Good Family Time

Playing catch-up here...lots of stuff, lots of good stuff.

On Christmas Eve, it was comforting to have all the kids under one roof. Christmas morning was a little rushed, trying to get their presents opened before V. and the girls had to leave at 8:45am to get them home but it was okay. The rest of the day was spent at my parents' house and it was nice and drama-free. There was some stress surrounding the dinner but aside from that, it was good.

I. stayed at my parents Sunday night thru Wednesday afternoon so it was just V, D, and I on Monday and then just D. and I Tuesday and Wednesday. That (just D. and I) was a first since at Thanksgiving when I. stayed at my parents', V. was home for those days. It gave me a chance to just be on his schedule for a change and it made for simple days which was a real treat. When he was awake, I could just lounge with him, play with him, be silly with him and do some errands just he and I. It was really nice to be able to give him that time instead of feeling as though I was just alternately loading him into the car and crib all day long.

The day after I. got home, we headed for Idyllwild. For the first time, we did not have to worry about snow, ice, or sleet which was kind of bizarre but really very nice. I. was a little disappointed that there wasn't snow to play in but we really had a good time up there. I was telling V. that I think that this year was our best Idyllwild trip ever, including when it was just he and I. When it was just the two of us, it was a completely different trip. Though fun, we tended to return from it more tired than when we went up due to our "work hard, play hard" mentality. Then with just I. when she was little, we had to take turns entertaining her and it sometimes didn't feel like that much of a vacation.

This year though was different for a few different reasons. One, I. is now old enough that the games that entertain her are entertaining for adults (ie. card, video and board games plus hard puzzles) so it was fun to play with her for long periods of time. Two, with I. in school now, we don't have a lot of time to just play. That was one thing so nice about her Christmas vacation...the time we had to just hang out, cook, talk, take walks, and play together. When she was home all day, every day, playing with her in Idyllwild didn't feel as special as it did this year. Third, with two kids, V. and I had to work as a team and take turns and it worked out well. V. would play with D. giving me time to be with I. one on one and then V. also would get time to play with I. when D. was taking a nap or if I took a walk with him to extend a nap. In the evening, V. and I would get to relax, reading (me) and watching tv together. I know that doesn't sound that exciting but it was nice to just be able to hang out together and because V. had gotten some rest, he didn't fall asleep until it was actually time for bed.

One pro and con was that D. was in a separate bedroom instead of being in a closet. Yes, that's right, D. sleeps in our walk-in closet. Until he sleeps thru the night on a regular basis, he cannot go into I.'s room so the only semi-private option is the closet. Because he was in a separate room, I had to rely on the monitor which broadcast every fart, snort, and snuffle directly in my ear until I figured out where to put the doggone thing. Still it led to many nighttime wakings. On the pro side, I was able to read a book in bed until I was sleepy which I haven't been able to do since the night of August 4th.

Now it's back to the school day grind. No more going back to sleep at 6:30 til 7:30 after feeding D. to get that extra hour. And it sounds like after tomorrow, I won't see V. until Saturday morning. A hard reentry but I'm thankful for a really nice family vacation.