Sweet December

The boys and I shared a lovely day today, beginning with a long play date for Sam, which is always a great start to his day. Patch and I basically follow the "big boys" around and try to get them to clean up a little after themselves. After lunch, Sam, Elias, and I headed over to a Winter Faire (yes, with an "e", though I'm not sure quite why). It was a fund raiser for all the Waldorf schools in the Napa Valley, and turned out to be a wonderful experience for us. There were a number of local vendors selling all sorts of homemade crafts, from beautiful baskets and tie-dyed tees to beaded jewelry and wooden toys. They had a great assortment of activities for kids that we took part in- gingerbread cookie decorating, beeswax candle rolling, potpourri satchel making etc. Most of the booths with stuff for sale were inside, but all the activities were outside under tents, next to a stream and a big, warm fire pit. It was a chilly day in Napa, so the fire was a wonderful addition. We ate fresh popcorn and drank mulled cider and spent all my cash on cute trinkets and cookies!! It was a very fun afternoon.
When we got home, I cooked up a big pot of rentil roup (ie lentil soup) for dinner, while the boys played sort of together with some blocks and trucks. We ate on the early side, then got washed up and in pjs. We bundled up in our hats, scarves, and mittens (really, it IS cold for us Californians!!) and went for a nighttime walk to see all the festive lights and decorations in our neighborhood. The boys LOVE this activity and oohed and aahed continuously. We jumped right into Sammy's warm bed when we got home and read a few holiday books. We've hung our chili pepper lights in Sam's room, so after we finished reading and turned out the reading light, his room was bathed in a warm, reddish glow. We sang (by Patchie's request) the Twelve Days of Christmas, with Sam prompting me..."No, its 10 ladies dancing!" Gus (our cat) jumped up and stretched out on top of me and Sam, adding another layer of warmth to the mix. I think Elias was asleep before we got to the drummers drumming, with Sam following quickly after. It was a very sweet moment for me, lying there with my arms around both of my sleeping boys, the cat purring softly, in the dim, red chili pepper light. Happy Holidays!!