{"id":909,"date":"2010-12-06T22:34:55","date_gmt":"2010-12-07T06:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=909"},"modified":"2010-12-06T22:34:55","modified_gmt":"2010-12-07T06:34:55","slug":"christmas-is-coming-the-goose-is-getting-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/christmas-is-coming-the-goose-is-getting-fat\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas is Coming, The Goose is Getting Fat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Reading with GrammaJ<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Jon and Uncle Jeffrey trekked up to the Santa Cruz mountains to cut down a fresh Christmas tree. We\u2019ve always had a fake tree before, so this was our first step toward going all out for the muppets first Yuletide. \u201cThat was a lot more difficult than I expected!\u201d Jon announced upon their return.<\/p>\n

I think the expectation was that it would be similar to a tree lot. Instead, there was a hill. With trees. \u201cCan I help you?\u201d the guy in the booth asked them. \u201cYou have any trees?\u201d Jon replied deadpan? The guy in the booth gestured out to the hill. \u201cWe\u2019ve got those.\u201d He handed them a chainsaw and returned to his business.<\/p>\n

They wandered the hillside looking for the perfect tree. Although Jon seemed a bit concerned that the winning selection wasn\u2019t as perfect as its plastic predecessor, I am extremely impressed with the one they found. (Charlie Brown, eat your heart out\u2026) Our living room smells amazing! I\u2019d forgotten how awesome it is to walk into a room and be engulfed in the spirit of Christmas (also known as the scent of a Douglas Fir tree).<\/p>\n

Tangent: I smell every candle I can find that claims to be that mix of Christmas tree and spiced pinecones. I have yet to find one that comes close to the real thing, so for Christmas\u2019 past, I\u2019d simply liberate fallen branches from the trees sold in front of grocery stores.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After I finished baking a spiced pumpkin roll and Yule Log, (I know, I used my kitchen! These are holiday traditions that must be had \u2013 even if the muppets are too young to enjoy them first hand.) we decked the tree. The soft white lights brighten the room and transform the shrubbery from mere foliage to a true holiday symbol. Interestingly, it\u2019s a lot more difficult to hang ornaments on a real tree. The branches are far flimsier. Growing up, Santa left my brother and me an ornament every Christmas. So every year, decorating for the year-end holidays becomes a nostalgic trip down memory lane.<\/p>\n

I certainly don\u2019t deny that the winter holidays have always been my favorite time of year. But adding to my frenzied preparations is the hope of starting new traditions with my new family. I remember waking up with my brother every half hour. \u201cMom! Is it Christmas yet?\u201d I remember Paul and I running to the tree on Christmas morning while Mom and Dad ran equally excited toward the coffee maker. We\u2019d spend the afternoons with family and friends, culminating in a big celebratory dinner.<\/p>\n

I want this time of year to be as exciting for Search and Destroy as they grow up, so they can write a similar blog post when they\u2019re great big adults reminiscing about their childhood as they hang years of ornaments celebrating and reminding them of a happy childhood.<\/p>\n

The muppets have certainly been good this year; I can only assume they are exceedingly high on Santa\u2019s \u201cnice\u201d list.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite holiday tradition?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … 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":[12,15,19,1],"tags":[80,113,140],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-eF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":975,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-muppets-christmas-spectacular\/","url_meta":{"origin":909,"position":0},"title":"The Muppets Christmas Spectacular","date":"December 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am sitting amidst the mountains of wrapping-paper wreckage in the living room. The laughter has finally died down. This has been a holiday for the history books \u2013 new chapters and new memories. The muppets woke up at 8 a.m. and I was all too eager to scoop them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/12\/christmas-2010_grampatavo-capturing-memories_12-25-10.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":909,"position":1},"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":965,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":909,"position":2},"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":4458,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/regular-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":909,"position":3},"title":"Regular Person","date":"May 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"GrammaJ hung out with the muppets while Jon and I made a quick getaway. Mid-grandmothering, she received a call from UCLA Medical Center regarding records requested for a school nurse. This would have made perfect sense, given that said school nurse used to work for GrammaJ, except for a glaring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "School"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/10888903_10152695595004440_6852505116441440691_n-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":838,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/dirty-thirty\/","url_meta":{"origin":909,"position":4},"title":"Dirty Thirty","date":"November 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I am 30. It feels surprisingly similar to 29. Whoever coined the term \u201cdirty thirty\u201d obviously had kids \u2013 my third decade is already filled with dirt, mud, spit-up and baby poop. And it has been an amazing birthday weekend. Because this is my first birthday as a mom.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2049,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-annual-family-christmas-letter-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":909,"position":5},"title":"The Annual Family Christmas Letter \u2013 2011","date":"December 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I know many of you hate receiving these yearly accolades neatly condensed into a single letter \u2013 complete with stationary bearing the appropriate winter motif. Too bad. I wrote one anyway. Although you may not be a fan of THE ANNUAL FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER, I am. I love receiving them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Celebrations"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Christmas-2011_ChristmasCard_12-14-11-1024x449.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909"}],"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=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}