After spending lots of time after school on Monday looking for two rats per Helena’s request from Santa, I came home empty-handed. I didn’t think that it would be really easy, but I thought that two toy stores would have had something.

That night, while sitting at a bar, I looked out the window across the street and noticed Petsmart, the pet store. Eureka, I’ve got it! They would have to have toy mice in there for cats, so we could pick up two of them for Helena’s present from Santa. So Dalen decided to go shopping on Tuesday night, and I asked her to pick up a couple of mice/rats at a pet store if she had the time. I was hoping for one of those “wind-up” ones that the kids could have run around the kitchen. It would only occupy them for ten minutes over the course of two weeks before they got bored, but if Helena’s only wish didn’t come, she might start asking hard questions.

So Dalen comes back with five small mice. I have no idea why a pet store would have such a small selection of mice, but beggars can’t be choosers. They are all catnip filled, of course. She leaves them on the countertop far away from the edge so Helena won’t bother looking.

So tonight I’m downstairs working and Liam is playing with a toy. Dalen tells Liam to show me what he is playing with, which is a toy mouse. Apparently the cat decided that the bag of goodies was for her, and she tore through it. Early Christmas present for Wilco.

One of the nice things about living in the city is that we can shop at some pretty unique stores that are close by. One of the bad things about living in the city is that there isn’t a Spencer Gifts nearby where I can buy a rubber rat.

A couple of weeks ago, after visiting the doctor which is across the street from a mall, we decided to go get the kids a picture with Santa. Helena wasn’t primed for the event at all, so while walking up the ramp (which is built for a line of a thousand, despite the fact that we were the only people there), I told Helena that Santa was going to ask her what she wanted for Christmas. Helena hasn’t really talked about this at all. I think she is too young to understand it all…she’d be pretty happy with almost anything. She certainly doesn’t know “what is out there” as far as toys are concerned, but I didn’t think it would be too much trouble to get her to think of something. Anyhow, she gets on Santa’s lap, and when asked what she would like, she can’t think of anything. Since we are the only family there, Santa is very patient, and I’m trying to help her along rephrasing the question a thousand ways.

Liam is just staring at the camera because it keeps on flashing.

Santa then asks Helena if she would like a rat for Christmas…she says yes. So Santa asks her if she would like one or two. Helena is a kid, so she will have two.

I didn’t make too much of it, I’m just glad that she felt comfortable with Santa and didn’t make a scene. Plus I was still trying to figure out why the picture was $25+. We wen’t home soon afterward (we promised Helena ice cream, though, but we got that at the mall). I forget about the rat incident, and this is never mentioned again…I’m not even sure if Dalen ever knew about it.

Fast forward to last night, after Helena goes to the doctor to find out she has an ear infection. The doctor prescribes medication for both Helena and Liam, so they are at Walgreen’s waiting for the prescription to be filled. It is already past their bedtime, so they aren’t the happiest kids in the world. But Helena gets princess shoes…real cheap princess shoes. In fact, she had the same pair earlier this year, but they broke.

Tonight, she gets to wear them. She has them about 30 seconds and they begin to fall apart…she never even put them on when the medallion of Snow White fell off. She comes in to show me, and there isn’t anyway that it can be put on without it falling off again. I tell her that it actually looks better without it. But then the ribbon falls off it. She has not even put the shoe on yet. So, Dalen and I tell her that maybe she could ask Santa for new princess shoes.

Helena says, “Oh darn, I already asked Santa for a rat”.

I couldn’t believe it. Only once she said this did I remember her asking Santa for a rat.

But Dalen told her that maybe she can make a new list for Santa, and we can either mail it in or leave it by the tree. I’ll have to find her a rat, though. Apparently, she’s been waiting for one.

The Towne Family:

Helena talked to Rob for a couple of minutes regarding Hollidazzle on the phone. Actually talking on the phone that long for the first time was a milestone.

Libby’s earache remedy: hold warm bread to the ear.

No, of course it didn’t work.

Helena and I spent three days making cookies. Day one, making the dough. Day two, cutting out and baking the cookies. Day three, frosting and eating them. On day four, we sent the rest of the cookies and some frosting to the kids’ daycare for them to frost and eat. Surely all the other parents were pleased that we filled their kids with sugar.

Here are two pictures of Helena seconds after I told her not to lick the dough off from the mixing spoon.

And one of her icing the cookies.

Way too many sprinkles were put on, by the way.

Helena can be downright mean to Liam often. Sometimes she can be mean to him for no reason whatsoever. Last night is a prime example.

Helena finds bubble wrap that was used in a package, and lays it out on the floor. She calls Liam over to step on it with her. For some reason, Helena is pretty nervous about stepping on it…she must think that the snapping might hurt her feet…I don’t know. But Liam is walking on it, and when it snaps, both Liam and Helena laugh….really hard. Since Liam will do anything if it makes Helena laugh, he goes back over the bubble wrap over and over again, each time laughing with his sister. I was sitting on the couch grading papers when this was going on, so I thought that I could get up and get the camera to capture the fun.

Just as I sit up, Helena decides it would be fun to push Liam over….what could make them laugh more than that? Well, Liam goes head first (and backward) into the wooden coffee table. He immediately begins screaming. I immediately pick him up, and send Helena up to her bedroom. I never got a picture of the fun, only the damage.

What ear was it? This one:

Here is the damage:

It looks like he needs his ears cleaned too.