My Favorite Things ... Yep, It's a Monday!

The turkey is masacred. The stuffing ... stuffed and the only thing that remains of the mouth-watering, button-busting, amazeball Pecan Pie is the little tiny flakes of pie crust that even a mouse won't bother with!
Thanksgiving is over and that leads me to the MOST. FAVORITE. Time of the year!!!

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I love Christmas and I love the holiday spirit.  I love that New York is like a giant snow globe waiting to shook. The people are friendly and the Rockefellar Tree is getting ready to be lit!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

I have my mom to thank for this passion!

So the top 10 reasons why I am such a child at Christmas time:

10. Shrinky Dinks and Easy Bake Ovens!
9.  Footed pajamas.
8. Giant Sized Trees inside the house after your parents have told you to, "Please leave nature outside."
7. Fudge and Divinity and Egg Nog and Pecan Pies and endless sugar highs!
6. The need for scarfs with your flip-flops in Los Angeles
5. Christmas Carols that, past the first verse, NO ONE can remember the words to.
4. The awe in a child's eye when they see Santa in a Christmas parade.
3. Perfect Presents.
2. Family and Friends.
and the number 1 reason why I'm such a child at Christmas...
60's and 70's CLAYMATION SPECIALS!!!!!

A post 9 years in the making.

Today, I'm going back. Not waaaay back, but back 9 years.  

If you follow me on twitter, which I think you TOTALLY should (shameless plug), I’m about to unmask one of the infamous Ruiz mini-mes that grace my feed.

Twelve years ago, I fought a battle that I wish on no one. I fought cancer. And I won (knock on wood, Thank You, God.) Part of my fight was with the help of radical, experimental chemotherapy mixed together into a potent and potentially deadly chemo cocktail. There were no fancy umbrellas with this cocktail and the side effects were potentially devastating. My dream to be a mommy may have been just that … a dream.

Almost a year after we finished chemo, my oncologist, the ever brilliant and uber amazing Dr. Chawla, said we could start trying to have children. A couple of months later, we got pregnant! The high of being able to get pregnant met with a soul crushing miscarriage on Christmas day. I thought for sure it was because of the chemo. I thought certainly this was going to be how Mark and I spent the next few years.
My brother, Patric, disagreed.
He said, “Mindy, he’s just not perfect yet and he’s stubborn. He’ll get it the second time around.”

I’m not sure how Patric knew the baby was a he.

I’m not sure how Patric knew we would try again, because, at the time, I was certain I couldn’t go through the loss again.

But three months and two pink lines later we were, surprisingly, pregnant.

I held my breath for ten weeks!

And then took only short quick breaths for the remaining thirty weeks.

On November 8th, 2003. Jacob Anthony Ruiz was born.

And just as his Uncle Patric had promised, he was PERFECT!!!

He still is.

He has the tender soul of his Grandpa Doc.

The righteousness of his Daddy.

The adventurous spirit of his Uncle Patric.

The best hugs ever like his Granny Bea.

The persistence of his Granny Carol.

The wiliness of his Uncle Daniel and Uncle Maty

The LOVE for the USC Trojans like his Uncle Josh and Aunt Kat

And he has my smile and imagination.

Happy Birthday, Jacob.

Love, your Momma!