Rage Against The Minivan

Today was my birthday.  I spent the entire day thinking that I was turning 37 today.  I gave quite a bit of thought about the fact that I am no longer mid-thirties.  I thought about how old 37 seemed, and how brief life was, and the ways I wanted to be different as I enter my LATE THIRTIES (dun dun DUNNNNN).  This age just really felt like a milestone. Around 11pm tonight, a friend pointed out that I am 36 today, not 37.  If I’m honest, I think that tops any birthday . . .

(Part 1 is here) Where were we?  Christmas Eve. We had breakfast with friends. Mark took the kids to the park while I played Santa. It seemed a little strange to have the kids open gifts in their clothes.  So even though it was well past noon when they got home from the park, I made them change into their pajamas before entering the house.  And the rest was pure Christmas magic. Snack break. Kembe and Karis think the djembe drum covers make nice hats.  . . .

I have taken an obscene amount of photos over the past five days.  I have lots to say about flying with our four kids for the first time, and the subsequent 8-hour 3-family road trip, but I’m just give you a teaser because I have previously-taken photos to post, and I don’t want mess up the time-space continuum by posting out-of-order.  So, I leave you with this little spoiler alert: it was both better and worse than I thought it would be there was puking there but by the . . .

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We continue in our commitment to the Go Big Or Go Home Holiday 2010 Extravaganza. We made gingerbread houses. I think Jafta’s technique here exemplifies the Go Big Or Go Home philosophy.  Sure, you could take dainty bites of a smaller piece in your hand.   But why not just take a bite out of the roof?  Really, WHY NOT? After gorging herself on sugar for about an hour, Karis decided to climb onto the table and dance around like a drunk girl at a Phish concert.  . . .

This week, we are going to feature a handful of bloggers on ShePosts who are using their social media influence for good during the holiday season.  One of those bloggers is Jeannett from Life ReArranged. Jeannett is no stranger to philanthropy through blogging,  Her blog is a regular host of guest posts that are matched with giveaways benefits a charity of choice.   This month, she has set her sights on something that could change one person’s life forever. Jeannett is . . .

Last week my advice column at the Orange County Register’s website was about flying with small children.  The irony is that in a week from today, we will be taking our first flight as a family of six, and I am TOTALLY FREAKED OUT about it. We are so outnumbered.  We’ve only even flown with three kids once.  It’s hard to believe, but since Karis was born we’ve only taken one trip as a family – to Seattle over a year ago.  Every other trip over the past two years has been some . . .