flying on an airplane....

As you sit and read and write, we will be sitting in the airport trying to entertain Hudson until our flight takes off. I was pretty smart and scheduled our flights around his nap time so he should be out in a matter of "take off"!
I know, smart mama right here!
while we are gone, you can follow me on instagram
or twitter 
from some amazing boise updates!

I couldn't let this blog go completely while I was gone, so I bring you one of the sweetest girls I've come across while blogging, and I've asked her to take over for the day.

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Hi lovelies! I am Lisette and I blog over at Northern Belle Diaries.  The lovely Elise is traveling today and bestowed me the honor of guest posting on her blog!  Thank you, Elise, for trusting me on your blog! And thank you, lovely readers of Comma with a K, for taking the time to read my writing. I hope you enjoy it!

I wanted to share with you some of my Christmas traditions and memories...

...of when I would count down the days to Christmas starting at Halloween...

...when I wondered how Santa could possibly fit through a chimney with that big belly...

I never have felt as excited about Christmas as when I was about 8 years old.  I had a wonderful childhood with precious memories.  Perhaps it's why I am still a dreamer?  Please join me in my attempts on recreating that magic in this one little post.

Christmas sounded like:

My mom would blast Christmas music of the Caribbean, and her native Dominican Republic. John Feliciano's  I Wanna Wish You a Merry Christmas was another staple.

Christmas smelled like:

The "winter cleaning" to prepare for baby Jesus smelled like lemon Pine Sol.  Namely, lemon and pine tree.  I also associate Christmas with the smell of the heaters turned on for the first time.  To this day this smell brings a smile to my face.  It doesn't even matter if it's central heat or steam heaters like the ones I grew up with.

Christmas looked like:

My favorite childhood Christmas memory is laying under the tree looking at the twinkling lights...much like laying down in a field to watch the stars on a summer night. It was so beautiful and magical. I laid there for hours sometimes, it seemed. I was a pretty special kid, haha.

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Christmas break (oh unadulterated JOY!) and watching all of my favorite Christmas cartoons!

Jack Frost (1979)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I grew up in the borough of Queens, in New York City.  I love this clip of Macauley Culkin from Home Alone 2.  The first 15 Christmases of my life happened in the same apartment building.  It was literally a stone's throw from this bridge, the Queensboro Bridge (aka the 59th Street Bridge on the Manhattan side).  I will forevermore call this my bridge.

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And...who can forget the awkwardly funny A Christmas Story?  Poor Ralphie.  His family even made my family seem normal.  Haha!

I loved Christmas Eve Mass or even Midnight Mass.  Oh. How. Beautiful!  The music was glorious! On Christmas morning I woke up before the sun came up and ran to the tree with my siblings and we all screamed and squealed with delight.  My poor sleep-deprived parents!  They were procrastinators and wrapped gifts on Christmas Eve AFTER they were sure we fell asleep.

For me, growing up as a Hispanic, we celebrated the 12th day of Christmas was Epiphany.  This was when the Three Wise Men visited Jesus and brought him gold, frankincense and myrrh.  My mother taught us to take a tall glass, fill it with water, and insert a few blades of lemongrass as a snack for the Kings' camels.  When we awoke on January 6th, we found that the "camels" had nibbled on the lemongrass, drank the water, and left us a small gift as a token of appreciation.

Do you celebrate Christmas?  Hanukkah?  Maybe even...?

Elf on the Shelf? Festivus?

So tell me...what are YOUR traditions?