Holidays | Do You Have a Jungle Princess?

So we’ve all heard it year after year, “New Year, New Me!” While there always seems to be people who snicker at the concept of resolutions, I personally don’t see a problem with it. In my opinion, a bold starting date, such as the 1st of the year, seems like a great jump off point to get your goals and butt in gear.

I think the problem comes when people try for something either unrealistic or something they probably already know they won’t follow through with. Why start something you can’t finish? Of course, resolutions are meant to be challenging, but keep it within the realm of reality and your sanity people.

So for me this year I have 3 small New Year’s resolutions. One is for me to feel better, one is to help Kennedy in the current (and get Abasi off my back : ) shhh) and the other is to help Kennedy in the future.

The first is pretty par for the course for me these days… I just need to really commit to it. Ever since being pregnant I have developed an intolerance to beer, bread and pasta. To take those 3 delicious staples from my diet, you would think Kennedy hated me even before she was born! In fact, Abasi says he got suspicious that I might be pregnant when I told him I “wasn’t in the mood for pasta” right before we found out about Kennedy. HELLO RED FLAGS!!! Well after the pregnancy it continued and me being stubborn it definitely took some time admitting to it. I have done pretty well with getting the main culprit out, which is pasta, but I still dabble in beer and bread. WHO WOULDN’T RIGHT?? Well for this upcoming year, I want to go from Jan 1st to my birthday, April 22nd, without any of it to truly see if it makes a difference in my health. Pray for me friends, this will be TOUGH!

Secondly, I want to work on something SUPER EASY! I am the first to admit my downfalls and as a parent I am certainly not perfect. But this one is so easy, I know I can fix it if I am just MINDFUL about it. So here it is…. I’M BAD AT WASHING KENNEDY’S HANDS BEFORE SHE EATS! Whhheewww, weight off my shoulder, save the ‘Mom of the Year’ award until next year, you now know my dirty (literally) little secret. I am super good at getting home cooked meals ready in a snap, serving it up exactly how Kenny will eat it and setting up her little table. I GET SO CLOSE… and then I just let her go to it. Well, it is kinda gross, especially being a tiny little force of nature constantly doing things in every conceivable nook and cranny in the house. AND this is one of Abasi’s BIG hangups… he is super good at remembering this. So, as silly as it may seem, I am going to be VERY mindful about washing Kennedy’s hands before she eats. Moving on.

Finally, this is something I have been very aware of for a while, but until Kennedy really started mocking every little thing I did, I didn’t think of the consequences of. I think I do something that easily 75% of America does without thinking twice. When I walk past a mirror, especially the more I work out, I stop and check myself out, flex or lift my shirt to see my tummy. One day, I was walking by the mirror in my bathing suit and stopped and checked out my figure. I saw Kennedy stop playing with her toys and notice what I was doing. I decided then, that I wanted to make this change. I am not going to completely stop “analyzing” my fitness results but I am going to stop fussing about myself in the mirror in front of Kennedy. I want my daughter to know that she is strong and beautiful from the inside out, not the other way around. I am happy with the way I am physically coming along which is a great thing. I am glad Kennedy sees Abasi and I working out, getting stronger physically and mentally, but I don’t ever want her to obsess about her looks.

One day, I was walking by the mirror in my bathing suit and stopped and checked out my figure. I saw Kennedy playing with her toys beside me stop and notice what I was doing. I decided then, that I wanted to make this change. I am not going to completely stop “analyzing” my fitness results but I am going to stop fussing about myself in the mirror in front of Kennedy. I want my daughter to know that she is strong and beautiful from the inside out, not the other way around.

So that’s it. Nothing too crazy, nothing too unobtainable. I will work hard at these (and I’m sure many other things that need constant fine tuning) but I will not punish myself if I slip. I will acknowledge it and move on. Friends and family feel free to hold me accountable… slap that damn piece of bread from my hand! And then run fast my friends, very fast ; )

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and has a new year full of health, wealth and happiness. What are your goals for the New Year? Share ’em with me and let’s work on ourselves together! Here’s to a fantastic 2015!!

I think I forgot how much I actually wanted Christmas. No, not the gifts or the Christmas carols. And definitely not the snow… just Christmas. I know what the holiday is about. I was raised in a church and I get the religious reasons for Christmas, but we would be fooling ourselves if we said that was all Christmas is about anymore. Maybe it shouldn’t be this way… but it is.

What I’m realizing I want is the big Christmas tree, with the pretty and special ornaments. The sparkling lights, the candles, the wreaths. I want the stockings all lined up across my parent’s mantle. The houses lit up throughout the neighborhoods. Time with all of my crazy, ridiculous, obnoxiously loud but beautiful family members I rarely see. Keep the presents, I just want these things.

To understand you kinda gotta know my mom is a wonder woman. Seriously. As a child, we always went to my Grandma Jo’s house for Christmas. EVERYONE. All 5 of her kids, whatever kids they had at the moment. Whatever girlfriends, boyfriends, neighbors, friends, co-workers you name it that wanted to join… could and did. My Grandma passed away when I was 7 years old and without missing a step, my mom (& dad) inherited 2 dogs and Christmas. If you ask me, my mom was born to host Christmas. Yes, I’m sure she stresses herself out beyond belief, but if you could see the house after she decorates, or taste her cooking, or see the mantle with EVERY SINGLE PERSON’S stocking lined up across, then you would get it. She makes it so special. And so now, 20 years after taking over Christmas, the “Prizzi Christmas” is a full on circus of family, babies, friends, cursing, laughing, drinking, eating and an abundance of sassy love.

Love this picture of us for Kennedy’s 1st Christmas, but the real point for this picture is LOOK AT THE MANTLE BEHIND US! All of those stockings!! No one is ever left out!

Why am I so bothered about it this year? Because this year, we are not going “home” for the holidays. Instead we’re staying in our home of Costa Rica, basking in the sun, drinking margaritas and enjoying Christmas with fellow traveling friends, family and Lazy Mon staff. And please, don’t pity me… it will be amazing. I know this because I’ve done it one other time. The year Abasi and I trekked to Costa Rica, we stayed for Christmas instead of going back to the States. But we were high on the excitement of a new adventure then… and childless. Now that we have a family, it hurts not to spend the holidays with our EXTENDED FAMILY. And I know it hurts them too, which always deepens the pain.

I don’t know if it’s more of a subconscious desire to have the Christmas I’ve known for 27 years or if it’s a “you want what you can’t have” type of thing. All I know is I’ve found myself in a manic-esque craze the past week, pulling every DIY Christmas project from my arsenal. My top Google searches are “DIY Christmas Wreaths”, “Salt Dough Ornaments”, “Homemade Christmas Decorations.” I am craving to create Christmas in the Caribbean. I want to see it. I want Kennedy to see it. I feel like I need it to breathe right now.

Trial run for salt dough ornaments. Niki, Kai, Kennedy and I will make more later this week… new tradition for the cousins??

And so, here I am, spray painting pickle jars to turn into snowmen candle holders, buying cheap plastic garland to spruce things up, pulling every Santa hat I own out of hiding and making Salt Dough ornaments for a tree I have yet to find. In the end it will look “nice”, yet I still find myself yearning for the traditional Christmas I’ve known for 27 years but never knew I NEEDED.

This will be hard. Not just for me, but for my parents and I hate that. Aside from not having me, Kennedy or Abasi home for the holidays, they also won’t have my brother for the first time, who is here in Costa Rica with us right now. But that is a silver lining… we do have some family here. Like I’ve said before, Abasi’s brother Khalil with his wife (and my sister I never had) Niki live here in Puerto Viejo too. And they have their son Kai, so for the first time Kennedy and Kai will actually spend Christmas together. And my brother will be here, celebrating with us too. It’s our little satellite family, and I thank God for it.

So I guess that’s the way life works right? Circumstances force you to make decisions that you can either feel sorry about or make something of. While I am sad, I choose to make something of it. I will DIY the hell outta this house. I WILL find a freaking tree. I WILL put some Christmas magic into my tiny little Caribbean house. And I’ll do it because my Mom did it for us and because I clearly loved it more than I ever acknowledged. I have attachments to Christmas, that once deprived of, I never knew existed. And do you want to know something pathetic? I don’t think I have ever once thanked my Mom for putting together the amazing Christmas she does year after year.

So to you Mom, who I know is reading because you always do: THANK YOU! Thank you for running around, stressing yourself out, cooking for more than 30 people every year, decorating the house, lining up our stockings and making everyone feel so welcomed. But more than anything, thank you for creating a tradition in a loving home. Time after time, you knock it outta the park!

Happiest Gramz in the world. The tree doesn’t hold a candle to either of their shining smiles!

To all of you, Happy December 1st! 24 days to go, enjoy your holidays with your family and friends no matter where you are and cherish the traditions you have with your loved ones. Does anyone out there have a crazy, fun or sentimental tradition you want to share? I would love to hear it!