Tonight I wheeled the bassinet out into the living room so the little bunny will stay asleep for longer than fifteen minutes. She needs to be by me. She needs her back patted when she stirs. And so tonight I willingly oblige, patting and rubbing that little dip at the bottom of her back right above her diaper when she whimpers. I wait until she’s still and then resume the typing.

Her profile is glowing from the light of the computer, one jammied leg is slung over the edge of the bed, and I can hear her wheezy breath, quick and rhythmic…in and out, in and out, in and out.

I’m generally pretty laid back. Fits and messes don’t seem to bother me, and I happen to like a mini van that smells like last week’s happy meal. But, oh when they’re sick. Dude, it’s rough. I can’t fix it and that sucks. Even my mama jiggle–that little dance I do, clinging little bodies to my chest and wiggling the little jig that always settles and soothes them–it lost its charm.

Both girls have been pretty under the weather for several days now. There are piles of crusty tissues stuffed between cushions and heaped on counters, and I’m low on sleep and high on Vicks vapors. My babies are sick. Their eyes are heavy, their cheeks are peaked, and their sing-song chatter has dwindled to raspy whimpers. Brett and I are running the Gauntlet. Oh, you should see the pre-bed ritual. There’s squeegy-ing of noses and steam baths and Vicks chest-rubs, setting up the sippy cups for midnight whimpers and plugging in the vaporizers. There’s quilt-tucking, back-rubbing, and cough-suppressing until one of ’em finally falls asleep and when she does, oh sweet victory…even if it only lasts an hour. It’s an ugly cold that, hopefully, is on its way out.

But don’t think for a second we let it win. Because Christmas trumps colds.

Oh, the tree. The blessed Christmas tree and the ceremony that grows richer every year thanks to little souls that prance around the room, dragging garland, making messes, unraveling tissue-wrapped ornaments and asking questions about every single one.

We Christmas-tized every last corner of the house while the little time-capsule part of my brain simultaneously gathered memories and stashed, continually making comparisons through all of it…Last year, my belly was *this* big. Last year, I dreamed of what this year would look like. Last year, I had no idea how complete this baby would truly make us.

Lainey’s favorite ornament (PersonalizedFree), placed appropriately at her eye-level so she can point it out to everyone.

I never really thought through how we do Christmas until I had kids. And when you have kids, everything shifts. You’re not just someone’s kid anymore, following through with the traditions your own parents started. You’re the mom. The matriarch. You hold the Holiday Torch–the powerful seed of tradition–in the palm of your hand. Everything your child remembers about these months stems from you. Wow. That’s a lot of power.

I’ve thought about it a lot. I want my kids to know about other celebrations and to respect them, maybe even celebrate them. But I also want to preserve the magic of everything my parents did for us this time of year. We did Christmas in the balls-to-the-walls kind of way. Not so much in presents and money, but in feeling. There was music and candles and lights, scents and sounds and talked-about hype. I’ll never forget the excitement and comfort and hominess I felt through all their efforts…big shoes to fill, Man.

So, we try to do it up pretty good.

Like…”Hey Look! Snow in Florida!” Also known as “Hey Look! These parents take it a little too far.”

Needless to say, there was much tree gazing this weekend…

…and Mr. Griswold had his way with the staple gun.

Seriously though, I’m three days now with very little sleep and my rallying skills aren’t so sharp.

We’re taking a little family trip this week. More to come.

But, in the meantime…

Super stoked about new art in my home. The best part? It’s my brother’s. Check out my cute talented brother, the artist.

And our TWO giveaway winners!

Winner of the Silhouette Cutter: Commenter #195, Hillary: happy thanksgiving to you and the family! we’re so thankful for our surprise 4th baby on the way!! and the other healthy, happy 3 that are here with us. can’t wait till lunch for some southern cornbread dressing, and chocolate pie!!

and

Winner of the Sticks and Stones Keepsake piece: Commenter #224, Amy: Love the alphabet art (and “like” it on FB)! Where is the half-full glass from??? I NEED one! 🙂

(oh, and the glass if from Z Gallerie for all who asked)

Congratulations to both winners. Please e-mail your contact info to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net, and we’ll have your gifts to you asap!

And anyone interested in the Silhouette products, use the promotion code KELLE at checkout for even greater savings.

Also, sponsor Pip & Bean capes is offering 15% off right now…use Code “pipblackfriday2010.” Discount ends Monday at midnight Pacific Standard Time.

Baby is stirring…

The holiday isn’t over…it’s just beginning. Fa la la la freakin’ la!

I am tired and full and thankful.

Both girls have thick, sleep-depriving coughs that turn heads when we’re out, so we’ve been staying in as much as possible. Lots of fires and quilts and movies and, consequently, one happy mama.

The run-down is simple.

Annual Thanksgiving Pajama Breakfast with our friends Matt & Dede at our house.

Hot coffee and blueberry pancakes, a morning fire and mimosas that got refilled more than they should.

See those little dots on the wall? That’s blueberry juice from a pancake that exploded.

And then happy morning seamlessly shifted into happy afternoon…

With kitchen prepping…

The arrival of ones we love…

And Cheers to a rich, happy day.

He did read the Wikipedia pages, by the way, and everyone is now a Thanksgiving scholar. Thank you, Brett.

My glass says it all, Baby.

One of our sponsors, Pip and Bean capes is having a Black Friday sale, 15% off until midnight Monday, use code “pipblackfriday2010” at checkout.

And Black Friday is the perfect time to introduce our new Sponsor, Sticks and Stones, featuring beautiful original keepsake art created upon order from alphabet photography. They’ve been featured on Oprah, Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray! Check ’em out.

We love ours! (and Lainey loves spotting the letters!)

For a limited time, Sticks and Stones is offering buy one, get one 50% off as well as free shipping. And they are giving away one keepsake up to a $200 value. “Like” Sticks and Stones on Facebook HERE (if you have a Facebook), and mention in your comment that you did. Giveaway winner will be announced Monday.

Guess what we did tonight?

Yup. Tree is up and fire is crackling. Movie is a’ rollin’…more to come.

Happy Holiday Weekending!

Candy wrappers litter the playroom carpet like loose confetti, my Cleopatran dark-lined eyes are now a smudged disaster, and the mess in the driveway echoes the remains of a good time–orange luminaire bags toppled over spilling kitty litter, tipped tricycles left where little legs deserted them, a plastic ghost table cloth torn and flapping in the (gasp) November breeze.

It was a great time.

Girls costumes super easy to make. Hanna Andersson onesies and caps, dyed and sewn with stiff felt ears and terry cloth bellies stuffed with a little batting. And this is coming from a girl who does not sew, so I’m not kidding on the easy.

And I can’t help but remember what a great time it was last year with my big globe belly all painted up having no idea how the little one inside would indeed beautifully transform my world.

We get a two-fer for all the effort of our costumes as our trick-or-treating gets a nice pre-quel with our neighborhood parade and party the day before. Every year, it just so happens that all these costumed littles are marching their fabulousness down the street at the exact same time the sun is falling and spilling its golden rays like a red carpet for the grand parade.

I am a shameless swooner at these things–cheeks aching, camera clicking, heart beating furiously as I catch the wisp of a moment I know is fleeting. And these sweet little grandmas stop you at things like this, with their sympathetic smiles and their eyes that hold memories and the way they pat their chest like it holds a treasure. “Soak it up, Dear,” they say, “I remember those days and they go by all too fast.”

And so I stash. Every thread of happiness and heart-bursting-ness I can manage to scrape up from little whiskered cheeks framed in costume hats, tiny fingers folded over friends’ hands, shy smiles attempting to hide a this-is-really-cool moment, thick tights hugging chunky baby legs that conform to your hip just so.

She didn’t need us this year to help trick-or-treating. She wanted to do it on her own, with her friends by her side. ‘Cuz she’s big.

And this little kitty just purred and went along with it all in her go-with-the-flow style.

I am in love with holidays. I dig the whole over-hype and sparkle of decorations and Target setting up a small city of Christmas aisles the day after Halloween. I buy into the great to-do of kitschy bathroom towels embroidered with snowmen and freaking pinecones, and once one holiday is over, I am settin’ up the excitement shop for the next one around the bend.

I realize there may be flaws to this philosophy and that real life is the in-between and, oh my, what my thirst for stars on my calendar must mean on some Freudian level.

But you know what else I think? To Thine Own Self Be True.

I fly my holiday freak flag proudly and am finding more and more ways to unfurl its enthusiasm on the in-between too.

It is the Great Merge, sewing together the nothingness with the spectacular, the ordinary day with the holiday and letting them seep into each other until you recognize and appreciate the magic of both a quiet cup of coffee on an uneventful Monday morning and the colorful chaos of laughter around a Thanksgiving table right before the gravy is passed.

And the more you appreciate them both, the more of a Master of Merge you become, brilliantly ladeling the fabulousness of holidays onto ordinary days with spontaneous driveway dance parties and pulling out the good dishes for afternoon macaroni & cheese or rocking out red lipstick and two coats of black mascara for a morning of laundry and bathtub scrubbing.

One holds a spotlight to the other. The frenzy of festivities reminds me how I love the calm repose of our home routine and, likewise, the repetition of our beautiful ordinary allows me to plan for the wonder of holiday hoopla. It is a good cycle. It is a grand challenge, that merge.

Looking out at the driveway with its frat party remains that call for a clean-up and hoping for a quick decrescendo for my sugar buzz, I am grateful both for a fun night and the fact that it won’t happen again for another year. That’s the beauty of holidays…absence makes the heart grow fonder.

In the meantime, there’s red lipstick and good dishes and dressing up in tutus on the day after Halloween.

Welcome to our new sponsor, Tutus Handmade with Love.

And ornament winners are…

Commenter #13, Mary: I discovered a gray hair 2 months ago while I was 7 months pregnant. I got highlights 2 weeks later 🙂 I can’t wait to hear my little bug’s first word when he gets older. xx

and

Commenter #204, Michelle: I am so glad I found your blog! I enjoy reading it, but even more so looking at the pictures of both your beautiful little girls! My baby girl just turned a year old last week and it amazes me how fast the year has flown by!

Please choose an ornament from PersonalizedFree and send your mailing info over to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net. Thanks!

It’s November, Friends. November. With blessed holidays around the corner and (patting my chest)…beautiful ordinary here right now.