What Day Is It?

The week between Christmas and New Years is always one of my very favorite weeks of the year. Chris is typically able to take the entire week off from work, we have several days to spend at home as a family, and our schedule is very relaxed compared to other times. I'm a person who thrives on a schedule, so I've definitely been feeling a little like this lately:

Haha! Really though, it's been wonderful to be able to sleep in, play, spend time together, and just be. This is also one of the few times of the year that I don't worry at all about how the house looks. Right now, we have extra tables set up (for more playing space), a puzzle monopolizing the entire dining room table, and toys everywhere. I'm not making the children pick toys up or put anything away at the end of the day, and it's been kind of great!

Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely couldn't live like this all the time, but it's great for a week or two out of the year!

What I love the most is how much time we've been able to spend together as a family. I sometimes struggle with finding time to play with my kids because I'm so busy with laundry, dishes, floors, cooking, etc, but we've been soaking up some great playtime these past few weeks. I would never wish for my kids to be sick, but because they were sick on Christmas and the few days prior, we were forced to slow down and just be home. I can't say that it was a bad thing!

One evening last week (after we got back in town from visiting my parents), Brianna and I went out to dinner together. One-on-one time is difficult to find, so I cherish times like these. After dinner, we went to a ladies bible study together, and just had a fantastic evening.

We also enjoyed our Christmas decorations a little longer than normal this year! I usually have everything down and packed away before New Years Day, but I just haven't worried about it too much this time. I'm sure it will all be down soon, so for now I'm just letting myself relax and savor my kids. Plus, they're all still enjoying the Christmas decor, too!

Brooke and Brecklyn had loved our felt tree they can decorate and undecorate over and over again!

We did manage to all get dressed and out of the house on New Years Eve. It was a Sunday, so we went to worship that morning, had fat naps that afternoon, then went back to worship that evening. After evening services, we went over to Russ and Lisa's house for a few hours of play time, television, and junk food!

Everything was going great until suddenly it wasn't (kids!), so we headed home around 9:30pm. We didn't plan to stay until midnight anyway just because we didn't want to be on the roads that late. Chris thought we'd put the kids to bed once we got home, but they really wanted to stay up to ring in the new year. In the spirit of our complete lack of schedule right now, we decided who needs a bed time or sleep anyway?!? We all went upstairs and watched a movie until a few minutes before midnight, and once midnight came, this happened:

The kids all went crazy for about a minute, then were asleep in their beds by 12:05am, haha! And, shockingly, they all actually slept in several hours later than normal the next morning. No regrets!

Speaking of sleeping in, my children pretty much don't. Ever. Especially Brenson and Brecklyn . . . unless they're sick, they are usually up by 6:00am, but always by 7:00am. I rarely worry about setting an alarm because unless I need to be up before 6:00am, I can depend on my children to be up. Well, this morning was the first day for the big kids to go back to school. Like I said, our schedule has pretty much been non-existent, and I completely forgot to set my alarm this morning. I didn't even think about the fact that my two dependable alarm clocks might not wake up so early since we've had no routine lately. Chris's alarm did go off, but he just turned it off still half asleep. At 7:30am, he got up and said, "Chelle! It's 7:30am! Get up!" We are typically leaving the house to take the big kids to school at 7:30am, and NO ONE was even up! Eeeeek! Not exactly the way I wanted to begin the first day back at school for the semester! Somehow though, we rushed around and got the big kids ready and out the door with Chris by 7:45am. They ate breakfast in the car on the way to school and were not tardy! It was a good reminder for me of why I need a schedule and why I like a routine!

I hope the start of your new year has been as pleasant as ours has! Happy 2018!