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The whole Birthday/Thanksgiving extravaganza, with the small exception of me accidentally dressing Mazzy in a pilgrim costume (see above), went over remarkably well. The fact that I am even calling it an “extravaganza” means my husband, a man who has been known to ignore “the concept of gift giving” altogether, delivered WAY above expectations. Which is a good thing, because if I gave away a better birthday gift than I got (enter my $300 Beso Shopping Spree giveaway here), I would have been PISSED.

WEDNESDAY: Mike and I started a fabulous new Birthgiving tradition involving us both playing hooky from work to go see a movie. (I highly recommend “The Descendants”, even though Clooney is disturbingly gray.)

THURSDAY: We took Mazzy to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For seasoned New Yorkers, like ourselves, “going to the parade” does not mean standing amongst the throngs of people praying they won’t get trampled by balloon wranglers chasing an out of control Hello Kitty.

“Going to the parade” looks like this:

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We watched the festivities from an obscenely high floor in Mike’s office building. It was warm, crowd-free and had readily available mimosas. But Mazzy will forever associate her first Thanksgiving with Kermit the Frog’s dimpled ass.

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Sadly, the above picture is using the highest setting on my ZOOM lens. Not that Mazzy was complaining. She knows no different and thus, loved every second.

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THURSDAY NIGHT: We went to Mike’s cousins’ place in Brooklyn. Mazzy didn’t eat anything at dinner (“Don’t you understand? Stuffing is delicious!”) but she was so preoccupied with Gabriel, her seven-year-old cousin, I was able to enjoy MY meal.

After dinner, I was surprised with an actual birthday cake (YAY!), although I had to share billing with another family member whose birthday is in early December (BOO!). She’s 17 and I was in HER house so I’ll give it a pass.

FRIDAY: Mike made Challah French Toast for breakfast (my favorite) and then we celebrated “Black Friday” by staying as far away from Best Buy as possible.

SATURDAY: Mike and I hired a sitter and went out for a VERY ADULT birthday dinner. VERY ADULT means “uptown, no jeans and more courses than my stomach can handle”. Not “dining on the set of a porno”, in case that wasn’t clear.

SUNDAY: Gingerbread cookies and cider in Union Square and then tree trimming at a friend’s apartment who was nice enough to share their Christmas tradition with a bunch of Jews.

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In total, Mazzy had more sweets on Sunday than on any other day of her life. Even Halloween. And there might have been a mini meltdown when I moved a bowl of Hershey Kisses out of reach.

But all was well as soon as Mazzy located the resident Elmo of the house. This is standard protocol at houses/apartments other than her own. Take a quick survey of the space, deduce which room belongs to the youngest child, locate their supply of Sesame Street paraphernalia and then hang onto all characters as if her life depends on their safety.

Did I mention my birthday present?

Because I received the BEST GIFT EVER.

Diamond earrings? A spa vacation? A sanctioned nap on a Sunday afternoon? 

Nope.

Who cares about diamonds and massages and sanity when you have a brand new iPHONE 4S!

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My husband knows me SO WELL.

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