I always hit a point in December where I feel like I didn’t listen to enough Christmas music, watch enough of the movies, didn’t buy everything everyone wanted. But then I have to have a moment like this morning, where I’m sitting alone in the living room, under my heated blanket, realizing that it is what it is. We did what we could to make it all amazing and the kids certainly seem happy. So maybe I need to go easier on myself.

It was so nice having Friday off! I didn’t stress about getting the kids to camp so early so they got dropped off around 830. I went home to bring my plants inside because though it was 50s, that was the day the temp would drop to 30 by the afternoon. I did some stuff around the house then went up to get a pedicure. My oldest came with me and got a hair cut next door, though he should have just gone with Ash to his barber. (My son has curly hair he keeps a little longer so he doesn’t trust guys who give high and tights to everyone.)

We met back at the house then went to hibachi for lunch before running a million errands. At one point around 230 we went home so Ash and I could take two cars and get more shopping done. I was on the hunt for junk food, which we always bestow upon the kids at Xmas, since we don’t eat a lot during the year. Around 430 I picked up the kids and came home and while I totally cannot remember what they ate, we did watch a Christmas Story Christmas, which was way better than I thought it would be. Considering it was my first day off and I’d intended to relax, it was a long busy day! I fell asleep on the couch for a while but then woke up and wrapped almost everything and we didn’t go to bed until 1:30!

On Saturday, Ash had planned to get up early to do last minute stuff so I figured I would too. Woke around 715 and went right in to shower except…no water would flow through the hot taps. Sure, you hear about pipes freezing but surely it wouldn’t be that cold HERE. Oh, but it was: 19 with a feels like of 8! (Apparently it is our coldest Christmas in 33 years!) So I called a plumber and she said to put a comforter in the dryer and cover the water heater. We have a tankless and it is indeed outside. I did that over and over, taking warmed towels and putting them around the pipes. But in the end, it was the warm blanket plus the hair dryer on the hot pipe and – water! Funny, stupid part was that we DID let the faucet drip overnight but not hot. Duh!

Ash had gone to do his errands and it wasn’t until he got back we fixed it so then I went out for a bit and got a few stocking stuffers, so I felt good about that. Stores were FAR less crowded that day, surprisingly. As a family, we went out for Mexican. We’ve done it a few years in a row now so I guess it’s a tradition! Ash went back out shopping and the boys and I watched football. Dakota was falling ill but not terribly; just a cough and mucus. Though later she’d run a low grade fever on and off. That might we watched 8 Bit Christmas then after Dakota was in bed, Violent Night. Finished wrapping the rest of everything and then off to bed!

The kids know they can’t wake us until at least 7 and they did indeed respect the rule. Christmas went well, even though Ash felt like it wasn’t enough. I feel like they all enjoyed their gifts and even Elliot got more than he was supposed to. I detailed his deal in another post; he forfeited some holidays for an expensive computer. But we still managed to buy him stuff. Isaac got the new Xbox so he was pumped. But his favorite gift was a truck that holds Hot Wheels and folds out to be a racing ramp. He may be 12 and my most mature/responsible but he retains that boyish imagination. Dakota was a real trooper; you’d barely know she was sick save for the cough. By the end of the day she was pretty beat though.

I got the turkey going around 10 and we ate somewhere between 1-2. Food turned out really well, I thought. We mostly sat around all day. I felt both lazy and happy to relax. In the end, a good Christmas. Some of my gift highlights: a new Kindle (mine is from 2013!), a very nice Land’s End winter coat with gloves, and a new Bluetooth speaker. I love the day after when you clean up and take inventory of everything. I’m sure I’m forgetting some of it too.

Today I plan on doing laundry and taking care of myself. I feel that mucus/cough stuff creeping in and I don’t want that. I do work T-Th this week but then have another 4 day weekend. Planning to have some of our beer friends over for New Year’s and other than a trip to Growler Country on Tuesday, we have few plans. Which I love!

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Ok much like Cathy, I am sharing an album from YouTube. I love James Taylor’s Christmas album. The soft overall feel of it reminds me of sitting by the tree and basking in the quiet after a long day of activity.