Before I forget

The first week of December was spent in Houston with my family. All the kids, my cousins & their husbands, aunt and ma. As an added treat I also got to hang with Roberto, one of my Paris-vacation highlights - how fun is that? Thanks internet!

Anyways, I have to say the highlight of this trip was, not surprisingly, the kidlettes. These kids are pretty awesome, and they still think I'm pretty cool, so that's fun.

I took my nephew skating for the first time - he was a super trooper and did really well with a couple of decent falls, was willing to let go of my hand to try and skate on his own, and just had a lot of fun with it.

I got to watch my niece during her swimming and ballet lessons, and then had the most incredible experience.

My second last night there I was helping my niece with her homework - the usual reading & writing. I've never helped a child with homework before. I've never had the chance to see a young mind learning something totally new. Reading, to my niece, is totally new. Words like 'why' and 'pox' were unknown, but by the end of our study date, she knew stuff.

I've probably done a poor job articulating how amazing it was to witness this. How incredible it is to see her now, at age 7, when I first saw her as a newborn.

Amazing.

I also went to have lunch with my niece, and had to explain to my nephew that he's my only boyfriend, when he was getting jealous I was meeting up with Roberto.

After explaining to my niece how Justin Timberlake is my talented boyfriend and showing her a video from a concert, she says to me "Aunty Iris, if he's your boyfriend, why is he dancing with another girl?"

Because Aunty Iris doesn't do jealousy.

And then there was my two-year-old niece who watched attentively as I did my make-up one night.

So cute.

But at the end of right now, they aren't cute enough to want. I was exhausted for a good chunk of the vacation, because there is no rest with kids. I wanted to talk like an adult and not worry I was corrupting a young mind.

So now I'm going to sit on my couch, finish watching an R-rated movie, maybe curse during a phone call, and sleep in tomorrow, because I'm an aunt and the kids aren't mine.

That doesn't make them less awesome though.

Auntie?

I am an only child. I will never have ACTUAL nieces and nephews, so I have claimed my second-cousins as my nieces and nephews. Jarod always reminds me how this is not a true claim of blood relation, but when did I EVER listen to his ass?

Mom and I went to Houston on Wednesday. I haven't seen Sydney and Hugh since August, and, well, kids just grow so quickly, that you miss so much.

I have never wanted kids, at least not yet, maybe ever. I don't think I have the patience to have kids, but I LOVE THEM!

Sydney is three and Hugh is 1. Holy shit are they cute. I mean COME ON! Why do they have to be so damn cute? We hung out all Wed, Thur and Fri. Let me tell ya, they totally melt this grinch's heart.

Thursday Sydney and I were hanging out, playing, dancing, singing, yelling. I got her to take a bath, which she totally didn't want to do. Then I did the impossible. I got her to sleep with me. She usually sleeps with her grandma or her parents, and doesn't usually sleep with others, but the promise of a slumber party suckered her in. We got ready for bed, and she asks "Aunty Iris, what's a slumber party??" This after she was sooooo excited for it. SO cute! Holy moly is this kid a bed hog. She had me shmooshed against the wall all night. How is someone 35 lbs able to ruin a perfectly good night's sleep like that? Although I will not complain.

The next day I got her all jazzed to go ice skating. For those of you not in the know, I once skated daily. I was never very good, in fact I sucked, but I loved it. So we packed the family up, got Sydney ready and went to the rink.

I put on my skates, which have not been on my feet for 13 years. It was like the first time I had stepped on the ice. I was sooooo bad. But it was hilarious. I did a couple of laps and then got her out there. We made it about half way around the rink when she got tired, and so did I.

It was great fun. She asked me yesterday, (I am back in NYC now) if I was going skating today. She is sooo cute. I wanted to die.

Moral of the story ... I really like being an aunt - even a fake one.


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