Checking it twice

'Tis the season for holiday entertainment and last night The Moores, of course, did some going.  All three of us spent the evening downtown at dinner out and the Colorado Symphony Christmas.  It was a spectacular program, exceeded all expectations, and definitely put me (finally) into the holiday spirit.  The concert included the symphony, the Colorado Chorus, and the Colorado Children's Chorale.

When the Children's Chorale came onto stage they entered in the middle of a carol, from the wings and from the aisles in the middle of the audience.  FFM was awed, he knew there were going to be kids singing but I don't think he expected quite the spectacle it ended up being.  As they processed to center stage he leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Mommy, I want to go on stage and sing with the kids, too!"

The grand finale brought Santa himself onto the stage and suddenly FFM got very concerned.  At this point he was sitting on Travis' lap and he explained to Travis that Santa wasn't wearing the right belt.  A little backstory on this comment...We see other Santas around town and this has caused some confusion.  The first time the question came up about the multiple Santas who stray from the North Pole during the busy season (he's a very detail oriented little guy our Mr. F) I explained it's part of the checking who's naughty and nice job.  This passed muster until someone at school told him that the real Santa is the one at Cherry Creek mall and all the others are pretend.  Now he's pretty fixated on that mall Santa being the one true Santa.  We've seen him a couple of times, and F's memory is pretty darn good.  Back to the symphony concert where our 'new' Santa has taken the stage with the wrong belt...

Travis and I look at FFM who insists again and again that Santa is wearing the wrong belt.  What do we do?  He's obviously upset and fervently believes in Santa and KNOWS something is wrong.  I tell him, "Hey, you know this is a special show and that's Santa's special show belt.  He needs one that's extra shiny so everyone in the theater can see it."  FFM wavers... Travis adds, "Look, Santa has a special coat, too.  Doesn't it look different?  I bet he has a lot of different coats for all kinds of different things just like you."  That sealed it.  F's face lights up, the faith is back, he tells us, "I love coats!  I have lots of coats!  I bet Santa does have a lot of coats just like me!"

Phew.

I'll be honest, I don't remember what either Santa belt looked like.  Mr. Minute Detail is going to keep me hopping!

QOTD

During tuck in at nap today:

"Mommy, kisses don't last very long, do they?"

Making a Little Merry

After watching a thrilling football game this morning (go Broncos, Yay Tebow!) we headed across town for our second annual deck the halls at my grandpa's house.  The kids trimmed the tree, the husbands braved temps in the teens to light the great outdoors, and Melinda and I supervised and kept an eye on the cookie supply.
After grandpa's house it was time for dinner, and there is something about a cold and snowy Sunday night that brings take out Chinese to mind. While dishing it up here at home FFM announced,
” One dump for me daddy and two dumps for you.”
Translation-one spoonful of entree please, you get a bigger portion since you are the daddy.

QOTD

After watching his 1/2 hour of cartoons this morning:

"Mommy, did you know that all toys are 'sold seplaltely?'"

(that's not a typo)

Emily Post Would be Proud

Our trip for stitches last night threw a kink in my plans to prepare, cook, and serve dinner since it all happened early in the evening.  Once Travis was patched up and we were on our way home cries of "Chipotle please!" rang from the backseat so we gladly acquiesced to keep things simple.

The Chipotle we dined in is across from our local high school and is often full of teenagers, even during evenings and weekends.  As we ate our food a couple of tall, lanky, boys came in clad in athletic shorts, T-shirts and baseball hats despite the below freezing temperature outside.  The boys ordered their food, sat at a table, and then both removed their hats before they started eating.  Wow.

I would like to take this moment to say that when FFM and I went to the circus about a month ago there were GROWN MEN who did not remove their hats for the NATIONAL ANTHEM.  It made me sad to realize that their kids will grow up not knowing that they are supposed to doff their hats in respect to our nation.  I feel a bit restored now that I've also seen that there are families who teach table manners such that even when it's Saturday night at Chipotle (a very casual restaurant) their kids remember to take their hats off to eat.