{"id":2010,"date":"2011-12-10T22:23:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-11T06:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=2010"},"modified":"2011-12-10T22:29:27","modified_gmt":"2011-12-11T06:29:27","slug":"it%e2%80%99s-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/it%e2%80%99s-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Rainbow colored icicle lights line the frame of our house. Two brightly LED-lit penguins frolic among the fallen autumn leaves in the front yard. Visitors are welcomed with a large Costco acquired plastic pine wreath affixed beside the front door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inside, an 8-foot fir tree stands gated, draped with silver garlands and brilliant white lights. Family ornaments hang from the top quarter of branches.<\/p>\n

Red-lidded acrylic container boxes dot the kitchen; cardboard boxes threaten to overtake the garage. Pieces from a wood-carved nativity scene from Bethlehem are sprinkled around the house \u2013 I think we\u2019ll eventually find baby Jesus and his manger\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Our tree in all of its farm fresh glory.<\/p><\/div>\n

Today was the day we brought the holidays home. Jon got up early and we headed out to a Christmas tree farm with plans to cut down our own tree. I have never done this before!<\/p>\n

We used to have a fake tree. It lived in the attic during the off-season, but it fell apart two Christmas\u2019 ago. Last year Jon and Uncle Jeffrey went and procured the festive foliage, while I stayed home with two still very tiny muppets.<\/p>\n

As we headed up to the mountains (or drove five minutes up a winding road just off the edge of surburbia), Jon inquired what kind of tree we should get. I paused and eyed him \u2013 was this a trick question?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cutting it down.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cA Christmas tree,\u201d I responded suspiciously.<\/p>\n

We pulled up and a kid about the ripe old age of 12 pointed at a bucket of sticks, \u201cJust grab a saw and there\u2019s 40 acres of trees ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because what could possibly go wrong there\u2026<\/p>\n

Did you know that there are all kinds of those? Noble firs, Douglas firs, Grand firs, Cypress\u2019 and Spruces. Well, now you do. I have no idea what kind we got. It\u2019s green.<\/p>\n

And I cut it down! Well, Jon cut most of it, then I sawed through the last few inches while he made sure our impressive new abies procera didn\u2019t come crashing down atop us.<\/p>\n

We decorated the tree while the muppets napped. It went rather quickly since we only decorated the top quarter of the tree.<\/p>\n

When Destroy woke up from his nap he pointed and squealed at the magical new development in his world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

\u201cI am never going to sleep again. You put me down and THIS appears!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

We\u2019ve also invested in a gate around it \u2013 which the muppets promptly began investigating for weaknesses. So far, only 4-5 ornaments have needed to be relocated from curious little hands. Having been thwarted, Destroy migrated over to his baby swing, climbed up and began swinging back and forth.<\/p>\n

Because that\u2019s a great idea. Again, how could that possibly go wrong. Amid the laughter coming from his father, Jon looked over at me. \u201cJust so we\u2019re clear \u2013 those are YOUR genes.\u201d Destroy cackled maniacally and we heard the joints on the swing squeak in protest.<\/p>\n

I figured we still had it pretty easy. The Bloggess has a kamikaze cat trying to take out unsuspecting revelers<\/a>, and a friend (also putting up her tree to the delight of a toddler) noted, \u201cChristmas tree has been up for an hour, cat has just thrown up pine needles and is back to eating her tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

We simply have two little angels bent on bringing down our pretty new tree. Over\/under is three days \u2013 what\u2019s your bet? In the meantime, I\u2019m chilling in the living room getting completely drunk on holiday spirit and the scent of a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

TaDa!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Just so you don't feel left out - Merry Christmas from the cube, too.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rainbow colored icicle lights line the frame of our house. Two brightly LED-lit penguins frolic among the fallen autumn leaves in the front yard. Visitors are welcomed with a large Costco acquired plastic pine wreath affixed beside the front door. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[611,612,140],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-wq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3003,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/a-charlie-brown-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":0},"title":"A Charlie Brown Christmas","date":"December 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been murmurings that\u00a0\u201cA Year Without Santa Claus\u201d is the best Christmas cartoon out there. Fear not, good people, I am here to reassure you such a ridiculous claim is patently false. Obviously such accolades belong to the one true story of Christmas. \u201cA Charlie Brown Christmas.\u201d This week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":909,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/christmas-is-coming-the-goose-is-getting-fat\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":1},"title":"Christmas is Coming, The Goose is Getting Fat","date":"December 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"When GrammaJ came to visit us this weekend, she looked at our squirmy little muppets and exclaimed how big they are getting. Before we know it, we\u2019ll be closing out the year. This weekend we kicked off the holidays. On Friday, Jon and Uncle Jeffrey trekked up to the Santa\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Celebrations"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/12\/brothers_logan-caden_readingwithgrammaj_12-05-10.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/in-need-of-a-nap\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":2},"title":"In Need of a Nap","date":"December 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a brilliant post for you. I really do. But my bed is drowning out the words. We had a very busy weekend. Holiday decorations went up at our house. We attended Christmas parties and had a visit from GrammaJ. The muppets enjoyed friends, food, family and fun. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Admin"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2062,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-bell-still-rings-for-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":3},"title":"The Bell Still Rings For Me","date":"December 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I no longer lie awake at night listening for hoof-prints on the roof or the hissing steam and squeaking metal of the Polar Express. I\u2019ve given up searching for a sleigh through a child\u2019s eye. Seasons change. Traditions evolve. We all grow up. For me, Christmas remains one of my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":4},"title":"It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year","date":"December 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s Christmas vacation 2010! This is my favorite time of the year; I\u2019ve always loved the holidays. But I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve been this excited since I was a very small person. It\u2019s the muppets first Christmas \u2013 the first year we start creating our own family traditions. Christmas was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Celebrations"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/12\/file0081.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3009,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/what-are-the-holidays-without-a-bit-of-projectile-puke\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":5},"title":"What Are the Holidays Without a Bit of Projectile Puke","date":"December 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Given the title of this post, I\u2019m sure you will be utterly SHOCKED to hear that one of the little men became so overwhelmed with the excitement of Christmas that he regurgitated yesterday\u2019s breakfast. I think his brother, Destroy, was just thankful Santa hadn\u2019t stolen his soul in the dark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Celebrations"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Holiday-Boys-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}