Advent and Princesses

Last year, we made the Advent calendar about activities. I was so proud of all the effort I put into it and how it went. This year, I feel I cheesed out. We bought the Lego Advent calendars (really boxes) which I knew would go over well with the boys (and probably deep down I also knew it gave me a free pass to be lazy this year). Has it gone over (so far)? Yes. Does it feel really different from last year? Yes. We bought 2 boxes so there wouldn't be fighting. I guess that definitely throws off the give-and-take that the traditional blue calendar forced. But, at least there aren't any tears. But with activities for the whole family (last year's calendar), there weren't tears either. Just excitement to see what his brother opened.

I still feel a need to do the activities and it is nice to have the pressure off to come up with something each day. But the pressure each day was kind of nice as it really motivated us to do something as a family each day - from true activities, to having one of the boys pick what we were going to have for dinner. I'm leaning toward doing some of those things anyway but now I'm not sure how to bring them up. The calendar created this great forum. Open the day, honey... oh, you get to pick what the family has for dinner tonight. What's the menu? Now, do I just say randomly, hey S, today you get to pick our dinner menu?

I guess I stress also that it brings Christmas back to being more commercial rather than about being a family and doing fun stuff together. I'll have to work this one through... and the month already feels like it is flying by. Yes, I know, it is only the 3rd.

Princesses - so the boys brought home this Disney Princess "manual" of sort - basically a huge pink book with each Princess' story being a chapter. They also brought home a single book with the (almost) full Sleeping Beauty story. I read that the night of the 1st. I got home really late since it was my late night at work so the boys were already in bed but they both wanted me to read them the story. So, I read it to S first. He was so focused on Aurora and that side of the story. He asked for a S-N story (the made up stories with him in the story we do most nights) and wanted Princess Aurora. He quickly dropped Princess Belle. Then I went over to read the same story to N. He pretty much could have cared less about the princess part of the story and was more focused on the bad guys and what happens to them and the evil princess and why she's evil, etc. It was really fascinating to see how both boys could enjoy the same story so much but for such different reasons.

Dinner: scrambled eggs, green beans, roasted potatoes, cranberry/apple sauce and left over regular cranberry sauce.

Books: a chapter each from the princess manual (Beauty and the Beast - S; Lady & the Tramp and Dumbo - N)