Merry Norovirus

Now that the holiday season is safely past us I can reflect with humor on the memories and mishaps that we encountered. The month of December was filled with many fun activities, including Tony breaking his knee cap AND the children's "International Cultural Celebration" at school. Cienna's 3rd grade class did a traditional dance from Mexico where she shinned like a star!

"Antonio's" kindergarten class did a fun "Baliwood" inspired dance from India. Poor Antonio was sick all week and had stayed home from school...but like the good stage mother that I am (drink this Go Go Juice AJ!), I forced him to go on performance day and shake what his mama gave him. He didn't exactly shake or shine and the teachers asked me to take him home as soon as they were done!

With the performances behind us we could focus on fun! Cienna started Wolf Creek Ski Team, AJ received a month of green faces (well they only went to school 3 weeks in December and 1 week he was out sick but those other 2 weeks ROCKED!) and we spread holiday cheer everywhere we went.

On Christmas Eve we went out to the geriatric active housing community where Mimi and Papa reside to read "The Night Before Christmas" with Ms. Claus (who BTW I overheard telling adult guests that she failed to put on undergarments under her outfit) and build gingerbread houses. All 3 of my children did a bang up job creating semi-edible real estate masterpieces!

We returned to Mimi and Papa's house for an afternoon of treasure hunts for presents and laced egg nog. I enjoyed my egg nog as much as the kids enjoyed finding their presents all over the house based on clues that Mimi made up.

In The Freezer...

The BBQ...

If AJ was exicted...

Then Cienna almost stopped breathing!

We headed back home around 2 so that Tony could go to the dump (typical) and the kids and I could assemble 4 dozen luminarias for the front of our home. Each Christmas Eve, our neighborhood puts out luminarias (paper bags folded at the top with sand and votive candles inside) and the city sells bus tickets to view them. It is my favorite part of Christmas Eve (well that and the tamales!)

Heading Out For The Unofficial Walking Tour

After all of our guests went home and the kids were tucked in their beds dreaming of sugar plum ferries, something happened that was neither happy, nor merry, nor magical. I must have made the VERY BAD LIST because I got a special delivery of the Norovirus! From 10pm - 4:30am I wished that Santa would run me over with his sleigh. And just when I felt well enough to sleep in my bed instead of on the bathroom floor the kids woke up and screamed "Santa Came!" It was 5:15am. I begged God to "take me now!" but my cries for help were not heard. True to my stage mom roots, I told the kids to go ahead without me...that the show must go on! But after 5 minutes of hearing their squealing joy coming from the living room I sat up, cried for a minute and crawled on my hands and knees to the couch to watch them open the gifts that they had been waiting for all year long. I even managed to snap 2 photos while in my own personal hell that was Christmas Day!

Twas' The Night Before The Norovirus

Oh Look! We Are Having Fun While Mom Is Dying On The Couch!

Merry Christmas to all and to all I hope you don't get what I did! Oh and don't break your knee cap either! That isn't fun as well.

Seattle

Last weekend we escaped ABQ and our children for a fun (and fast) getaway in Seattle. Our friends, Ian & Paige, flew in from Phoenix and met us for a weekend of cold but clear weather, drinking, seafood, shopping, drinking, eating and just the tiniest bit of wrestling. Our visit exceeded any expectations that I had for the weekend. Tony, Ian and I have known each other since junior college where they played football together until they both received scholarships to out of state schools. Ironically, their schools ended up being only 4 hours away from each other. The world can be a very small place. Ian introduced us to Paige after meeting her at Adams State and I remember thinking that she was a total bitch...which didn't last very long because she ended up becoming one of my very best friends and a bridesmaid in our wedding. After years of falling out of touch we reunited earlier this year and it did not take long to remember how awesome we both are. We instantly vowed that we would talk / hang out more often and this weekend was a great start to rekindling a friendship that I missed so much.

Reunited...And It Feels So Good!

We arrived Friday afternoon to brisk but clear weather. After dropping off our things, we began a walk down to the waterfront and our first stop of the night, Elliott's Oyster Bar. I enjoyed cocktails while the rest of the gang enjoyed oysters (and cocktails) and before long we were moseying along the streets of downtown Seattle, enjoying libations at each stop. We met nice people and strange people, stuffed ourselves with various seafood tidbits and failed to find an alcoholic beverage for less than $14. Seattle is not a place for those on a budget. After returning to our amazing crashpad for the weekend a wrestling match of sorts ensued...which ended in bite marks, slightly blackened eyes, bloody toenails, ripped shirts and undergarments and Paige doing her best impression of a spider monkey on Tony's back. How I managed to stay completely out of it (and therefore unscathed) I will never know, but I am pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that the room was on my credit card and I had signed my life away if any damage was discovered. Either way, all's well that ends well....there were no hard feelings come morning (but there was an awful lot of complaining!)

Us Before The Night of Debauchery

The next morning we began our day as tourists, heading down to see (and stand in line for WAY TOO long) the 1st Starbucks and Pike's Place Market. The market was my favorite. Local artists, local crafts, local food. Uh-Maze-Ing.

Get In My Belly!

After a little shopping we headed back to the room to begin preparations for dinner at the top of the Space Needle that night. We arrived just as the sun was setting and enjoyed a feast that included items like roasted marrow bones and crab cakes. Mental note: skip the roasted marrow bones. No matter how elitist they may be.

Our Unique Restaurant For The Evening

Although we talked about being in bed early Saturday night (Tony and I had to be up by 4am to catch our flight) we decided that sleep was overrated and time away from our kids was not, so we headed out for another night on the town. A much more mellow night on the town albeit but still out until midnight. Seattle was such a fun place to indulge on everything that we rarely get to do and most importantly hang out with great friends!

Happy Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone, leaving me feeling nostalgic and the kids acting off their rockers. Never again will they be 8 and 6. Time is flying by. Life is happening now. I have moments where I am overwhelmed (and maybe the tiniest bit paralyzed) by wanting to hold on to an exact moment or feeling. These moments have a way of happening a lot during the holiday season when I am feeling particularly grateful for my life and those who I share it with. And then just like that...the kids are punching each other in the face and I am threatening to lie down in traffic somewhere!

Our Halloween festivities began with our (now) annual pumpkin carving contest that we have hosted the last 2 years. Last year we invited one other family over to carve pumpkins and watch the World Series. This year we invited 4 families, served pizza, listened to spooky tunes and purchased every carving tool that Walmart had on their shelves in the hopes that it would inspire creativity and make the kids excited for the holiday. What we found was that the kids do very little carving...or brainstorming...or scooping. We parents were exhausted carving, scooping, designing, repeat (we all have more than 1 kid who refused to do anything having to do with the actual process) and then we also got to clean up the mess! The kids then proudly stood by "their" pumpkin, which was really "our" pumpkin because we worked on the damn thing for an hour. Each. In the end it was all worth the blood, sweat and tears we put in to creating spooky creations for our kids. Because without it we would have never gotten this ONE amazing picture!

A few days after we recovered from the carving contest (an adult's design was chosen as the winner...IN YO FACE KIDS!) my little gymnast and ghostbuster went trick or treating. Our neighborhood is notoriously crazytown on Halloween so in order to cope I invite friends and bring (several) road beverages with me. Without these necessary items I would not be able to leave the house. It is that crazy. Or it was that crazy. This year it was like everyone took a Xanax (Benadryl for the kids) and chilled out on Halloween. There was no pushing or shoving or trampling expensive landscape to get a fun size Snickers bar. I did not witness one adult, pushing an infant in a stroller, hold out a Walmart bag and ask for candy "for the baby." It renewed my faith in God and people! Happy Halloween 2105!

AJ's Benadryl Was Kicking In!

Legoland

Last weekend the Mazotti family traveled to the happiest place on Earth for 6-10 year old kids...better known as LEGOLAND! Tony flew to the Bay a few days early (5 days actually, not that I am keeping count or anything) and I drove to San Diego with the kids by myself, never once day dreaming about where I was going to go when Tony watches the kids for me for 5 days. I drove to Phoenix the first night and stayed with our friends Ian and Paige, where AJ proceeded to play tackle football with their pit bull Rocko in piles of dog poop. After doing an unexpected load of laundry and showering we finally got a good night's sleep for our big day when we would meet Tony at Legoland!

We blew our entire vacation budget on the Lego Hotel but hell, YOLO! After checking in to our "Pirate Theme" room we headed down to the lobby for a little friendly Lego building competition. It took 4 of us, 2 hours and every black Lego they had in the hotel but we came up with a masterpiece that was truly a group effort. 51 kids stood up and presented their creations but in the end they were no match for our little witchy! Best Design goes to the Mazottis! Boo yea!

After winning the recognition that we, like obviously, deserved we decided to focus our time and energy on other important issues like minifigure trading. I had read online that the Legoland employees wear minifigures that you can trade with so I purchased 40 retro ones online for 75 cents a piece knowing that Cienna and AJ would have a ball with them. What I didn't expect was that Tony would actually hoard them and spend every waking moment plotting and scheming how he could trade for the ones he wanted most. We had more than one meltdown regarding "fairness" and "Legoland being for kids not adults" during the trip. I guess Tony didn't get the memo!

All in all, Legoland was a huge success. The lines were almost non-existant, the weather was beautiful, and our friends from Albuquerque joined us to make it an even more festive occasion. We rode rides, met characters, tried out the water park, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the hotel. I have a feeling it is not our last time at Legoland!

Before leaving southern California we could not resist a day at the beach. I have to admit... it made me miss my home state and dream about one day having a little bungalow somewhere near the water. We will see what the future holds!

Diesel Turns Dos!

Our fur baby Diesel is now 2 years old (or 8 in dog years?) and while he has stopped doing a lot of those destructive and expensive puppy things he has not stopped growing. Just when we thought he had topped off at a svelte 141 lbs he decided that he was not quite done and at last check is now tipping the scales at 148.

Since Christmas is right around the corner I thought it might be helpful to put together a sort of "naughty / nice" list for Doganta. That way he will know whether Diesel has been a good boy or a bad boy this last year. OK...here it goes!

Diesel Is No Longer:

Ripping apart all of my outdoor cushions
Pulling electrical cords out of the back of appliances
Stealing stuffed animals and American Girl dolls out of the kid's rooms and then destroying them in private
Eating my shoes
Eating AJ's flip flops
Getting his ass kicked at the dog park by teacup Chihuahuas
Jumping out the window of moving vehicles


Diesel Is Still:

GETTING ON EVERY COUCH IN MY HOUSE NO MATTER HOW MUCH I YELL AND SCREAM AND CHASE HIM AROUND THROWING THINGS AT HIM

You see, Diesel has adapted almost too well to our household. Like my children, he thinks that when I say something it is "optional" whether to listen or not. I think he gets a kick out of seeing my head almost spin off my shoulders as I am yelling for him to GET OFF MY COUCH! He waits until I am just close enough and then he runs for his life. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

You are a pain in my ass Diesel, but much like my husband and children, I love you deeply despite of it. You are a perfect fit for us. Happy Birthday!

What Happens In Vegas...Gets Put In The Blog!

Third times a charm they say and I would say they are...pretty lucky that they got to go to the I Heart Radio Festival three years in a row! The festival (and Vegas) never ceases to amaze me. This year we were fortunate enough to have a room gifted to us at the MGM where the event was taking place. It made things that much less hectic on our end and well...it was just awesome!

After getting to our seats on Friday night, Tony dismissed himself as Sam Smith opened. I don't really blame him. While I love his voice, it was kind of a snore to start out the weekend. Just like last year he managed to schmooze his way into the VIP area where Aaron (the bartender) and Sharon (the bouffant haired waitress) greeted Tony with open arms. Our usual service ensued, with Sharon bringing red bull / vodkas every 20 minutes by the tray load. The people around us loved us...because every time Sharon arrived every body got a drink!

As the show closed with Kanye West, people got up in droves to leave. It wasn't that he went off on one of his tyrants again...he is just not that great of a performer. We stuck it out as long as we could and finally decided to head out of the arena and maybe check out Haakasan nightclub. So here is where it gets all Vegas on us. As we are walking out we end up next to these two guys in sweat pants carrying cardboard boxes following an Asian man on a Segway. It is as weird as it sounds because everyone is dressed up and carrying cocktails. There is no one wearing sweat pants carrying cardboard boxes. So Tony strikes up a conversation with the guy closest to him and asks what is in the boxes. They go back and forth for a while chit chatting as we are being herded like cattle and then the guy asks where we are headed. Tony tells him that we were going to try to get into Haakasan and he simply says "follow me. Act like you know what you are doing. Here...take a box." We work our way through MGM and arrive at Haakasan nightclub which has a line 200 people deep. Following the man on the Segway we walk up to a VIP entrance where the other guy in sweats talks to the bouncers and in 2 seconds flat we are all being issued stamps and led right in to a VIP booth above the entire night club. Bottle service, appetizers, meeting all sorts of wonderfully odd characters ensued until I finally looked down at my watch and it was 4am! On our way out we asked the man who led us in "what's your name and why us?" He said "my name is Kevin Black and I am Noel Lee's assistant. That man on the Segway is the owner of Monster Cables. And why you? Because you talked to me like a human being and because you seemed cool. I hope you enjoyed yourselves!" We woke up the next morning like "did that really happen?" In Vegas you never know what is going to happen!

Thank You Mr. Monster

Saturday night arrived and we were excited to see The Weeknd open followed by J Lo. When J Lo stopped shaking what her mama gave her we headed down to the VIP room and who do you think we see? Kevin Black! We invite Kevin Black and his friend ProHoeZak (yes, that is his name, he is the cousin of Flava Flave and I have the business cards to prove it) in to get a drink which they graciously accept. I find this hilarious because we have done nothing to get access to this area but shoot the breeze with the door man and the bartender and the waitress but here we are inviting our new friends to come in and have some drinks on us..errr...on MGM.

The highlight of my night was when Kevin Black and ProZak (we became fast friends and were allowed to drop the Hoe in his name) began a conversation that went something like this:
KB: You know who Tony reminds me of? Suge (Knight) He the same size as Suge when Suge was in shape!
PZ: You right! You know I got that n*gga's prison number right here in my phone! See...look!"
KB: Yea, I know Suge. Suge was a big boy like my man Tony here. Reminds me of him.
PZ: Suge don't know me, but I KNOW SUGE! See....his number right here!
The three of them could take that show on the road. It truly made my night.

As P Diddy and Mase took the stage, Kevin Black said "let's go." He walked us out to the floor, pulled out 3 crumpled up tickets from his back pocket that were about 10 rows away from the stage and we proceeded to have the TIME OF OUR LIVES until the show was over. It was a crazy, exhilarating time that could never be recreated even if we tried. That is magical thing about Vegas. You never know what will happen or who you will meet or where it will lead you. Which is probably also why it is a good idea to get out of there after about 3 days!

Tony and the infamous "Kevin Black"

Anthony turns 6!

It's true. Our baby boy, Anthony Jr.,turned 6 years old and I am not sure how I feel about it exactly. My youngest child turning 6 means that A) I am getting old and B) I am old enough to have my "baby" be 6. I am not excited about either of these realizations and I would gladly turn back time and have him be 3 again (if I could take what I know now with me!) Oh Anthony, AJ, or Antonio (as you are now being called in kindergarten) where has the time gone? And what goes on in that brain of yours?

After much discussion about a birthday party theme we agreed that a camping party would be lots of fun. We invited 20 of your closest friends to help us destroy celebrate with you in our back yard. We had jumbo checkers, tent, board games, coloring, trail mix bar, and scavenger hunt. We had a giant duck to go with our giant canoe. It was a crazy, chaotic, sugar filled party that was perfect for crazy, chaotic, sugar filled boy!

Camp AJ

Camp Before It Became Chaotic

Tony and our Neighbor Demonstrating Air Paddling

My Attempt At A Pinterest Campfire Cake

As we begun to sing "Happy Birthday" to AJ, he had a Kardashian moment where he started yelling "everyone isn't over here mom! Everyone isn't signing Happy Birthday to me!" We eventually got most of his followers friends to participate in the moment which allowed AJ to focus all of his energy on making a wish and blowing out the candles! Whew!

The scavenger hunt was the highlight of the party, where we broke the kids up into 3 groups with adult chaperons and ran a muck throughout the neighborhood. They trampled landscaping, scared most people over the age of 70 (we had a few doors slammed in our face) and had several falls. After getting our final item, I blew out my flip flop and told my kids to run for their lives as I hobbled home with one shoe. They ran 6 houses in the wrong direction before they heard me screaming to "COME BACK!" but we won! I am not sure the prizes were worth the bloodshed but it sure wore everyone out!

As the party was coming to a close I was able to get a picture of most of the kids in the canoe. And a random duck. It was awesome.

We sent everyone home with smores in a bag. We felt it best NOT to introduce fire into the mix especially with how many injuries resulted from the scavenger hunt. With age comes wisdom (or at least that is what I hear.)

Camp AJ 2015 was a success!

At 6 years old you love:

Minecraft
Skylanders
Legos
Sharks
Catching grasshoppers and lizards (and then sometimes feeding them to "80" our box turtle)
Playing Soccer
Jumping on the trampoline
Hanging with your friends at the pool (but not necessarily swimming in the pool)
Cheeseburgers with just meat, cheese and bun
Chicken strips
Mac N Cheese
"That Good Milk" Horizon LOL
Saying "I Love U 2" in the cutest, raspiest voice I have ever heard
Playing on the iPad (this may be an addiction not just love)
Wearing Flip Flops
Saying "why not can I?" and "I want mama" OK...and "poop butt"
Reading books with mom
Being great one day and being not great the next day. You always keep us on our toes!

We love you Anthony, AJ, Antonio! Here is to many, many more fun birthdays to come!