I’m a believer that good things happen on the solstice. Of course, Summer Solstice is my birthday, which, well, I think is a pretty good thing, except when I turned 30. Winter Solstice marks the end of the days getting shorter, and the return of the sun shining just a little more each and every day. Well, if you actually get to see the sun where you are – our part of the country is known for most winter days being cloudy. But this particular Winter Solstice had other happy connotations besides more daylight.

First, my entire house now smells like yummy chocolate and peppermint. I made this recipe for dark chocolate peppermint bark last night, and despite my lack of culinary skills, it turned out very well. Of course, it helps that it was one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever followed. It’s now hardened and today I have to break it up into small pieces and box it up for gifts. I promised Aaron I would make more so that we get to have some as well.

Second, our Christmas and Hanukkah shopping is finished. There are a few small packaging items still needed, but for the most part, we’re done. It’s a good thing we’re done, too, since the marathon begins tonight with a Hanukkah celebration with Aaron’s family.

I’m also glad to be done, because my irritation at other people was hitting a peak. Driving to the few remaining stores last night, I used more expletives than I normally do in a month behind the wheel. The rain and the rush to get their shopping done were turning people into road rage asshats, weaving in and out of lanes, cutting in front of others, and lacking any respect for fellow drivers. Now that the shopping is done, I can relax again.

Third, Cordy and I got to attend a birthday party for a local blogger’s twins. Stella and Grant turned two yesterday, and a casual party was held at a McDonald’s with a very new, very posh playarea. Cordy had a lot of fun with the other kids, and for the first time (and second, third, and more) went down the slide without my help. I enjoyed catching up with friends and meeting some new moms.

And finally, to top off Winter Solstice, we had a message on our answering machine when we got back from dinner. It was the police detective working on our break-in case, and he was calling to give us an update. Thanks to the DNA extracted from the tiny blood spot I found on our curtain, they arrested the robber, and he confessed to the crime! Woo-hoo! Aaron will be calling today for more details – there is little chance any of our stolen items will be recovered, but the police may be able to find out where the guy sold our stuff.

It feels satisfying to know that this guy will likely be spending Christmas in jail, where he won’t be able to steal from anyone else and ruin another family’s holidays. Justice came through, and I want to give a big thanks to the Columbus Police Department for keeping up with such a minor case compared to all of the larger crimes that require more attention.

So that was my day yesterday, and I’m pretty impressed with how it went, even if Cordy did skip her nap and leave me feeling frazzled. Now I must spend today resisting the urge to eat the chocolate peppermint bark calling me from the kitchen.

Time spent in bookstore to pick up a gift: 5 minutes
Time spent in parking lot trying to find one single stupid parking spot: 20 minutes

Right around this time every year, my holiday cheer is momentarily thrown out the window and replaced by a grinch. OK, maybe not a grinch, but certainly a person who doesn’t like society very much. I know it’s partially my own fault. I should have started shopping earlier for Christmas/Hanukkah gifts. I should try to shop when no one else is around. (Although even at midnight the lines are long.)

I’m generally in a good mood when I set out on a shopping expedition. I try hard to be polite to others, not get in anyone else’s way, and overall make the experience as pleasant as possible. But then I run into the other last-minute shoppers – stressed, frantic, and grouchy – and they start to wear me down. They cut me off in traffic, steal parking spots I’ve been patiently waiting on, run into me with their shopping carts, cut in line, leave junk they decided they didn’t want in the aisles for me to trip over, let their kids run around like mad and run into me, and yell at me when I take the last item before they got there.

It’s no wonder my grip on my steering wheel gets tighter and tighter until my knuckles are white as I approach a store this time of year. “Just get in, and get out,” I tell myself. And then other people make it take ten times longer than I planned, and I leave with a massive headache and the feeling that I’ve been beaten up. I want to enjoy shopping, but during the holidays, the one time I must shop more than any other, I’m forced into a bad mood by the chaos.

What is it about shopping in December that turns people into such monsters at the mall? What happened to remembering simple etiquette? If you’re walking through the mall at a snail’s pace to examine your list and discuss where else you need to go, can you at least not take up the entire path so others can get around you? I understand the pressure to find the “perfect” gift can make anyone feel edgy, but is it necessary to take out your stress and frustration on strangers who are just trying to get their shopping done as well?

It’s no wonder that internet businesses are reporting record sales this year. With traffic jams around the malls every evening at 5pm and every weekend, long lines in the stores, and bad attitudes on top of it, it only makes sense to shop online.

I’ve avoided brick & mortar stores as much as possible so far this month, but with a few people left to shop for, and shipping deadlines passing, I now must face the angry crowds. But after last night’s trip to the bookstore, as well as a few other stores, I realize that this insanity might be enough punishment for my procrastination to force me to plan ahead on gift buying.

So next year, I’m going to make that list early and preferably shop online as much as possible. Or become rich enough to afford a personal shopper.

And to the big athletic guy who stole the parking spot I was waiting for (with my blinker on, no less): I hope you felt at least a twinge of guilt as I walked past you later with my pregnant belly poking out from under my coat.

For years educational experts have told us that it is important to introduce a second language to our children while they are still babies and toddlers. This is the prime learning time for new languages, when little brains absorb words like a sponge. And with today’s emphasis on the global economy, the world wide web, and the constant influx of immigrants, a second language really is helpful for just about anyone.

I’ve generally agreed with this, since my school system didn’t offer languages until high school, making it difficult for anyone in our Spanish class to incorporate a second language into their lives. A year after the class, few of us could say anything in Spanish other than asking where the bathroom or library is. I took Spanish in college also, and while I can still read some basic Spanish, I’m lousy at speaking it or understanding spoken Spanish. It’s a shame, too, because our city has a high number of Spanish-speaking immigrants (especially on my side of town), and breaking that language barrier would have been handy on several occasions.

Cordelia, however, seems to be listening to the experts, and has a strong interest in languages, as seen by her new preferences in TV shows. She used to love shows like Oobi, Higglytown Heroes, JoJo’s Circus and Blue’s Clues. But most of those shows hold little interest for her now, because at the moment, it’s all about Dora.

Dora is her new idol, followed shortly by Diego, and the newest member of her obsessions, Handy Manny. All three of these shows teach a little bit of Spanish in each episode. Not enough that a child will be speaking Spanish fluently, but they do provide some basic words and phrases to build and expand on.

Now, in full honesty, I have to tell you: I hate Dora. I can’t stand the whiny, football-head shaped girl, and her loud and obnoxious monkey. When Cordy first happened to see her, I didn’t mind, because it seemed like a decent show, and it is, until the repetition finally gets to you, and you go to sleep at night saying, “Tree…bridge…Treasure Island!” And don’t get me started on the messed up relationship she has with Map.

But, this little bit of TV each day is actually teaching Cordy Spanish. Besides parroting all of Dora’s annoying catch phrases (“Where are we going?” “Come on, let’s go!” “Swiper, no swiping!”), she’s also repeating things that Dora says in Spanish. A few weeks ago I caught her repeating something slowly to herself, over and over, and I struggled to figure out what she was saying. It sounded like, “uno, dus, gwace, quando, seeko.” And then I realized she was counting to five in Spanish, using some creative pronunciations.

At that point, I realized that I now needed to watch these shows with her, just to figure out what she is saying and praise her for learning new words. If no one reinforces these new words with her, she’ll stop using them. So while she’s learning Spanish, I’m re-learning it as well, even while rolling my eyes at Dora. (Thank goodness for Handy Manny and Diego – they aren’t nearly as hard to watch as Dora.)

Last week, my mom called me at work (she was babysitting Cordy that day) and asked, “Can you help me? She’s going up and down the stairs, and each time she goes up, she keeps saying something I don’t understand. It sounds like sue-bay. What does that mean?”

“Oh yeah, she’s saying sube. It means climb in Spanish. She learned it from Diego.”

“Oh! OK! That’s all I needed, thanks!”

So I suppose it’s good for me to learn Spanish as well, just so I can serve as a translator for Cordy. Otherwise she’ll be five years old and telling me off in Spanish, and I won’t even know she’s doing it.

Christmas is fast approaching, and I’m completely unprepared. No gifts have been wrapped – in fact, no gifts have been purchased yet. The tree is up and decorated, but the stockings are still boxed. Some of our outdoor decorations are in place, but we still lack the extension cord to complete the process and light up the yard.

However, today I set out to complete one holiday tradition: see Santa. My friend L. and I packed up the kids and set out for the mall, unsure of what was in store. Last year’s Santa picture was a nightmare, with a screaming, crying child, and a near-tears mommy. I was hoping for something better this year.

The morning already had a rough start. In order to see Santa, Cordy needed a bath, which she didn’t appreciate. Once we got to the mall, she was hungry, so lunch was our first priority. The kids, who begged for food in the car, then picked at their lunch until we finally gave up and threw most of it away. Luckily, the dress remained clean, so in my book it was still a success so far.

As we walked towards Santa, I tried to prepare Cordy to see the big guy. Actually, I had been preparing her for days – letting her watch all of the holiday episodes of her favorite shows. So we’ve seen Dora’s “Present for Santa”(where I proved to her that presents go under the tree) and Diego Saves Santa. In the mall, I told her, “We’re going to see Santa, and I bet he’ll give you a treat!” Cordy seemed excited, repeating “Santa! Santa!” each time I said the jolly man’s name. L.’s son was extremely excited to see Santa, and planned to tell him that he expected a “big Buzz Lightyear” for Christmas.

Once we got there, we noticed the long line, so we thought it might be best to take the kids up as close as possible and let them warm up to seeing him in person. They watched in awe as a little girl sat on his lap, and seemed a little nervous about getting any closer. However, the line wasn’t moving. His “elves” said the camera was having problems, and they were working to fix it, so we decided to let the kids run off some energy in the play area while they fixed it.

Going to the play area, I was once again assaulted with salesperson stupidity. Just like the day after Thanksgiving, I walked past a kiosk and was practically chased down by the man working there. He looked at Cordy, and then said, “Could I have a moment of your time? Our product could do wonders for your daughter’s hair!” I glanced back at the kiosk, and wasn’t surprised to see it was a kiosk for a hair straightener styling tool. (Same product, but a different mall from the first time.) Furious, I shot the man a dirty look and said in my best back-the-hell-off voice, “She’s two. She does not need her hair straightened.”

I was redeemed once we got to the play area. Several other moms stopped me to comment on how pretty Cordy’s curls were, and thankfully no one asked if she had a perm. We spent over a half hour there, playing, chasing, sliding, and having a great time. But then L.’s son remembered Santa, so we got our shoes back on and went back to see Santa.

Once we got there, I was disappointed to see the entrance blocked off. I asked one of the elves what was wrong, and she told me that their computer system was down, so they couldn’t take any pictures right now. Apparently even Santa can’t make a digital camera and computer work together. She did offer to let us in to see Santa if we just wanted to visit, and while they normally don’t allow people to take pictures with their own cameras, she said that if we had a camera, we could use it. Of course, I had forgotten my camera, but at the last minute remembered that my cell phone had a camera in it.

As we walked closer to Santa, Cordy quickly fell into her normal “meeting strangers” position with her head buried into the back of my legs. Santa was nice, and quickly offered her a lollipop. Her curiosity, combined with my gentle nudging forward, led to her eventually accepting the lollipop from Santa. I grabbed my cell phone, while Santa quickly scooped her up onto his lap, and we managed to get a picture.

OK, sure, so it’s a pic of Cordy trying to squirm her way off of Santa’s lap, but it’s better than last year’s pic, even if it from a shabby 640×480 resolution cell phone camera.

And L’s son, who was so excited to see Santa? He also turned speechless and shy when confronted with the real deal. While he did sit for the picture, he was too nervous to tell Santa what he wanted, and barely squeaked out a “thank you” for the lollipop.

So while we didn’t get an official picture (and saving myself $12.99 really isn’t a bad thing), we still got to see Santa, and this was a better year than last year’s visit. Of course, had I known that after visiting the mall, she wouldn’t nap again today (second day in a row), I might have asked Santa to bring back the nap. Please.

It’s the time of year when people tend to think of their fellow human beings, and make efforts to help others. Oh sure, there’s the fact that it’s the end of the year, and a few more tax deductions are always nice, but I was actually referring to the holidays and the spirit of giving and helping others and all that.

If you haven’t heard about Her Bad Auction yet, you clearly don’t read my blogroll. Several bloggers put together this amazing online raffle auction to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Research in honor of Her Bad Mother’s nephew, Tanner, who is afflicted with the disease. Without major advances in MD research towards a cure, Tanner will most likely not experience the number of years many of us are privileged to have.

The auction features well over 40 donated items, small and large. All would make wonderful gifts if you’re still shopping for holiday gifts. Plus, tickets for items cost either $1 or $5. While it’s hard to sometimes pony up a donation for a charity that doesn’t look puny, a couple of $1 tickets won’t set you back too much, and hey, you might just win a cool prize in return!

I first heard about the plans for this auction right in the middle of our car crisis last week. While I immediately thought, “What an amazing idea!”, I also felt at the time like I couldn’t do anything to help, since I was stuck in my own minor issues that took up all my time and threatened to deal a financial death blow to us.

But now that the car has been replaced, cheaper than we thought it would be, and I can now focus on anything but the car, I see there are a number of ways to help this auction. (I even managed to find something to donate, which I didn’t think I’d be able to do.) First, spread the news. If you want to post about this on your own blog, please do. The more people who find the auction, the more money will be raised for such a worthy cause.

Second, even if you can only spare a dollar, think of the good that dollar will do. Instead of buying your grande mocha tomorrow morning, brew a cup of coffee at home and buy a few tickets in its place. As for me, I sold an item on eBay that went for more than I was expecting, so the extra will probably go to a few tickets, like that cool diaper bag I saw or maybe one of the blog redesign packages.

And finally, if you have no extra money to give, there’s still another way to help. Your children can send letters and drawings to Tanner. It’s already tough to be a kid, but dealing with being “different” makes it ten times harder.

So go forth and be a do-gooder. You have until Sunday night at midnight EST. Make a difference this holiday season.