I felt like Arnold and Sinbad in the movie Jingle All the Way as I called every Target in my area trying to track down a last minute gift for Miss J, and then traveled to 4 stores to get all the last minute stuff I needed for tomorrow. That wasn't really on my Christmas Eve agenda, but that's what happens when your Christmas shopping money becomes available at the last possible second. I thought the last bit of my Christmas joy had died yesterday, but it took some breaths this morning and was removed from life support.
So, crisis narrowly avoided and the cheer and smiles will shine brightly tomorrow as Miss J and I awake with our grandparents and celebrate this time together.
It all came together quite nicely. I was a little nervous about the chicken at first because I had not tried it out before the big day. You NEVER try a new recipe on your guest before you have tried it out on yourself. That way you can adjust seasonings, make substitutes or whatever before serving it up to the masses. But just how bad could a marinated chicken breast be? I was pretty familiar with the flavors before hand, prayed that they actually would all work well together, and they did. A hardy meal, made with love and received with great pleasure. A wonderful way to celebrate our last Christmas in this house.
Before we got the party started, we took the time that morning to open gifts.
Miss J had a good time reading the To:/From: tags on her gifts before tearing through the paper. After discovering her new jeans she didn't waist any time calling her aunt and thanking her.
Then, once my grandparents arrived she opened the gifts from them so that she could thank them in person.
You can never go wrong with Hanna Montana cowboy boots! When it comes to Miss J, you can never go wrong with Hanna Montana anything. She was eager to slip her tootsies in them and strut her stuff. In fact, she strutted her stuff in those boots for the rest of the night.
I hope that you found yourself all wrapped up in a happy holiday celebration that yielded lots of smiles and lots of love.
Hoping all of your hard work pays off and all of those plans unfold beautifully as we all prepare to celebrate the holidays in our own special ways. I am looking forward to welcoming my loved ones and gathering around good food and good times.
I wish you all a happy holidays and I am looking forward to sharing the memories with you when we all return to the blogosphere.
Not that I even want to think about Him or continue this debate, I am delighted that he will be but a distance memory after tomorrow. I just merely wanna bring attention to the fact that difference and acceptance is really a wonderful thing. The flow of opinions, traditions, and practices are endless, therefore its good to keep in mind that there is never just one way of doing anything... and that just because you enjoy your way, that every other way doesn't happen to be the wrong way.
Mini wine glasses. Glued to the lips of 21 5 year olds. Filled with apple cider of course, at least that's what it said on the bottle.
Cider, mixed with a little excitement and good friends does this to some little people. Miss J always enjoys a good party. I still can't believe we managed to go to 20 birthday parties last semester. That was just insane. But, all good fun. Now she gets to continue this happiness while making new memories. This New Years party is the second classroom celebration so far. I think I have gotten use to the way they do things in Kindergarten. A quick 20 minute celebration and you are out the door, so that the teachers can prepare for the afternoon class. During the preschool years, we'd have potlucks. All the parents would bring a dish, we'd gather to hear our children sing holiday songs, then feast on cultural goodness. Now, its just fruit and drinks for the kids and its all over. Maybe I should be happy that I am not required to cook anything, but I kind of miss that whole "family" atmosphere I guess.
After all of the toasts and fruit indulgence, the kids met back on the rug for their good-by song, to receive their Friday Folders from the teacher and a hug and candy cane from Miss J.
I managed to find BLUE candy canes, if you hadn't already noticed from my table setting. Can you believe it. I almost jumped up and down in the store when my grandmother showed them to me. I bought 3 boxes of 12 when I probably only needed 1 or 2. After placing them on the tree and a few on the table I had too many left over. What am I going to do with all of these blueberry candy canes? I never intended on eating then, I just needed them to add to my decor. Then I started counting. 18, 19... darn... let me grab some from the tree. 20, 21. We all know that a holiday celebrating is never complete without at least 1 candy cane.
She put this in my hand when I picked her up from the after school program the other day. She was excited to tell me all about the surprise she made for me and how she wanted me to open it as soon as we got home.
Shouldn't I wait until Christmas to open it. You don't want me to put it under the tree with the other stuff?
No. I want you to open it now.
Ok.
See mom, this is a candle holder. You take the candle and you drop it in like this. See? Do you like it?
Yes, I love it!
And this is a... a um... its a holder too. I can put my pennies in here.
But I thought it was for me (I think to myself)
See, I painted it gold. You like it mom?
Yep, I like it.
We inhaled the sweet vanilla scent of the tea light...
Can you light it mommy? It smells like our car smells after we get it washed.
Did your little ones create anything extra special for you this season?
Children scurry over to the tree to rip through carefully taped paper;
Loved ones pour into your living room... some of who may not have been invited;
Men congregate around the tv making all kinds of joyful noise rooting for their favorite teams;
And you, your mother and/or grandmother in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on your second holiday feast.
Seems like it was just yesterday that we were slaving over a big bird and all the Thanksgiving fixins. Now its time to do it all over again.
There will be no turkey or ham here. No more dressing. The greens didn't even make my list. I am keeping it short, yummy and simple. Three delicacies, a glass of cider and dessert... that's it.
I am planning to have chicken breast, marinated in Kraft Catalina salad dressing, grilled to perfection. Topped with a bruschetta made of diced tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese and basil. Along side this will be some linguine, tossed in a sauce of stewed tomatoes, ground turkey, onions, a little bit of garlic, diced black olives and basil. To complete my dinner I will throw in some Del Monte canned green beans and garlic bread. A scoop of Peppermint ice cream over a slice of pound cake and a nice cold glass of apple cider and voila! Christmas dinner is served.
Reading Crystal's Weekend Round Up, over at Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper, reminded me of a conversation that Miss J and I had the other day about old St. Nick. She asked me if I believed in Santa Clause and I thought for a moment before telling her no. She had a hard time believing that all that talk about Santa observing the naughty or niceness of children is just a story. I guess she somehow overlooked the fact that there has never been a "From: Santa" on any of her gift tags. Or the fact that we live in an apartment without a chimney.
Believing in Santa is harmless, right?
I use to think so, before the contradictions set in. As a child, I remember gathering in my elementary school's auditorium to take pictures with Santa. Some believed that the old man had actually come down from the north pole to take our holiday orders, and then there were those of us that knew the lap that we were sitting on was that of a site supervisor. Then there were those who were just flat out confused. Crying and carrying on, "that's not Santa, Santa isn't black!".
A couple of years ago my Miss J had this same reaction to a Santa at a holiday party that was sponsored by a African American organization at Cal. She didn't want to take a picture with him because he was black... and Santa, as she knew him, was not black. It took some coaxing, but I was able to talk her into taking the picture. So, what are you suppose to tell your child in this situation? Yes baby, you are right, this is not Santa, because Santa is not black. If so, you might as well also say that not only is Santa not black, but he doesn't even exist. Santa is transparent... a trope.
Have you had "the Santa" talk with your child yet? If so, how did it go? Has your child ever refused to take a picture with a Santa of a particular ethnicity?
Let's hear about it.
(Note: I am not suggesting that it is wrong or bad for you/your child to believe in Santa Clause. This is just my particular experience and my thoughts)
I managed to get the tree up and dressed tonight, along with a few other embellishments. I tried our revolving Santa tree topper, however, with each pass 'round the tree it took a 360 degree slope. Not cool! I had to retire it. I think a big silver star would look delightful... or maybe a cool butterfly (if there is such a thing for the tops of trees).
This was our tree a couple of years ago. It would have also been last year's tree had half the bulbs not gone out. Yep, that's right. We go fake around here. No Christmas Tree Farm visiting and pine needles for us. I don't know nothin' 'bout trimmin' no tree! I don't even know if trees from the farm still need to be trimmed. So, I just stick with something that can be popped outta a box and comes pre-lit. We still get to add our own flare to it with sentimental ornaments and our flying Santa tree topper.
Last year's tree (which will also be this year's tree) was all decked out in blue and silver and was pre-lit with all white bulbs. We also have a blue and silver tree skirt with matching pillows and throw for the couch. All to coordinate with our blue and white snowman table setting. We may not get snow in the Bay Area, but that doesn't stop us from transforming our home into a winter wonderland. I am hoping to dig out the tree this weekend, after I've finished all of my last minute work. That tree skirt may remain empty this holiday season, but the tree will be going up anyway. Aside from decorating the house, the other thing that I love to do for Christmas is create greeting cards. Although I like to buy boxes of cards, I also like to do photo cards. A couple of years ago I took a picture of Miss J surrounded by presents while we were visiting my aunt in Arizona. We took a trip down to Walgreens, popped in the SD and got busy. Its so easy to do... and fun... and personal. I have a secret obsession with things that are/can be personalized. Since there will be no gift giving on my end this year, maybe I will try to revive this mini tradition.
Have you gotten into the Christmas spirit yet? What are some of the things that you like to do with your family for the holidays?
