A Letter to L.L. Bean

Dear L.L. Bean,

Thank you so much for thinking enough of us to send us multiple catalogs each day of the week from October through December. I'm starting to feel a little guilty for not sending anything in return, a little concerned for your finances as that is A LOT of money to pay for postage, and a little sorry for the entire forests that must be disappearing at an alarming rate if you send this much bathroom reading material to everyone in the United States.

Not to sound ungrateful, but I think you might have overlooked one small detail when making your generous contributions to our mailbox. We live in Alabama.
I realize that where you are (Maine, is it?), it snows frequently and you have use for the products featured in your wonderful catalog. However, I feel it is my duty to let you know, without the slightest hint of hyperbole, that a few inches of snow down here will paralyze the entire state for long periods of time.
Observe. This...

...was enough to shut down schools, thereby leaving me out of work, for an entire week.

While we do appreciate the fine craftsmanship of your khakis and you do feature some spiffy barn coats on the pages of your catalog, I am going to suggest that you simply leave out the pages with certain products listed when mailing them down here. This will save a few trees, will save some postage money, and will leave more room for Pottery Barn to clog my mailbox with advertisements for things I might actually use.

I suggest you leave the following products out of the catalogs you send this far south:

1. Snow shoes. If you ask someone from the deep south what a snow shoe looks like, they will probably tell you it's a tennis racket with a belt tied around it. After all, that's what Elmer Fudd used and as that is the only frame of reference we have ever had for snow shoes, it's a logical conclusion. Honestly, when I saw these in your catalog, I had no idea what they were and had to read the product description.
2. The Sonic Snow Tube and Sonic Saucer. I'm surprised you don't get more Southerners writing to you, asking how that thing is supposed to float down the river with the bottom covered. They would be impressed that you managed to cover an inner tube with camo, though. As for the saucer, that's a little too classy for these parts. If we had enough snow to warrant the use of something like that, every one of these rednecks (no offense meant. I have plenty of redneck blood in my veins.) would be coating trash can lids with Crisco and sliding down hills a la Clark Griswold. No "soft, nonslip foam interior" needed.
3. Earmuffs. I have never owned a pair of earmuffs in my life. We don't really need them. It doesn't get cold enough.
4. Your Tartan Flannel Nightgown. Not that we don't wear flannel down here. Lord knows, if I could still get away with wearing a flannel shirt and my Doc Martens, I would. But, that nightgown is just ugly. Seriously. My great-grandmother wore more attractive sleepwear.
5. The Snowball/Snowblock Maker Set. Now, I may not have been exposed to a lot of snow in my lifetime, but I can't see paying $30 for a set of plastic tongs that serve the same purpose as my hands. Do people actually buy that?

Again, thank you for your thoughtfulness. It means a lot to us that you want to correspond with us so frequently during the holidays. I hope you'll take my suggestions to heart.
I'm about to go and check the mail, so I'm sure I'll be hearing from you shortly.

Happy Holidays!

Your Friends,
The Head Family

Thankful

I meant to do a Thanksgiving post yesterday. Really. I did.

Better late than never, right?

I sent out a Thanksgiving ecard to family members, and it bore a quote that sums up the attitude that I want to have, not just in November, but always.

"Gratefulness is being more aware of what you have than of what you don't have."

I didn't do the thankfulness posts this year for that very reason. I'm trying to resolve to always be grateful, rather than always lamenting what I don't have (and honestly, don't need).

I don't need bigger, shinier, fancier, nicer, I-want-to-impress-my-neighbors-and-have-that-thing-just-because-they-do stuff. It's not a competition.

I woke up this morning. So did my husband, and so did my kids. We're warm, well-fed, clean, and dressed.
For all these things, I am thankful. Most of the world would be ecstatic if they could claim that many advantages in one breath.

Thank you, God.

Observations Made at Disney World

First, I'll reflect on some things I already knew, but confirmed while on vacation.
1. My children are fabulous.
2. I have the best husband in the world.
3. I don't like being hot.
4. I love creme brulee.

Now that we've established those facts, let's move on to some things I observed while in Orlando. You should probably know that Disney World was hosting something called "Jersey Week," during which New Jersey residents flock to the Magic Kingdom for reasons that Dan explained to me, and I promptly forgot.
Anyway, that brings me to my first observation. This:

...is not just a stereotype. It's real! I really saw women dressed this way, with this hair, with high heels and shorts, walking around Disney World. I thought it was all just for TV. I've never actually been to New Jersey. I've driven through it, but I never stopped. One of my favorite former students is from NJ, and I never got this from her.

Next, with so many New Jerseyans (Jerseyites?) I had the chance to observe something else. Actually, this could fall under the heading of things I already knew, but it still astounds me when I see it.
Yankee women don't smile.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about midwesterners from Ohio or wherever (Jakki). This isn't about non-Southern women in general. I mean women from New Anywhere, USA, who refuse to smile. Now, maybe it's because I am Southern, but I just can't imagine looking at someone like this:

...when they tell me, "thank you," "excuse me," or "hi." This look is also the response to gestures such as holding a door open or, what seems to be the worst offender, smiling.
I'd love for someone to explain this phenomenon.
To be fair, I know this is not true of all yankee women. But, it seems that there is a group of them who want the rest of us to believe it is.

OK, I'll leave the snark behind now.
My third observation was that the Disney experience changes dramatically when you have small children. My first trip to the happiest place on earth was my honeymoon. I'm not going to lie; the It's a Small World made me want to jump out of the boat and swim out.
I loved it this time. Seeing the excitement and joy on my babies' faces when those creepy little robots started to sing, was pure pleasure. I would ride it with them a thousand times if they asked me to.

Last one:
$1.59 buys an entire bunch of bananas at Publix. It buys one single banana for a tasty breakfast at Disney World.

That's it.
It's almost time for Thanksgiving/Madeline's birthday/Christmas posts!

Guess Where We've Been!

I'll give you a hint...

 

Yes, yes. That is Cinderella's castle at night, all lit and beautiful. We spent 6 awesome days at Disney World! I have many, many pictures to share, so I'll give you a photo narrative.

 

Madeline, giving Baby D some love at Pop Century.

Our resort provided trips down memory lane from the 1950's - 1990's. This one is from the 1980's, and pretty much sums up my entire childhood.

Brownie sundae. No, I didn't finish it. Yes, I wanted to.

Not a great picture, but this is their first reaction to It's a Small World.

"So, they're singing...but, they're not real people? But, they look like real people?"

"Ok. If you say so."

First time meeting Goofy. David loves Goofy. You know, from a distance.

Seeing as how he can't walk yet, Baby D spent most of his time in his stroller. But, he took it all in stride!

Riding Dumbo with Daddy.

He had enough.

At not-quite-three-years-old, my Sweet Pea is only three inches away from being able to ride stuff by herself.

Sweet Pea and Daisy have been inseperable since their first meeting.

Dan, reunited with the dinsosaur that employed him 13 years ago.

Madeline, meet Mickey. Mickey, Madeline.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole vacation. Look at her face! (Madeline, not Daisy.)

"Goofy, my old friend! I missed you!"

Us, Chip, and Dale.

I love his sweet face.

Meeting Cinderella was great. It's just that, well, Madeline really likes food.

"How you doin'?"

She actually ASKED me to take this picture!

Meeting Aurora. (That's Sleeping Beauty for thosse of you who don't have princesses at home.)

I love this picture.

Waiting to have dinner with Winnie the Pooh.

Love and hugs for Pooh.

We were surprised at how Madeline took to the characters immediately, but David's reaction went from nervous to shy to frightened.

I hope you liked the pictures. I'll post again tomorrow with some observations I made while we were there.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, my children are blessed with the best father any kids ever had. That's no exaggeration. We couldn't ask for better and we love him to the moon and back!