Sweet Baby Jesus

So, I am a few days late in reporting back how Midnight Mass went, but here it is.

It actually went very well. Rose stayed asleep through the procession, which slowly wound its way around the church. The priest was holding her through that procession at the start of Mass - he and "baby Jesus" came last, after a slew of incense-bearing altar boys, our deacon, another priest, and Phillip and I. When we got to the altar he gave her back to me so that Phillip and I could move forward to place her in the manger. Then the manger scene was incensed and blessed. It was a truly beautiful moment, and I imagined Jesus as a newborn, come to save the world.  What an incredible sense of hope!

Up until this point Rose was incognito in her white swaddling cloth, so I am sure everyone was like, "Oooh, what a cute little boy!" and "Awwww, sweet baby Jesus!"

But then? Our priest outed her! He announced for all to hear that this was Rose Felicity and she was our baby Jesus for today. Oops! But strangely enough, people came up to us after Mass to coo at the baby and none of them knew it was a girl. So somehow they were either all late and didn't hear, or were asleep in the pews. I am thinking asleep, because I was asleep and I was walking around with my eyes open and stuff. Which is only creepy if you actually know I am asleep. I hide it well. It's a skill.

Rose ended up snapping awake the moment I put her down in the manger scene. At first she looked a little freaked out. But instead of crying at the top of her lungs she looked around at everything. I am sure she was wondering who these people surrounding her were (statues of Mary, Joseph, Angel and Shepherds). Fortunately, she sort of rolled a little to one side and ended up looking right up into the face of Mary. This seemed to grip her attention and she stared at Mary's face for quite a while. I imagined Jesus staring up at his mother's face like that. 

Finally, at the Gospel she started to lose it so I picked her up and nursed her. I ended up keeping her in my lap for the rest of the Mass until just before the final blessing.

The whole 3am bedtime didn't go great for me, but at least I was able to nap the next day since my family was in town to help with the kids. And now it is New Years Eve, but there is just no way I am staying up past midnight again! Instead, I will be participating in a murder mystery this evening and ringing in the New Year at 9PM with New York.

If all goes well and I am not the one who gets bumped off tonight, then I will be sure to post pictures. I am supposed to be the "Hollywood starlet", which is going to be hard to pull off with a baby strapped to me. As a friend told me, I can pretend I am unmarried and that will make it très Hollywood.

Happy New Year! Prospero Año Nuevo y Felicidad!

Merry Christmas!

Just about everything on my Christmas to-do list has been accomplished (because I am just that good).  The only thing left now is midnight Mass tonight, where Rose will be playing the starring role of baby Jesus. I'll be swaddling her in white, so no one will be the wiser that our pretend Jesus is actually a little girl.

This part she is playing is my ticket to getting reserved seats at Mass, which is no joke. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a seat at Mass for Christmas? The place is overflowing. You have to get there hours early just to get a seat.

The trade-off, however, is that I have to attend the Mass the priest wants baby Jesus to be in. Midnight Mass. So there's a little give and take involved. I give you my baby, you give me seats, and I take a caffeine pill to stay awake through it all. Ho ho ho! The jokes on me, apparently. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas and I'll see you on the flip side!

The Stash

I have a stash.
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No, not a 'stash! Much as I love a good mustache, I don't mean that kind. What I mean is that I have a candy stash.

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No, no, no...not a candy mustache. Though these do look tasty - what do you figure, black licorice or chocolate?

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I have a stash of candy that I hide from my kids and husband. This secret cache of sugary goodness is what often gets me through my sleep-deprived days. Funny thing about newborns - they do not sleep for very long before needing a diaper change or a feeding.

So I have been using candy as a pick-me-up whenever I feel tired, or stressed, or sleepy. Which is about 22 out of every 24 hours in the day. But see here is the thing - I have to hide it, otherwise everyone else will eat it and then where would I be?

I would still be tired, stressed, and sleepy - but without candy. And mama doesn't like that.

So I keep a stash. What vice do you turn to get through your day?

Get Your Spa On

Do you have any idea what it's like to have a chicken dance on your face? Or wear giant Hot Pockets on your hands? ...No? Well, up until this week neither did I. But now I can honestly say I have experienced life to its fullest. No - I'm not referring to delusions brought on by illegal narcotics even though it sort of sounds like I am.

This very odd-sounding experience was actually not that odd. In fact, it was stunningly fantastic. Again, not drugs.

The truth is that I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation by Euphoria Salon and Day Spa to come and try out their spa services. I've been going to Euphoria for several years for haircuts and manicures (love!), but had never tried out their spa services. 

"Would you come get a massage and facial?" they asked.

Um, yes. Yes I will.

They treated me to a Mom's Escape Package, which consisted of the Classic Facial (50 minutes) and a Swedish Massage (also 50 minutes). As a mom of 3, including a newborn, trust me - I needed to escape for a little while!

My massage was absolutely world-class, and having been to several resort spas on the Strip I had something to compare it with. It was fantastic! But the real deal was the facial. This is where the chicken and the Hot Pockets come into play. I had never had a facial before, having always chosen massages over any other spa treatments.

And now I am so sorry I never tried a facial because it. was. awesome.

My aesthetician Vonya started me out with warm steam blowing gently onto my face to prep me for a cleansing. Vonya spent some time layering and lathering cleansing products on my face, followed by exfoliation and moisturizer. There were also "extractions", which sounds scary but really isn't.

On to the chicken. One of my favorite parts of the facial was this fluttering little massage she did with her fingertips. She did the flutter massage all over my face, tapping her fingers rapidly across my forehead, cheeks and chin - and it felt like a chicken was dancing around on my face. Or at least what I imagine that would feel like. Except far more sanitary and relaxing. Because if a chicken were actually dancing on my face, two things would be running through my head:

1) How in the world did this chicken learn to actually dance, she's really got the "beat"!  and,
2) Oh geez, I don't know where your feet have been...actually, I can imagine where they've been and its grossing me out right now.

And I feel fairly confident that would not be as conducive to rest and relaxation in the way a world-class facial is.

The other bit of awesome was that the facial also consisted of a massage on my arms and hands, and she even put a special moisturizer on my hands. Then, to seal in the moisture she put on these heated mitts that looked like giant Hot Pockets. It was heavenly! In fact, I actually drifted off to sleep for a for a few minutes there.

Between the massage and the facial, by the time I left Euphoria my skin was glowing and I looked 10 years younger. I came back home feeling relaxed and refreshed and prepared to deal with the stresses and challenges of motherhood. In fact, when I got home I was actually sweet to my kids. Yeah, I know.

So I am going give Euphoria's Mom's Escape Package:

In fact, I am going to go ahead and say that this spa package is a must do on your Christmas shopping list.  Be sure to "Like" Euphoria on Facebook to get discounts and coupons to make the whole thing even sweeter.

Give the woman in your life a real gift - whether it's your own mom or your BFF. And if you are a mom yourself, clue your hubby in to what you really want for Christmas. Escape. If only for a couple of hours to have a chicken dance on your face and to wear giant Hot Pockets. Who needs drugs when you have the spa?