Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind. The older I get, the more it seems like it's always Christmas. Remember when you were a child and it took ages and ages for the holidays to come around. And when they did, the month of December was the longest month ever!!??? Well now, at the ripe ol' age of 37, it seems like just as we are putting the holiday decorations away, it's time to start thinking about getting them out again. I am amazed at how fast time flies. My kids are growing up right before my eyes and it makes me happy and sad, all at the same time. More on that later.....
So, Christmas..... it was great. The kids woke up early and were under strict instructions not to come downstairs until they saw that the hall light was on. This rule was implemented for many reasons: a) don't want to risk seeing Santa. b) 3am is too early to get up! c) mommy wants to sleep in a teeny bit. d) daddy wasn't coming to the house until 6:15am (amazing I had convinced him to come THAT early!). He showed up right on the dot of 6:15am but this was after Sophie had already crept downstairs at 5:30am in tears because her ocean CD (white noise) had turned off during the night and she was afraid she'd hear Santa! I quickly ushered her up to bed but not before she caught an early glimpse of the "joy" that was laid out in the living room. Later she would tell me that she only saw shadows of all the things (ha!).
My parents hosted Christmas brunch this year and as it was decided, we'd meet at their house at 11am. Eleven??? In the morning? For brunch? Isn't that LUNCH? The time had been decided by my brother and sis-in-law. Did they not realize that I'd be up about 5 hours before that and in those 5 hours, I'd have time to open presents, eat breakfast, take a nap AND play with the kids??? Five hours is a long time in "child time". So I bargained with my bro and 10:30am was the new meeting time. Turns out, 11 would have been just fine considering I was able to go back to bed and snooze until I HAD to wake up for brunch. Damn me for insisting on getting my way with the time change.
Brunch was yummy and as usual, my mom outdid herself. She's an overachiever but man, does it pay off! Stockings, presents, happy children, happy adults. This year the adults decided we'd do a Secret Santa type gift exchange. Prior to Christmas, we had all drawn names and that was the one person we'd purchase a present for, $50 or under. I drew my sister-in-law. I got her a scarf and a Starbucks gift card. My brother had my name and I got a gift certificate to my favorite store: Target!
After brunch, I drove my kiddies down to their daddy's so they could open presents there. I went home to a quiet house. My mom had offered for me to come back to their house if I didn't want to spend Christmas by myself. Are you kidding me?? As much as I appreciated the offer, spending a few hours in my house, alone, in the quiet, doing whatever I wanted..... Merry Christmas to me!
At 4:30pm, my ex and his gf dropped the kids off and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and playing with our new toys. All in all, Christmas was a success! I am extremely grateful for my family and a wonderful day. And before I know it, it will be the holiday season once again... better get ready!
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