Just a few new tidbits…

Christmas news…McCanless and Mary Clare’s Christmas elf, Elfy, now wears a beautiful snowflake skirt especially made for elves!  (Thanks so much Aunt Liz!)   I just knew McCanless would love the new accessory and be thrilled to learn that her elf is a girl.  As soon as she saw it, very dryly said, “Mom.  Elfy has on a skirt.  I guess he is a Tom Girl.”

Sorry for the delay in our annual family Christmas card.  Let me explain….Mel, being the new Hartsville Mayor, decided that he needed to add “a few” people to my address list.  I knew what “a few” could mean, so I decided to hand over the reins and let him take over.  (He actually has worked on it a bit…You saw his first unapproved draft in a recent post.)   If you know Mel at all, you know that his brain doesn’t think in numbers at all.  Time, money and numbers, like “a few” are terminology in an abstract science for Mel.  Bapa calls it “Mel Math.”  I’m afraid that McCanless has inherited his right-brain”ness,” and inherent math skills.  So, we’ll see when and if our cards get out.  We may be sending New Year’s Cards!

We have been super busy with church, shopping, gingerbread decorating and everything Christmas!  Mary Clare has enjoyed rearranging our Christmas tree each and every day and is super excited about her visit from Santa.  She wants pink presents and anything she can think of at that moment.  She’ll often see a gift in a store and look up at me and say, “Mom, Santa will bring me that?  Okay?”  More like a statement-question.  McCanless has asked for a pink television with turquoise polka dots, sick on earrings that “look like real earrings,” make-up, sequin tank-tops and many, many Barbie’s and accessories.  (I have no idea where she gets this from! Honestly.)  We have written our letters to Santa, but we still need to take them to the Santa Express Mail box down town.

Potty News…Mel decided, after persuasion from his youngest, chubby-cheeked daughter, that it would be a great idea for her to wear her brand new, pink, flower panties to school.  Without a training diaper! It probably would have been a good idea to let someone else know, but Miss MC has let us in on a little secret of hers.  She CAN do it.   When I picked her up at 12, the teachers let me know that they realized she was without a diaper around 10:30 or so, and mentioned that it just may be a good idea for Mel to let them know next time.  (Although he forgot to let them know once again yesterday.)   But she did it!  She is turning into McCanless more and more every day!  When she wears her panties, she knows not to go!  My little stinker.

Hope you all are having just as much fun as we are this season!