Wonder how THIS one is going to play out

Zoe blindsided me with a question last night.  I should preface this story with the fact that my daughter is nine, but she's a young nine.  She prefers younger kids to play with or kids who are still into toys, stuffed animals and playing pretend.  There are some girls in her class who are heavy into Hannah Montana, Lady Gaga, the Pussycat Dolls and are reading teen magazines already.  Not my Z, she's still very much a child.


Way back when she started kindergarten in California, her teacher told me we'd obviously protected her, which she referred to as good parenting.  She was still very much a little girl who was only exposed to age appropriate stuff.  We didn't let her watch PG-13 movies, adult dramas and she spent a lot of time with other kids.

This theme has continued into her current age.  As you know, she and I had the tooth fairy discussion but she still likes the tradition.

Her question last night was "Hey mom, who really gave me my bike for Christmas?" I got her to come into my room so her brother wouldn't hear us.

She climbed up on my bed and hung on one of the posts.  "Who do you think gave it to you?"  I asked her while she acted like a monkey.

She paused and exclaimed "Grammy!"

I nodded.

"I knew it! But we want everyone to have fun so I won't tell anybody. But who eats the cookies?"

"Who do you think?"  I raised my eyebrows and grinned at her.

"You do!  And daddy!"

"Do you remember who spent Christmas with us last year?"

"Grammy and Papa! They ate the cookies too!"  (This made me think of the phrase 'They drank the Kool-aid' probably the most inappropriate phrase to think of while having the Santa talk with my daughter.)

I nodded again.

"You should save me some this year!"

"Tell you what.  We'll make lots and lots of cookies this year and we can all have some."  Zoe liked this idea and I decided I'd leave a note saying Santa left cookies for the kids.

Then she went off on a tangent about leaving carrots and corn for the reindeer and stockings that I couldn't quite follow.

"Besides, it's still a fun surprise on Christmas morning isn't it?  Coming downstairs, but not knowing what you'll find?"

She nodded, then ran off to take her bath. 

Considering how the tooth fairy thing worked out, I'm wondering how Christmas morning is going to be this year.

But I will keep that promise about the cookies. 

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  If you have break-out prone skin but you get dry in the wintertime, try switching to Cetaphil for all skin types.  Use a baby washcloth to gently exfoliate every second or third day.  GENTLY!  Don't rub.