Bits and Bobs part 2

We are just days away from John's 2nd birthday! He was born on Dec 23rd and we have never really been able to fully celebrate it. Last year we went to Paris a few days beforehand (for our anniversary which is tomorrow!) and Dave got very very sick the day we left France. So we canceled the festivities for John once back in the UK. This year we are excited that my parents will be in town to celebrate. Then that night Dave and I get a date night! WOOOO HOOO! Is it bad that we go out on John's birthday? Oh well. He won't remember.

As several of you know, we have been debating on whether or not to "do" Santa with John. Both Dave and I grew up with visits from Santa when we were young and we both enjoyed it, as did our parents. However, in the past few years I have not felt so go about doing it. There are many reasons (detracting from the real message of Christmas, feeling like I am not being truthful, etc.) that were plaguing me. I also met many families that don't "do" Santa and they all seemed to have very merry Christmases. Please don't take this as a "holier than thou" thing. I don't have any less respect for parents who "do" Santa. It is just a personal issue that I have that just rubs me the wrong way.

Anyway, Dave still really wanted to do it, so I felt that I should submit and let him lead and that if he really wanted to do it, it isn't a life or death issue. We would do it without a lot of fanfare from my end. The funny this is once I told this to Dave, he seemed to loose a lot of interest in the Santa thing. He hasn't even spoken about it to John at all! I asked him what the deal was, and he said that for some reason it isn't that important to him. We identify Santa in the books John reads or the Christmas scenes he sees, but we don't give him any more fanfare that a snowman or a Christmas tree. We are happy that we aren't spending a long time in lines waiting for pictures to be taken and that we don't have to buy extra presents (did I mention we are cheap???). So as for now, Santa is part of Christmas but not the big to-do on Christmas morning. Again, this is not a "holier than thou" issue. I wanted to post about it because I have several friends who knew my dilemma and were curious about the outcome.

It is funny how when you move to different bases, there are positives and negatives about each one. Here at NAS Pensacola (a Navy base), they don't offer the 20 hours of free childcare when you move like the Air Force does. When the man at the Fleet and Family Readiness Center told me this, I almost cried and said, "what am I supposed to do with my 23 month old during my HHG delivery??? We don't know anyone here!!" Then he told me there was drop-in care at the child development center (CDC) on base. ohhhhhhhh boooooooooooy. I love me some drop-in care! $3 an hour buys me workout time, shopping time, errand time.... anything. It is a huge blessing.

Well have a good weekend, Happy 5th Anniversary to us, Happy Birthday to Dave's dad (Dec 21) to Uncle Brady (Dec 23rd) and to JOHN (Dec 23rd)!

Cheers