Streamers Are Your Friend

You all know I go a little over the top for holidays. Not in an extravagant, spend a lot of money kid of way, but a bit excessive nonetheless. The Leprechauns visit, Santa rides in on his sleigh, the Easter Bunny has a key to the front door, the Tooth Fairy flies in through the windows, and the house is always decorated for the first (and last) day of school. But for birthdays, I get a little bit nutty.

It all started with the Birthday Fairy a few years ago. She would sneak in the night before the kids birthdays and create a bit of mischief with streamers and banners. Eventually she bought some window markers and started writing on the windows and mirrors. The kids know its me now, but they still expect, and anticipate the whole affair. Part of the fun is that they never what I will do with the streamers. One time, I trapped Dylan in his bed with streamers. I have blocked their doors, wrapped their chairs, left streamers hanging through doorways for them to run through, and one year decorated Dylan's Razor for his ride to school.

Mock all you want, but to me, birthdays are special for kids. It is one day a year that is all about them. It is THEIR day! And they love it! This is especially important for Megan whose birthday falls 4 days after Christmas (strike 1). She also shares her birthday with my Mom (strike 2). My Mom always remembers my grandma pulling a Christmas gift out from under the tree and declaring it a birthday gift too. It is a painful experience for her. I will not do this to my daughter. Most years I bust my rear to get Christmas down before the 29th. It didn't happen this year but the house is still all about Megan tomorrow! Of course there are the streamers, banners and window messages...but this year there is a new addition...balloons. I used balloons on chairs, windows and created some barriers in doorways for her to burst through in the morning. Just adding a few balloons made it even more fun (and more work...but every minute was filled with JOY)

Sometimes I wonder if it is time to end the decorating and chaos. Tonight I got my answer. All week we have been making a big deal about Megan's last "day" being 5. We acknowledged that it was her last Monday being 5, her last Tuesday, etc. Today started with Megan racing into my room, declaring "It's my last day being 5!!!!" It was a really nice day. After Church, we celebrated her last Sunday being 5 by going to my Mom's in San Diego for our 6th (and final) Christmas celebration. After a fun day, we drove home. Despite being in jammies and having her teeth brushed, Meg was too amped up to go to sleep in the car. She rested for a while but then declared "I can't go to sleep!". She was so excited for her birthday! I had to stop to get some whipped cream (her request for the topping on her strawberries on top of the waffles that will be sitting on a bed of powdered sugar and next to some bacon and fruit). At 10pm, she skipped through the store with me, giggling about how much fun it will be being 6. As we pulled in the driveway she ever so sweetly said, "Mommy, I would really like it if you decorated the house with streamers tonight!" Sigh....how could I even think about ending this tradition?

So I am here to tell you, streamers are your friend. it is a cheap and easy way to spread some birthday cheer around your house. I wish I could share some pictures of tonight's Birthday Fairy shenanigans, but sadly the MAC died (another story for another day). Friends, it doesn't take a lot of money to make a birthday special for your children. And I am happy to be the Birthday Fairy...even if it means being up 'till 1AM.

In Awe

There are times in my life when i just have to STOP and say THANK YOU! You know who you are and even if you are not reading this, and are not getting any public recognition for what you have done...I thank YOU! Sometimes my life just comes to a standstill and I am in AWE of the generosity and love of our Church. It just amazes me. Thank you to all of you that have done what you can to make life a little easier for one of OUR families in need. Thank you to those who have set THEMSELVES aside and taken care of others. It is YOU who will be rewarded in Heaven. YOU are what it takes this World a better place. Thank you for making me a better person this Christmas.

Merry Six-Mas!

There are many highs and lows of having divorced and remarried families. One of the great things is having a lot of grandparents to choose from when you need a babysitter. There is also the awesomely large family we have. Jon and I both have 4 siblings (blood, half and step combind). Add in all the nieces and nephews and you can imagine how much family we have!

At Christmas, we find ourselves splitting events so that we can fit in all sides of the family. This year, we will have 6 Christmas celebrations.

The first one took place this weekend. We went to San Diego to celebrate with Jon's Mom and sisters family. This was a huge treat as we have never been able to celebrate with his Mom. She came out from indiana to have her first Christmas ever with her 2 children and 5 grandchildren. She loved every minute of it. The kids enjoyed getting to share their joy with her for the first time. It was an awesome brunch and a wonderful day spent with that side of the family.

Last night was round 2. We went to La Canada to have our annual pre-Christmas dinner/trivia party with my Dad and brother's families. This was out 20th year of doing this! We exchange a few gifts and my dad makes a trivia game about all the years events. I came in third which stunk BUT I did win a picture frame and some Altoids which are both very useful for me. We were expected at 5. We left early to avoid traffic and were subsequently a bit early. We took advantage of the daylight by driving all though the hills where I grew up. We saw my grandmas old house, the tree where my grandpa had his car accident, some enormous houses and a few spots the kids wanted to see (the hospital where I was born and the pizza place where we would go after games...which is now a skateboard shop) It was a good night!

On Christmas Eve, we will celebrate at my grandma's house with the rest of the Fazzi family. This year we are breaking tradition and going out to dinner in the Newport Harbor. The theory is, that saves cleanup time and we get more time to enjoy the gifts before the kids get too tired.

Christmas morning we have our own celebration at home with just the 4 of us. Nothing out of this world, but we open Santa's gifts and exchange amongst ourselves. It is just a nice morning to stay in our jammies and be together.

Late in the day we go to Jon's Dad's house for dinner and gift exchange (whoever decided to draw names at this event is a saint as his 3 sisters each have 3 kids! To many to shop for!) My mother-in-law always gets the most fabulous tamales. And in addition to dessert, there is always something special for the 3 birthday girls on Dec. 24th, 25th and 29th.

And a few days after Christmas we go to my Mom's to combind her and Megan's birthdays with Christmas with her and my siblings. The past few years my sister has flown home from New York to be with us which is awesome. She comes in on Sunday!!! We do a fun thing at my Mom's where instead of exchanging gifts, we do an ornament exchange. Each year we pick a theme for the following year. Every person brings a wrapped ornament. They go in a pile and then we each get to pick one. This year our theme is Angels.

It may seem like a lot to some, however it is what we are used to. We run around all season seeing everyone and then crash on New Years Day! So this year, we wish you a Merry Six-Mas!

Taking The Plunge

I went back and took another 3 1/2 inches off my hair. I feel much better about things now.



Megan followed suit.

Regrets

I made a mistake. I hate my hair. I do not like my haircut. I wish I had gone short. My first $100 winnings in Vegas is going toward taking it all off at a salon. If I come back with the same cut, you know the tables were not good to me in Vegas.

What A Week!!

'Tis the Season to be Busy!

Wednesday night was the HCS Christmas performance at FCC. The kids did a great job! Dylan played Simeon in the speaking portion and did it flawlessly. He has an amazing memory. Tonight he recited all the verses of Luke telling of the coming of Jesus as told in the Peanuts movie. Just whipped them out of nowhere. He is gifted in that department. At the recital, Megan sang her heart out. She refused to look at us and smile. She would smile when her teacher told her to, but for us, she refused. I know she had a great time though! She loves performing as much as her brother.






Megan sings "Baby Jesus We Love You"



The other kids are singing. Dylan is entertaining the crowd!


Saturday night I took the kids to dinner at Daddy's work and then the Metrolink Train Toy Drive. The train pulls in decorated with thousands of lights. They do a little show including singing reindeer. So cute! We donate toys to the Irvine firefighters Spark of Love Toy Drive.

The firefighters handed out hats and candy canes. The second picture is my grandmas attempt at taking a picture of me and the kids. Beautiful angle don't you think?




This afternoon we went to the HB Art Center to help with the preparations for the HB Rose Parade Float. I wanted the kids to be able to say "I decorated that!" when the float goes by. We chopped papaya that is being used to decorate the coral at the front of the float. Yeah, we did that! So fun. They also cut a few flowers that were then put into a blender and bagged up to be used in some unknown spot.




From there we walked Downtown and sat in our usual spot for the HB Christmas Parade. We ate a picnic on the sidewalk which was gross but still...tradition is tradition. The lady next to me overheard me talking to the kids and determined we were an FCC family. She is too! You never know who is watching! Thankfully my kiddos were on perfect behavior.

After the parade we froze our rears off at the pier watching the little show they do. We stay for the snowflake lighting, enduring the show is the cost of admission. It was a beautiful night. But the wind was biting cold. My toes are still trying to warm up.





It was a fun night!

So another story...during the entire hour we waited for the lighting, there was this guy watching us. I actually thought he was watching Dylan. He was right in my line of sight when I looked at the kids. I kept catching him staring at us. At one point he moved a bit in front of us and continued to look over his shoulder at us. I was very aware of him. So after the lighting, I took the sandwiches and cookies we had not eaten on our picnic and gave them to the homeless man that was sitting next to us during the show. When I stood up from the man, creepo was standing right in my face. He said...and I quote..."I do not want this to sound strange, but I have never seen such an amazing hunk of woman and family." WHAT? Hunk of woman? That's new. I smiled and said thank you. He was blocking our path. He said "don't be shy about it. You are obviously a good Mom and I enjoyed watching you and your children tonight". OK, still creepy but at least I am no longer a piece of meat. I said "Thank you. We try to shine from the inside out." That's when he leaned in close and said "Oh you do shine. Very brightly." I quickly stammered "Merry Christmas" (no longer smiling at him) and pulled the kids the other way. They were protesting that they had to go to the bathroom but I was taking the long way there for sure. The way that walked past a few dozen HB police officers. Take a look at these pictures, you can see him in the background looking at us. Needless to say I was looking over my shoulder the whole walk to the car! truth be told, I checked my rearview mirror the whole way home too.

(See him blurred in the background looking right at us??)


Now look right between the kids. There he is again. He just couldn't stop looking at us. (shiver)

AND Finally...This my friends is the face of someone who is happy to be done with her Vision class! It is also the picture I am asking Dr. Accetta to use on the cover of his next brochure advertising wrinkle cream and chemical peels. Maybe I'll give him one of my belly too! Just so he has a good sample for this Liposuction campaign.

Comments

So as you know I have not been good about commenting on your Blogs lately. I would like to thank you all for continuing to grace me with your support while I seemingly shunned you. It is not that I have not been reading your Blogs, I have. But to comment I have to sign in, then it redirects me to my Blog, then I have to click back over to yours. This is a process I had little patience for in the 2 minutes I had allotted to Blog reading during the torture week they call "finals". Then there is the fact that as time went on, there was more and more I need to type to catch up with everything. This required more time, which i didn't have, so I would continue saying nothing. So today I start a-new. I do have a lot of nuggets I would like to share about Blog posts past, but I think this is the best way to go. There are a few things, however there are a few things that cannot go unnoticed:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMILA! May your teens years be as fun as your childhood!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI 35 is such a magical number! (I am trying to spin it for you!)

My husbands post on fall warmed my heart!

Diane-looks like a wonderful trip to Disneyland. Sorry I didn't get to "meet" you. Hopefully next time. Hey, Maybe KT and I can take a Road Trip sometime!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY CURTIS! Hope it was filled with love, laughter and of course a night of Karaoke!

Awesome job on the Triathlon Sarah! You are very studly! And I totally laughed at your description of the swimming experience. I think I would have been the same!

Don, where did you find that Star Wars jacket and did they have kids sizes?


Heidi, that is an AMAZING picture of Hope.

Kristi-I am so glad you got a pass out of your crazy day! You certainly sounded stressed when I talked to you, and it was only 2pm. Hope your week got better!

Bad Hair Day

Help! I have been having a bad hair day. No, scratch that, I have been having a bad hair life. I have really bad hair. I have no interest in having to style it, I have no fancy do, I have nothing. It is either down or in a pony tail. I can't even do my hair for a fancy event if I want to.

So I got a gift certificate for a haircut and highlights from a fancy salon. I have not been in a salon since my wedding 9 years ago. I hate sitting in chairs. I hate people I don't know telling me what would look good on me. I have the bright lights showing every one of my gazillion freckles. Salons give me nightmares. But I am going anyway. Any suggestions for what I should do? I am not a flip through a magazine and find the celebrity hairstyle I like type of person. Suggestions welcome and wanted. PLEASE HELP MY HAIR!!!