Back to (anything but) routine

It has been a whirlwind two weeks, starting with good friends visiting, then visiting good friends, then Christmas, then family visiting from afar, then visiting family afar... basically we have not been on our routine for over 2 weeks now because we either weren't at home or we had guests at home with us.   Over the course of those two weeks Calvin went on two 2 hour and one 5 hour car trip (adding up to 18 hours of driving), napped in two different cars and four different houses, and spent the night in two houses other than his own (amounting to more nights away than at home), ate in six different restaurants, six different homes, and one car, and attended three different parties packed with strangers, and during all that time nobody lost any of their sleep or sanity.  In all actuality it would appear that Calvin was born to travel and party.

So what was the best part of the holidays?  Seeing friends and family that we see only once a year is always very special to us, and marked our season with a special joy.  And Christmas itself was truly magical this year with Calvin being such an active participant, ripping open packages and squealing with delight over every new gift (even the socks).  We spent the last week of the holiday season in Harbor Springs, our favorite vacation destination, and in addition to our usual enjoyments (such as visiting family, a Mackinaw City trip, local restaurants, and putt putt) we were treated to a week of nearly constantly falling snow (starting with the 10 inches that fell during a snow storm our first night there), giving us a vacation that was beautiful, serene, and oh so fun for a toddler who is learning to sled.  It was exactly what we needed for a strong end to our 2007-2008 holiday season.  Well, that and the fantastic football game we enjoyed from the edges of our seats in our snow encompassed lodgings (think Citrus Bowl goes to Michigan). 

Yes, it has been a magical two weeks, and we were ready to return to our routines today, if only that had happened, but is anything ever really that simple?  What started out as a normal day quickly became muddled by a dead car battery that threw everyone's day for a loop, and an odd evening of mishaps, which included Cortney absent-mindedly mistaking Calvin's soap bottle for lotion and having to start his bath all over again.  Fortunately, whether due to the recent weeks of escape or something in the air (perhaps the beauty of the recent 11 inch snowfall here at home), all three of us remained in good spirits in spite of the frustrating disruptions.  Maybe tomorrow will be more routine, but nobody's holding their breath.

Pictures from Christmas are in the Dec 22-28 album.

Pictures from New Years are in the Dec 29-Jan 4 album.

December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas to all!

What with all the Christmas festivies, a house filled with the joys of special visitors, and then a quick out of town trip, we have been away from our computers for over a week, but there are now newly updated pictures in the Dec 15-21 album, and there are more Christmas Eve pictures in the Dec 22-28 album.  We wish you all a safe, joyous, and blessed Christmas.

A friend by any other name...

Who said internet relationships weren't real?   Today we proved that guy wrong by blazing a new trail on the road of friendship, at least in our lives, that is.  A year ago Cortney joined an online forum of mothers who share a hobby in scrapbooking.  The original board was a relatively large one, but over time some individual friendships started to emerge and a few of the other women from the board started to chat via instant messenger.  Though they are, for the most part, spread across the continent, one other woman on the board lives only two hours away, and today we got up early, packed the car, and trekked over to her house.  Sure, anything could have happened:  the kids could have fought, the husbands could have clashed, and, perhaps worst of all, the two moms could have found that, as compatible as they were across internet, they just couldn't mesh in real life.  Fortunately for us, what happened instead is that the kids loved each other, the husbands exchanged stories, and the two moms picked up in person exactly where they had left off on YIM.  While there we shared bagels and coffee before heading over to the Frederik Meijer Gardens to enjoy the beautiful Christmas displays, especially the Polar Express train exhibit, and on returning to the house the kids (including the husbands) all played while the two moms went out shopping.  The day was a complete success, and we greatly look forward to future outings of all kinds.  So, to whomever it was that thought internet relationships couldn't last, we plan on proving you wrong, too.

An old fashioned Christmas

There is something unique about Christmas in that, of all the holidays, it seems to inspire a sense of nostalgia.  One does not often hear of an old fashioned Easter or Halloween, and even an old fashioned Thanksgiving does not have the same ring to it as a good old fashioned Christmas.  Someone at sometime has probably studied and could explain this phenomenon, but understand it or not we fall prey to its wiles just the same.  It's no surprise, then, that the Holiday Nights festivities held on weekend nights throughout the season at Greenfield Village, are a very popular place to be.  Every year we have heard the ads on the radio just a bit too late to get tickets to this consistently sold-out event, so last December we added a reminder on this year's calendar, and quickly snatched up our spots well before Thanksgiving.  The only risk, of course, is that the night you have chosen will be a bad one, since the festivities are all outdoors, and tonight was most definitely frigid, but it was also dry and calm, and we were even treated to a few snowflakes to add to the overall effect.  It was absolutely magical to stroll the streets of turn of the century homes decked out in the trimmings of a Victorian Christmas.  There were carolers and mummers to add to our enjoyment, chestnuts roasting on open fires, old country stores, and even a visit from Santa Claus from atop an old house.  The evening was very much about the festivities, and we will have to be sure to make another visit to this wonderful park in the warm light of a summer day when we can better see the homes and shops, but we are so very glad that we finally got to join in this wonderful holiday gathering.  We hope to make it an annual trip, even.

Calvin, meet Sinterklaas

In our household a strong Dutch background combined with a keen desire to separate the commercialism of American Christmas from the religious significance of that day to bring us the annual celebration of St. Nicholas Day.  In years to come we plan to teach Calvin about the sainted bishop from the fourth century who is celebrated annually on December 6th for his many good works and his kindness to others, and we hope to help him understand the connection between this kindly religious man and the jovial fictitious character who gives the commercial tradition of Christmas it's white haired, red clad mascot.  Our hope is that it will help him understand the meaning of giving during this festive season, and tonight he welcomed the tradition with his usual enthusiasm.  Yes, we realize that we are one, if not two, days behind schedule, but since Calvin is as yet unaware of the religious calendar we moved our celebration to a Friday night so that his grandparents would be better able to join us.  He spent the entire day, when he wasn't napping, that is, helping is mother clean and prepare the food and the house, and he spent his entire evening entertaining his four doting grandparents (it's a hard job, but someone's got to do it).  His paternal grandmother, who even spent a portion of a school year in The Netherlands, brought with her not only memories, but also several traditional props and present to add a true feeling of tradition and festivity to the air.  We snacked on Dutch cheeses and Dutch beer, and ate pork and Dutch potatoes for dinner.  Before dinner we were visited by the spirit of Sinterklaas in the form of trinkets accompanied by poems, and followed by chocolate letters spelling our initials.  The evening was truly one to be treasured, and we could not have asked for Calvin to have received a better introduction to this wonderful holiday.