Thursday, January 2, 2014

A lovely break, and a LOT of Christmas...

"Mommy has to go back to work tomorrow, Sweetie. Mommy will miss you."

"Mommy NOT go back to work."

"Daddy will be home with you tomorrow, Sweetie. And Mommy will be home by dinnertime."

"Anne will not be home with daddy. ANNE HOME WITH MOMMY."

*cry face*

Annnnndddd, that's how Christmas break 2013 came to a close. :)

It was lovely. Our kitchen is mostly back to normal, save for a gaping hole in our ceiling, but plans are in place for the fixes necessary. We visited with family. We enjoyed a lot of snowed in time at home, just being together and playing with the kids. Christmas Eve and Christmas day, however, have become quite exhausting. Oh, and December 26th too, since that's when we open gifts with Mike's family. I suppose things can be summed up in this list of Catholic Librarian Christmas Pros & Cons...

Pros:

Christmas Eve Mass as a family. We attend at a historic church that has a 4 pm vigil each year, and it's just gorgeous. It's packed to the gills, but we get there early to get a seat, and the kids behaved like champs. Anne insisted on sitting on the floor in her Christmas dress and danced to the music, but I can live with that. :0

Seeing my sisters and nephews. I don't get to see them nearly so often as I'd like, and the holidays are a great reason to get together. I have four nephews, and they're all growing so fast! The twins are now 15 months old. They toddled all around and had definite opinions on whether or not they wanted to be held. I had a dream last night that I had little Andrew with me for a day as I went about my errands. Miss them. :(

Christmas morning with Mike and the kids. Sublime. Helping the kids set up their new stuff, having coffee, and playing with them. Also sublime.

Lighting the Christ candle together on the Advent wreath. I really got into Advent this year and enjoyed the traditions more than ever.

I received some lovely gifts, including some new clothes, jewelry (including a handmade pair of earrings from Shauna'h that I adore), books, and new music. Love.

Cons:

Sheer exhaustion from the running around necessary to maintain the family traditions for visiting on Christmas Eve/day.

Grandparent Gift Overwhelment. I have just coined a new phrase. It's wonderful that our children are so loved, but the Christmas gift situation has really gotten out of hand. Both grandmothers love to spoil them, and I understand that, but the volume has gotten overwhelming, and I don't want the kids to become focused on that to the exclusion of the real message of Christmas. I don't know exactly how to fix this, but something has to happen before next Christmas.

Mike and I agree that we long for a simpler Christmas. Less gifts and more time spent enjoying the company of each other and our families. That's our goal for next year, and we're choosing to accept it. :)

___________

I love taking off the week between Christmas and New Years from work, and we enjoyed a beautiful and quiet New Years Eve at home. First we went to Mass for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and then we went home to bake lobster tails. We watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with Henry in the evening after Anne went to bed. It was wonderful.

It was very hard to get out of bed this morning, to be sure. I do have some time off to look forward to, and I'm focusing on the positives. On January 13th, I'm having surgery and I'll be off for a week. I promise, it's nothing major, but be prepared for a lot of WHINING and COMPLAINING as I navigate this, since it's somewhat unpleasant. And I'll be home alone, on the couch, with a computer, so there WILL BE BLOGGING. You'll be along with me the entire way, dear reader. Two words:

Dental. Surgery.

If you feel faint, you may not want to check this blog from January 13th through the 17th, I'll just warn you now. :0

I'm also contemplating taking some time off during the Olympics, when Henry will be on his winter break.

Cue: Knitting time!!

Lots to look forward to! I missed you all, blogging is very cathartic for me. It feels strange not to do it, this acts as a journal for me, truly. So I'm now officially back to my regular blogging schedule! 7 Quick Takes tomorrow, look for a book review of an Amish book next week, and perhaps an installment of the Catholic Nook since I'm long overdue on a post for that one. Oh, and I have an eye doctor appointment next week, sure to be loads of fun just like last year!

It's good to be back! How was your Christmas and New Years? Leave me a comment!

8 comments:

  1. *shudder*

    Dental. Surgery.

    *shudder*

    I hate dentists, and I've never had surgery but hate even the idea of it.

    *shudder*

    The best advice I can offer is stock up on lots and lots of your favorite ice cream beforehand.

    A few months before I got married, I actually found a dentist I liked. I even trusted him enough to remove my wisdom teeth, and he did a really good job. Of course, then I promptly moved 4 hours away...:(

    Still, I do remember the Vicodin and ice cream with fondness! :D And he was the sort of awesome dentist who actually said I ought to eat ice cream because the cold would help cut down on the swelling and whatnot. Hey, whatever you say, doc...:D May your experience be like mine!

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    1. Thanks Katherine. :) I hate the dentist too. I mean, I like my dentist, she's a lovely woman, but I dread going there more than any other doctor, and let's face it, there's steep competition in that category. This is a periodontist, and he's fabulous, but I LOATHE dental treatment of any kind. I'm dreading this with every fiber of my being. But leaving it go would be a mistake, so sometimes I gotta suck it up. Mewing. :( But I'm sure it'll be fine; I'll write all about it. :0

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  2. Praying for you and your dental surgery. My advice (and I speak from the experience of having had jaw surgery twice) is to stock up on the soft foods you like to eat.

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  3. Thanks girls!! <3 It's definitely on my list of Things I Most Do Not Want To Do. Offering it up. *martyr*

    :0

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  4. Oh gosh. Dentists are the worst. I've only had surgery to remove my wisdom teeth and even that was horrid :(

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    1. I remember your wisdom teeth posts. :( I had some of mine out too, and I keep telling myself that it wasn't as bad as I feared. This will likely go the same way. I hope. * bites nails*

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  5. When you get a handle on that "Grandparent Gift Overwhelment"- thing, please please pass on your ideas. We kind of go into "shellshock mode" once we hit the Grandparent's house...
    Will say prayers for your dental surgery (it's my son's 2nd birthday, so I'll remember the date!)
    ~Ruth Anne

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    1. Thanks so much Ruth Anne, you are very sweet!

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