Dear Santa-Dec. 2nd

Today I took the kids to the mall after picking up Mason from school. I NEEDED to find him some waterproof gloves for this year. It was round two after Sophia having a nasty reaction to a cookie she ate a week earlier and me having to rush home to get some Benadryl into her.

First we stopped at Chick Fil A to grab some lunch. I wanted full tummies before attempting the long haul a trip to the mall meant. They both ate well so I let them have some play time before heading out. Sophia did really well managing obstacles and Mason played friendly with the other kids. When it was time to go, they easily got on their shoes without fussing and we headed to the mall.

The day was going well so far. After settling on the first pair of mittens we found at Sears, the last pair in his size, I decided to turn my efforts into finding a Christmas outfit for myself. The kids, understandably getting bored and tired and hungry, were begging for a train ride. Since I do have a tendency to be horrible at making decisions, especially on clothes, I realized the kids needed a break.

Sophia, having developed an interest in trains, was just as excited as Mason for the ride. She was looking out the windows, smiling and giggling. Mason was being his usual friendly self and waiving to all the shoppers as we passed. At the end of the ride I wanted to get a photo of the kids in front of the train. Mason happily posed but Sophie was not so cooperative. I settled for what I got.

But realized that patience were wearing thin. I made Macy's my last store and even though I hadn't intended on writing our letters to Santa so soon, when the whining started I made a beeline for the Believe meter rising above the rows of clothes. There I would find a little red table and chair, and a box of pre-designed letters sitting next to that adorable Santa's mailbox. Mason was super excited having experienced it last year. He quickly sat down and diligently wrote his letter.

I am so proud of him. Since starting school, he has done such an excellent job in not only learning to spell but to write. He is far from perfect. Spelling words backwards when writing them out more often than not, but he tries so hard and has come so far. I love that he wanted to do this all on his own this year. I stepped back and gave him the space and privacy he deserved. When he was done, he quietly walked over to the mailbox and waited for me to get into position for the picture picture before placing it in.

I then handed over my iPhone to Mason as I assisted little Sophia with her letter. My battery for my camera was being charged at home and had forgotten to grab it when I walked out the door, so all I had was my iPhone and ironically my battery was getting dangerously low. Sophia did well, doodling on her letter and really not wanting my help at all. So I mostly observed. She quietly and happily drew away, writing her own letter to Santa.

However, when it came to me having her stop her letter writing and actually put it in the mailbox, the little diva tested my patience to the core. I had to remove her from the chair and lead her to the mailbox but she did not want to let it go. This was the closest she got before proceeding to have an all out screaming meltdown tantrum in the middle of Macy's.

Even after Mason assured her that it was o.k., showing her the opening in which to place her letter, she still ran off into the clothing racks clutching tight to that letter, flailing on the ground and leaving Mason and I just looking at each other and me totally mortified. After what felt like a million minutes of trying to calm her down, my battery died and I knew I wouldn't get the picture I wanted of Sophie so cutely placing her letter in the mailbox to send off to Santa for the very first time. So, defeated, I gave up.

And just to prove that she was the boss, as I got ready to pick her up and put her in the stroller she calmly walked over to the mailbox, smiling now, and dropped that letter right into the slot.