Happy Birthday, Angel!

Yesterday was my angel's seventh birthday. She was a little apprehensive, after witnessing the down-playing the husband and I did with our respective birthdays. She was concerned that we wouldn't make a big deal out of hers. (I tried to explain that after a person reaches a certain age, they just aren't as interested in celebrating yet another birthday, and birthdays seem like they are coming every couple of months now instead of the eternity between birthdays one experiences in childhood.) For my birthday, the husband made me breakfast. For his, I made him dinner. "But I still get presents, right?" the angel wanted to know.

And did she ever. She got a bed for her American Girl sized doll. (I say "sized" because neither the bed nor the doll are actually American Girl brand...not when Target has a knock-off brand for half price.) She had a party with her friends from school, and at this age they are still required to invite all the girls from their class. (7 girls...angel makes 8) Plus she invited her cousin/neighbor whom she plays with on a regular basis, even though cousin is a year or so older. She also invited my friend and her little girls, for a total of 11.

Now, I am not a fan of having kids in my house. My kids are lucky I let them stay sometimes. With the number of kids in the neighborhood and my angel being of prime "playdate" age, I have had to adjust. Luckily, the angel's best friend is as soft-spoken and gentle as she is, so I don't mind her coming over. And when my niece plays over, the girls have a great time and I feel totally comfortable laying down the law if I have to...after all, she's family. But we have never had 11 girls over at the same time before. (Okay, two of her classmates couldn't come, so it was really only 9 girls) I tried to think of an activity we could do that would be quiet, still and mess-free. For some reason, I thought of fingernail polish. (What?!?) So we did manicures at the party, with paraffin hand dip and painted nails with stick on jewels. It seemed to work pretty well, and it took about an hour. After cupcakes and presents, the girls played in the angel's room for 20 minutes until the moms came for them. This made the angel crazy! First, she doesn't really like people touching her stuff. (She gets that from me.) Second, they were being pretty loud and really, it was too many girls to get a good game of make-believe going. "Mommy, they're all talking at once and it's giving me a headache." (She gets that from me, too.) I'm hoping that next year I can remind her of this when she begins making plans for her birthday party, and then we can go to the movies or a skating rink instead. But for now, one more birthday under our belt.

Looking at the pictures, the angel actually looks older. Her face has lost some of that baby roundness, and she looks more like a...well, a kid. But after the girls had all left, and the grandparents were gone, she changed into her Barbie flannel nightgown and climbed into my lap (what's left of it) for a good snuggle. She might look older, but she's still my baby!

A first time for everything

I get one of these emailed to me pretty much every week. I usually have lots of time, and I kind of like filling them out. I've seen people post them on their blog instead, so I'll try it. Just go with me on this one...

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
A kid named Sean. He lived in the next town, so we went to prom at his school. His dad drove us. (we were only 15ish! When your high school only has 200 kids, you invite the younger classmen too!) He is now married to one of my best friends, and they have two adorable kids. Funny how things work out!

2. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Communion wine. Does that count? Otherwise, probably a stolen beer from the basement fridge. Or maybe my own special peppermint schnapps/creme de menthe mixture smuggled out of the house in an empty NyQuil bottle. Ahhh, the memories.

3.What was your FIRST job?
I assume we're not talking about babysitting. The first job I had where taxes were withheld was waitressing at the Frosty Freez. It's a local diner, serving burgers and milkshakes. It was the summer I was 17. I was terrible.

4.What was your FIRST car?
1982 Nissan Sentra. It was white, with a lovely rust accent. The seats were lambskin, and I didn't want to know what was underneath those covers! A jack knife stabbed into the steering column turned the wipers on and off. (My dad kindly fashioned something more permanent.) I was the only person alive who could get the thing into reverse. (And that includes the previous owner) I think I paid $600 for it. I drove the stuffing out of that car, with only minimal maintenance. (A new starter, new clutch and new vacuum line, all installed by the husband back when he was the boyfriend.) I drove it for four years, and sold it for $50. That was a good car.

5. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
I'm not a big "texter", so it is unusual that anyone would text me. But I did get one from my brother today. Texting is his only form of communication. Even if he is just across the room.

6. Who was the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
My angel, after she kicked me in the kidney. (After daddy leaves for work she climbs in to cuddle and snooze for an hour or so before we have to get up for school.)

7. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Connerton. Although, I think that was a couple husbands ago.

8. Where did you go on your FIRST airplane ride?
Charleston, SC for my cousin's wedding. It was my senior year of high school. I went with my mother and sister, and it takes all day to fly anywhere from Montana. We rode a 737 to Denver, a DC10 to Dulles and a CRJ to Charleston. Yes, I'm kind of a geek to remember that.

9. Who was your FIRST best friend?
Probably my friend Kelsi. We were best friends in kindergarten, and we remain best friends to this day. Thank goodness our husbands seem to get along!

10. Who was your FIRST kiss?
A guy named Josh. He was my eighth grade boyfriend. I bumped into him again when his wife and I were in the same childbirth preparation class.

11. Who was the FIRST person you talked to this morning?
My angel. "If you don't get out of bed right now you will be late for school...again."

12. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Went pee.

13. What was the FIRST concert you went to?
In college I drove with some friends about 200 miles to see Bush, Goo Goo Dolls and No Doubt. Yeah, it was awesome!

14. What was your FIRST tattoo or piercing?
I got my ears pierced when I was 12. Just once each. (They did them at the same time, or else I might just have one done!) At 19 I pierced my belly button, to prove I was cool, apparently. The scar from that on a pregnant belly created two cute little stretch marks. Now my navel looks a little like a psycho-bunny. My skin however has that classic, ink-free look that never goes out of style.

15. What was the FIRST foreign country you visited?
When we lived up by Glacier National Park, I think my parents took me to Canada. I don't really know about that.

16. What was the FIRST movie you saw in a theater?
I think I saw Bambi at the drive-in, but the first movie I went to without a parent was Labyrinth. David Bowie still freaks me out a little.

17. When was your FIRST detention?
I don't think I ever had traditional "detention" for misbehaving. I did have to do some hard time after school for not finishing my homework. I think I started that in second grade.

18. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
I was born in Minnesota.

19. Who was the FIRST person to really break your heart?
See #1. (But not at 15! Later, when we were in college.)

20. With whom was your FIRST date?
A kid named Tim. I was in seventh grade and I met him at the movie theater. We saw The Little Mermaid. I think we even held hands. (Whoo hoo!)

21. What was your FIRST pet?
My family had a dog named Bess. I thought she was a sheep. By MY first pets were two fish named Tatsy and Logid. No, those are not typos.

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
No counting my little sister, or the beeyatch I lived with in the dorm at college, my first roommate situation was with my friend Amy and three other girls. Yes, that's five of us in a three bedroom house...with one bathroom.

23. Who was your FIRST love?
My first real love was probably Jason, my senior year boyfriend. He was the first boy to ever tell me I was crazy. (The husband has since seconded this motion.) He was the guy who convinced me that I could be myself and someone would still want me. Every teenage girl should have that.

24. What was your FIRST screen name.
Not sure what they mean by screen name. I would have chosen "hotsytotsy", but I think that one's taken.

25. When did you have your FIRST baby?
I had my angel in 2001. I was 25. The husband and I were living with my parents at the time, waiting for our house to be ready. My brother was living there too, so there were five adults and one baby under one roof. I swear that girl never got put down until she started walking!

Happy Holidays!

Yeah, I said it. The dreaded "generic" holiday greeting. Lately I have been inundated with propaganda pushing "the true meaning of Christmas" and the "reason for the season" and a lot of other nonsense. This, combined with other Judeo-Christian morality being legislated down my throat is starting to become annoying.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jesus as much as the next girl. I have not one but three adorable little nativity scenes among my Christmas decor. I go to church on Christmas Eve and my absolute favorite Christmas song is "Oh Holy Night." After church, I wish everyone a "merry Christmas", because it is a religious celebration.

However, as much as some people may regret it, Christmas is also a holiday. The secular portion of this, my favorite holiday by the way, cannot be so easily amputated. My angel asked me what Christmas trees had to do with the baby Jesus, and, having decided long ago to give her (relatively) honest answers to honest questions, I replied "nothing at all." See, the tree, and the wreaths, candles, lights, holly, mistletoe, Santa, reindeer, bells, and all that Christmas-y stuff has nothing to do with baby Jesus. Or, more accurately, baby Jesus has little to do with those celebrations.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...put down your pitchforks and let me explain! All the "secular" elements of Christmas find their roots in the pagan celebrations of Winter Solstice. Basically, anyone who lives in a northern climate can appreciate the importance of a little merry making during a long, cold winter. When Christianity came to these regions, the people were reluctant to give up their beloved winter celebration. So in a brilliant stroke of PR genius, the church said, "you can keep your celebration. But it will be a Christian celebration from now on." By choosing the birth of Christ, (which the Bible doesn't actually give a "date" for...in fact, it was after the lambs so it would probably be more accurately placed in Feb or March) it could be a happy celebration for everyone! And that I think is the true spirit of Christmas. Inclusion. To understand that our message is more likely to be heard if it comes from a place of caring and understanding, and that sanctimonious, "I know better than you" preaching would have had the opposite effect.

I think it is also important to note here that only about 20% of the world celebrates Christmas at all. We often forget in our little vanilla town that Christianity is not everyone's cup of tea. My daughter's school has a Christmas play every year, and usually with a surprisingly overt Christian theme. I'm not sure how they are getting away with it, other than our town is overwhelmingly Christian and it never occurred to anyone to mind. But it is a public school, and I would feel terrible for any poor little Jewish kids that might move to town.

I don't think it's hypocritical to step out of church with that warm, happy feeling on Christmas Eve and immediately wonder what Santa is up to. I also feel that it is a nice thing to acknowledge that some people don't do things the way my family does, and that their way isn't "wrong". Just different. Afterall, this is the season for peace and goodwill, and not just toward those who think the same way we do.

So, Happy Holidays! And here's hoping for Peace on Earth!

It's beginning to look...

...a lot like Christmas! Yes, the holiday season is upon us. I usually put up the decorations after Thanksgiving, and every year it seems to take longer than the year before. It could be that I tend to add new decorations every year. (I average one new plastic bin a year.) It could be that we move so often we rarely spend more than one Christmas in any one place, which means I have to take time to plan and measure to see where the decorations will look best in our new place. Or it could be that I'm hobbling around these days.

Apparently, I have an ailment where the hormone that is supposed to "loosen" my ligaments to make room for the baby is working overtime. This makes certain movements like sitting, standing, laying down, walking, breathing and blinking extremely painful for me. So this year I sat on the couch and directed the kids to do the decorating. It took those little slackers most of the day to do it to my specifications! (I'm kidding, of course. Like I would let those little monkeys touch my decorations! Kids have "jam hands" you know...)

This is the first year that I was able to put lights on the outside of the house. In the past, we have lived in apartment buildings, but this year we live in a townhouse, so I took advantage and clipped some lights to the gutters. I got in trouble for this. First from my neighbor, who said I was "opening a can of worms" and now his live-in girlfriend was going to make him decorate the house too. (He was only a little bit kidding.) But also from the husband because I was trying to do it myself. (Memo to him: if you don't want me on a ladder, you should offer to help. Just a suggestion.)

Anyway, the effort of decorating can take the wind out from under you in the best of circumstances, and even more so if the simple effort of getting up off the floor is excruciating. Ordinarily I would self-medicate with red wine, but I don't even have that as an option these days. I'm trying a new medication, Lindt truffles, and that seems to be taking the edge off. So I think I'm going to lay on the couch surrounded by chocolate wrappers for a few days. You know...to recover. Happy decorating!