AnchorMom

I'm not a shopper. But this time of year is different. I have to do a LOT of shopping. And I cram it all into one month. I know, I know... I should look for things throughout the year and pick them up as I go along, but who really does that? (My mom, actually...) It is absolutely worth it to see their little faces light up when they come down the stairs Christmas morning to see what Santa brought them. Well, they are usually happy about it... Last year, my 5-year-old daughter asked for a unicorn... a unicorn that "pooped cupcakes." So, this happened: So I know everyone has their own way of doing "Santa," but I certainly don't plan to wrap more gifts than I have to, so Santa lays all of his toys out on Christmas Eve. I wrap individual gifts from each family member to the other and in my extended (large) family, we draw names every Christmas. I love that my girls at least are old enough to start picking out gifts for each other lik

{Waiting to come downstairs to see what Santa brought. Christmas 2017} I knew it would happen. I knew it would happen soon. In fact, I have thought the last two Christmases that it would probably be the last all of my kids believed in Santa Claus. I felt like I was on borrowed time. I asked the dreaded question to several babysitters before I had the courage to ask my mom when I was 9. My mom told me the truth. I was devastated. There were tears and more questions: "The Easter Bunny?" Nope. "The Tooth Fairy??"  Not possible. I remember it well. I was truly broken hearted. I was also one of the last to 'believe' in my class. So when my oldest daughter turned 8, I prepared. Then she was 9. And this year in October she turned 10. She wrote a letter to Santa and I thanked God I had one more year of magic. Then I was cornered. The other night... in the bathtub. Yes, I had everyone in bed and had settled in for a nice warm bubble bath when she cam

Well, that was a fast decade! My baby girl... my first baby... just blew out ten candles on her cake. She was wearing lipgloss and earrings.😭 I've never been a super sentimental mom about milestones. When she was a baby, screaming with colic, I just wished for the phase to end. When she was bossing me around as a sassy 3-year-old, I just hoped it would pass soon. I guess since we had another baby when she was 3... and another when she was 7, it just slipped by. I was never sad about her growing up. I was happy to move on to the next stage. This birthday feels different. I am sentimental about it because she's calling herself a "tween" and all she wanted for her birthday was to have her ears pierced. I've been blessed to have such a sweet, caring, clever and fun girl. I don't want her next phase to be the most difficult of all... We've all heard stories about the teenage years. Heck, I feel like I was one just a few years ago. I know there will be d