Pics with Santa

The kids were great this year. Santa is a wonderful behavior modification tool (read: blackmail/bribery/guilt trip/etc). If you have kids, I don't have to tell you that.

Landry this year had a very earnest conversation with Santa about how he knows who is on the naughty or nice list. Does he SEE it, or just KNOW it? Does somebody call him? How does this happen? Santa explained it all... It's a mix of all three.

As it happens, I do have him on speed dial and she has talked to him (My Dad with his deepest voice) several times - all 3 kids like the 'ho ho ho' part of the conversation the best. So many times, in fact, that Santa has requested that we sometimes call him when they do something GOOD instead of just using him as a threat or to report bad behavior. I think if there was more good to report, he might get those calls... gotta work with what you've got, Big Guy.

Back to the visit though... the girls presented Mrs. Claus with some flowers. They were the silk flowers that they bought at Garden Ridge; Landry used her tooth fairy money and Megan used her chore/found money -- they LOVED those flowers. Slept with them, married dolls with them, etc for 3 days but then decided to give them to Mrs. C. Well, Mrs C was not dressed to impress (in a holiday sweater instead of Mrs C clothes) and Landry was NOT giving flowers to an fake. Mrs C had to go and get a picture of herself dressed up with Santa to prove that she was the real deal. Then both girls were happy to give their flowers over to Mrs C (read: a higher power) and hope that she put in a good word with the big guy for them. She was super gracious to them, found a nice vase and displayed them in a prominent place. The girls were suitably impressed and Mommy was suitable teary. Very sweet. Maybe they earned a few presents there...