it's simple

 They just make life worth livin'

Here comes...

Tia Val!

 We waited

 and we waited.

 There's her driver!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Now grover and I can relax.

 Val's finally here!

Merry Merry

I love Christmas! I mean, I know that we claim to be Jewish, but this is one thing I can't give up!

It reminds me too much of my childhood and all the fantastic memories I have of my mom and my Abue.  

My Andino family was the best at celebrating Christmas. 

 All of my uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, and my 

darling little Abue, gathered together to eat, laugh, drink, and be together.

Now I know that when we look back we tend to romanticize these events and remember only the good, but whatever, I know in my heart it was mostly always good.  I can still hear the clinking of glasses and the loud Spanish music playing till the wee hours of the morning.  And let us not forget all the dancing; there was always dancing.  I remember seeing my aunts and uncles cut loose, my mom's laughter, the midnight countdown and smoochfest, the presents.  But mostly I remember that this was the time in my life that taught me how important it is to have family and traditions. How important it is to stay close to your loved ones and celebrate not only the holidays, but to enjoy the love that we have for one another. 

So Jew, Christian, Agnostic or athiest, no one can deny that family and love are what holidays are about! How could I give that up?  

  

 Plus I love the sparkle and lights of the season. Oh, and the cheesy music too.

  

Wish you were here Mema! So we arrange our stockings to have you here all season long.  Smooches to you Mema!

 Our sad little tree longs for all our beautiful ornaments, but due to the fact that we have TWO TODDLERS we have chosen to do it up simple.  This tree is an homage to my Abue Anita.  She and my mom made all of the snowflake ornaments, and this year they are a little bit more special to me. Abue, I love you and I will miss you this Christmas!

The girls dancing around tree. 

 

 "It's so pretty!"

"Uh Oh!"

 Mommy: "who took that ornament off the tree Eme?" 

 Eme:  I don't know mommy, maybe it was the dog."

Cheers to a great start to the holidays!

Chanukah, Channuka, Hanukkah, or Hanika

 However you spell it, this is how we celebrate it.

Because we are all very tech-savvy, we choose to Skype in our family for the holidays.  

Here we are celebrating Chanukah with our favorite Jewish relatives, the Rudermans!

 Uncle Eric sings the blessing and the candles are lit.

Watch your hair Nora!

 Then, of course, there are many lovely gifts! 

 Wow!

Thank you to our Aunties Stacey and Val,  Uncle Eric, Cousin Nora, Great Auntie Ann, and YaYa and Pops!

 It is now a Ruderman/Peinovich/de la Calle tradition to spend this holiday together.  

We missed you Nora!

 Thank goodness for Skype, 'cause it felt like you were right here with us.

 Mommy can you tell us the story of the Macabees and the little jug of oil and the miracle of Chanukah?

So that is how this little family celebrates Chanukah.  In the future I'm sure that our traditions will change  some, but what will stay the same is being with family and the love that surrounds the holiday season.

HAPPY CHANUKAH!

HaPpY BirThdaY VaL!

It is hard to believe that I have known you for 32 years.  What a ride.  I remember how cute you were as my tiny little baby sister, how annoying you became as my bratty younger sister, how fun you were as my hippy sis, how cool you were as my hip urban sis, and now how amazing you are as an Aunt.  You don't know what joy my heart feels when I see how much my girls adore you.  Not just because you are their Tia V, but because they feel your love every day! Because you make them a priority, because you take ridiculous measures to be present in their lives, because in all these 32 years I have never seen you love anything like you do them.  For this, and so much more, I thank you and I love you! Happy Birthday to my spectacular sister. Without you, our life would be a little bit duller.