Nicole on the Christmas Present Debacle

Good morning everyone! First off I want to dedicate this week to my dear friend Mikey Flats (Michael Flatley), whom I was so blessed to have met through my sister. He was the biggest Housewives fan! I wish last night he was sitting next to me watching the show. He was the most incredible, loving, selfless person I have ever met in my life and words can’t describe how much I’m going to miss him. Mikey, you will be in my heart forever and we will always keep your spirit alive. 

Well on to last night, I loved watching all the families getting ready for Christmas. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Celebrating the birth of Christ is a significant time in our faith when we pay homage to our God. Growing up my parents, especially my mom, always made Christmas magical -- memories that will last a lifetime. We still carry on all the same traditions, the only thing missing are my grandparents. We were very blessed to know my mother’s grandparents as well. Also this will be my fifth Christmas where I’ve been sharing Christmas and Christmas Eve with my boys’ father. This is an adjustment that I never saw as part of my life. It saddens me, but it is what comes with divorce -- it just sucks. I pray God will protect my children from any of the sadness that I endure, and that God will allow them the same joy in their hearts that I experienced as a child at Christmas. By the way, they are the two most incredible boys, I am blessed and thank God for them.

I loved being with my mother and having our special time together. There’s always so much going on in our home with traffic in and out of this house, so I enjoyed our quiet time together, and we laughed so much that morning!

Now moving on to a funnier note! I love all my new Twitter friends who have my back. Wow, it felt great how protective you are of me already, but you can all relax, because the shoe wasn’t the only gift! Yes Mama Santa might have gotten a little nervous with the wine holder. However, Bobby did also give me a beautiful necklace that I love and wear often. I love to laugh, and this episode achieved that. I am sure because of this episode the family will tease Bobby and make sure the shoe will be on the table every time Bobby has dinner with us.

[video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/bKO4QSZ5TsKS]We all love cooking and eating at Teresa’s house, so I’m really happy the world got to see a little of that. I don’t know if anyone caught Giovanni putting the Belvedere on the steak. Yes, most people use “cooking” vodka, that’s not the norm at the Apreas, so I cracked up when I saw that as well. 

Decorating the tree at Teresa’s with my family is always so much fun! My dad is never at a loss of words or, as you can see in this episode, cigarettes. If there's one person who loves to hear themself talk, that would be my dad! He loves giving us all speeches, and seeing my mom rub her head as he was talking shows just how many she has heard over the years. After 49 years of marriage, he still has the gift of gab, God bless him. 

It was awesome seeing Rino, his sister, and Giovanni at Angelo's. Giovanni is probably the only sane one in this family. This family can go on and on about the craziest things, from how to twirl pasta onto the plate to how much parsley to sprinkle on the linguini. Finally Giovanni says, “I got it,” and thank goodness her did or Tina and Rino would have gone on for another hour. They crack me up.

This was a fun episode, and I loved watching everyone so happy and engaged with their families at Christmas time. Watching the Guidices surprising the girls with their precious puppy was an adorable moment for them. 

Lunch with Dina was enjoyable. It was refreshing to relate to Dina about our shared situation. It was great to hear about Lexi and how close a relationship Dina has with her daughter. It was a real, comfortable, and relaxing lunch and after spending time getting to know her, I knew I wanted to develop this friendship further.

This Sunday was my first time live tweeting during the show. I had a lot of fun with my Twitter family! 

Everyone have a wonderful blessed week -- can’t wait for next Sunday and a drama-filled night for our third episode. And be sure to catch Teresa and I right after on Watch What Happens Live at 11/10c!

Hugs and Kisses,

Nicole XO