Feeling a little bah-hum-buggish

I hate to say it, but I really am. I finished wrapping presents today and have started making lists & piles of things that need to be packed for our trip (we leave on Sat.), but I am just not feeling the holiday vibe today. I have dealt with a crabby husband for two days now, the girls have been tired from too many late nights (our fault since we are the parents, but they have been having fun!), and Ms. Aidan still won't sleep anywhere independently (what's it been since my last post - two days. Am I expecting too much?). There - those are my excuses for feeling crabby myself. I am really wishing I had a box of chocolate covered cherries right now. I would eat the entire box. In reality I know that once we get to our destination I will be in full holiday spirit - we are meeting some really great people up in AR. I truly love my husband's family and have a great time with them all. Now, if I can just get us all packed and ready and make it through the 9 + hour drive to AR . . . .

Anyway, enough of the bad attitude. The above photo is one of my absolute favorites. Ainslee is on the left, Aidan and then Erika on the right. They are really great kids - all three. I was looking through Erika's baby book for a moment today and noticed some remarkable similarities between Aidan & Erika. Aidan's infant photos & Erika's photos around the 8 month mark are very similar. Kind of crazy.

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In case I don't get a chance to post again before we leave, I wish you all a very happy & safe holiday. Happy New Year too!

Yawn, stretch, yawn

This photo proves she can sleep. She sleeps for hours in her swing; I can run errands for two or three hours and she will soundly snooze in her car seat, but she will not sleep in her pak-n-play. She absolutely refuses. On Saturday morning it was just the two of us at the house so I decided to put her down for a nap when she was noticeably tired. From 9:30 am till 11:30 she cried. Never cried herself to sleep, just cried. Sunday night I went to bed around 9:30 pm. She was in the pak-n-play cooing and being sweet. At 10 pm I was woken up by her cries which continued until 2 am. Yes folks. I let her cry thinking eventually she would go to sleep. At 2:30 am she was sound asleep in a little ball next to me - in my bed. It is sweet and I love having her in bed with me, but I am thinking long term. E & A never slept in our bed. They were always in a crib or a pak-n-play; I guess that is where I screwed up. January 1 it is tough love for Ms. Aidan. I don't care who she wakes up or how long she cries she will be doing it in her crib in her room. Sorry baby girl.

Gray day

Christmas cards.

I guess this is the best thing to do on a gray Friday during nap time. The house is so quiet. Other than some music, and little snorts & gruffs from Aidan who is sleeping close by (she is not a quiet sleeper by any means) there isn't a whole lot of noise in the house. It is nice. It will be short lived since the girls are due to wake up any time now and then we are off to the bowling alley for a birthday party. It definitely won't be quiet there.
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Just thought I would take a quick break and let the writing cramp subside. Back to the cards! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday and all that goes with it. Have a great weekend!

Just be present . . .

Today I received a message that hit home. It was a "ah - ha" moment, and it was so simple. It just took hearing it from someone else to make it sink in. The message was that the best gift we can give another person, any person, is to be present. This past month my mind has raced to keep track of things I needed to do, wanted to do, or felt were so important that they just had to be done. I even blogged about it. Mean while I have three little charges that could not care less about 90% of that list that was getting longer & longer. I told them more than once during the past few weeks, " just go watch TV for a minute, I am almost done." Even as I said them, in the moment, I knew it was ridiculous. It felt necessary at the time. So my goal for this holiday season, and forever, is to make sure my priorities are in check and to be present in the lives of three little girls that I love so much.

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Having that in mind when I came home this afternoon I set up a family plan for this evening that went rather well. After the girls napped we decorated the tree and had a yummy stew for dinner. There was even some story time and photos squeezed in. I hope it sets the tone for the remainder of the week. Hope you all had a great weekend too!