Parents arrive in town, Dec 23rd. Imagine lots of hugs and smiles.
Knott’s Berry Farm, Dec 24th – the muggy weather did nothing to stop The Boy from riding his very first adult roller coaster. Yes! He’s tall enough! When did he grow so big? I sat on the sidelines and watched him, fretting over and over, “He’s actually TALL enough?!!!” which led to another realization: I turn every moment into an opportunity to be a weepy mother who can’t comprehend that time passes on for her children just as it does for everyone else in the world.
Video of The Boy on his first roller coaster ride, mind the cheesy music:
Little No Limit is still not tall enough for the big rides, but big enough for the kiddie thrill rides:
Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care!
Disappointingly, I have no photo of me nearly getting stuck on the kids ride I was too tall to ride, but tried to ride anyway, because Little No Limit was scared to go at it alone. But trust me, you wish I did. I looked totally ridiculous (excuse me, could you help me get my leg out of this contraption?).
Christmas Day, Dec 25th – The Family Christmas Gathering was cancelled due to my mother-in-law’s unforeseen ailments, and moved to a later date. My sisters-in-law and niece came over to celebrate with me, the ‘rents, Husband, The Boy, and Little No Limit. I wound up introducing them to Flight of the Conchords. They introduced me to Andy Samberg’s “Rap song!”
The Boy Turns 6! Birthday party, Dec 27th – Remember how I mentioned a couple lines ago that Mother in Law was sick on Christmas? Yeah, sothe whole family showed up at The Boy’s birthday party and to celebrate it. So in addition to boys and girls and running amok and gathering piñata treats, we also had adults and relatives running amok, and many, MANY presents being exchanged between all the attendees. My cousin just got her license and she left to go to Starbucks with my 15-year-old-has-a-learners-permit-niece, and I think it might have been an awesome experience for them. I requested a venti white chocolate peppermint mocha and when they returned, everyone else had ordered the tall size, and my niece said, “Yours is the obnoxiously large one.” That’s right, I told her.
In irrelevant but serendipitous news, it turns out the mother of The Boy’s friend from school knows the artist who painted the abstract painting on my wall that Husband and I bought on our honeymoon 7.5 years ago in Santa Barbara. I know Santa Barbara isn’t that far from here, and that such a coincidence doesn’t sound sooo coincidental, but she knew him from when she lived in Switzerland. And that, my friends, is a coincidence.
Oh, and as for gifts, does The Boy have enough Wall E toys?
From L-R: “I’m the biggest!” “You can plug your mp3 player into me!” “I’m mobile!” “You can bring me everywhere because I fit in your pocket!”
Austin, New Years Eve’s Eve and New Year’s Eve – I hung out with my friends from college the first night. Imagine all the fun of a reunion and none of the anxiety. I love my friends. Among other things, I saw David Garza at the Continental Club, raided the mini bar at the Hotel San Jose, drank Jo’s fair trade coffee, strolled the Capitol, ate at Moonshine, Guero’s, and Doc’s, saw some thought-provoking art exhibits at The Austin Museum of Art (more on those provoked thoughts in a later post). And, of course, attended my dear friend’s wedding. I would love to tell you what Dear Friend walked down the aisle to, but without knowing him, it might give you the wrong idea.
…
…
Okay, I’ll tell you anyway: “I Want to F*ck You Like An Animal” by Nine Inch Nails. You should know, though, no lyrics were involved, and he is the biggest NIN fan you will ever meet (which makes it all the funnier that he used to hope and wish to meet Trent Reznor walking around New Orleans and then one day got in line behind Trent at the ATM and was so struck, he said nothing at all. Alas… youth is wasted on the young). The wedding was among the most romantic, intimate ceremonies I’ve ever attended, the kind that remind me what a wonderful thing it is to be in love. And after they were married, they walked back down the aisle together to “All You Need is Love” and their wedding dance was “Here, There, Everywhere,” and, well, you can’t argue with that.
The true highlight quote of the night (although there were many) was this: “If anyone has any reason to believe this man and this woman should not be joined together in marriage, then meet me and the groomsmen outside and we’ll take care of that.”
Me and Hubby celebrating Dear Friend’s marriage:
On that note – I am home and everyone is sick but we are ready to kick it into high gear for 2009!!!!!!!! Happy new year to y’all! (dang, I sound like I just got back from Texas!)
I’m calling this week’s Carnival of Family Life the “Did You Know…” edition because I’m treating you to a barrage of holiday trivia, courtesy of Wikipedia and Google?
Education
Did you know…
Perth College has a program called Courses for Christmas, wherein one can buy education courses for their loved ones?
Brigid presents Brain Fitness posted at New York Public Library. “After attending a recent staff training session offered by the library’s Office of Staff Development, I decided to return to a habit of my childhood — eating sardines,” Brigid announces.
Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966, and got the name from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits,” and at a Kwanzaa feast, you might find yourself eating jollof rice, yams, and coconut pie?
That the results of the 16th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition are on display at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville , NC?
(Try here or here for details and cool photos).
Annette Berlin presents Easy-To-Make Lollipop Kids posted at Craft Stew. “Lollipop Kids are a great craft to enjoy with your kids before the holidays . . . or any time of the year,” according to Annette.
That the PNC Christmas Price Index Report annually determines the cost of purchasing all the gifts in the 12 Days of Christmas, and it’s soooo not cheap?
Loraine Lawson presents Family Gift Idea posted at Time for Family, asking, “If you’re looking for a way to cut down on the holiday hassle and possibly save money, why not consider giving family gifts this year?”
Lauren Rose presents Credit Card Skimmers - Keep Your Eye on Your ATM card posted at No Debt Anymore.org. “With the holiday season in full swing, credit card and ATM theft is increasing at an alarming rate,” according to Lauren, so she explains “three common ways thieves may try to gain access to your personal information using a skimmer device, as well as ten tips to protect yourself.”
Tom Tessin presents Top 10 Most Affordable Vans for 2008 posted at FGC Auto Blog, saying, “Looking to tow your family around in the family van? See what we recommend as the top 10 affordable family vans in 2008.”
Family Health and Wellness
Did you know…
That although Charles Dickens never specified what ailment Tiny Tim suffered from in A Christmas Carol, some suspect it was renal tubular acidosis or rickets? Or that there is an organization in Longmont, CO called The Tiny Tim Center that was founded to help parents of children with disabilities and later expanded to help educate all children?
Aparna presents Teeth Whitening Remedies posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming. Teeth can be naturally dark or discolored by repeated exposure to tea, coffee, red wine, smoking, medications, decay or
trauma. Aparna offers treatments and remedies that will adorn you “captivating smile with a row of glistening pearly white teeth” just in time for all those holiday season photos.
Carole Fogarty presents Upgrade Your Level Of Self Care posted at The Healthy Living Lounge, inviting you to “give yourself permission to upgrade your level of self care on a regular basis. 2009 is going to be the year I
honor the importance of relaxation, deep rest and self care even more.”
Matthew presents Allergies posted at Fast Medical Information. “An allergy is a reaction which is exaggerated in our immune system in response to a foreign substance that is harmless to and does not trigger a response in a non-allergic person,” Matthew explains. Allergens include dust mites, mold, danders, foods, and pollen.
Santa Claus also goes by these names: Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Père Noël, Joulupukki, Babbo Natale, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost? And that David Sedaris wrote an essay about the Santa Claus story as told in Holland, which you can read here?
That many pets under two years of age brought into shelters or euthanized because the owners couldn’t take care of them were originally Christmas gifts? Think before you buy a pet! And adopt instead of buy!
Back in the late 1100s, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine led a revolt against her husband, King Henry II, and as a result, was locked away in a prison for a number of years, during which she was only let out on special occasions like Christmas?
muse presents Wheels posted at me-ander about her eldest son’s favorite mode of transportation.
Ian Peatey presents Meeting Tom posted at Quantum Learning - nonviolent living. “There are some moments that are reserved for the father. Meeting Tom (my daughter’s first boyfriend) is one of them,” Ian explains.
luvmy4sons presents Repeat Performances posted at Do You Weary Like I Do? The mother who authors this blog is finding out that teens and toddlers are “remarkably similar!”
According to a The Baby Website survey, the most common white lie told by parents (at 84 percent) is that Father Christmas only brings presents to good boys and girls. The second most common white lie is that Father Christmas only visits homes on Christmas Eve where the children went to bed nicely.
Kathryn presents Kids and Christmas posted at Living the Proverbs 31 Life, opining that “there really is something about giving that makes the Christmas season all that more special.”
…that next week’s Carnival will be hosted at Destroy Debt?
…that if you would like to participate in next week’s edition of the
Carnival, click here to submit?
…that if you you have questions, you can review the Carnival guidelines before submitting your posts?
Would you like the Carnival to pay a visit to your site? Check out the hosting schedule, select a date, and then drop a line advising what week you would like to host.
Continuing on with MomDot blog party with the hopes that the police haven’t been called in to ruin all the fun…
Today, MomDot wants to know what my favorite holiday recipe, what my holiday table looks like, and what my biggest holiday disaster was. Let’s start with the easy ones: fave recipes are my crumb topping apple pie and sweet potato soufflé. I also like my mother’s lumpia, even though I haven’t been able to eat it lately and mine just doesn’t taste quite as good. Of late, one of my favorite recipes has been gluten free, rice free pizza dough, but that doesn’t scream holiday fun the way a nice bowl of red-coated Christmas caramels does. Just look at how much fun Little No Limit was having at her second Christmas with those babies:
I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
On to my holiday table. Given the above picture, I considered posting a picture of an exam table from Gross Anatomy 101. But, no. Here is what my holiday table looks like:
Kneel before Zod!
As for my biggest holiday disaster was, I recently posted on my first Thanksgiving Day dinner. I’d say that was probably the silliest dinner every, but disastrous? Not sure I’ve got anything disastrous, for Christmas or any holiday. At Little No Limit’s first birthday party, my mother dropped the cake icing side down on our pool table. This was bad both for the cake and the felt on my pool table. There was also the Valentine’s Day dance where my date stood me up. Does that count as a holiday disaster? When you’re in high school, it does. (fyi, it turned out to be a misunderstanding, like in Three’s Company, but still…).
There was also a particularly memorable Christmas when I went into labor and got rushed to the hospital, oh wait… that never happened. Nope. I was due on December 21st and then the doctor suggested we might have the baby early, say, closer to the 15th, but when I passed that date with nary a change to my special lady places, we started thinking I might have a Christmas baby, and come Christmas day, we were all on edge that maybe, just maybe, I was going to have a baby. But lo and behold, The Boy held out until December 30th at which point I had a planned C-section because I hadn’t even effaced and he was a behemoth child. No mistakes with the date, btw, just a little boy who found his Mommy’s internal world the right place to chillax. Of course, I might still call that Christmas a disaster because I had just been informed that the Little No Limit I was expecting was actually The Boy. Yes, I am one of those moms who was told the wrong sex of her child. Disastrous, I say. Disastrous. (not anymore, of course - just at the time).
So anyways, thank you MomDot for these pressing questions that forced my stumble down memory lane, and thank you to Bottlewise and Glow Mama for sponsoring the MomDot Blog Party Day.
