Hope everyone is enjoying the busy holiday season. I have been away from this blog for far too long. so I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. Some interesting surprises and challenges have come our way over the past six months, but through each episode, we’ve seen a little more how blessed we have been with an amazing circle of friends. These are the people who are always there in an instant (you know those people – when your car won’t start or you’re having a crisis because you are about to turn 40, or you find yourself trapped in a car full of pre-teen boys who are having an in-depth conversation about girls getting their periods and you just have to call someone and tell them).Yes, these are the people in my life who keep me laughing when I start taking life too seriously.
The photo above is of the boy and me celebrating my 40th birthday this past September. Notice, he has on the backwards hat, while I have on the tiara… pretty much our personalities captured in one shot. I really thought I’d have no problem turning 40, but I admit I did freak out several weeks before the big day. I was kind of a wreck, until I had a fabulous idea. Here’s how I got out of my rut… I hate surprises, so I decided I’d throw a reverse surprise party. Several of my best friend’s kiddos are Blake’s BFF’s. These are my single mama BFFs (with one married friend, who we include in our secret single mom society). Long story short, I rented a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE limo, told no one (the boy almost went insane), bought field level seats to a Dodger’s-Padres game, and told everyone what time I would get them. Even once the limo pulled up, the boy had NO idea it was ours for the night. We filled it with balloons and I had presents that we set out for all of my party guests (part of the reverse surprise is that everyone else gets a gift!). Once in the limo, I still told not a soul where we were headed. The boys had their side of the limo with their glow sticks and junk food and the moms had our side with plenty of wine flowing. (I am told I did slightly embarass the boy, but he is kind of used to that.). That was one of the BEST days of my life… Best Birthday Party Ever!
Here’s my twist on winter wonderland cookies. What can be better than flip flop and bikini cookies in December? California is its own kind of winter wonderland. I don’t think the boy will ever live in a place that he couldn’t wear flip flops to Christmas dinner (of course, flip flops dressed up with a collared shirt; I’ve learned to pick my battles and flip flops just aren’t worth the battle.).
Last Christmas we brought California themed Christmas cookies to Deb, my BFF on the East Coast. Deb is my girlfriend who has moved from coast to coast multiple times in the past few years. Last May, Deb called to tell me she was moving back to the OC. She was only a few weeks away from having her fourth baby girl, so the boy and I were doubly ecstatic. Deb is a trooper…just when you think you know how things are going to turn out, God throws a curve ball. Well, Deb had Emery in July after renovating her new home from top to bottom in record time. (She is Wonder Woman by the way. ) Just as we were gearing up for the school year, she was faced once again with the tough decision of relocating back to DC for a job opportunity that was hard for her husband to pass up. (I don’t think I’ve mentioned her husband is crazy smart, we are talking Valedictorian, Ivy League school kind of brilliance. But above all, he is a really good guy… which explains why every company wants to hire him). 
It was another tough good-bye, but what I have learned through all of Deb’s moves is that a best friendship transcends any distance and any amount of time. I love her dearly, miss her daily, but can’t wait to see what plans God has in store for this amazing woman who has touched my life in so many ways.
And while we are talking about Christmas and babies, these cookies below (also twelve months overdue to be posted) were for the other Kate in my life who had her baby girl, Brooklyn (Baby B), right before New Year’s. Kate’s one of those people who you meet and you instantly know you are going to be friends with for life. We met at a baseball game when she overheard a man telling me that the Naughty One (my pup) looked like she was about to have babies (clearly a derogatory comment about her weight, right?). My response to the man was, “You should be glad she is a dog or she would be really offended right now.” Kate thought I was funny…I was kinda serious. She and I are both single moms with twelve year old boys. We both have the same jobs, just in different districts, and we are both experts at sneaking wine into public venues (Starbucks cup, no one ever suspects anything!).
I have been abundantly blessed with baby girls in my life that I can spoil with, anything, pink, anything sparkly, and shoes galore!!! We are throwing Brooklyn’s Twinkle Twinkle/ owl themed first birthday party right after Christmas and have been talking about it since Baby B’s birth.
And I couldn’t mention baby girls without mentioning Charlotte… this is my baby who calls me “Mama” and cries big tears whenever I have to leave her (the boy hates that the baby loves me more than him). Keri has been my BFF since 5th grade. She is the only person in my life who knows my ENTIRE story and the one person I think I am 100% myself around… if that makes sense. Love her and her girls to death! Keri is such an awesome best friend that she agreed to throw a Hungry Caterpillar first birthday party, which she knows I have been dying to have. It was an amazing party…cutest decorations and food spread ever! She went all out and invited 50+ people, and let me do the treats. One of the coolest things about Keri is that she lets her kids just dig right in… literally and figuratively. She doesn’t even get anxious when she tells over fifty people to stare at her one year old and sing happy birthday to her. Okay, I was the one freaking out about the massive amount of red frosting Charlotte dug into and the potential hysteria brought on by the Happy Birthday Choir. But you know what… Charlotte loved EVERY single minute of it, smiled and laughed through the entire song… so much like her real mama!
So basically the short, short version of this post is… this holiday season, I am thankful for best friends, baby girls, and making memories with the people I love!
