Dija has finally adjusted to her new do. I will no longer be able to use my stylist as punishment. Dija asks me to use the flat iron to help her get ready for school and will stand and examine her cute hair in the mirror. We have created a monster… but she is so cute! Here are the pictures I snapped on my ipod while at the salon. She wasn’t  very happy then but she is smiling now.

Story time at the Pickens house so I’m free for a moment to sit and listen while I write. I love just listening to them over there with Papa.

Today Trey confirmed for me that we are planning the right thing for Christmas. When Papa arrived home from his “Work” Trey was busy setting up a game to play. He used wooden building blocks and lined them up as the targets and had elastics to shoot at them. It cost him nothing… You see where this is going yet?

A few weeks ago I mentioned the challenge to Justin to discuss with Astrid. I have since told Nana about it and Papa and I have been chatting too. My challenge to Justin was to not spend any money on Christmas shopping. Only purchases allowed would be groceries and baking treats is permitted. Gifts are to be handmade from free supplies we already have or a gift or our time, talents, services… And we can even take materials from each others houses to use. Nana’s house is a great place to find fabric, yarn, sewing machine, a tomato, etc.

I know that Astrid has art supplies. So do I. Justin and Astrid are both very creative. I also know I have some projects I meant to do but there they sit unfinished. Now would be a great time to finish them up and give them to the intended recipient. My kids really do not ask for much. Sometimes they see things that look like fun but the moment passes rather quickly just the same way the novelty of that $50 toy would be worn out by boxing day. I could bake my kids a cake and they would be delighted… They would even share it!

I can’t tell you all the ideas I have right now because that might spoil the surprises in the event that family should read my blog. Perhaps I will have to follow up with this in the new year and tell you some favorites that we come up with.

I have decided that gifts under the tree will all be free but we are allowed to use a bit of money for stocking stuffers because the kids are expecting stockings to be stuffed.

Now if any of you have any cool stuff that needs to be “regifted” or “repurposed” I am open to donations. I happen to know of a school desk waiting to be moved to my house… This might be a great time to put the kids in bunks and get space ready for that.

Why am I planning a Free Christmas? I have, for as long as I can remember, been driven a little crazy by forced consumerism. I really don’t like being told when to spend my money. The amount of money we pour into a day and then complain when the price of gas goes up 2 cents a liter. There is nothing that I must have. The kids want our time, attention and love more than a sparkly new toy. We can wrap up rubber bands and tape for Trey and he is happy. Dija would like me to style her hair and put some makeup on her. I can give them what they really need without even going to the mall. In fact I can sit and listen to Papa reading them a story instead of going to the mall. This season it will be about how we spend our time, where we go together and what we do as a family that they will remember and not the one big toy under the tree that they will forget about when the next fad comes around.

Christmas will be magical… And the credit card company will get nothing from us!

I’m not sure if it’s genetic or what but boys, in my experience, seem to lose things a lot. Now I must say that Corey has improved in this area as he usually knows where his keys and wallet are lately. Once in a while he will forget where he laid something down but it isn’t the daily search for keys and such. The early years seemed to be plagued with incidences of lost items.

Now there are other generations of boys following him. I have lost track of how many times Trey has come home from school without his jacket. The last time I sent him the next morning in his tshirt… And yes it is too cold for that. I figured it was the only way he would learn to bring his jacket home. Keep in mind that he gets a drive to school and isn’t walking 6 miles uphill in a snow storm the way his ancestors did!

Trey’s little jacket mishaps are minor and I am hoping to teach him early to keep track of his parts.

Then there is Justin the in between generation of the Pickens Men… Oh dear. Mr lose my pants if I … Well no forget that because I think he could lose those even if he was wearing them. A few weeks ago he had biked to work then suddenly realized he couldn’t find his drivers license or his bank cards. Clearly he must have lost them while biking. He was leaving the following day to go to his annual meeting in Ottawa for Sports Massage Therapists. He was driving. Well as the mother I was having fits on the inside but there was nothing I could do so I tried to put it out of my mind. After the trip the mystery of the missing cards continued but then it escalated… He had lost about 3 bank cards now and his iPhone was also missing!

It was clear that I had failed as a mother. How did I raise such an irresponsible son?

Then I get the phone call later that evening. “I know where all my stuff has gone. My car is eating it!” … And for a brief moment I knew he had lost his mind as well. Then he explained. There is a spot in his console where he puts things while he drives but he has figured out that things fall inside the console. He could see things in there but could not get them out. After some fishing he managed to recover several missing bank cards, his drivers license, his iPhone, Astrid’s hair clip, items that the previous owner lost…. The list goes on. And so it was true that his car really had been eating his belongings and I did raise a smart boy who really isn’t that irresponsible after all. Phew! Oh, and he’s driving legally again.
He stopped in for coffee this morning and told his Dad how he has been sick and lost his voice yesterday. Corey says, “Did you check your car?”