If I had one word to sum up my holidays, it would be AWESOME. Seriously, gloriously awesome. I was starting to get a little freaked out before Christmas because we live about a mile away from one of the biggest malls in OKC, and there seems to be a direct correlation between the holiday season and the level of anxiety and psychosis displayed by people behind the wheel of a vehicle. The entrance to our daycare is across from the entrance to the mall, and it was downright scary just getting home most nights. But we lived through it (this time) and next year we will use more alternate routes to get home to avoid such insanity, even if that means adding another 30+ minutes to our route home.
Christmas was so much fun this year! The kids were so excited and had so much fun unwrapping gifts, and everyone seemed genuinely happy with their gifts. We spent a peaceful day with family having good food and drink. It was truly perfect. The hubby and I were off the entire week of Christmas, and we went ahead and took the kids to daycare Wednesday through Friday and had 8 glorious hours of alone time each day. We haven’t had that much time alone together in nearly six years. And even when the kids were home with us, we were equal parents helping each other out, and THAT was just what I needed to refresh my spirit. Well, that and a lot of sleep!
Before we started our holiday vacation, I had a list of probably 50 things I wanted to accomplish during our time off. Sadly, we completed very little, but one of the things we did do was a biggie. The girl is weaned. Woohoo! I am grateful that I was able to provide nourishment for her the first year of her life. But it was getting to the point where she was only nursing for comfort, and not receiving much milk at all, and I was ready to quit. (I admire those who can do the extended breastfeeding thing, but it just isn’t for me.) Even though she was only nursing at bedtime and first thing in the morning, I dreaded weaning and I wanted to wait until my husband would be home to help. It turned out to be much easier than we anticipated, and only took about 3 days. Now we just have to deal with the rest of the items on the list. Next up, getting her to sleep in her own bed.
And speaking of the girl, she has reached that stage where you have to watch everything she does very closely. She’s one smart cookie and she has learned how to undo most of the childproof locks on our cabinets. We had to call Poison Control the other day because she got into one of the cabinets and sprayed Off Skintastic in her mouth. Luckily she didn’t ingest enough to do any harm. You can’t turn your back on her for a minute. On the other hand, she’s learning new words every day and we’re always amazed that we can understand what she is saying. She finally seems to be putting on some weight, and right before Christmas she finally passed the 20 pound mark so we were able to turn her car seat around to face forward. She loves being able to see what we’re seeing, and I can’t say I blame her.
The boy had a few rough patches at school before the winter break, and we’re hoping he does better this semester. I actually got a call from the principal twice in one week at one point. We started a reward system, and it seems to be working at times, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to stop himself from making bad choices. I suspect he’s probably just a typical 5 year-old boy. He’s still a very sweet boy though.
And finally, I’m not big on making New Year’s resolutions because I always break them. So this year I will just make the following statement: 2008 is going to be a year of change. This is going to be THE year I finally do something about the extra 60-70 pounds I have been carrying around for more years than I’d like to admit. And while working on my physical appearance, I am going to attempt to change my inner self as well. I want to be more patient, more relaxed, more zen-like. And since 2007 ended on such a positive note, I feel like I can really accomplish those goals in 2008.
Hope everyone has a wonderful 2008!
