asked Anna.

“A what?” I asked.

“A LOCKA!” she replied.

“Um…no, I am not sure what a locka is. Are you trying to trick me you silly goosey?” (Thinking it was one of those…you know…elementary school games that trick you into saying butt or I pee in the shower or something. Or that she was saying lockER with Ivy‘s accent.)

“Mo-ooo-m. Those potato things. A! LOCKA!”

“Ohhhhhh! I know, I know! You mean a LATKE!”

And we laughed.

And that is how we decided to celebrate Hanukkah with auntie Rachel.

Our Uncle Michael also came down to visit for the day, for one of his special Saturdays with the boys, where he brings fantasy strategy board games he thinks they would like and teaches them, just the way he taught me card games all those years ago.

It was a cozy, rainy day. Perfect for making latkes and lounging about on the couch. I was excited to have a “teaching moment” with Anna, but of course….guess who was the only one who didn’t like the latkes?

As dinner cooked, and the sun went down, we lit the Menorah.

Such a yummy feeling to fall asleep on the couch with a full tummy and rosy cheeks.

xo

Tara

PS: Today Bernard has demanded that I bake cookies with the children and take them to a neighbor. Who does he think he is? Scratch that – who does he think *I* AM?!

Bernard is a sneaky little elf who leaves envelopes for my children every night, counting down the days until Christmas.

Inside each envelope is a treat or an activity for all of us to do together.

On Sunday, he demanded that we acquire a Christmas Tree. (He is a slightly bossy little elf.) Look at that bossy exclamation point! My word.

And so we did. (That is a bowl that we keep all of his notes in. And some ephemera from the activity he told us to do. Anna has told me she wants to keep “every single BIT that he leaves us Momma!”)

Good girl.

A few weeks ago I came across this charming little christmas tree lot in the old Mervyn’s parking lot off Alicia Pkwy in Mission Viejo. There are lights strung up around the whole thing, and the trees are in stands so that you can easily walk around and find the one that is calling to come home with you. I never like to pick the strong, confident, leader of the pack…the alpha male. I like to rescue the one that nobody wants. Bring me your tired, your weak, your huddled masses….your lopsided, sparse, missing branches…I will love you. The Whitneys will love you.

I loved being here at this little lot. It felt small town. It felt old fashioned. It was wickedly cold (for us), and the sun shone bright in our eyes. It was hard to choose.

We picked one for the living room and one smaller one for upstairs.

I will leave out the part in this story that tells about how Mckenna misjudged how long she could wait to go potty.

xo

Tara

edit: I forgot to add this into my post. I decided, to make it extra super dooper special, I am going to announce the winner of the Charity: Water free photo shoot on Christmas Eve, here on my blog.