2 Povs Boys & Their Palm Tree Christmas

WHEW What a wild ride called Life and Holidays. We are back home. Christmas was a whirlwind and great fun( albeit exhausting). In a nut shell we jumped in the car and drove to Hilton Head, SC. We spent Christmas Part one with the Povs. We love HHI. We loved Grandpa Bob's new toy...... his Golf Cart. We are so blessed to have gotten a bunch of beautiful clothes for the boys( and parents too). Grandma Dream and Uncle Jerry have more than done their part to keep the economy thriving during this challenging time. We love you guys and thank you sooooo much! Whoever thinks you can not dress boys cutely has not met Grandma Eileen, Uncle Jerry and Grandma Cha Cha who find very cute stuff all the time! Another highlight was Christmas Breakfast. I have come to love this wonderful egg /ham dish... is is heavenly! The Povs and Uncle Jerry really know me after 10 + years of Chris and I dating and being married for 8. I got some beautiful pinky/lavender jackets that I love. LOVE..... LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!! After HHI we drove to Savannah Airport and jumped on a plane to Tampa to spend Christmas Part 2 with the Draytons....my family. It was culture shock when my dad picked us up in shorts and a tee shirt. We immediately took off the winter coats we had carried from Charlotte. We had 80+ degree weather. Between HHI and Dade City( where my parents live) I realized I am a warm weather girl! I really love it! Charlotte has great weather too. It is about as cold as it gets right now. Maybe not as hot as Florida or HHI but much better than SUNY OSWEGO where I went to school and saw blizzards and lots of snow. Florida was divine. We enjoyed a great time with Grandma Cha Cha and Papa Ken. We just relaxed at their home( well relaxed as much as you can with a Toddler who wants to TOUCH EVERYTHING). My dad nicknamed Mason "WINDTUNNEL". We eat good food and sat outside by the pool. We visited some new mall near them. I loved it. All the stores were outside! Heaven on Earth for me is a Mall outside on a Sunny Day with a Starbucks Chai in my hand. We pushed the boys around in their double stroller and enjoyed the sites. No shopping for us given it was right after the holidays and we are on a 2009 UNCERTAINTY BUDGET. smile...... nervous laugh....

We had a great time as stated. On Sunday after Christmas we got back on a plane headed back to Savannah were the Povs met us at the airport with our car. Drove 3 1/2 hours back to Charlotte. We love visiting but let me tell you traveling with little ones is not for the WEAK. It is work. Their schedules are off, and Mason was fighting a virus. We had a great time but let me reiterate traveling with little ones is just not for WIMPS. I think I sweat off 10 pounds every time we enter the airport... security lines, changing diapers in the airport, carry on bags full of stuff to keep little ones occupied.... worrying about little ones FREAKIN OUT ON planes.... WHEW.. it is very stressful!!!!! Loved the holidays.... we are so blessed to have the best families..... good to be home in our own nest now..... below a lot of pictures to capture the special moments with our beloved family.......

Christmas Day 2009... new wrap dress from Ann Taylor from Chris.... love it( Cha Cha/Eva's House)

Pov Cousins, Mason, Ben, CJ, Ryan - HHI

Grandpa Bob with a gift

Uncle Will with Mason and Ryan

YUM... here it is Christmas Breakfast......... Povs House HHI

Ryan in a bow I bought her. Like it.. check out babybundles.com. My friend Melissa's company.

Christmas Tree at Palmetto Hall Club. Where Povs Live.

The almost twins.. CJ and Ryan

Grandpa Bob and Mason

Grandpa Bob's Toy

View near the Povs House.... pond

Palmetto Hall( club at Pov Community)... Special Place for us... where we had our Wedding Reception....

FORE!!!!!!!! our little golfer

New outfit from Uncle Jer

The handsome Haights

Lor and Uncle Jerry... love ya

The Povs.... grandma Eileen and grandpa Bob

Chris diggin' a gift....

I love pretty decorated tables. Povs do it well have learned alot from them!

Our Party Hats a tradition ....

Now for Dade City FLA... me and Auntie Elvia.. Auntie Elvia is as girly as me. I adore her! Always a cute outfit and lover of all things girly like ME. Christmas Day

Grandma Cha Cha's big tree.. she had ... three

This was my fave...... it had little red birds on it and big red bows...

Christmas Day

Grandma Ruby's Fruitcake... my Panamanian Grandma. My mom and Auntie Elvia made it. Takes a lot of time and work. You have to ferment Fruit in Alcohol for awhile. I remember my Grandma's jars of fruit fermenting......

Outside my Parents House. My mom loves to decorate for the holidays

This is my fave. I love Cinderella and Carriages.

Mason and Grands....

and again

This is my fave pic..... Dad Chillin by the pool day after Christmas. I am so happy for all the grands.. they both( Povs and Drayton's) are livin LA DOLCE VIDA.

Why I say we had a Balmy Christmas. We saw lots of Palm Trees in both HHI and Florida

My boys

Mason, me, Cha Cha and CJ.... My parents clubhouse

Lake Jovita where my parents live

The Fountains... My dear sis and her sweet boys. My sis is 15-16 weeks preg. YAY!

CJ, Dylan( my godson), Uncle Joey, Titi Dawne and Mason

I miss my sister alot. We had a short visit with her. She arrived the day before we left. But it was great to spend time with her and her family. I am so excited to be an auntie again. Babies are angels on Earth. 2009 is going to be full of living for sure! CIAO for now...GIGI

My Puerto Rican Idol.....

Ok a proper Christmas Update is in order and I know that this website is devoted to my family but beware that as the author I am allowed to digress now and again for things that I just love. More to come on Christmas 2008 but in the meantime I just saw this picture of JLo. Oh my heavens..... what a beautiful dress and shoes and just everything!

She is my Puerto Rican Idol...... I love her!



http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/best-of-2-hot-2-handle-2008/2472?nc

More to come on Christmas soon. I am already thinking about my 2009 Resolutions and they will be short and sweet! It has been a world wind week. Christmas Part One was in Hilton Head with the Povs and Christmas Part 2 was in Dade City Fla with the D's.... We had a Warm Weather Christmas that was great. Hugs Gigi

The Preschool Play that Wasn't and the Adult Christmas Party that was.....

I am missing blogging. I really enjoy it and right now we are in full on Holiday Mode, laundry, final wrapping of gifts, finishing up work stuff so we can take some time off.... all of this makes blogging a little harder right now. Quick weekend review:
Friday CJ had his school play...The Bear Snores On. CJ was to be one of the bears. He practised all week. He would roar and roar around the house. I drove like a mad woman from uptown ..took a meeting from a bathroom stall.... so I could get to his school play on time. As I ran into the classroom I spotted CJ sitting on Chris' lap before the play began. Parents were filling in. CJ was frozen with fear and crying. He just kept saying.. "I don't want to be the bear anymore. I want to go home." I sat down and tried to rationalize with him and empathize. "CJ I know you are a little scared right now. Would it help if you just pretended you are the bear at home roaring around our house like you did this morning?" "NO... CJ replied that does not make me feel better!". I then tried a little honesty.... "CJ I get scared all the time. Pretty much every day something scares me. Sometimes if I just do the thing that scares me I become not scared of it anymore..... This is the truth. I am scared all the time especially right now with the economy and all the wild stuff going on in the banking industry. But I am also a Woman of Faith and I know God has a plan for me and my life and I know I am his instrument( the lord that is). and that I am suppose to do great things as a mother, and a woman. Some I have done already( like giving birth.. and some things I still have to do....).. Anyway, back to the story.... I would like to say that at this point CJ looked at me and said... "OK I will be the bear." but it never happened. He sat on Chris' lap for the entire 15 minute play and told us what to expect. He was happy and felt safe on his Daddy's lap. Was I disappointed? Yes a little. My mind played the tape of how I ran through hurdles to get to this play..... but as always.. my kids taught me that life is not what we expect.... so I sat and watched and eventually just relaxed.... and enjoyed being with Chris and CJ and his classmates. Ironically after the play and after all the parents left the real CJ emerged again. Or maybe the other CJ. Miss Tamara put on some music and the class participated in animal activity. CJ was thrilled. Chris and I sat and beamed with pride and love for this little boy who teaches me how to just be.... and to expect less and to just love the moment! The pictures tell the rest of the story..... We also had a great time at our neighborhood Adult Only Party. Hosted by our Friends Marianne and Jeff. It was really fun. We got to spend time with neighborhood friends and blow off some steam.


I will close and say I will not have time to write before Christmas.. more to come as I close the year out. But for now my gift is to share what CJ taught me. Don't expect perfection. It will not come. Be smart enough to just be. To really sit and watch what is occurring around you during the holidays. Laugh with your family, dance and sing or do whatever you all do to make it fun Family Time. Just make sure you step back and take a deep breathe and take it all in. God bless you and Happy Holiday from we Poveromos to you......

Christmas Picture 2008 Mason 16 months and CJ 4

The play minus CJ

Academy Performances.....

Nolan.. one of CJs buddies for 4 years now. Nolan was the narrator. So cute!

And after the play is done and all the parents are gone( except us CJ decided to join in)

And have a good time

A classmate doing dress up. A future girly girl like moi?!!!!!!

CJ was excited for us to see his Giving Tree outside his class. He stated on his leaves( Miss Tamara wrote for him) that he was thankful for his Mommy, Daddy and Mason. I love this tree. I would love to make one at home!

A night out no kids. We love them but we need time to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

Miss Amanda and moi. Love her. Love the jacket( you know I always notice cute clothes)!

Miss Amanda and Mr Bo. Great couple we adore! Amanda loves clothes and girly things like me and Bo loves sports like Chris!

Some of the Girls of Berewick at the Scola Christmas Party...

Me and our lovely hostess Miss Marianne.

Jeremy, Roy and Bo.... some of our Berewick "Adult" Boys.....

Very happy couple....

Holiday Traditions....

So CJ has been studying Holiday Traditions a bit in school. That got me thinkin' about our traditions. Some of my favorites:
Christmas Pajamas... every year my mom buys my sister Dawne, all the grands, me and herself Christmas Pjs.... I love my Christmas Pajamas and I always expect my mom to buy them. I recently wrote about this in our Steele Creek Mom Blog and will share below.
I also love my husband's Christmas Breakfast. This is a Poveromo Tradition (I think). He makes this wonderful egg, sausage casserole thing that I love! We enjoy it Christmas morning with his family.
My eggnog... I love my eggnog. It consists of Puerto Rican Bacardi Rum, and several heavy cremes and whole milk. I love it! We have several stories of my relatives getting giddy after THE NOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Baked Ziti Night. The evening we put our tree up we make Baked Ziti. Chris and I started this when we were engaged and vowed to share with our family.
Santa Mouse. Santa Mouse is our little Santa Mouse Ornament... It is the last ornament to go on the tree. Chris puts it on! I think he has had this ornament since he was little.
Elf on the Shelf. This is a new one started this year. We introduced Ernie Elf this year. He is a little Red Elf that sits in various locations throughout our house. Every morning we ask the boys to look for Ernie. Ernie has become a great prop to help with good behavior. His task is to fly back to the North Pole every night and report as to whether we Poveromos have been naughty or nice! All we have to mention is Ernie "is watching" and both boys stop in their tracks.....


So that is our list of Poveromo Family Traditions. Would love to hear of yours.............

Christmas 2007, my house.. me.. nephew Dylan, My mom, My sister Dawne, and CJ

To read the write up I submitted to Steele Creek Mom's Club click here:
http://scgroupmoms.blogspot.com/

FELIZ NAVIDAD....

Our Andy is famous....

My bff back at home is mom to two little boys (just like me) Andy( 4) and Griffin "Finn" almost 6 months.. tonight on Facebook I saw a note that he was in TimeOut NY and I loved the article so much I had to share.

Andy is a sweet boy and a good buddy of CJs........... My favorite line is that Griffin is short for Finn. LOL



http://www.timeout.com/newyork/kids/articles/features/68861/kid-confidential

Weekend Review and Milestones...

Whew what a weekend.. I am trying to make time more about the time with family than doing stuff just because we are suppose to.... but I will admit I do have a tape in my head that says "Christmas should look like this....." and I can be a little like Clark Griswald on Christmas Vacation meaning... I can expect the ideal and lose site of the fact that the holiday is really about celebrating the birth of Christ! Anyway.. quick recap of the weekend:
Cookies with Santa at the Manor House, birthday party, getting our tree....... Mass and church school, Holiday Pictures at Portrait Innovations... naps and decorating tree and house. WHEW!!!!!

As for milestones( I am typing super fast because it's late and CJ should be sleeping....):
CJ is learning about hibernation in school. I keep telling him, mommy loves to hibernate in the winter and take lonnnnnng naps... smile. Additionally, he and Mason (just within the last 48 hours) have really begun to enjoy eachother's company. When they are not fighting over a toy they are actually playing... whether that is jumping from sofa to sofa, or bed to bed... they do seem to really enjoy eachother(at least a few times a day anyway)....... This evening they really have enjoyed rolling around the floor and jumping on the couches while I yell in the backround(well talk loudly .. I am not a yeller really)... while I say.. "GUYS BUTTs IN SEATS!

Mason is saying more and more words... He loves to say Mommy, Mommy and Mommy is my fave name in the world( most minutes)! He also says Daddy and something that at times does sound like CJ. The other day he got a hold of a Land's End Catalog and saw a guy with a red fleece jacket like Chris has and walked around the house for an hour saying Daddy, Daddy, Daddy pointing to the picture. He loves to dance.. and I take credit for that and say it's the SALSA blood in him... HA HA HA It may seem dormant but it's always there! HA HA HA

As for moi: Love the holidays, work is manageable and I love that! Spending too much time on facebook but I love catching up with old and new friends. Continue to daydream about beautiful clothes and home stuff at Anthropologie..... but also wanting to consume less and be less materialistic and greener... It is a constant struggle to be very honest. I am who I am and that is all I can be I suppose. Note I daydream but do not spend too much because we are really managing the home finances right now. Work is fine. I really believe that all with Wells Fargo and Wachovia will be fine. I am starting to meet Wells people and you know people are people and we all want at our core the same stuff! Been doing some very fun stuff with the Women's Employee Resource Network. Have had the opportunity to facilitate and or participate in some fun and I think timely sessions related to coaching and managing change.

Chris is busy with school and Christmas shopping. I shop for my peeps and Chris for his for the most part that way it's manageable for us both. We are planning a date day soon. A day where the boys go to school and we get some time just the two of us. As much as I love my boys I really like time to just be a girlfriend again.... out on a date with my beau...
That is my story and as they say "I am sticking to it". Life is Beautiful.. absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Adios/ hasta manana....... goodbye, until tomorrow Gieselle/Gigi

CJ impersonating Rudolph

Mason in funky knit hat.. note the box is empty so don't call Social Services(lol)

This was fun.. daddy put on Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song on our Ipod Stereo and the boys danced around our bedroom.... We love that song in our house.


Mason's enjoying his leisure activity....

And CJ doing the same....

The Berewick Manor House Tree for Cookies with Santa

My fave this week picture: Not feeling the Holiday Love.....at Cookies with Santa

Berewick Manor House Play Room all dressed for the Holidays. Cool Wreath!!!

Mason up close and personal with the ornaments! YIKES!!!!!!

At Michael C's party.. CJ loved Anthony and Michael's big inflatable Dinos

The birthday boy.. Michael C turns two. Big bro is in the back( Anthony and Mason on the side)

The birthday boy with mom and dad. Lucia made such yummy food! It was fantastic!

One of our Pov traditions is Baked Ziti the first night we put the tree up. Daddy and Mason makin' the ziti....

And my boys hangin' the lights.....

Brotherly Play

I love this pic.. the lights make me feel warm and happy! I love my nest!!!!!!

VIVA GENTE LATINA: Long Live the Latins... THE HEIGHTS

Ok, this will be super quick..... needed to diverge from the holiday to say how excited I am to learn about this new broadway show called THE HEIGHTS! I believe it is about living in Washington Heights NYC and the latin experience. I did enjoy many visits to my Grandmothers who lived in NYC, one in the Bronx and the other in Manhattan.... Ok so I grow up on Long Island I know.. but I am still very excited. Who knows when it will come to Charlotte, but heck maybe I will save my pennies and head home to see it:

Listen to the music... I LOVE Latin music... it is fun!!!!!


http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com/ith_media_montage.swf


VIVA LA GENTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!