We Wish You A Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year

So, I've been on vacation for the past two weeks. I don't know about you, but we've had Christmas and New Year's around these parts, so these two weeks have been pretty busy. Before I jump back into work and the 154 voicemails and 642 emails that will await me on Monday, I thought I'd take a moment to show you what we've been up to.

There was cookie baking and fudge making. I conquered gingerbread cookies...finally. They had me beat until this year.


My taste-tester was satisfied with the fudge so it was taken to the annual Christmas Eve Eve bash hosted by this gal. That party was awesome, per usual, with the added bonus of the whole house singing Jingle Bells with my G, to her extreme delight, not once, not twice, but three or four times through.

We wrapped and wrapped presents. Giuliana adorned her handmade wrapping paper with glittery Christmas stickers and together we finished her gifts to her favorite people.

Christmas Eve was spent at Nana's house with family and the traditional seafood dinner.


Obviously, there was also the formal Christmas Eve Tea Party. Later, those two cuties in plaid gave a caroling concert at the piano as well.

There was also a candle-light service at church...our church this year, which was a nice switch, though I did miss seeing my nieces and nephew in their Christmas pageant.

After church it was bedtime for our little Christmas star and time for Mommy and "Santa" to get to work. "Santa" put together G's trampoline while I wrapped the rest of her gifts and spread the Christmas joy out under the tree.

Hmmm....maybe that makes me "Santa", but that wouldn't fit the song ("Iiiiiii saw Mommy kisssssing Saaaaaaaaaaanta Claus...") Oh, and I also discovered that I had inadvertently left my camera at my mother-in-law's. On Christmas Eve. Perfect. So, it was cell-phone pictures to capture those magical Christmas morn moments.


Christmas was indeed magical this year. Giuliana "got" the concept of Santa bringing her gifts. We sang Santa Claus is Coming To Town about 4,000 times and she walked around saying "Santa Claus, Ho ho ho!" for a week. But she also "got", at least a little bit, the significance of that little baby Jesus in the nativity scene. She pointed out Baby Jesus in every creche she saw. I think we balanced the two pretty well.

And Christmas morning? Once the grogginess of being dragged out of bed by two over-excited parents wore off, she had a pretty good time. She adored her "Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan" coloring book and her Dora, Boots, and Swiper figurines (it was totally a Nick Jr. Christmas at our house.) And she loved, loved, loved her trampoline. She got into the reggae spirit by jumping and bouncing to the "B is for Bob" CD early Christmas morning.

We packed up and headed back to Nana's for the rest of the day. We had a fabo brunch and much more gift exchanging.

Five gorgeous Giglio/Duvinsky kids on Christmas morning.

And, of course, there was a Jingle Bell concert, given by my little Jingle Beller herself...and anyone she forced the microphone upon.

There were other events I didn't bring a camera to. We had a great time celebrating Christmas again with Nick and Kate, and our friends most recently from Vermont, Jeff and Sarah and their two boys, as well as some of John's old high school buddies. John and I babysat for our nieces and nephew while his sister and her husband finally moved into their new house the day after Christmas (yes, they are that crazy.) And there was also a trip down to NYC for another doctor's appointment and a chance for Nick and Kate to spend all day with an energetic two year old (too late now, guys, you're already 6 months committed...you'll have your own two year old before you know it!) John got the news that he will be having surgery next week to implant a neuro-stimulator on his spine to try to relieve his chronic pain. Keep fingers and toes crossed that this works.


New Year's Eve brought the annual kid's sleepover party at Nana's with hats, horns and confetti at 8pm (that's 12am somewhere, right?) while we parents celebrated in a low-key fashion with dinner and a movie. BTW, Avatar 3D...awesome, but it totally killed me. My brain is not ready for 3D. I had a hang over all day on New Year's and it wasn't from the one margarita I had with dinner.

The snow on New Year's Eve/Day made perfect sledding conditions and that's exactly how we spent NYD. We drove over to my parents' house (who have been in Georgia this whole time visiting my brother's family) to feed their cats and sled on their super-duper hills.


And that, my friends, is how I spent my vacation. I promised it would be busy, but I also predicted it would be fun. I think I was right on both accounts. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa and a Peaceful New Year.

I'm feeling surprisingly and happily optimistic for 2010. I feel it's going to be a good year for my little family. So far, two days in, it's been pretty swell. Here's hoping that trend continues. For you, too!

Peace and Blessings!
XOXO
Kami

Circle Party

I don't know if you'll notice...

but we had a theme for Giuliana's second birthday party...



it involved lots and lots of circles...

Not shown: meatballs, round chicken nuggets, mini round pizzas, and multi-colored paper plates (also circles, get it?) stuck all over the walls.

And we also had one cute circle chick who didn't want me to take her picture.


She kicked the party off by playing blocks and dress-up with the first arrival of the afternoon, Cousin Rosie.

And running around in...a circle. This was pre-sugar ingestion.


The gift opening, was, in a word, chaotic. Which is how it should be, I guess, when you have lots of cousins who want to "help."



BTW, see that Little People "Pink Castle, " as it's known in our house? She likes to put the prince in the highest tower and then yell, "Help! Help! Ayudame!" She has the princess come and save him. I did not give her that idea, I swear. Just good parenting, I guess!!

The party was so very fun. Giuliana giggled and smiled ear to ear the entire way through "Happy Birthday To You!" She was absolutely delighted to have all her friends and family singing just to her. She leaned over and blew out her candles without any prompting (we've been practicing. We sing "Happy Birthday" to the dog on a regular basis.)

Life so far with a two-year-old? Bliss.

The Luckiest Ballerina

We had an enchanted Halloween! I hope you did, too.

In case there was ever any doubt about what a lucky little girl Giuliana is, I think yesterday cleared them all away. She was surrounded and adored by her very favorite people all day. Giuliana has some fantastic people in her life, and she is blessed for it.



The rain threatened, but ultimately held off until after our neighborhood Halloween parade. Our friends Kate and Nick (G's Godfather) and Giuliana's Nana joined us for the trek around the neighborhood. G was determined to walk the whole way...when she wasn't persuading "Uncle Nick" to "fly" her in the air (she's got mile-long eyelashes and knows how to use them!) The parade is sponsored by the West Endicott Volunteer Fire Department and the Ladies Auxillary. The firetrucks are out in all their bright red splendor and we gather at the station house at the end for cider, doughnuts, and, of course, candy. It's one of my very favorite things about the neighborhood.







After the parade and an irresistable romp in a pile of leaves, our exhausted ballerina took a break for some lunch and a rest.

We bundled up and braved the rain to Trick or Treat. We stopped over at Nick and Kate's house for a special Halloween treat then off to Nanni and Papa's for more holiday fun.


Finally, the "main event" of the evening. Nana's house for real Trick or Treating with her older cousins.


We got a little wet, but for the most part the rain held at bay. After the "short" circuit around the block the Luckiest Ballerina was pooped, her pumpkin was overflowing, and her ballet slippers were drenched. We walked back to Nana's while the other kids forged on, collecting massive amounts of candy at every stop. We dried off, changed into jammies, ate candy, and played with Nana and Grandpa until every one got back. The night dissolved into a chaos of scaring each other with ghost and goblins, tickling and running wild. A perfect end to a perfect Halloween.


Giuliana is a lucky girl. She is loved and adored. She is smart and funny and well-behaved and beautiful. As we were walking back to Nana's after Trick or Treating I reflected on how lucky, and blessed, that makes me. I could not ask for a better daughter. She is the joy of my life. She's got the world in her hands, can go anywhere and be anything she wants. She is joy and potential personified. She is love. And for a short time, she is mine. I suppose she'll always be mine. But not in the way she is now. And for right now, that makes me the luckiest mommy. I don't want to miss a second of this, this perfect moment.

Jam, Can, Thank You, Ma'am

My friend Kristina has been dubbed our local "Canning Queen" by those who know her. Last year she quite literally delved head first into her own private canning frenzy, consumed with her lust to learn all the intricacies and secrets of canning. She documented it all on her blog, and we, her delighted friends, were privileged to be allowed to sample some of her canned yummies over the long winter months. You should be so lucky. (Ok, well, some of you are...)

This year, a seasoned (one season, but, man! what a season!) canner, Kristina graciously offered some of her less domesticated friends (me! over here! I consider myself fairly proficient in the kitchen but this experiement, partly inspired by Kristina, but without her help, turned out to be a rock solid nightmare) a lesson in the fine art of making and canning strawberry jam. It was so much fun we decided to make it a once monthly canning club. Next up, blueberry jam. Maybe some of that delicious peach salsa we tasted (and finished off) today. Oh, and possibly some apple butter!

Fresh from the farmer's market. Not as great as picking your own, but pretty damn close.

My strawberry girl, ready to can with the ladies. (Please respect the added cuteness factor of her strawberry shirt. The girl knows how to dress for an occasion.)

This is what was left after G finished "helping" hull the strawberries...we probably lost a whole jam jar's worth of berries in the process. This was nothing however, compared to the number of just-picked cherries she consumed later in the day.

Mashed Fruit and Hot Ladies.

Step by tiny-step instructing.

Just being cute.

Kristina keeping busy while the novices man the strawberry jam; she's workin' on cherries. The woman doesn't stop!

A little down-time coloring with the cutest girl there. G and "Aunt" Kate.

Team-work! Kate and Karli (and Karli's hot nails, freshly manicured, pre-jam making ;)

So ridiculously proud of my first jam jar.


Finished processing and...


One batch done. We did it all over again and made one more batch.

I now have 8 jars of strawberry jam in my basement and am already cleaning out room in the pantry for more. Before we left Kristina helped us make a little list of all the essential canning supplies and even told us where to find them. I must confess a mortal weakness for all gadgets kitchen related, even though I don't have room for all the cool crap stuff I already own. I am feeling a burning desire to purchase a big-ass canning pot, jar tongs, scale, little magnetic lid thingy, and a few dozen boxes of pectin.