cold, which is quite a rare occurrence in our climate. Back at home we had to restrain Tom, for he wanted to take the tree right into the living room. It would have been too drastic to take the freshly cut fir from frost into high seventies. And first the kids had to clean up all their toys to make proper room for the tree.

Kids and Carol decorate our Christmas tree

Our favorite decorations are made of straw, a rural Czech (or Moravian?) tradition.

On Sunday the kids could finally decorate the tree. This year, it was a lot of fun, Tommy really helped. Lisa participated in bursts -- running away to play in the meantime, but in the end it was there, in all its beauty. Tom kept quickly urging me that the tree needed water, which was a good thing, for I am a person who would bring even a weed to a quick death.

In the context of Christmas preparations, I even baked a few things with the juniors. We cut out and baked "Moroccan cookies" -- and this time without burning them, and nothing got wasted, although the kids were a bit sprinkled with flour, just as the rest of the kitchen. Tom got interested in weighing the ingredients, helped with cutting out (finishing one form while I made ten of mine). Lisa mostly puddled in the dough, but let's hope she enjoyed it as well. They both asked to be allowed to decorate the cookies. This meant that I was actually decorating, while they were licking the frosting off and ate cranberries that were intended to be placed in the middle of each piece. Well, no one got upset stomach, and I would not hesitate to check this phase of Christmas preparations off as successful.

A pre-school pageant filled me with considerable worries. Last year, at the old pre-school, it ended with a disaster. Another pageant, at the end of a school year in the new place was a smaller disaster, but our kids would plug their ears and behave like little rogues first time visiting civilization. This time, it began looking like a crisis already in the dressing room. Tom absolutely refused to have his nose painted red, and participate in the show -- he said to be bound to put together a fighter plane out of Lego bricks. Well, he had put one together, quite pretty. Eventually I convinced him to put on (reindeer) horns, then they asked all parents to leave. I awaited tensely whether my son would emerge out from behind the scene.

Kids at the pre-school Christmas pageant

Pre-school pageant: Tom was singing, Lisa at least behaved; a great success.

He did emerge, letting himself being led to the stage, making mischief with a schoolmate -- and eventually even energetically sang, adding practiced gestures to the song as one of the few kids there. Finally I could be a proud mother at a school show and did not feel an urge to find the closest drain cover and climb under. Lisa simply suffered through, sitting there and not singing -- but at least she was not crying for mommy. Even this I consider a great success.

We take our kids (enthusiastic Tom, more or less patient Lisa) to see a model railroad layout in Santa Clara.

As singing finished, Santa Claus entered the school hall. This year it was being arranged that instead children giving presents to each other, they were supposed to bring a small present for kids from local orphanages. I quite liked the idea -- there's too much stuff in our house anyway. And I found it nice that our offspring could for once think about giving something, instead of getting something. Tommy naturally wanted to drop his present on Santa and disappear, and he did not quite understand why there was much waiting and queuing up in a line of other kids, who of course wanted to talk with Santa. Lisa, she would wait patiently her turn, but then she refused to have anything to do with this bearded geezer. Then we -- to Tom's great sorrow -- returned his reindeer horns (yes, the same ones he refused to put on for the show), and I had to keep explaining for several following days why there's not another pageant at school and why he can't have those horns back and sing a song (so at least he sang it to me in the bath).

I continue being extremely happy with our pre-school. Before Christmas, they have come with a very humane idea, to take care of the children for three hours on three Friday nights in a row, allowing parents some free time for shopping. On the first Friday I felt very cruel, but our kids could not wait and subsequently did not want to leave for home. I don't blame them -- they received dinner there, did some art project, then they changed into pajamas and watched a short movie. I was happy, too -- at nine o'clock I picked up tired children in pajamas, took them home, let them brush their teeth, and they went to bed. Sid and I went climbing and had a dinner -- just the TWO OF US. Granny has been gone since September, and it was very refreshing for us. Juniors intensely demanded another night stay at the pre-school, and so subsequently I was leaving them there with much lighter heart.

Decorating a real gingerbread house is a nice pre-Christmas program.

Our last pre-Christmas engagement was a party at our neighbors' house. Lots of people came this time, and it was rather hectic there, although I always like to see our neighbors. Children were supposed to bring a present that would be then randomly re-distributed. Given the quantity of kids (about twenty five year olds and younger), the idea did not quite work, for eager juniors simply threw themselves on the presents and began to tear the wrappings. Lisa unpacked a gingerbread house and demanded to start building and operating it immediately. I tried to explain to her quietly and logically that it takes a long time and that we would build it at home. Lisa threw herself on the floor with the box and the house and presented us with a hysterical tantrum; one would think someone was going to take away her last breadcrumb on which her life and death depends. Tom started a fight with other boys regarding a local toy train -- we though there had been enough excitement and went home, before there would be any material damage.

Family unpacking presents. Merry Christmas!

Leaving behind us the initial tantrum, the gingerbread house was a successful and functional present -- for two creepy, cold mornings we decorated the components and glued them together. Despite many predictions expressed by my various friends, the house lasted erect, even beautifying our Christmas Eve dinner table.

My personal Christmas was a bit sadder -- immediately before he holidays, my uncle Honza had passed away. Neither my Hippo nor my kids know a fun uncle of my childhood, who liked to laugh, throwing children high up in the air. Suddenly, this part of my past is forever gone. I felt sorry that I could not be at such time with my wider family.

Our Christmas Eve passed quietly and comfortably -- almost surprised me how easy it was. The kids were helping, not even a scene during dinner. Then we came out of the house to look out for Santa; Lisa claimed having seen him, while Tom was rather convinced that it was an airplane, for it had navigation lights. Either way, there were presents awaiting us upon our return back home. We did not even manage to take a picture of the tree with packages underneath, so fast were the juniors in jumping them. Tom received his long awaited "red bridge" that looks almost like Golden Gate Bridge, and a small radio-controlled car; Lizzy got "a doll with yellow hair" and a yellow rubber pony (My Little Pony). Then there were books, backpacks, a small organ, puzzles -- predictable stuff. Most favorite: decorative ribbons from the wrapping. Juniors started a collection of red-golden-green laurels, arranged them in the hall, insisting that these were little cactuses. They even packed them along on our nine-day day trip.

On Christmas Day we were invited for a lunch at Kubacki's. There were no dramatic events. Tom took along his remote control jeep to show off before Lukas (he had seen similar car there before). And then we hurried home and began packing for our big Christmas trip.

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