Dear Santa...

Last week I took the girls to see Santa at the mall in Jacksonville. After last years underwhelming experience with Santa in the Home and Garden department at Walmart, I decided we needed to do something a little more sophisticated. When we got there Santa was feeding his reindeer so the girls got to write letters to Santa while we waited. Celina dictated her letter to me and told me to inform Santa that she wants a reindeer for Christmas. A reindeer? How the heck am I supposed to come up with a reindeer? Does she mean a real one? Or a picture of one? A hard plastic one??? Last year she wanted a Christmas tree and a candy cane. Life was simpler at age 3....

I took a look at Madison's letter and she had written that she wants to learn how to fly and to be a fairy for Christmas. What!??? How about a barbie or something? I am starting to think that the line between reality and fantasia is quite a bit blurred for my girls. Not that I want to change that right now but maybe we should lay off the Tinkerbell and Barbie movies for a while. I'm still puzzling over this one!

A couple of days later Celina brought up the reindeer again. "He's in a book and he has rectangle spots and he's soft." Hhhmmmm. I couldn't think of any of our books that had reindeer in them. That day we went to the library and rather than look at the books Celina always wants to colour or play with the stuffed animals. Suddenly she cried out loud "Mommy! There's the reindeer! I want that reindeer! Can we buy him? Please? He's only one dollar," It was a little fawn on the counter. I had to explain to her that the Library is not a store but at least I now knew what she wanted but where do I find a little deer like that?

That afternoon we went to Barnes and Noble because Madison had to get an iron test at the doctor. We have a deal that if you have to get poked we go and get a little $2 or $3 book instead of ice cream. I'm hoping they learn that they don't have to have to eat every time they have to go through something rough. So to the bookstore we went. Celina and Madison made a beeline for the children's section and then I heard Celina say "Mommy! Mommy! The reindeer is here! The reindeer is here!" And there it was! Yay! Problem solved!

I went back to the store the next day and picked up the reindeer and the book that it was from. It's called A Stranger in the Woods and it is the most adorable book ever. It is a multi award winning book full of wildlife photography that tells a story of how the animals discover a snowman in the woods. Celina LOVES animals so I know she'll love the book too.

For Madison I think I'll make up a package of "fairy dust" and tell her that the fairies are letting her have some but she will only be able to keep it not use it. Humans would only be able use it on fairy land but fairy lands are in secret places and no fairy is allowed to tell humans where they live. Since I have no magic wand of my own this is the best I can come up with so I hope having her own stash of fairy dust will be special.

Hollander Happenings

As you can see we have been getting ready for Christmas! It sure doesn't feel like it since it got to 78 today and will be 80 or more tomorrow. I need Christmas to look like a Hallmark card to feel Christmasy. We hear "Let it Snow" and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" on the radio but it seems so silly down here because it's not even cold. Celina couldn't wait for Madison to come home from school before decorating the tree with her own flare. Puzzles on the tree? I thought it looked so cute! She was so pleased with herself too. See if you can spot the crayola marker, silly straw and blue twist tie that also grace this tree.



In October our family did the University of St. Augustine 5K run again. Actually, we all started out running but by the time we got to the first drink station I was spent. (Yeah, out of shape, I know). Madison declared that she had to go to the bathroom and Celina was saying "Mommy! Come on! We have to race!" Who's kid was that?!!! Obviously Scott's. She remembered last year that Madison won a medal and she was bound and determined that she was going to win one too.

So I ended up walking with Madison back to the bathrooms (she was VERY upset to leave the race!) and Celina ran on with Scott. Unbelievably, Celina and Scott passed Madison and I before we got back to the bathrooms!!! Celina came in at 43 minutes and the crowd cheered her. She was positively beaming when Madison and I found her! She knew she was getting a medal and she was so excited.

When the medal ceremony was to begin we sat down with our ice cream and we waited for the 4 and under category to be announced. It never came. Celina never complained but I was heartbroken for her. On the way home she said quietly "I didn't get a medal,"

Well, Scott and I were already trying to figure out some way to quickly make up a medal for her and so we stopped at the dollar store and found a blue Happy Birthday ribbon with a button. When we got home I covered the button over with pink foam and wrote her name, her time and first place all over it. Then we had our own awards ceremony and presented her the ribbon and a giant caterpillar lollipop that I had floating around. (Whew!) Scott said that Celina would never have stopped running except she had to when she came to the drink stations because she couldn't run and drink at the same time. She got a big kick out of throwing her "Auntie Wendi's" (Wendy's restaurant) cups on the ground when she was done. Well, she certainly has her Daddy's genes for endurance because I can't run like that!



Madison has been trying to earn enough money to buy her own American Girl doll. (Those things are expensive! And spare me the $200.00 tree house and $75.00 canopy doll bed!) Even Santa isn't that rich! So we have been trying to find things she can do around the house to earn her money. I think she will achieve her goal this winter. Look how nasty the driveway got after one year!



I turn out the light at night but strange things still have a way of happening! Those are my pajama bottoms she is wearing!



We took the girls with us to the Orlando temple this fall. It was HOT and we had to be careful where we laid the blanket because of the fire ants but it was a beautiful day.

Celina: The Next Rachel Ray?

I realize that Thanksgiving is over but just in case you plan on having a turkey for Christmas, I have a recipe from Celina that you might want to give a try:

My Turkey Recipe (as dictated to her preschool teacher)

Cooking TIme: 2 hours
Oven Temperature: warm

Ingredients: pepperoni, turkey, tomatoes, chicken nuggets, hot sauce

Directions: You put it in the oven - get it out then you eat it for a long time. Pick up the plate and put tomatoes around the
turkey, then you put little hats on the feet. It will be delicious.

I'm not sure where all the ingredients fit in but she's probably one of those chefs that doesn't measure anything and it should just seem self explanatory to the rest of us. If you have any further questions, ask a preschooler and they can probably give you lots of ideas of where things like pepperoni and hot sauce fit in!