December 1st

Well folks, it's official. December is here. It has arrived. And I find myself sitting here, next to an empty hot chocolate cup, trying to defrost my feet.

We took Thomas to the lighted Christmas parade and, let me just say, I do not recommend wearing Converse when you plan to stand in snow-sleetish-"wintery mix" for hours.

Lesson. Learned.

My toes were icy. I was just about ready to Google ways to chop off frozen appendages lost to frost bite. So dumb.

It was pretty well worth it though. My little guy l-o-v-e-d all the lights, pageantry, and glamorous people (and by that I mean rope lights, homemade "silver bell" costumes, and men in Carharrt jackets). I think it was all pretty awesome to a one-year-old. He even scored some candy! Doing this kind of stuff with him is really getting me excited for his childhood.

That brings me to my "Love it" for the night.

----> I am starting to move away from the fear that comes with being a mom to the excitement that comes from being a mom. As Thomas starts to get with the program and I have to start dealing with his behavior and shaping it, I'm getting more excited, hoping that I successfully turn him into a cool person. I get to decide what sweet things we do at our house and our rules and so on and so forth. I'm the one who gets to think of things that will make fond memories for the boy. I'm finding that it's kind of awesome.

Love it!

Like tonight, when we got back from the parade, I put him in his jammies and snuggled up with him and some M&Ms. About 3 candies into the (snack size, people) bag, I thought "Oh woops! I'm giving him candy right before bed! You're not supposed to eat candy before bed!" I was about to put the M&Ms away when I realized - I'm the mom! I'm the mom! Who says we can't eat candy before bed when candy is called for?

I demand to know who makes these rules that I have to follow!!

That would be me.

Who has two thumbs and makes all the rules? This girl.

Here's the Top 5 Rules I have for our house so far.

1. As long as you're wearing different sweats/shirt than the ones you slept in...you're dressed for the day. You can go above and beyond, but officially, if you didn't sleep in it, it's an outfit.

2. Clean laundry, while lovely folded and put away, makes an excellent-comfy place to snuggle and relax. Piles of laundry are absolutely acceptable as long as they are being used for comfort or fort building.

3. Wine glasses are a must-have. No matter what you're drinking, whether it be sparkling cider or chocolate milk, you'll feel classy if it's coming from a wine glass.

4. This video must be watched at least once a week. No explanations necessary.

5. The "Thankful song" has to be sung in the morning and before at least one meal to remind us that, no matter what, God is always good.

Bring it on, December. Tom and I have some memories to make.