Noted:

The requests! They are many! So I will post, despite my reluctance to do so. Re: Christmas and the kids.

I remember Christmas as a child and several things really stand out. First, I was NEVER the first one in line to go out to see the spectacular Christmas pile of goodness that would have appeared under the tree the night before. Never. Jobie or Davinie always went first. Second, when we did walk into the room to find our individual heaping piles of goodness, I remember how just plain HUGE those piles were. You know what I don't remember? What I got or why I got it. No, that's not true. One year I got a tv/vcr from Papa and was ecstatic upon opening it... until I saw Moms face fall. I opened her gift next and guess what it was.... a tv/vcr combo. I would have given anything to go back in time and open hers first. That is the only present I can remember.
My children will have a different experience. They will never believe in Santa, will never have huge piles of junk to wade through on that morning. Santa will be this fun fictional character that we pretend about. Christmas morning? Will be about being together, maybe a few gifts. We've decided that the kids will receive, each year, four items; Something they want, something they need, something they wear, and something they read. I'll occasionally break my own rules by getting them a larger joint gift of some sort. This year they're getting a play kitchen.
So, for those of you who have been asking about gifts for my kiddos, here's a brief list of what would be grand!

Something they want:

Raegan has recently discovered true "pretend play". Dollhouses with different rooms, pretend food, that kind of thing. She also has two of the newer stuffed Disney Princesses ( Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) that she has taken to carrying around with her all the time. She tucks them into bed with her, lays them down for naps, she sets them up at the table... so others in that line would definitely be loved.

Kael is in LOVE with balls. We have gobs and gobs of them. We don't, however, have any kind of game or anything that uses balls. Maybe a small basket ball hoop you can put over a door or something? He has also developed a fondness for dinosaurs and action figures and is absolutely fascinated with cats. Something floppy and stuffed, maybe?

Something they need:

Raegan is in a twin size bed now but, other then the fitted sheets, has no twin size bedding!

Kael's white noise maker in his bedroom is a fan... and it's starting to get cold! So a really small fan or a real actual white noise maker would be useful!

Something they wear:

Raegan is long and skinny.. she wears 3T pants but they are usually somewhat highwater. I have also been putting her in 4T shirts because with many 3T her belly hangs out.

Kael is at least in 2T pants, but mostly 3t for the same length reason. He is also in 3T shirts, 2T are just too snug on his beefy little body.

They are both on short supply of PJ's ( must be 2 piece for Raegan) and socks.

Something They Read:

Raegan loves any and all books. She is really fond, lately, of the princess look and find book she got for her birthday, as well as any book with a princess or fairy in it.

Kael also has developed a deep love of books. First word books, bright baby books, and any book with a cat picture in it are his favorites.



So that's it for the Christmas wish list!

On a completely unrelated side note, Home Trends candles from Walmart are awesome; 10 times stronger scented then a Yankee candle at a quarter of the price ( $4.99 for the big jar). They are so wonderfully smelly that I actually went out and bought 2 of each scent ( well, the spicy scents and the linen) so that my home will have a lovely odor all year ( as these are only available seasonally). So go get them while you can!