By all means my children are my little treasures, however, this post is not about my little treasures, well to a point. Our front entryway closet is a bi fold and has seen the wrath of my boys. There is a hole where the handle used to be and today I noticed a toy tweezers (from their animal hospital kit) sticking out of the hole. I twisted and tugged and finally got it free only to notice several colors further down inside the bi fold door which of course, I could not reach. So after disassembling the door from its runner, shaking it, and prying in the 1 1/2 inch hole, we had found several little treasures and some gum. I knew without a doubt, this was the work of Curious George. I decided to ask him if he was indeed the one who placed all of the trouble game pieces plus a few extra trinkets in the door and his answer was simple, "Yes". I asked, "Why?" and got the answer I hear all the time, whether the boys are fighting, hurt, or into something they shouldn't be...."I don't know". Then later, he told me he was "saving them for later". I chuckled, I guess he is not only like a monkey but also a squirrel (in the wintertime).
Back to my fascination with the Christmas season, I was wondering what traditions, if any, you and your family have. Are they passed down from generations before or have you started you own? I am always curious what traditions others have. In my family, we always celebrate Christmas with my brothers, step mom and dad, mom, grandfather, aunt, and all my nieces and nephews the week before Christmas. My husband, kids, and I always go cut down our tree (we plant one in its place in the spring) and decorate it the weekend after Thanksgiving. We also always have a huge Italian spread for our Christmas with my family. These are things that I grew up doing and continue, however, I created a new tradition with my kids. They get to open one present on Christmas eve each year. They know what it is before they even open it because each year I get Tony, myself, and the kids a new pair of pj's. Then we all wear them to bed that night. It works out great for pictures on Christmas morning (as long as we don't have any accidents!) and it's always fun to have a fresh new pair of jammies! So shoot me a comment and let me know your traditions, even if they are a little off the wall....I would love to hear them and may even post a few of my favorites in a later post. Thanks for listening!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Full Circle...
As I write, my boys are downstairs watching an old Christmas classic, the same one I watched as a child. Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer...had a very shiny nose... Awww... one of my favorites. It is such an awe struck moment for me, shows me how my life has come full circle. And knowing that the memories that I create with my little ones will last long after they have their own children, is just exhilarating. This time of year is an especially wonderful time to make lasting memories and an excellent time to create new traditions or pass on family traditions. I have so many happy Christmas memories from my childhood, from my Uncle dressing up as Santa (which I didn't figure out until about the 4th year), my grandma's delectable Ham dinner, my brother and my excitement on Christmas morning (and my parents lack there of since it was 5am and only now do I realize why), and the warm fuzzy feeling the season brings. Don't get me wrong, I know there is a lot to do and families aren't always perfect or in the best moods around the holidays because it can be stressful but for me, this is the time of year I love!
Now as for Christmas Shopping, I usually avoid at all costs, the dreaded Black Friday! I have never gone...until this year! My good friend, whom I do not get to see enough due to distance apart and 3 kids like I have, asked to meet me in the cities on Black Friday. My first thought...Hell no! But they do have some good deals and I would love to see my friend, plus drinks after shopping were included which sweetened the deal as well as the thought of getting away from home life for a day, so I said "I'm in." I did my homework before going, I looked up all the stores I wanted to visit for their Black Friday ads on the Internet and marked down everything I saw that I had planned on buying, just to save some time and money. Otherwise, it gets overwhelming running through a store without a list wondering what you've got and who you still need to shop for after you've been to 50 stores already. It really wasn't that bad except the line at Kohl's that strung its way all the way around the store!! I left home at 6am, started shopping at 8am and finished at 5:30pm. Then we were off to my favorite place to eat, DeMori's Italian Restaurant! We met a few other good friends for dinner and drinks and ended up staying until bar close! I never do this! Needless to say we left my minivan and got a ride back to my mothers house, where we were staying for the night. We woke up in the morning to go get my van and I called my mom on the way back to open the garage for us so we could pack up all the gifts. Now my mother lives in a kind of townhouse. There are 3 buildings on her side of the street and each one has 4 units (two upstairs and two downstairs). I pulled in from the opposite way I usually come, with my friend following and backed up to the garage and noticed the garage door still down. I got out of the car, as did my friend, who then asked, "did you call her?" I said "Yes" and went around to the door and noticed the screen door locked. I chuckled and said, "what is she trying to steal our gifts and not let us back in?" Just then, my friend says, "Are we at the right one?" Well duh...she's only lived here 10 years I think I'd know where my mom lives... then I glance up above the garage at the address and cringe...Just then I hear this piercing voice from behind, "Nikki, you're at the wrong one!" It's my mother out in front of HER garage one building down. My friend looks at me laughing hysterically and says, "Are you still drunk?" Yep, never gonna live that one down, now I know why I hardly ever drink or stay up until 3am willingly!
Have a good night and thanks for listening! Oh, any ideas yet for a survey question? Leave me a comment. Love to hear ideas.
Now as for Christmas Shopping, I usually avoid at all costs, the dreaded Black Friday! I have never gone...until this year! My good friend, whom I do not get to see enough due to distance apart and 3 kids like I have, asked to meet me in the cities on Black Friday. My first thought...Hell no! But they do have some good deals and I would love to see my friend, plus drinks after shopping were included which sweetened the deal as well as the thought of getting away from home life for a day, so I said "I'm in." I did my homework before going, I looked up all the stores I wanted to visit for their Black Friday ads on the Internet and marked down everything I saw that I had planned on buying, just to save some time and money. Otherwise, it gets overwhelming running through a store without a list wondering what you've got and who you still need to shop for after you've been to 50 stores already. It really wasn't that bad except the line at Kohl's that strung its way all the way around the store!! I left home at 6am, started shopping at 8am and finished at 5:30pm. Then we were off to my favorite place to eat, DeMori's Italian Restaurant! We met a few other good friends for dinner and drinks and ended up staying until bar close! I never do this! Needless to say we left my minivan and got a ride back to my mothers house, where we were staying for the night. We woke up in the morning to go get my van and I called my mom on the way back to open the garage for us so we could pack up all the gifts. Now my mother lives in a kind of townhouse. There are 3 buildings on her side of the street and each one has 4 units (two upstairs and two downstairs). I pulled in from the opposite way I usually come, with my friend following and backed up to the garage and noticed the garage door still down. I got out of the car, as did my friend, who then asked, "did you call her?" I said "Yes" and went around to the door and noticed the screen door locked. I chuckled and said, "what is she trying to steal our gifts and not let us back in?" Just then, my friend says, "Are we at the right one?" Well duh...she's only lived here 10 years I think I'd know where my mom lives... then I glance up above the garage at the address and cringe...Just then I hear this piercing voice from behind, "Nikki, you're at the wrong one!" It's my mother out in front of HER garage one building down. My friend looks at me laughing hysterically and says, "Are you still drunk?" Yep, never gonna live that one down, now I know why I hardly ever drink or stay up until 3am willingly!
Have a good night and thanks for listening! Oh, any ideas yet for a survey question? Leave me a comment. Love to hear ideas.
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