Skyler and Spencer are 10 years old so it’s no surprise that they may no longer believe in Santa Claus. But while Spencer quietly plays along without question, Skyler is the type that must know all the details. She won’t just believe her friends or even be satisfied with putting all the clues together.

TV shows/commercials make a big deal out of the “Is Santa real?” question. While our immediate family leaves to go look at lights when Santa comes to grandma’s house, the rest of the family stays behind to clean up and somehow never runs in to Santa. I spent all day wrapping presents, but only had one present per person to put under the tree. Santa’s handwriting looks remarkably like mine…and he uses the same wrapping paper that we use. [Yeah, we aren't exactly pros at this whole Santa thing.]

No, Skyler wants us to confirm it for her.

On Christmas Eve we were watching Fred Claus when Skyler said, “Mom, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked.

“We need to talk in private,” she said as she glanced over at Caleb.

Ruh-roh. I knew what was coming. The Santa talk.

I already knew she had her doubts about Santa. But I was hoping we could just skim over the talk. I never really know how to handle the talk. On one hand I don’t want to lie. I spend all year long dishing out punishments to the kid when they lie. I probably shouldn’t look her right in the eye and lie my tail off. But on the other hand, I prefer to live in a world that believes in Santa Claus because Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

So I decided to just be evasive. And answer questions with questions. ‘Cause that always works. Right?

When the movie ended and Caleb went to bed Skyler came right out with it. “Is Santa real?”

I asked, “What do you think?”

“I don’t think he’s real.”

“Hmm…” I sure have the best comebacks.

She inquired further. “Do you have more presents to put under the tree after we all go to bed?”

“Do you think I have more presents?”

“Yes.”

And we left it at that. With me neither confirming, nor denying, the existence of Santa Claus. I totally rock at this motherhood gig. I’m already dusting off the spot for my “Mother of the Year” award. *sigh*

Thanksgiving. Even if it’s only one day a year, it reminds us to think about what we are truly thankful for and appreciate how rich our lives truly are.

Soldiers who have and continue to risk their lives to protect my freedom.

My parents who are always there for me. No matter what. But still let me find my own path and make my own mistakes.

My husband who puts up with my constant need to always feel in control and still loves me anyway. And not only does he love me but he goes out of his way to make sure I know he loves me. He’s so good to me!

My children who remind me every day to laugh and not take life to seriously. Who remind me to appreciate the little things in life like the humor in Spongebob, the fun of a board game, and the need to be just plain silly sometimes.

My friends who keep me healthy with a good dose of laughter. These are the people who would visit me on my deathbed to tell me I need to get my ass up and stop being so dramatic. Who would laugh at me when I’m being stupid. Cry with me when I’m truly heartbroken. And wrestle a bitch when I’ve been wronged.

Facebook for bringing back old friends I’ve really been missing.

Blogging for bring me new friends all over the world I never would have “met” otherwise.

My education that makes me employable. That keeps my brain healthy. That fostered my incessant need to learn everything about everything.

The History channel for teaching me everything about everything. And then some.

My voice which allows me to express my opinions.

And my brain which tells me when to shut up. (Even though I sometimes ignore it.)

My blackberry which keeps my crazy life organized and helps me remember dentist appointments and to pick the kids up from school every day.

The Internet for making my life so much easier. And for allowing me the opportunity to order all of our Christmas gifts online to be delivered by postman rather than having to battle crazy people on Black Friday.

Birthdays because it means I’m still alive. And have one more year of experience.

Getting caught shoplifting in high school because it scared me in to being a better citizen.

Prednisone because, as much as I complain about it, without it I wouldn’t be able to breath.

Peanut Butter M&Ms and key lime pie martinis because YUM!

What are you thankful for?

I’ve talked before about how Halloween is not my favorite holiday. It’s too commercial. It’s too expensive. We always end up eating way too much candy. And then we’re all groaning about stomach aches. What’s the point?

And yet every year I find myself hiking through the neighborhood watching my kids beg for candy anyway. And every year I have to practically drag them through the last couple blocks because their “feet are tired” or their “candy bag is too heavy.” *sigh*

But this year I tried to be more of a willing participant. Get in to the spirit and all. I told myself we only have a couple more Halloweens left before the kids won’t want me to take them trick-or-treating anymore. Only a couple more years until they are driving themselves to their friends’ Halloween parties and leaving me behind.

We didn’t go to the pumpkin patch this year. Instead we did something even better. We grew our own pumpkins. Ok, so we didn’t really plan that. It just so happened that our procrastination from last year gave us a big surprise this year. Saying “we’ll throw the rotten pumpkins away tomorrow” every day for several weeks caused the rotten pumpkins to fall off the porch and plant their seed in the grass in front of our house. Then when a big viney weed looking thing started growing in the yard this September I said, “I’ll pull out that weed next weekend” until I had procrastinated so long that pumpkins began to grow on that vine. So the moral of this story is…Procrastination pays. Keep putting off today what may turn in to a wonderful surprise tomorrow.

It made it a little more special to carve pumpkins we actually grew ourselves. In fact this was the first year the kids did most of the work. They picked out their designs. They poked the holes in the pumpkins to mark where to cut. And they helped Lee and I cut out the pieces.

Look at how big our homegrown pumpkins are! Clearly it doesn’t take much to grow pumpkins if my green thumb can grow a couple of ginormous pumpkins.

As in the past, the kids had Halloween parties at school. The last couple of years they’ve had a Halloween parade. All of us parents pile in to the gymnasium and the kids from Preschool to 5th grade parade through the gym. It’s a lot of fun to see all of the very cool costumes. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz seemed quite popular with the girls. And military fatigues were quite popular with the boys (including Caleb).

I even dressed up for the school party. I was a witch in the school colors (orange & black…comes in handy on Halloween). The kids were a little freaked out by my black lipstick, but all was good. Spencer was some kind of ghoul (but he got out of his costume before this pic), Skyler was a hobo and Caleb was an army guy.

The school party was fun, but you weren’t allowed to wear face makeup or have weapons. So we really did it up for Halloween night. Spencer got his ghoulish mask and black face paint on. We dirtied up Skyler’s face for the ultimate hobo look. And Caleb finally got to carry around his toy gun (which he broke 2 days before Halloween even though we said “Don’t play with that until Halloween so you don’t break it” — kids never listen). And I switched in to an undead widow wig and makeup (or Little Ho Peep as Lee liked to call it).

I hope you all had a great Halloween and got tons of candy. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go get a snack. And some Mylanta.

Whenever anybody asks me what my favorite holiday is I usually answer “Christmas.” It just seems like the obvious answer. I mean you get presents and all. Who doesn’t love getting stuff?

But this weekend I realized Christmas is so not my favorite holiday. It’s nice and all, but it’s a little stressful. I have to find the time to get all of our Christmas traditions done; picking out the perfect tree, putting it up, and getting it decorated, making cookies, going to Jesus’ birthday party, making soup for Christmas Eve dinner at my grandma’s house and so on. Plus I have to come up with the money to buy all these gifts for everybody. The December budget always skyrockets off the charts. And then there’s the big crash on the 26th. All that build-up for an hour of ripping through wrapping paper and 24 hours of playing with their new toys before the kids are already bored with them.

Nope, Christmas is not my favorite holiday. The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

My cousin was born on the 4th of July. For many years he thought the fireworks were just for him; just for his birthday. He turned 20 this year so he’s fully aware that it’s actually a national holiday in addition to his birthday, but it’s still fun to get together with family to celebrate both.

Several years ago my grandmother passed away on July 3rd. She died of lung cancer. Before her death she picked out a spot at a nearby park. A spot right on the water. And she asked us to plant a tree in her honor. Every year on July 3rd, the whole family comes back to town for a family picnic. At grandma’s tree. Overlooking the water. Other than me and my grandpa, my dad’s side of the family has all moved out of state. But Grandma brings us back together once a year to celebrate her life.

For more than 20 years our city has held an annual race on the 4th of July. There is an 8K, a 5K, and a kid’s fun run. This year the 9- to 14-year-olds ran a mile, the 6- to 8-year-olds ran a half mile, and the under 6 kids ran a quarter mile. The kids really love this race. Even if it is pretty early in the morning. And even with the rain this year.

And, of course, the 4th of July wouldn’t be complete without ending the night with fireworks. I really enjoyed the show this year. They had fireworks that looked like hearts, stars, four-leaf clovers, and spirals. Plus the usual brightly light and super loud fireworks. It was wonderful.

It was an awesome weekend filled with non-stop family time. We ate so much good food at family breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. We had lots of great conversation. And tons of laughs. That’s why the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.