It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Let the holidays begin! It was the last day of school (munchkins) and work (me) yesterday, so we have officially started Christmas at the PM house.

Although we've been working up to it for a week now. Last week was The Girl's first public cello appearance at her school concert. Look how excited she is!

And here she is getting her Yo-Yo Ma on.

You can hear for yourself how good they sound (she's just behind the girl to the right in the white dress). I was honestly quite impressed - the vast majority of these kids have been playing for only four months.

Of course, school concerts aren't the only Christmas cheer going on. It was the church pageant on Sunday.

The Boy is a wise guy and The Girl is a shepherd. She was a bit mad about that; she wanted to be Mary. We actually had a real Baby Jesus this year so we didn't have to use the doll (that's a small church for you).

I love our church's Christmas pageant. The kids' part is totally ad hoc; they practice their song for a couple of weeks before, they get a script by email during the week, and then that morning we throw costumes on whoever stands still long enough. You're a visiting child? Awesome - we're one wise man short. No, you don't have to say anything. Just stand there with your paper crown and smile.

It's actually been a brown Christmas so far, much to the sadness of our kids. Our fancy new snowblower, bought with memories of 12 ft dumpings and collapsed Metrodome roofs haunting us, has been used exactly once. However, if that means insurance against winter coming, I'm all for it.

It was 8 degrees (Celcius, baby!) on Sunday afternoon and I went for the most amazing walk by the lake in just my sweater. (Well, I had pants on, too. And shoes.) Got to see the sun setting over the lake - look how much open water is left.

Fast forward through three days of work/school (which actually dragged and draaaaaaged for those of us counting down the hours). The first year we lived here, we brought all our Christmas presents north with us to open on Christmas. As we packed up presents (wrapped) that we knew we were just going to bring back with us (unwrapped), we felt a bit silly.

Plus, there's the lure of the "just our family" Christmas. Something we want to give our kids but also something that is logistically difficult since we're usually far from home that day. So our solution has been to celebrate PM Christmas the night before we leave for the Great White North, regardless of what the little number on the calendar says.

The "traditional" meal is fettucini alfredo. (We had caesar salad and garlic bread too, so I'd stay clear of the PM house for at least today - it's pretty garlicky.)

Then as soon as the kids can muscle us away from the table (I had third helpings of salad just to make them mad, snicker), it's present time.


And it ends as all Christmases should - each kid in a separate chair, eyes glued to a tiny screen and the house filled with the sounds of Pokemon and Link and Zelda dancing through our heads.

We're off for Christmas Part 2 (and 3 and 4) as soon as The Husband gets home from work. Here's hoping they've got some snow north of the 49th!