I love it!

As much as I love the summertime, if I can't have the heat, I'll take the cold with a sprinkle of Christmas!

Christmas is probably my favorite time of year, despite the temperatures that it brings. I love decorating for the holidays, putting up the Christmas trees, shopping for 'that perfect gift' and then watching the recipient unwrap it (hopefully happily!) I love the food the holidays have as staples: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (Portuguese style, of course, no apples and raisins on our table!), apple pie, etc.... Yum yum yum... Of course, it's great to see all the family for the holidays, since most we don't see but once a year. And for some, once a year is more than enough. :-)

Some people get turkied out having the bird on Thanksgiving and then again on Christmas, so they'll do a ham, or "tur-duck-en" (chicken wrapped in stuffing and a duck wrapped in stuffing and a turkey. I hear it's good, but have never had the pleasure to actually try it...) or something different. Not me, though.... The holidays are the only time I'll cook a turkey, and I don't mind doing it twice! So good!

I'm very excited for this Christmas, especially, as it'll be Jeremiah's first! I can't wait to see his face as we set up the tree--probably only decorated from the mid-section on up, but that's okay. Target and Wal-mart have been putting up their Christmas stuff as the Halloween stuff sells out. As we make our way through the stores, we always go by these sections so that Jeremiah can see everything all lite up. He just peers up, with his mouth open, in awe, and doesn't move until something else catches his attention. So cute!

Next year's Christmas will probably be a bit more fun, since he'll 'get it' more than he will this year. But that's alright. I just hope he does what his Uncle James (and subsequently, Uncle Stephin) used to do with me--we'd put a pillow under the tree, and lay underneath it, looking up at all the lights. It was really cool. I don't see Jeremiah sitting still long enough, but maybe he'll surprise us.

Of course, logistically speaking, we're having a tough time figuring out where exactly to put the tree. We have the perfect spot in the family room for it, but I'm worried that Jeremiah may try to pull it down. I don't want to have to buy a gate to put around it (and that would really kinda kill the look,) but it really is the best spot.

Then I thought of putting it in the breakfast nook area, so you can see it from most of the first level of the house (it'll be in your line of sight when you walk in, and of course, you'll be able to see it from the family room and the kitchen, where we spend most of our time anyways.) Plus, there's a huge bay window there, so you'd be able to see it from outside on West Ox Rd (and, since it'd be pretty safe from Jeremiah, we could decorate it all the way instead of just half.) However, then we'd have to move the table and chairs, which means utilizing the dining room more. That's alright, but Jeremiah makes such a mess, I don't know if I want him to have his way in a carpeted room....

Finally there's always the living room. The only thing about putting it there would be that we'd rarely see it, since the living room is the most isolated room in the house. We really don't spend anytime in there. Eventually, it will be an office/sitting area room, but right now, it's just a room with stuff in it. So I really don't want to put it there, but it would be the least disruptive to our daily lives.

So, I dunno. We have a few weeks to figure it out (we go tree shopping on Black Friday!) I'm sure we'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm going to start shopping, since I HATE dealing with the people at the mall during this time of year (especially Tyson's.... that place is crazy...) Last year, I went shopping on Christmas Eve, only because I woke up and couldn't sleep any longer, and wanted to kick-start labor by walking 'round the mall. I was very disappointed, though, to be there at 7 a.m. only to find out the mall itself didn't open until 8.... I mean, c'mon! It's Christmas Eve! Oh well. Best Buy was open (and dead), Macy's was open (also pretty dead), but that was definitely the best time to be at the mall that day. May do that again this year, if I have last minute shopping. We'll see if Jeremiah's up for it. :-)