Aftermath

The lead up to the holidays was hectic. Little Abby had a doctor visit Friday for cold symptoms, had a temp of 103F on Saturday then topped the weekend off with ear pain just at bedtime on Sunday. My total sleep hours for the weekend were in the single digits. Rob's were only slightly higher as we took turns comforting the sick one and doing anything and everything to distract her from the terrible pain of not one, but two, throbbing ears.

So we truly started our holidays on a bad note. I had planned to not stress, let the little things go and just enjoy the spirit of Christmas.... the best laid plans and all of that, huh? There were cookies and cakes to bake, presents to wrap (from Santa, I already had the others done), dinners to host, places to be, Santa to kiss and assist, and the usual laundry, cleaning, and kid refereeing to be done.

I have vowed that next year I may hire cleaning help, buy the candy instead of making it and perhaps have a restaurant do the meal hosting. Rob and I went to bed on Christmas Eve feeling like we had been beaten. Laid low by the kind of physical and mental exhaustion that makes your muscles, especially your brain, ache.

In the end, we DID have a marvelous Christmas DAY. The kids had to be wakened as they were much too excited to go to sleep the night before. Their sleepy joy at beholding the treasures under the tree was priceless. It repaid the sleep and energy debt in full and restored our spirits. J.T. was thrilled with the Wii, it's accessories and the action figures Santa left for him while Abby has already tested the cupcake maker (adult supervision required of course), used up all of her light brush paint and is currently rocking out with her Hannah Montana guitar.