Christmas Morning

Parker woke up bright and early this morning and promptly peeked downstairs to see if the treats he left for Santa were gone. He was a little worried Santa had absconded with our vegan plate and mug, but I assured him that Santa probably rinsed them and put them in the sink. What a swell guy Santa is.

Parker showed Josie the stockings (this being her first Christmas and all, he is taking it upon himself to show her the ropes). We read the note from Santa and Parker emptied out his stocking (measuring spoons, modeling clay, sticks for crafts). I was going to have Parker open up one present, but he opened up a couple. He looks so cute in his new organic cotton bath robe. He was ready to read his new book, "It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families" by Robie H. Harris. Parker loves everything to do with birth and babies. He was especially happy with the Real Science Made Easy Weather experiment kit. He also received a couple notebooks to write and draw in. He draws almost every day and lately we've been working on stories and illustrating them. He also received new colored pencils (he goes through his very quickly).

Parker asked for pancakes for breakfast. I decided to try the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking instead of our usual pancake recipe. I like the lack of sugar (she suggests several "liquid sweeteners" and we chose calcium-fortified orange juice), no egg replacer, and less oil than some recipes I've seen. It was also nice to have some whole wheat flour (1/2 of the flour it called for) and still have them turn out light and fluffy. They were very good with just a hint of orange flavor. This will be our usual pancake recipe from now on. Parker had his with flax oil, maple syrup, and organic wild blueberries we had in the freezer. It was strange not doubling the recipe. It made me miss Dema even more. It was nice not having Rob tease me about them not being done. The boys like them barely brown and anything more is "burnt" and Rob really likes them very "done". They kind of had an orange tint which is pretty.

My dad stopped by and we offered him breakfast, but he's so popular that he already had breakfast with my ex-brother-in-law's family and was having dinner with a neighbor so he didn't need any food. Dad and Parker had fun going through the experiments in Parker's new weather kit. It was kind of nice with Dema gone, Parker had my dad to himself and they didn't need to worry about Dema breaking anything.

I couldn't resist buying Josie a little musical turtle. It plays "You are My Sunshine" which I sing to her quite a bit. I remember singing it to my mom when she was in intensive care the day we found out she had cancer. I can't help but think of my mom when I hear the song and now with Josie it has a bittersweet feel to it. So I picked it up and she seems to really like it. I wish my mom had lived long enough to meet Dema and Josie. Something about having a baby girl now which makes me miss my mom and think of her even more.

It was actually a nice, peaceful Christmas so far and I'm glad Rob and Dema will be home tonight. Peace is what I wish for all of you. Happy Holidays!