Christmas Eve

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but holidays and birthdays are a big, huge deal in my world.  My mom always made those special days something to really cherish.  We were treated like (un-spoiled) royalty on our birthdays and holidays, especially Christmas, were ALWAYS something to look forward to.  So that makes each of my mom's kids love the holidays and our birthdays. We are a small group of people who look forward to their birthday each year.  That part is also because my mom was only able to celebrate 49 birthdays…so we all know how important each and every birthday truly is.

Christmas was a big runner-up to the birthday.  In reality…the birth of Christ was obviously more important than our measly birthdays, but growing up...I definitely felt like my birthday was EVERYONE'S favorite day of the year.  It probably still is.  Amiright?

Anywho…growing up our family tradition for Christmas Year Eve was awesome.  It did the SAME thing EVERY year.  I can't remember a year we didn't do it.  We ALWAYS went OUT for pizza (unless Christmas Eve was on a Sunday..then we had homemade).  I can remember for sure going to Pistol Pete's at 43rd and Olive, but a lot of years we met the Cahill's at the Peter Piper Pizza in Maryvale…like 51st Ave and Indian School Road.

After pizza we drove around neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights.  My mother would Ohhh and Ahhh at the fun light displays.  She was like a child. I wish I could have appreciated her innocence, but it wasn't until I had my own child that I 'got it'.  It really took me until I was 33 years old to understand what Christmas meant to my mother.

We always ended up back at our house reading the Christmas story from the Bible and opening our one gift allowed on Christmas Eve.  I always hoped for some special surprise, but we always opened a box containing new pajamas and new slippers.  We were hurried to bed, so Santa could make his rounds, but we were usually too excited to settle down quickly.

This year for Christmas Eve we met my parents and Raelynn for dinner at Olive Garden.  I wasn't sure Mike would be off work, so I made plans to spend the evening with my parents.  Mike ended up having the night off, so after dinner we drove out to Mike's parents' house.  Mike stopped off at Starbucks to get himself some caffeine…and for some stupid reason rolled Blip's window down while we waited in line.  When we got to his parents' house Blip had no hat.  It wasn't in the vehicle.  He had to have thrown it out the window at Starbucks, but we went by there on the way home and couldn't find it.  Mike always rolls down Blip's window…and it drives me insane…I always told Mike Blip would toss something important out the window, so please keep it rolled up. Nope.  Oh well.

We visited with Mike's parents and siblings and their kids for a while before heading home.  I changed the baby into his new jammies before we left.  Blip went down easy, so Santa could come by and leave a few things at our house.  I remember our Christmas tree looking like Santa left his entire bag at our house, so when  the tree at our house looked like Santa didn't have anything left to leave…I was a bit disappointed with my self-enforced budget.  I guess with one child it would be hard to talk Santa into leaving his entire bag anyway.