Christmas 2009 The Prequel

John and I both had the Christmas holiday off this year, which happens every 3 years as our work schedules allow. We traveled back to my South Dakota home to spend Christmas with my mom, my brother and his family.

Tuesday, December 22nd

Destination: Granny's House in Oldham, South Dakota
Town Population: 206, according to the 2000 Census
181, as of the 2009 update
Miles Traveled: 663
Weather Forecast: impending winter storm with high winds, dense fog and large snowfall

We started our trip early Tuesday morning with suitcases packed, Durango loaded and ready to go. I worked the night prior (something I will never do again--poor planning!), so I planned to car sleep while John managed the first half of our trek. Taylor was in the back seat, armed with books, art supplies, her personal game system and several games to keep her occupied. 10 hours and 37 minutes of driving to get to Granny Lou's front door.
We kept hearing updates on the approaching winter storm, but with the exception of wind and light fog, nothing hampered our travel. Well, weather-wise, that is. A state trooper just outside Mitchell, South Dakota, hampered our travel, but just for a minute. ;) We arrived at Granny Lou's house about 9 p.m. her time and shook off our road fatigue with good food, good company and hugs all around. This tired traveler hit the nest with sounds of family and laughter lulling her to sleep.

Nice and boring, just the way we like it.

Wednesday, December 23rd

After a much-needed night of deep sleep, I woke up to sounds of Taylor and Granny having a grand old time downstairs. Which is how I always wake up at my mom's house. Best alarm clock ever. :) My mom had given Taylor a couple of pre-Christmas gifts, including a cool Search-For-Santa floor pad and a T-shirt to get her in the Christmas spirit. Not that Taylor needs any help in that category! Despite my best intentions, I must have fallen asleep again, for when I got up, Mom had already left for work and Taylor was diligently searching for items in her Santa Search. She was wearing her Santa hat and her new T-shirt.

Here's the Sassy Elf herself.
Needless to say, Taylor wanted to wear this shirt every day
of our Christmas stay at Grandma's house!

With Grandma Lou busy at work and the Nielsen's similarly so, our little family of 3 decided to drive in to Madison to get some last minute details taken care of before Christmas. We shopped for a bit, then stopped by a local bar and grill to have lunch. After eating the best potato soup EVER, we stopped by the Nielsen house to visit and relax until Mom was done with work. I last saw my nephews Sean and Chris in mid-October. In two short months they have managed to add another couple inches to their stature. I didn't ask who measured what, just marveled at the fact that neither of them are DONE yet! It should be noted that I did not manage to capture either of them on camera. They are surprisingly quick for how tall they are. ;)

Douglas John stopped smoking as of December 1st this year. So far he's done a fantastic job with his quit plan and keeping his brain occupied--the best way to fend off a smoke attack. One of his new hobbies is jewelry making with hemp and beads. After Taylor picked out several beads she took a fancy to, Uncle Doug made short work of making a necklace for her. Here it is, in one of her self portraits.

Purple and red, plus a little gold thrown in. Just her style!

Plans were made for Christmas Eve, then it was time to head back to Granny's house to trim the tree, decorate the rest of the house and get some presents wrapped! We all had fun helping put the decorations on Granny's tree. Taylor loved the variety, Mom loved the help and I loved taking a walk down Memory Lane. Mom still had stuff from when I was in grade school. Our old Santa with Rudolph sleigh. Window clings circa 1972. Ornaments that once hung on my grandma's and great-grandma's Christmas trees.

Here is my favorite ornament ever. Mom made this for me
when I was a young thing in high school.
Merry Christmas 1984!

By the end of the night it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The tree was trimmed, decorations were out in every room and a big pile of presents had formed under the tree. On top of all that, guess what else made its presence known? Yup. That pesky winter storm that had been talked about for days was finally beginning to show up in Dakotaland. There was no doubt about having a white Christmas. But just HOW white was it going to be?

Kristin

Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

Or, more to the point, let me try this again, will you?

Purple Hair!

For the past 3 months, Taylor has been obsessed with the idea of putting a purple streak in her hair.

Yes, really.

I know, I know.

I KNOW.

Try explaining that to an obsessed 8-year old.

Yup. I told her that too. AND mentioned it would take a really, really long time to get done.

And then, after 3 months, I caved today.

And actually? It's really kind of cool. :)

The idea to color her hair presented itself in the form of Ari, one of Taylor's BFF's at Tae Kwon Do. It should be noted that Ari has platinum blond hair and sports a colored streak in her hair 24/7. I imagine her mother can accomplish this for $5 and 10 minutes of her time. Taylor was envious of her friend's fine do, me for other reasons.

I decided to make it part of Taylor's Christmas present. This thrilled her beyond belief, as the new purple streak in her hair would match her Christmas dress just perfectly. Cringe! I have to admit, when it really came down to it, I rode the fence between Cool Mom and Responsible Mom all the way to the finish line. And like I said, it really turned out kind of cool (Cool Mom). And it's just one little tiny streak, right? (Responsible Mom) :)

The "before" photo.
We're going to do WHAT to that gorgeous hair?

Taylor chose which side (LEFT ONLY, please!)
then the bleaching began.

1/2 way there!

And voila! Purple it is.

She may be old enough to want purple hair,
but she's still little enough to ask for a sucker when she's done,
just like when she was 2.
Grape, of course. To keep with the theme of the day. :)

The final result seemed a little anti-climactic. Taylor was tired of the chair and Michelle (our hairdresser) was done for the day. Both deemed the experiment a full-on success. Time for everyone to go home.

Me? Well, I finally figured out what was really bothering me about Taylor's purple hair quest. It wasn't the purple and it wasn't the cost. It really wasn't the idea of it at all. No, what was really bothering me for the last three months was that my little girl was no longer really my little girl. I realized that she's growing up SO fast, just like everyone warned me she would. I have moments where I want to stop the clock, just for a minute. To take a really good, hard look. To keep her as she is, just for one more minute. Just one. It's all going way too fast and before I know it, she's going to be asking for the car keys. And knee deep in boys. And going off to college. Wow.

But, for now, I'll take the advice one mom gave me. "Enjoy the tween years", she said. "What comes after will take every ounce of energy you have!" True enough. I'll take these next few years, puberty-free and full of wonder, with chore lists and grade school, times tables and spelling lists. Even the occasional purple hair moment.

Kristin