Sharing Holidays, More Crazy Naked Neighbors

Juls,
how do you deal with fitting everyone in around the holidays? Your family, your husband's family, your husband's step family...it seems that everyone wants to see the kids. How do I make everyone happy and not loose my sanity?"

-Francesca

Dear Francesca,

My husband and I have 3 sets of in-laws (My mom & Dad, Greg's mom, and Greg's dad & step-mom) ..add to that a large family celebration with Greg's maternal grandmother.... and boy do joyous holiday celebrations turn into scheduling conflicts from hell...

Back when we first married, we would take "turns" at Christmas...by spending it one year with one of our sets of parents... Seems simple enough, right? Well, somehow someone always was offended because they wanted to spend actual "Christmas" day with us...or why were we spending Christmas at "so and so's" house when we just had Thanksgiving with them?

Here's our solution, which is not in anyway fool-proof, but has seemed to help with my sanity.

Christmas day (the four of us)....my house. The end. We will be home all day and anyone who wants to is welcome to stop by. I like my kids waking up in their beds, opening their presents in their home. Being able to enjoy and relax on this one day a year, has made things less hectic.

Do we ditch the grandparents competely on holidays? No way. We just plan Christmas with them on a day that is not Christmas. Greg's grandmother's Christmas is always the Saturday before Christmas...His mom's is usually the Saturday after Christmas, and my parents is on Christmas Eve. His dad-who lives in Phoenix? Well--he usually gets the short end of the stick. We usually plan a vacation to visit him once a year...and that is our Christmas, birthday, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Here we are enjoy holiday with him.

I used Christmas as an example--but this could be applied to any holiday really...

Holidays are hectic, and everyone is difficult to please--but I hope this helps you to maintain your sanity...

Happy future Holidays,
Crazee Juls
______________________
Hi Juls....
Okay, I have a question. I have crazy neighbors across the street. Amongst other things, they purposely built their home right in front of ours with the huge plain glass bathroom window right smack in the middle. Not every, but almost every morning, I have to be careful about opening my shades; otherwise we get an eyeful. How do I politely tell these neighbors to cover it up?

-Over-exposed

Dear Over-Exposed,
First of all, I have a question for you-- Are the goods worth looking at? I kid, I kid. This can be a royal pain. Especially when you have tiny eyes that you want to shield from such over-exposure. You can always talk to them, and bring the fact that their morning peep shows are putting a damper on your day...but some neighbors need a bigger wake-up call.

Try this:

Grab your camera. Gather your children, dogs, etc...in the front yard during prime viewing time. (Keep the kids backs to the house across the street-I don't want them scarred for life)...
Pose children for an "improtu" photo shoot with the unslightly view in frame... Snap the picture.... Print a copy of the picture, and share it with your neighbors, so they can oooh and ahhh over what a nice family you have...how fast the kids are growing...and what?!?! how unattractive they look during their peep shows... Maybe then they will get the hint...?!?

If not, you could always buy them a housewarming gift-shades or blinds for their window-and even pay for installation....but I'm thinking the picture suggestion might do the trick...

Take a pic for me,
Crazee Juls