Gifts DO Grow on Trees

One of the most special gifts we received this season was a bottle of olive oil from some good friends of ours. The oil itself is wonderful -- pungent and piquant. But what makes this gift so exceptional is not just the product, but the love, thoughtfulness, and creativity that went into the making of it.

Aidan(4) and Elena(2) helped pick the olives off the trees on their property in Fairfax. Mama Superior Deb figured out the how, when, and where of getting the olives pressed. Deb and her husband Eric, both amazing designers, created the label together. A personal family effort, with all their devotion and imagination squeezed directly into the charming bottle.

Our hard-to-impress kids were wowed by this touching gift. We have been showing it off to anyone who comes by our house. It really is true: the best things do come in small packages. And we are duly grateful.

This Is the House that Jack Ate

Building gingerbread houses is a long-standing tradition in our family. Each child gets to make his or her own house, and their personalities come shining through in the finished product every time.

Chloé's house looks exactly like the one in the demo picture, meticulously completed, as though a hundred tiny elves used laser levels to apply the frosting and nonpareils to her exacting standards.

Claire's end product shows an attempt to follow the directions which quickly gives way to creative impulses driven by a predictable onslaught of impatience. Cute and quirky.

Wynham's architectural approach leans toward Bauhaus as he, using the same cutout pieces as everyone else, creates a two-story townhouse complete with a triangular atrium entryway and a gingerbread man (the Gingerbread Man?!?) sunning himself in the rooftop garden.

Jack is willfully unclear on the subject. Why would anyone fiddle around on a plate for so long with something that tastes so good and was obviously meant to be eaten? I love the holidays, but not nearly as much as I love my kids... Merry Christmas!

Scary, Scary, Scary Christmas

(sung to the tune of Carol of the Bells)

Hark! How the bells,
Screeches and yells,
Ring through the room;
What just went “BOOM”?

Christmas is here,
bring me more beer
‘Til I have drowned
Out all the sound.

Chloé’s the worst,
My eardrums burst.
“Look at my hair!
What will I wear?”

Wynham's berserk
How can I work?
Presents to wrap;
I'm gonna snap.

Jack and Claire squeal;
What is the deal?
They're so wound up
They want a pup.

Ding, dong, ding, dong,
That is their song
On without end
I’m ‘round the bend

Scary, Scary, Scary, Scary Christmas
Scary, Scary, Scary, Scary Christmas

Poor inner ear,
Gone by next year.
All of the noise –
My Christmas Joys!

Ding, dong, ding… dong!

Mistletoe Monkey Business

Claire is the lucky kid who gets to bring the "class pet", Julio the Lar Gibbon, home for the winter break. Each child gets to take Julio home for a week and make entries in Julio's journal, but he'll get to stay with us for three weeks! There's already been a great deal of monkeying around, and last night I came in to find Julio swinging from the dining room chandelier (at least it wasn't Wynham this time). Stay tuned in early 2008 for the Complete Adventures of Julio's Holidays...

Deck the Halls

It's official: Jack got his first (but undoubtedly not the last) shiner just in time for Christmas, and it's a doozie. He had a big run-in with the piano and of course the piano won. The very next morning, he got decked by the deck when he did a full frontal face plant after missing the last step (his winter coat is so puffy, he can't even see his own feet). Well, at least the Rudolf-like red nose shows his holiday spirit...

We Wish You a Berry Christmas

Okay, so I am WAY behind on all things related to the holidays, and everything else to boot (blogging included). With four kids at Christmastime, peak levels of insanity are to be expected. I try to remain calm and give myself a hall pass for the stuff I won't get done in the midst of all this hoopla. As always, Jack puts things into perspective, reminding me to stop and smell the raspberries...

The Intentional Tourists

“Ah, silence,” sighs James as we head into San Francisco, and nothing more is said until we reach our destination. We could be crossing an international border instead of the Golden Gate Bridge, for all the distance it puts between us and home (where we’ve left my dad and Debra holding down a raucous fort).

It’s no accident that we’ve chosen Hotel Vitale* for the latest installment of our S.O.S. Plan (Save Our Sanity); it’s a jewel in the diadem that is the Embarcadero Waterfront. We can practically see our house from here and still feel as though we’re worlds away. When we arrive, we discover that we’ve graciously been given a circular Panoramic Suite in lieu of the water view room we reserved.

In our spacious Room with a View, we're treated to a welcoming bottle of champagne accompanied by fruit, chocolates (Rechiutti!), and a personal note from the managing director. On the desk is a large bouquet of pink peonies (in December?), one of my very favorite blossoms. We put up our feet, raise our glasses to every perfect detail, and enjoy being pampered tourists in the City by the Bay without having to move an inch.

From this marvelous vantage point, we can see the San Francisco Ferry Building, the Bay Bridge, the Port of Oakland, and the Audiffred Building, circa 1889. There’s an outdoor art museum at our feet, including Cupid’s Span by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and the newly installed Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois. And for a little karmic irony, since we’re here to spend time off from kid-related chaos, there’s a giant Gap baby staring straight at us…

We don’t leave the hotel except to enjoy dinner at Boulevard, where Franco-Californian cuisine is served in a setting of pavonian splendor. The rest of our brief getaway is spent practicing the Art of Doing Nothing. Ahhh… It could be (should be) habit forming.

*A note on the Hotel Vitale: it’s a Joie de Vivre hotel, related to a number of places
we recommend to our visitors, including the Waters Edge and Acqua Hotel.
Come see us; what are you waiting for?