Take Five

Sometimes you just need a minute, ya know? Or five. Or 20. Or 120 so that you can fit in both the massage and the long overdue manicure.

I have been taking a lot of needed minutes. It's left an unwanted hiatus in my small blogosphere world, but the trade off would have been doing so out of obligation, and that's certainly not why I do this.

The good news about taking a month to regroup, enjoy the holidays, and get some extra time with family is the wealth of content that children give you in a month. I hope you had as many wonderful holiday moments as we did!

On one of our 158 (or so) Christmas celebrations - the one that was just me, my husband and the kiddos - we filled stockings for the first time. I bought roughly 30 fruit bars from Trader Joe's accompanied by some stuffed friends and other fun treats. I could not wait to see the look on my three year old's face when she dumped it all out. It did not disappoint. She took out every single thing, including the new toothbrush, with a look of awe, a huge gasp, and then proudly held it up to us with a gigantic smile and declaration of excitement. It was amazing. Our 16 month old never moved beyond the first fruit bar, which he promptly ate and then moved onto the playing with bags and the like.

The next Christmas involved a stay at Pop Pop and Gigi's where we experienced our first  "our daughter peed her pants on your couch" situation, thanks to a riveting Daniel Tiger episode. Pop Pop and Gigi were still in the Christmas spirit and everything was fine once the cushion was cleaned and put outside (where I'm pretty sure the pee just froze into the fibers.)

After our extended stay, we returned home to a cold, but welcoming house. Layna asked for some applesauce, and as she sat at the table, sighed and said to herself, "I'm home now. It's better for me." The sentiment was echoed by her brother who gratefully greeted all the toys he left behind with his four-tooth grin and got right to business dumping them out.

The holidays are a magical time, and taking a break is such an important part of it! I'm so grateful to have all the family that we do to surround us with love and dote on our babies. We hosted and were hosted, and got to see family we don't often celebrate with. Knowing that not everyone gets to celebrate the holidays with loved ones makes it all the more precious.

At the same time, returning to normal is a magic in and of itself. Getting back to the mundane makes me grateful for the day-to-day life I get to call my own. A loving husband, two spunky kids, and a season of crazy awaiting each day. And I love it. I love being home. "It's better for me."