Claire the Afena Mom Blog

So the holiday shopping season begins! I’ve never been one to make the pilgrimage on Black Friday (or late Thursday) in order to score the best deals. Bringing along a reluctant husband and three small children takes the “crazy” holiday shopping to epic proportions. Even during the normal shopping season, I spend more time in restrooms, food courts, and the mini-arcades with the cars, rocket ships, and motorcycles, than I do in an actual store. So for my sanity and out of compassion for my fellow shoppers, I mostly shop at home, from my computer.

I love Thanksgiving. When I was a kid, I remember sitting at the kid’s table, knocking elbows with my big brother and cousins, telling stories and laughing at jokes. The house always smelled delicious, with the heavy scent of ham and roasting turkey, and then the mouthwatering aroma of pies warming in the oven. We’d watch “A Christmas Story” on television with half an ear, at least until the football games were on, and run outside to play hide-and-seek, tag, or some other game we’d come up with on the spot.

My husband and I have enjoyed the lighted parade along Washington Street in Marion for many years now. Sometimes it’s cold, sometimes you can just wear a light jacket, but it definitely puts me in the holiday spirit to watch all the parade floats and walking crews go by. This year we’ll be bringing our whole crew for the first time, as our baby boy was much too young to be out last year. And while I’m looking forward to this Saturday’s festivities, I have to tell you I’m a little nervous too. We did take both the girls last year, and at 3 and 5 years old, we had our hands FULL.

It became very obvious in spring this year that my husband and I were going to have to replace our roof. I absolutely love our home, and after the amount of work that went into making it happen, I might have on some rose colored glasses when it comes to its flaws. But even I couldn’t deny that the time had come for an upgrade. And since we’d made the switch to all electric from gas, there were some pipes that we also needed to remove from our roof.

Our girls start planning for Christmas as soon as the Halloween costumes come off October 31st. Their little brother isn’t quite old enough yet to catch the holiday hysteria, but I’m sure he’ll be initiated into their club soon enough. And with all the glitter and lights making their way into our stores, parks, and neighborhoods, I find myself falling prey to those same temptations we face every year…the urge to go bigger, brighter, and more expensive.

Dear putt-putt…I remember you from my childhood fondly. There’s nothing like chasing a tiny ball around with a metal stick. I’m sure I’m not the only one who took the little half swings while the ball was still on its way to its final destination…just a little encouragement to keep it on the right path! So you can imagine that I’m looking forward to this Thursday’s Monster Mini-Golf fundraiser, put on by my favorite credit union, Afena.

Halloween costumes…they are EVERYWHERE. You can buy them, you can make them, you can practically drown in them if you head down the wrong aisle at Wal-Mart. And I love it. Halloween is a pretty fun holiday when you get down to it. Who doesn’t love candy and dressing up? So I don’t want to come across as a Halloween Scrooge, but it’s been interesting this year. Both of my daughters are too tall for the toddler costumes, so I’ve been looking at the ones for young girls, and people, I am not impressed.

Sweetest Day is next Saturday. Maybe you think it’s a holiday created by flower and card companies to help lift sales, and maybe you’re right. But it has a special place in my heart, because my husband and I were engaged on Sweetest Day, eight years ago. Of course, the date changes every year, but since it’s always on a Saturday, it usually works out pretty good for celebrating.