Genie S. Musings: Helllooooo December!!

Please excuse this morning. I am on day seven of less-sleep-than-optimal -- one night it's the cat, the next the preschooler, the next the baby, and so on, so much so that it's starting to get comical. You know you're tired when your lack of sleep makes you giggle. And then forget what you were laughing about.

A few days ago, celebrating the beginning of the month of Christmas, we started the extravaganza of presents and brought out this year's entirely over-the-top Advent Calendar. Some of you may remember last year's quirky gift. Which gave us Frank the Christmas Janitor and the Christmas chainsaw which later made a reappearance in a truly horrifying gift. So all in all -- quite the Christmas success!

This year we switched allegiances from the big Danish toy firm for Playmobil, toy whores that we are. I know, I know. Last year I said this was it, the only year we'd cater to excess in advent calendaring, insisting that I'd be more circumspect when we had two. I failed to recognize that 2010 me would justify another purchase based on not getting one for the seven month old baby. So I will accustom my son to glorious excess and then crush his little spirit next year when all he gets is a tiny and not terribly good candy cane.

So! Moving on!

This is what came as a calendar. They have several varieties, but we of course chose the one with the most possible mayhem in the spirit of the season. Swords! Dragons! Projectile weapons! Just like the Baby Jesus would have wanted.

It came with a cute little diorama.

And December 1st brought us our hero, the intrepid knight. On a quest to find out who gave him that terrible hairdo. Also, holding an imaginary newspaper.