(W)Rap Artist

Christmas Eve is also my mom's birthday, so this day has had a hint of sadness since she passed away almost 19 years ago.  There are so many things that come to mind when I think of my mom and Christmas, but I have the most memories when it comes to wrapping presents.

I remember how quickly she could do it herself, always perfect in the amount of paper she used and the amount of ribbon she pulled off the spool.  Her organized mind was evident in the pre-torn pieces of tape she would have stuck to the back of her hand, or stuck to the side of the table where she was wrapping, ready for immediate use at each fold of the paper.  I noticed she never tried to wrap an odd-shaped toy or mug or whatever without putting it in a box first - this ensured the neatness of the package.  And she never left a present without a bow - she had a bow maker when she wanted to be fancy, but she wasn't beyond using the stick-on kind.  She just wanted it to be nice.

When I started choosing presents on my own to give to others, the first thing my mom did was to teach me how to wrap them properly.  Of course, teaching me to use the right amount of paper and ribbon involved lots of eyeballing, which I was bad at doing.  Many times I'd cut too much or, even worse, too little.  In the latter case, my mom told me to save that piece that was cut too small, because inevitably there would be another gift of appropriate size to use it on.  I still make that mistake to this day, so if you look inside the tubes of gift wrap in my closet, you'll find many rolled scraps meant not to go to waste.  Folding the corners on the present wrapping proved to be even more of a challenge.  Whereas her corners were always so crisp, mine left wrinkles and bulges that made the gift look like it needed a facelift.  But she assured me that, with practice, the corners would get more snug and the edges more flat.  After 30 years of wrapping my own presents, she was right.  And, per her example, I never forget the bow.  For any of you who have received a wrapped present from me, you know my fallback is curling ribbon.  Curly is about as fancy as I get.

Now in no way am I against gift bags, in case you were wondering.  I just feel like I'm honoring my mom when I wrap at Christmastime.  I value what she taught me and I don't want to forget it.  And I think the way I wrap presents is a good reflection of my mom:  simple, considerate, and nice.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."  Luke 2:7

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Mommy's Vacation Day

Josephine is taking a much-deserved day off. As of 12:01 a.m. she was off the clock (and sleeping soundly). Since my favorite show is 24, I have decided to chronicle my day ala one season of 24. If you are not familiar with the show, each episode is one hour with each season a total of 24 hours in the life of counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer. He saves the world. My day will not be as exciting - no nuclear bombs to disarm but I did disarm one big poopy diaper.

The Following Takes Place Between...

12:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Everyone is sleeping

1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Everyone is sleeping

2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Everyone is sleeping

3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Jack wakes up and is fed 2 ounces of Similac. He goes right back to sleep after a quick burp.

4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Everyone is sleeping.

5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Everyone is sleeping.

6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Jedidiah wakes up and is fed 2 ounces of Similac. He goes back to sleep. Trash trucks roar down the street collecting rubbage. Jonah wakes up and then crashes on the couch.

7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Mommy wakes up confused because she did not have to feed the twins. James wakes up and joins Daddy and Jonah on the couch.

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Joann visits and gets to hold Jedidiah. Jack is still sleeping. Jonah and James eat cereal and constantly interrupt mommy and daddy.

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Jack wakes up - Time to play. Jed is still up.

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. School time for Jonah and James. Jonah works on subtraction while James colors. Jack hangs out in the chair. Jonah and James push each other around in plastic boxes. Later in the hour James trips and falls right on his nose. Ouch! Jack finally eats. Jed finally goes to sleep. Mommy leaves with a gigantic smile on her face.

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Jack takes a nap. Jed wakes up around 11:30 and eats at 11:45. Jonah and James start watching the Babar movie.

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Daddy gives Jedidiah the medicine he forgot to give at mealtime. Back to school. More math for Jonah - this time we are working on coins. Both babies are asleep.

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Babar movie stopped. Lunch time for Jonah and James. Dinosaur chicken and carrots. Yum! I wake up Jack and he hangs out then eats at 1:30.

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Jedidiah sits in his chair and watches his fingers. Jonah and James take turns using the computer (Playhouse Disney). James freaks out because he had an accident in his pullups (Poor Lightning McQueen).

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Jack wakes up, eats, then vomits. Jedidiah takes a nap at 3:30. Jonah and James are pried free from the computer and sent to their room for a nap.

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Jonah sneaks out of his room and hides in the living room (twice). He tries his best to convince me that he does not need to sleep anymore. Considering this is the first time everyone is asleep, Jonah must go back to his room. He has the option of reading books quietly. Daddy needs a few minutes to recharge. Jonah, sensing that Daddy is along and bored, sneaks out again to inform him that he obeyed and read books in his room and has slept enough. Jonah is sent back to his room.

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. I got to spend some rare time bonding with just Jonah. It was nice. James wakes up at 5:30.

6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Jack wakes up and hangs out in the chair. Jed wakes up a little later and also chills in the chair. Jonah and James play with trains and cars. Jack is fed 1 1/2 ounces of formula.

7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Jonah and James wathc Bugs Life. It Starts getting dicey. The twins are both hungry and crying. One eats but only a little. After switching to feed the other, he tags his teammate who begins to cry also. They are both very hungry, very tired or both (me too).

8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. I am slowly pumping more formula in each like the gas tank of my car. Just enough and the tank is full. Too much and it overflows. I hit the magic amount and Jed gets sleepy and goes down to bed.

9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Jonah and James finish watching the movie. Jack joins us as I brush teeth, change pajamas and we pray. Three down, one to go. I feed Jack one last time. I try to give him just enough to top off but not too much or else...Jack vomits several gallons worth! I pushed it one gulp too far. I put Jack down in his bed to clean up and he falls asleep. Yes!

10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. I clean up the kitchen and check on the twins a few times to make sure they are alive (they never go down this easy and they haven't made a peep). God is so merciful. Josephine calls. She's on her way home. I heat up my dinner and chow down.

11:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. Josephine arrives home and we chat about her shopping adventures. I finish cleaning up, feed the dog and get ready for bed.

Wow, what a day. I really appreciate my wife and moms everywhere. Jack Bauer is tough but not tough enough to be a mom. Sorry Jack.

Like Mother, Like Son

I was feeding one of the twins in their room the other day (something I spend at least 8 hours a day doing) while Justin was playing with Jonah and James outside. I heard them come in and I heard Jonah crying. When I came out, I was told that Jonah walked in front of James while James was "at bat" playing baseball with Daddy. Needless to say, Jonah's nose was bleeding.

Rewind about 30 years to a rented house in Pasadena. Three brothers are playing baseball in the front yard, and little sister wanders behind the batter. Broomstick makes contact with bridge of nose and... you guessed it. And you've probably guessed who that little sister was.

Like mother, like son. Come on, Jonah, let's go get an ice pack together.