Not Too Close Santa
When we arrived at the Carolina Inn Edmund immediately spotted a gingerbread castle sculpted from sand. The previous two weeks at school were all about gingerbread, so Edmund couldn't contain his excitement. He would have stayed at the castle much longer were it not for the fact his mommy and daddy were freezing their pants off outside. When we entered the inn we were directed to a large ballroom full of close to 300 parents and children. I was expecting something a little more intimate, but I was immediately able to adjust my expectations. There were two breakfast buffet lines. As a nice touch, the waffle and pancake line was at perfect kid height. It was fun for the children to see the options without having to be lifted up. Ever since his first hotel experience, Edmund has held a place in his heart for hotel breakfasts. This was a treat for Edmund, Santa or not.
Edmund loved the breakfast and probably had about three servings when all was said and done. The people at our table wandered over to the place where Santa would be, but we thought it best Edmund eat and jump in at the end of the line. As Edmund continued eating Santa made his way through the ballroom to the sounds of jingle bells. He shook hands with ch
ildren as he made his way to his place of honor in front of the Christmas tree. We expected a bit of a wait so we decided to get up and tour the inn while we waited for the line dwindle.
The Carolina Inn has a "12 Days of Christmas" display every year that I'd always wanted to see. This wasn't really Edmund's thing, but he did have fun seeing "Bill and Coo", the two live partridges at the front of the Inn. As we wandered the halls of the inn we stumbled upon a gingerbread house contest. Edmund wondered aloud if a gingerbread baby was in one of the houses, as his favorite book at school the past week was The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. I was most impressed by a gingerbread display made to look like an old covered bridge and cast my vote. Edmund couldn't choose just one house, so he passed on the voting.
After seeing as much of the inn as we could without surprising guests by entering their rooms, we returned to the ballroom. Unfortunately the line for Santa hadn't moved much. We decided we would stake out a place in line and take turns with Edmund. Edmund loves to wait for Santa. The problem is he will wait hours for Santa, but as soon as his turn arrives, gets cold feet. I know this because sometimes on cold afternoons we wander the mall. Edmund asks to wait in line to see Santa. He has a blast in line. Other parents comment on how patient he is, and when it's his turn to see Santa guess what? Edmund will turn to the child behind us and say "
it's that kid's turn mommy." At this point I encourage Edmund to wave or give Santa high five and then we're on our way. Thus I knew Edmund would have no problem with the wait. It was mommy and daddy who would need to practice patience.
Fortunately there was a magician working the crowd in the ball room. He did some amazing magic, but Edmund was unamused. That is, until the magician made mommy's nose squeak. Edmund laughed so uncontrollably that the magician squeaked mommy's nose several times. I had a bit of a sore nose after that. Edmund also received a chocolate coin the magician found hiding behind his ear, but that couldn't compare to mommy's squeaky nose. Eventually even the magician had to depart, so Edmund decided to watch as the other children talked to Santa.
After a rather lengthy, but fun-filled wait it was Edmund's turn to sit with Santa. Edmund of course didn't want to sit on Santa's lap. He did however, agree to sit next to Santa. Santa asked Edmund what he wanted for Christmas. Edmund responded by pointing to a mini gingerbread Beannie Baby in a basket and said "I want a gingerbread baby for Christmas." Santa said "yes and what else would you like." Edmund gave Santa a puzzled look and said "a gingerbread baby." After hearing several long Christmas lists that included Wiis and Leapfrogs, Santa seemed shocked and perhaps a bit relieved that all Edmund wanted was the little gingerbread toy all the children at the breakfast would receive. When Santa handed Edmund his gingerbread baby, Edmund was thrilled. He held and cuddled his gingerbread baby the whole way home. The breakfast was indeed the perfect way begin our weeklong countdown to Christmas.
Edmund and Melty
Steven was on call today, which means I do my best to find activities to fill up our day. It's not that I mind staying at home and playing with Edmund. In fact this would be great, but the distractions of home life beckon to me from every room. It's great that Edmund can play by himself for longer stretches now, but I hate to spend the whole day saying "go play, I need to do laundry" or "go play, I need to vacuum up this minuscule crumb I just spotted." It is curious to me that these things that really can wait seem so pressing if I'm at home. I've discovered that if I take Edmund somewhere I'm able to just "be" with him. Thus I was excited to read about a children's concert at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro and was pleasantly surprised to find it took place on an "on call" day.
We arrived at The ArtsCenter a little early to participate in the Art's Sampler taking place this morning. The Sampler as its name states was a sampler of children's classes offered. Edmund was still a little young to q
uite enjoy the offerings. He was given the opportunity to make a pinch pot out of clay. He stuck his thumb in and was "all done". He also listened to a story by one of the art's teachers, but when she began doing interpretive dance he was "all done." As soon as the doors opened for the concert we headed in. Edmund could have his pick of any seat in the house, but he chose to sit several rows back. To my surprise he was very well behaved during the twenty minute wait for the show to start. He has been all about instruments these days, so it didn't hurt we were able to talk about the various types of guitars and trombone propped on the stage.
At 11 am sharp Lunch Money took the stage. The sound wasn't phenomenal in the auditorium, but then I really wasn't expecting it to be. Not the band's fault, simply the nature of the room. The great thing was it didn't matter. This indie rock children's band knows how to put on a show. Soon my little child who always refuses to dance and instead play air guitar, was begging to get on the dance floor. Edmund's dance move of choice was hopping up and down then falling down and squirming on his belly in the middle of the floor. This is why I never have a chance to sit back. Edmund is a very sweet child who has 100x more energy than most kids I know. Apparently he gets it from Steven, who is said to have had Edmund's energy times ten. Yikes! At least Edmund uses his powers for good and not evil. Nevertheless, I must be within arms reach of my child at all times, lest he get a little out of control.
Edmund danced through the entire hour long set. The majority of songs were interactive. I loved that they were short and about things kids can relate to. Edmund and I are both major Raffi fans and this is because his songs are short and sweet. Raffi's songs are catchy and hold a child's attention. A lot of the new children's bands have songs that are simply too long to be memorable. Lunch Money was refreshingly the opposite. The trombone is a recent addition, but I love that this band wasn't simply the typical vocals, drums, and guitar. Not that there is anything wrong with guitar, as it seems master Edmund is heading toward a career as a lead guitarist. However, I like that Edmund was exposed to an instrument we've often talked about but don't often see or hear. The concert was the perfect length for young attention spans at one hour. And Edmund loved it. His feet were still a dancin' when we walked to get lunch at the pizza place next door. I am a new Lunch Money found and will definitely be looking for a CD soon.
All that dancing wore Edmund out and he easily went down for a nap. As he napped a blanket of snow began covering our yard. I had heard tell of snow this weekend, but ignored it 1.because if I get excited about snow it never happens and 2. what fun is it if it happens on a weekend when there is no chance of school closings? When Edmund woke up I showed him the snow. He of cou
rse wanted to go out in it. I kept telling him "later" as I really didn't want to venture into the cold. However, I do love snow and couldn't deny Edmund the opportunity to play in it any longer. In North Carolina you have to take snow when you get it. For all we know this could be it for the winter.
When we walked outside Edmund immediately spotted the neighbor's snowman. He wanted to play with it and was disappointed when I told him he couldn't. So I suggested we build our own. It's been a long time since I've built a snowman, mainly because they are so time consuming. I forgot how quickly you can build one when the snow is perfect, and today we had perfect snowman snow. I rolled three balls for the snowman in less than ten minutes. Edmund helped me collect stick arms. We then went inside to find objects for eyes, nose, and mouth. Unfortunately we didn't have any carrots, but we did have some old green beans I felt bad about throwing away. So our snowman ended up with a green bean nose, raisin eyes, and an almond mouth. He also donned Edmund's hat from last winter. The perfect snowman with treats to share with the animals.
I got so caught up in the snowman building I forgot about the cold and our dinner engagement. I quickly threw Edmund in the car. As we drove away I noticed our snowman starting to lean. I thought I must not have balanced his segments well and hoped he would be in one piece when we returned. An hour later we pulled into the driveway. Our snowman had met its demise. Perhaps I'm slightly off my rocker, but seeing that the neighbor's snowman had met a similar fate made me feel much better about my snowman building capabilities. Edmund and I said good-bye to our frosty friend and headed inside to bid farewell to a day well spent.
Not Too Close Santa
ildren as he made his way to his place of honor in front of the Christmas tree. We expected a bit of a wait so we decided to get up and tour the inn while we waited for the line dwindle.
it's that kid's turn mommy." At this point I encourage Edmund to wave or give Santa high five and then we're on our way. Thus I knew Edmund would have no problem with the wait. It was mommy and daddy who would need to practice patience.
