Thank heaven

for hand me downs. All of Miss Bee's too-small clothes are in boxes in the garage. Poor, deprived McGoo doesn't realize that pretty much her entire wardrobe was previously worn by her big sister.

Earlier this week, as I dressed McGoo in her second-hand windbreaker, Miss Bee started to whine that she wanted a new jacket too. I laughed, and explained to my very equality-minded daughter that the jacket in question had been hers.

I am starting to understand why my sister and I, still, to this day, receive similar or identical Christmas presents from our parents. (Although I would say the odds of us fighting over them at our respective ages of 30 and 27 have significantly diminished!)

My dear husband took the girls to visit their great-grandmother today (always a popular occasion because they get to eat lunch at the retirement home, which serves french friends and ice cream) and I spent a very happy hour going through 18-24 month old clothes that used to belong to Bee. Most of those clothes were bought when we lived in Latvia, from my all time favorite children's store. Let's just say that it's probably a good thing there is no D.P.A.M. store in the USA.

I always write this, but every mother will know it's true--my girls are growing up too fast.

I heart Maileg design

Both my Mom and I have an obsession with Maileg home design, particularly their Danish Christmas elves, or pixes. I have been browsing through a Danish design website that has one of the largest selections online-- and have been alternating between drooling over the Christmas decorations and laughing hysterically at Danish-English Google translations.

Take this one, for instance:

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Drug pixies

Maileg funky and stylish fabrics elves, in sizes XL to the micro.
Elves have long, long, striped legs and arms, a long red hat and all are in separate nissetøj, depending on the collection and vintage.
Among such limbed sizes can occur pixie-teasing ... so be prepared - big and small.

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I am prepared!


But what I really want to know is where I can find this advent calendar!