My Happy Tool Kit...Our Christmas Tradition...The Blue Moon

Lives drenched in traditions are fulfilled lives.  Traditions not only give us a sense of security but they also can enrich our lives in unmeasurable ways.  Some traditions unfold like new blossoms in the spring, arising out of a newly planted location while others are carried with us from place to place.  This tradition was founded for our family during our first year living here in Wilmington.  Now we make our yearly pilgrimage to The Blue Moon as the beginning of the countdown to Christmas.

On this day, the Blue Moon opened its doors to shoppers early.  We were invited to explore a wonderful array of artistic jewelry, lovely handmade goods and some of the best goodies known to NC.

And as hoped, my spirit was uplifted and I couldn't help but smile at the whimsy of it all...

OK, can you guess which is my favorite sock monkey?

Have you ever seen a dancing Christmas reindeer?

Did you know that this is my favorite time of the year! And what about you, do you have a tradition to kick off this holiday season?

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

May your Thanksgiving Day be filled with love, family, friends and of course...lots of turkey.  And least we not forget, pumpkin pie!  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Over the River(Thanksgiving Day) 
Over the river and through the wood
To Grandmother's house we go.
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the wood
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the wood
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring,
Ting-a-ling-ling!
Hurrah forThanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate.
We seem to go
Extremely slow~
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood~
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

By Linda Maria Child 

How to Play with RA

I am doing my tap dance of joy (you do realize by now that this tap dance is in my head of course) because I will have my grand baby with us for Turkey Day! Woohoo!

This got me to thinking. There is smoke rising from my brain right now as I begin to think of things I can do with my 2 1/2 year old cutie.  And I wanted to share with you how I will adapt to play with my ra.

Cranking up the brainstorming gears, I decided that first I need to get some toys that I also love as this will help encourage me to play with her but will allow my mind to wonder in joy and excitement. And being that times are economically challenging for the best of us, I decided to try and hit some second hand stores and yard sales.  I am also blessed in that a very close friend of mine has been hunting for me as well and she brought down the mother load of toys (thank you Cathy)!  I have found several toys that I know both Isabel and I will grow to love (I am definitely a kid at heart).

My strategies to make playing easier for me include:

Playing on our living room coffee table. This    way I can sit on the couch while she sits on the floor.  Using our dinning room table as much as possible for activities like playdough, coloring and puzzle time.   Planning any outings earlier in the daytime when my energy seems to be a bit better and ensuring I have plenty of pain medication on hand. I don't plan on doing the driving but rather having my son drive. I have the Children's Museum on our hit list and a local zoo for another morning outing. At the Children's Museum I can sit and watch her play through the various rooms and the local zoo is a small zoo which is much more ra friendly than a large zoo.

I have prepared our camping chairs and I intend to keep one in their car (our camping chairs can be folded up and carried over a shoulder so I have ready seating when I am tuckered out) and one ready for outside play. Did I hear someone say bubbles and chalk art on our driveway!

And I have bought several dvds and books (I just discovered this wonderful series called Fancy Nancy) for those times when my ra keeps me couch bound. I am an avid fan of Disney dvds.
And last, I am planning a girls lunch at Chuck-e-Cheese. This place is a self contained play zone, music entertainment, and pizza joint all in one. She has never been to one yet and I am happy to have her do another first with us.

Now from the pics, can you tell which baby doll is mine? And although my children didn't have The Littlest Pet Shop, I am sooooo looking forward to my playtime with them and My Little Pony.  And yes, of course, I did get a few Barbie Dolls and even a Ken.  And if you are thinking Fisher Price given her age, I was able to get a manger Fisher Price set and a lovely pink dollhouse too. The toilet even flushes on the dollhouse :-)

How do you play with your ra?

For more deep thought....

In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow.  ~Papiha Ghosh


Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.  ~Robert Fulghum