So when my computer starts acting up and freezes before I can hit the power button to power off or just restart it correctly, I pull the whole “take the battery out for a sec and all is well in the computer world again” trick.  It always solves my problems.  But what happens when you need to restart a week of your life because you are just a complete and utter mess…where is that restart button???!!!

After a wild 24 hours involving me losing my keys, Sean losing his keys while looking for mine only to find out they got locked in his car, calling a locksmith, dealing with accounts in the red at work, and of course we had to throw in a kid who threw up all over himself and his crib for good measure, we were ready to start the week of December 13th, 2009 all over again or just fast forward past it all.  We settled for just restarting the week on Tuesday and setting our minds that things would get better, things would slow down or the week would end….some way we would find ourselves done with this week.

And we did…it’s Friday….YAY!  The last Friday before Christmas…double YAY!

The holidays are such a double edged sword…they are such a fun time to hang out with friends and family and such a fun time to give gifts to those who mean the most, but I can see how my Mom and sister have always been very cautious of the holiday season approaching.  When you become a mom, it is no longer about your holiday season of fun parties and buying gifts for those closest to you.  When I was single, no one expected me to cook anything, offer to host anything…I had plenty of uninterrupted time to find thoughtful and fun gifts for everyone on my list and I never had to buy capri suns and iced animal crackers for my work parties…we just went out for an extra happy hour or two.  Now that I’ve added three people to my family, about 1000 responsibilities came along with that.  There’s Christmas cards (which secretly I start dreaming about in early October…I love them); there’s arranging the schedule of parties at work, preschool, MOMS group, Junior League, Theta, etc; there is remembering to bring drinks for Bree’s school party and cookies for Bauer’s and what was I going to get for those teachers again; there’s making a wish list for two children whose idea of a good time changes by the minute some days; there’s buying gifts for said children and hoping and praying and hoping and then praying some more that they will LOVE at least one of them; the list just goes on…

It really makes for quite a workout of sorts mainly for my brain to remember it all.  But regardless of it being a lot, I love being a mom at Christmas and surprisingly I think I’m getting better at it.  Nothing is wrapped yet, but I still have a few days…

I am just getting giddy thinking about the kids on Christmas morning…each year brings more excitement.  Bree is going to be an absolute ball this year and Bauer is just going to be a force to reckon with…that wrapping paper does not stand a chance!  I am so excited to capture just that one picture of them both with such unaltered joy…Santa is real, every little boy and girl get presents on Christmas just like them, the world is a kind and happy place with no war (at least on Christmas), and Jesus is looking down on all of us and smiling.  I hope to take on that joyous state as well and live through my kids’ eyes for as long as I can.  There are such few completely magical moments left in this world and getting to be a mom on Christmas might just be my favorite!

Tonight we read some books by the Christmas tree with Bauer before bed.  A mom cannot get more blessed at the end of a long and tiresome week than to see a sight like this:

Some other favorite memories of the week:

Bree is becoming such a little artist…her focus when she sits and draws is very promising!  Check out her “happy holiday” socks!

Flight of the laundry basket:

I’m going to be so sad when they can’t both sit in the same laundry basket!

For Bree’s treat from Santa tonight, she got stars for her ceiling.  We were hoping this would convince her to turn her lamp off at night when she goes to sleep, but no dice.  She said she wanted to look at the stars with the lights on.  I told Sean that sometimes trying to manipulate your child is like banging your head against the wall…they are just so much smarter than us.  At least we had fun putting the stars on the ceiling.  Everyone played a part.

Dad started the fan decorating.

Bree finished the fan while Bauer snuck up on the ladder as well.  Look at that smile…he was so proud of himself.

Then Bauer got his turn.

It was a fabulous end to a busy yet fulfilling week.  I really am thankful that Sean and I were able to restart the week mentally and came out with some great memories.  I also got to host our MOMS Club kids’ holiday party this past Thursday so we got a lot of work done on the house beforehand.  It was a great motivator.  I would say its pretty close to finished.  And the house did great with 15 or so kids and moms to boot.  WE ARE SO BLESSED to have found this house…we love it!

Here’s to a great Christmas at our new house!