Happy Ho Ho Ho To You

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Can we just mark this as the best Christmas EVER?! Thanks.

Gingerbread House from Breakfast with Santa
While the entire month was filled with Breakfast with Santa, holiday parties, lots (and lots) of cookies, a Nutcracker performance, and the list could go on...the real treat started on Monday, December 23rd when the Kazee, Parsons, and Mulloy clan gathered for some good food, good cheer, and (of course) a viewing of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The boys played, the parents/grandparents drank, and everyone opened presents. My heart was so happy just watching and being a part of it (oh, and how can I forget celebrating Poppy's birthday-a day early:).

We retreated back to Louisville on Christmas Eve and when I walked in the house I noticed that Ernie the Elf, had fallen from the shelf. I picked him up in hopes that I could put him back before Wip entered the house. Fail. As I turned to put him back, Wip walked in and all he could do was gasp. For those not "in the know", Ernie was in danger of losing his magic powers if a human touches him. Thank goodness that Santa would be coming that night. I explained to Wip that Santa would pick Ernie up after he set out all of the toys, and enjoyed the cookies. He was going to take him back to the North Pole to restore his magic so he can join us next year. Shooo, that was close.

The boys gave me the best gift of all on Christmas Eve...they played. No TV, no ipad for two solid hours. Click here for a little peak into the imagination of Wip and Duncan.

Thanks to some of our friends, Santa was not the only one that was able to enjoy a treat. We put out some reindeer food for Rudolf and friends in the front yard...click here to check it out.


Wip had been asking to go to sleep all day and the time had finally come. Equipped with Spiderman pj's and smiles the boys headed to bed. Duncan was not as ready to go to sleep and when I peeped in he said "Mommy, sleep with me for just one minute?"...well twist my arm. While getting Duncan settled, Wip softly said, "Mommy, will you sleep with me for just one minute too?". Gees boys, could you tug at my heart strings a little harder please? 

Christmas Day was finally here (starting at 6:10am) and Wip could not have been more excited. Duncan, well, he could have cared less. We opened presents, drank lots of coffee, and just sat back and enjoyed being with each other. I cannot count the times that Wip would say "I love my presents that Santa brought me". If awards went out for most Christmas spirit, Wip would nail it. Clear here to hear Wip's theory about the leftover cookie. Click here for the big reveal from Santa.

That afternoon we headed over to Mimi and Granddaddy's house for a Christmas lunch. Once again we were spoiled rotten. The boys had so much fun opening presents and play, play, playing. I really cannot tell you how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family.

So listen to me and listen close...best. Christmas. ever (until next year:).


Grams and Poppy to the Rescue!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013


The Sunday agenda included brunch with some girlfriends, a holiday open house, and a JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE concert to attend (nbd, just a typical Sunday). When I came home from brunch, Duncan was sleeping.  In my head I was thinking "yeah for naps" in my heart I was thinking "please o please don't be sick". He woke and was groggy (per usual), but something was just a little off. The boys were watching a movie so I took the opportunity to hop in the shower before the holiday open house. Duncan toddled up the stairs and as I peeked around the shower curtain to see if he was ok, he vomited all over himself. Great.

I was trying to get out of the shower to my sick son and the only thing going through my head was...NOOOOOOOOOOOO, not tonight, JT is in town. Patrick arrived home shortly after the occurrence and in true Patrick form his theory was that he must have had too much hot chocolate at Sunday school. I stayed home with D while Patrick and Wip went to the party. Sure enough after a few sips of water it was clearly a bug and not too much hot chocolate.

I cancelled the babysitter and cried a little. I mean, of course I did not want my son to be sick, but of all nights it had to be the one that I had been looking forward to since August. Then, I did what any normal person would do...I called my mom. It was more of a sympathy call (a poor me if you will). To my surprise the first thing out of my mothers mouth was "I will come down". Really?  To take care of a puking child? Grams and Poppy to the rescue!

In case you were wondering...the show was amazing. I have thought about it daily. It did not disappoint.





What was that?  You need some JT videos?  Well, ok...

Like I Love You (pardon my embarrassing attempt at singing)
Until the End of Time (this was when he played the piano for me)
Cry Me a River (this was the one song Patrick was hoping to hear...again, sorry for the embarrassing singing)
Let the Groove Get in (this is when he decided he wanted to get a little closer)
SexyBack (this was the song I requested...I sure do wish Miranda was there to dance with me!)
Poison (saving the best for last...I lost my mind when he played this song)

As for D, the bug lasted less than 24 hours and he is just fine (and nobody else got it!). Next time, I am going to tell him to take a better look at his calendar so he will know to reschedule:)

Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Here is why...
Wip and D play with the Christmas decorations instead of their toys. I started to get upset and Wip explained that they were creating Christmas Town...go imagination, go.

We built a snowman and it required a carrot for the nose and a Hersey bar for the eyes and mouth (per Wip)

Being inside (all of the time) sure does bring the sillies out!

Lots of cookies are consumed this time of year...

D is checking out the details

Little date night with my boys at Tony Boombazz

Wip was working so hard to make this picture look "very beautiful". The Cats were playing while we were there and he told me he thought they would win *darn those Cats* (oh, he also mentioned that he likes the Cats and the Cardinals). 

We went to a Polar Express PJ party at Charmichaels

D made this

Wip worked on his letter to Santa

He wanted it to be perfect

All Aboard!  Yes, if you have not already noticed...D left the house with the sock on the hand, should I be worried?

Visions of sugar plums danced in his head

Holidays v. Sock Hand

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

I think it is a tie. Both boys have been making me smile and this is why...

Wip is obsessed with the holidays (both Christmas and Hanukkah)
Watching Polar Express, staring at the newly arrived Ernie the Elf, and playing with cookie cutters

My little reindeer with glasses

My little elf with a bow tie
My mom brought some of my old toys and Wip thinks that they are his Christmas gifts 

Drawing his "wish list" (it is a three headed scary dog)
Duncan is still doing the "one sock on his hand" look. Not really sure about this, but it makes me smile.
Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Not a sock...but close (and still only on one hand)

I love how he keeps the other sock on his foot
Aye Aye Captain
Click here to see the boys playing with the figurines from the manger scene, singing a Jewish prayer, and of course Duncan is wearing a sock.

Recharge

Sunday, December 8, 2013


This weekend I was able to recharge with Patrick in Chicago (thank you girls golf team!). The picture above was the only picture I took and that was only to text to a friend that I thought would love the clothes at Bonpoint (of course she already knew about it:). The laptops were left at home and the boys were with their grandparents. We relaxed, we ate, and we laughed. It was a pretty perfect weekend.

We Relaxed.
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and damn, it was nice. After realizing that we had not had anything to eat all day we got some burgers and a beer at the bar and then promptly went to bed. We slept until 8:30am!  8:30 people...that is huge!  After a workout and steam we headed out to walk around the city with absolutely no agenda. It. Was. Awesome. 
We Ate.
One of my favorite finds was stumbling upon Eataly (which had just opened on Monday). We purchased some fresh cheese, bread, and prosciutto and headed back to the room where the team had provided us with a nice bottle of wine (they really, really appreciate Patrick). We ate, drank, and read our books all while looking out at a beautiful view of the city. Then we took the most delicious nap (yep, I slept in and took a nap!). We woke up and cleaned up and went to dinner at RL. The team also provided a very generous gift certificate for dinner and we enjoyed every bite!  After dinner (and a little pop in at the Anthropologie that was next door) we headed back to the hotel for a cocktail. I don't even think it was 10pm before we found ourselves falling asleep at the bar and so we headed back up to the room.
We Laughed.
On Friday night after we had long went to bed, the phone rang at about 1am. The gentleman on the other end told Patrick that his Maserati was waiting downstairs for him. It took a while to convince the man that he had the wrong guy...I was dying to know just who was the man taking a Maserati out for a spin at 1am!

We went to Saks to check out some shoes, but we did not purchase anything. As we were walking out of the store a gentleman was updating us on the fact that the men's store was moving over to this building and when it was going to open. I politely smiled and told him thank you and he randomly hands me this pretty nice umbrella. Random. The couple that was leaving the store at the same time did not receive an umbrella and we overheard her moaning that she spent money and we did not and yet we got the gift...just goes to show you, people love crap.

Patrick was really pumped to go to Pategonia. I like Pategonia, but I also feel like that something you might have purchased 5 years ago is still in the catalog today. A lady was trying on a long puffer coat (very similar to the one that I have) and the salesperson helping her was trying to explain to her why this coat was so amazing. I happened to walk past the conversation and overheard him say to her "oh that coat, that is last years version"...basically calling me out!  I was cracking up because it is the same damn coat!

We decided that we were going to need "recharge" at least once a year. A new tradition has been made (as long as the grandparents don't mind:).

NYC!

Thursday, December 5, 2013


Before I get started on our AMAZING trip to New York, I would like to encourage you to click here, press play, and picture Wip singing the song (Alicia Keys can still be his backup:). You see, very early on in the trip I declared it "Wip's Trip". Seeing the city through this little boys eyes was truly one of the most special and amazing moments I have had as a parent.

Ready to head out of Louisville

Waiting at the airport

The "trip fairy" stopped by and brought a little treat for the boys (isn't she sweet?)

Lollipops = Lifesavers

William is ready to take on NYC
Our first night we went to Serafina, a family friendly Italian restaurant. William and Duncan were hilarious. You would have thought we were starving them, both somehow took down three slices of pizza each!





The next day was Thanksgiving. Duncan was under the weather and so he stayed back with Patrick at the hotel and the rest of us headed over to 59th & 7th where we were so lucky to be included in a Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade viewing party in a New York City apartment overlooking Central Park. Wip was beside himself. The people watching, his new friend Luke, and don't even get me started on the floats. We had the best of both worlds because we could stand out on the balcony and watch some of the parade go by and then when we got cold there was plenty of hot chocolate and cookies to help keep us warm. Truly a wonderful experience.
View from the balcony

Wip watching with amazement 

One of the first floats to arrive!
Mama's Boy




Is that Santa?

Wip was pumped about the sighting of the "real" Santa

William was wise and stayed indoors most of the time


Wip and the gang (his new buddy Luke is standing next to him:)

gobble, gobble

Cousins

Getting his best Spiderman hands ready 

Over 400 cheerleaders!

Peanut!

Having a ball

Voted best float (by Wip)


Bye, bye parade
After the parade we went into some good eating at The Lotus Club (where we were staying). The food was really good, but the desserts blew me away. There were SO many options for something sweet from pies to cookies to ice cream. Out of everything...Wip picked sour patch kids. Come on kid!
Lunch in the Library

This is one of three tables full of sweet stuff

This is Wip's choice 

Duncan started perking after a looooong morning of rest 
It was hard to imagine eating again...but I did. For dinner we went to a place call Landmarc in the Time Warner building. Burgers and beers were just what the doctor ordered. Oh yeah, and cotton candy!



Friday was another big day in the city. We had some down time in the morning so we just hung out at the hotel and then went for a walk in Central Park. We headed over to Radio City Music hall in the afternoon for the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. Man, did they bring it. The boys stuck it out the entire 90 minutes. Just when I thought that they were going to have a melting point, the manger scene came on the stage equipped with REAL animals (camel, sheep, donkey)...needless to say Wip's mind was blown. After the show we headed over to a wonderful dinner party at the Capra's. Good food, good wine, and amazing folks to hang out with, it was a special way to end the night.
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

down time


Wip was pretending to ice skate

It is a good thing that he is cute!






Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. We headed to the Bronx and went to The New York Botanical Garden. The Garden was displaying a holiday train show that was unbelievable. The exhibit features all of the landmarks of New York and is created with twigs and sticks and all made by hand. After the exhibit we headed over to Arthur Street where Dr. McGowan took us through his old stomping grounds (he was the president of Fordham University years ago). We popped into a restaurant for lunch called Dominick's. No menus, family style, lots of wine. It felt like I was in the scene of Sopranos. Very, very cool. And the food was. out. of. this. world. good. After lunch we walked the streets and it seriously felt like I was in Italy. Authentic. 
Checking out the donor list (smart boy:)

Train show...Radio City Music Hall

Having a snack at the Garder


Drawing animals

Daddy's boy

Our last night in New York was spent with adults...and it was fantastic. The sweet McGowan's arranged for a sitter to watch the boys so we could enjoy a dinner with the adults. We went to Rosa Mexicano and had lots of food and lots of laughs. It was pretty cool to have a menu with your name on it when you walked in (requirement of a party of 6 or more:). 

The car was picking us up for the airport on Sunday at 1pm so we decided to squeeze in one more adventure and headed over to the American Natural History Museum. While Duncan was being less than anything remotely resembling a well behaved child, Wip really enjoyed it. 



If you ever go to New York with a child during the holidays and are not overcome with a holiday spirit then you are probably made of stone (or maybe you don't celebrate the holidays...that is fair). We had a wonderful trip and now are ready to start December with a bang...bring on the eggnog!
He finally decided to take a nap in the airport on the way home