Countdown to the holidays, part 2

Tonight, as I was sitting down to do some studying, my husband interrupted, mentioning that I had promised to wrap presents tonight, and to go over all of the gifts we've gathered so far. I sighed and then stared at all the bags and boxes he had unearthed from our bedroom closet and under our bed. I knew that it had to be done, but it always seems like such a chore. Six years ago as we were preparing for the arrival of our son, we got all of the presents ready before Thanksgiving, just in case he was born early. Ever since, we've tried to be ready for Hanukkah a few days before. It took us a couple of hours, but we sorted out the presents for each of our kids, and wrapped all of them. We need to get a few more things for our daughter. It's always a relief to have the the presents ready before the holiday. They will be getting a lot of books this year. The kids really do enjoy the presents, and we enjoy their happy smiles.

Earlier in the week, I stopped at a local coffee shop that carries the beeswax candles that fit our Menorah, which was handcrafted by my father. The beeswax candles are the only type that fit the candle holders, which anchor the candles with spikes. Years ago, I used to buy the wax from a bee keeper and make my own. My husband and I would spend a couple of nights cutting the wax into the right size, heating the individual pieces with a hair dryer and then rolling a wick into the wax. Obviously, we haven't had time for this luxurious craft in years. When I found the $12 box of pre-made candles, I knew that my candle-making days were over, and now I buy them every year.

Tomorrow, I need to order some nut-free chocolate!

Countdown to the holidays, part 1 -- gathering presents

December is always an especially challenging month for our family. At one point, I did enjoy the holidays, but now it's just one more overwhelming thing. I try to do less each year, but it seems that the events take on a snowball effect. I think it's fun for the kids, but for my husband and me, there are so many tasks at hand and most of them have to do with gathering presents. We celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, and my son's birthday is December 16. It's easy for his birthday to get lost in all of the other celebrations, especially if there's an overlap when Hanukkah happens on the same days as his birthday or Christmas. And for him, it's the best part of the year, but he complains because he has to wait so long to get his presents.

This year, each event can be celebrated separately. Hanukkah runs for eight days, then we'll have a 3-day break until my son's birthday party and birthday. And then 8 days until Christmas eve. Last year it all came together, with Hanukkah starting on the day of his birthday.

My husband and I started gathering presents the week before Thanksgiving, but we haven't wrapped anything yet. We are planning to get started with that tonight. Our closet is starting to bulge, and the space under our bed is filled with books. I even have a stack of books hidden on the file cabinet, in plain view in my dining room. I have the spines turned inside. The kids will get a lot of books for Hanukkah. Toys and other things for Christmas. We used to send out about 100 cards to our friends and family, but last year we couldn't keep up with it. We sent out a Kodak photo album to our friends, but later realized that many people didn't even open it up, or didn't receive it. I'm still going to try it again this year. I may just send an email note with a photo or two actually in the email.

As I'm writing this, I am suddenly interrupted by the some annoying noise from my upstairs neighbors, and I need to pause to put some music on Pandora.com. OK, I'm back and now I'm listening to a radio station featuring music by Pink and related songs.

A few nights ago when I was studying late into the night, I smelled smoke and heard a guy jabbering away on a cell phone. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from until I peaked out my front window only to find that there was a guy sitting on his window sill, smoking away. I think I startled him, but then I stormed away and went to bed. It was after 1:00 a.m. anyway.

Countdown to birthday party

I don't know how I did this, but we will be celebrating my son's birthday for about 3 days. On Friday, December 14, I will need to bring in 2 dozen cupcakes for his class to celebrate. On Saturday, December 15, we have the party at the karate studio from 2-4, and there will have to be a cake or more cupcakes. I invited 30 kids including his whole class plus a few others. So far, I've only heard from a few people, and many have declined. It's such a busy time of the year. I figured if I had at least a 50% acceptance rate, I'd have a good crowd for him. I bought a pinata, and now I have to order the treats to fill it. I will also have to provide goodie bags, which are such a waste of money. And I have no idea why I scheduled the party one day before his birthday, when I could have scheduled it on Sunday. At the time I scheduled the party, I was probably under the impression that the karate studio was closed on Sundays. So, on my son's birthday, we'll have yet another celebration, probably anticlimactic, but the presents will keep coming.

Last year, we had my son's party at the New York City Transit Museum ("subway museum"). We had the place to ourselves for about 2 hours. Instead of giving cheap, yet expensive, goodie bags, I gave each child a book about trains. I went crazy with the cake though because I found a train cake pan at Williams-Sonoma and made individual trains and cars and then decorated them all. They looked good, but I don't think that the kids actually ate them. I made chocolate and vanilla, and used various colors of icing.

This year, the kids will go crazy for the cheap treats in the pinata and maybe I'll make chocolate chip cookies and give each child 6. That would be relatively easy. Who really needs another pencil or sticker or cheap plastic toy anyway?

My Daughter's Piano Recital

I stayed overnight in New Jersey on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, my mom and I drove back to Brooklyn and arrived by about 9:45 a.m. We were just in time to clean up the apartment to prepare for my daughter's piano recital. The floors needed to be vacuumed and mopped and we needed to put away toys. The dining room was arranged with chairs in a semi circle behind the spinet piano. When we arrived, she was already dressed in her best party dress and ready to perform. The piano teacher arrived at 11:45 as arranged, but we waited for grandpa, who couldn't find a parking spot. While we waited, the piano teacher played for us. Grandpa eventually arrived and the recital began. My daughter played beautifully. Her expression was beautiful and her technique is improving. She has made great strides since her first lesson this fall. Even though we didn't have a full house, it was worth the experience to give her the motivation. We gave her the last pink rose of summer from Grammy's garden.

The Day After Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving pretty much in the same style as we have for over fifteen years here at my mom's house in the north section of Newark. My parents have been divorced for over 12 years now, but my dad always returns for this weekend. My brother always comes in from Portsmouth, NH and my husband's parents would come over too, until last year when Doug's mom passed away. Usually there are a few guests as well. Yesterday, our group of 12 included my parents, my brother, my family, and one of my dad's voice students from Mount Scenario College, in Ladysmith, WI with his wife and her son. We had not seen them for a while so the conversation was lively as we all caught up with each other.

The menu was traditional: turkey, giblet gravy, stuffing (made with bread, butter, celery and onions, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pineapple sherbet and pie for desert.

My mom's house is impressive. Built in about 1929 before the stock market crash, it features beautiful fittings, alabaster lamps, interesting brass door knobs and leaded glass windows. It's about 3,500 square feet with: 3 bedrooms, each with their own interior bathroom (2 with shower one with a tub; panelled library filled with books; finished attic with 3 cedar storage closets; kitchen with pantry and back staircase to the second floor; full dining room with a large table; finished basement with a bar; laundry in the basement; living room with coat closet and a sun room; formal entryway; front staircase with landing; window seat and a mural on the walls and 2 half baths (for a total of 5 bathrooms). She has a beautiful garden with a fountain, many flowers, lavendar, herbs and vegetables.

The Night Before Thanksgiving

Last year, I spent 2 hours in traffic between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on my way to Newark to see my family. For years we've been gathering in Newark for Thanksgiving. This year, I decided to stay home on the night before Thanksgiving simply to avoid the traffic and to do a little more preparation. I spent the day writing a paper and studying, and really couldn't spare the time to pack suitcases or to cook anything. In the meantime, my mom made 2 pumpkin pies, 1 blueberry pie and a shoefly pie, plus pineapple sherbet. I really didn't miss cooking this year.

My house needs to be cleaned. I'm starting to count the dust bunnies accumulating in the hallway and in my bedroom, but the laundry is done and my husband kindly and generously folded all of it! We call him The Folder. The weekend will be full and I'll be sure to journal the hightlights in the days to come.

Corn husks

This afternoon, I noticed that my daughter needed corn husks to bring to class tomorrow. She had mentioned that she was going to make the corn husk dolls in class, but never told me about the requirement of bringing in the corn husks. I finally read the note on her homework reminder sheet. On the way home from school, I kept thinking, where in the world am I going to get corn husks in Brooklyn with less than one day's notice. But it was my lucky day. A few weeks ago, my husband bought two sets of mini dried colored corn at the green market, with dried corn husks. So, I cut off the tops and put them in her backpack.

Sometimes the number of things that are required from parents approach the ridiculous. There are many many tests and permission slips to sign, and many opportunities to donate food to parties. For example, there's a Thanksgiving feast in the classroom on Wednesday. I had to admit that I can't cook for this event. I bought a cherry pie that I might bring to Thanksgiving Dinner or I could give it to the classroom. But I also have a gallon of apple cider that will work just fine.

Not that I mind participating, but I do feel overwhelmed. I don't like it when I miss something that I was supposed to do and it affects my daughter! I need to remind her constantly to participate in reminding me!