What Christmas means to me

Meant to send this to my husband...but never had the time!

The joy in Christmas for me has always been in the gifts. Buying them, wrapping them, watching you guys unwrap them, and of course, unwrapping my own. When it's all over, the only part of Christmas I keep with me is the limited amount of time that I actually use the gifts. And, as you know, that is very limited. This year,I realized I've been doing it wrong. Yes, watching Karly unwrap gifts makes me feel good. But, it never last. In fact, I am usually upset with her when she isn't enjoying all the news things we "spent so much money on". As I write that, I realize how ridiculous that sounds. Christmas has nothing to do with the amount of money we spend on gifts. It's not about a Christmas tree. Or about decorating the house. Christmas is about appreciating that Jesus died to save us from, well, ourselves. And. as if that wasn't enough. he, from the day we were born has continued to watch over us. To protect us. To heal us. To comfort us. I've been trying to fill my Christmas with things I buy at Walmart and Target. And, I've missed that my gifts are already at home. I didn't have to buy them. Jesus bought them for me when he died on the cross. He bought Karly, and Kira, and Korra. And you. He bought our health. He bought our safety. He bought our lives. This year, when Christmas is over, I won't loose the Christmas spirit after my new gift has lost it's sparkle. This year, i will remember and be thankful for Christmas every time I see you and the girls. You guys are my Christmas gifts every day. 

Two hours of sleep!

That's what I managed to sleep today. It is Saturday morning, 1:16a.m. to be exact. I have been awake since 7 a.m. Thursday and I've only had two hours of sleep. That's forty hours of awake time!

 David had a work thing today that lasted way longer than I would of liked. By the time he got home, it was six o'clock and I couldn't make myself fall asleep. Luckily, I managed to get in a two hour nap with the babies, which has helped to sustain me here at work. I am sure the four cups of bold coffee  I drank also helped. The good news is, lunch will be here soon and I'll be able to take a twenty-five minute nap. And, today I also get to leave two hours early. I am looking forward to going to sleep when I get home!

The last two weeks have been killer

And not in, "killer boots" man sense. Ever since I had those four days off for Thanksgiving, I have had a difficult time readjusting to my overnight sleep schedule. In fact, in the last two weeks, I have had about five hours of broken up sleep throughout the day, if I'm lucky. Part of it, is the girl's schedule has been off and I haven't been able to get in my morning nap with them. Part of it, is David has been home more often.And, of course, with the holidays and Kira's birthday coming up, it means I have more to do during the day. This has lead to me being awake until three o'clock in the afternoon most days,when David gets home. By that point, I have been up for nearly 20 hours and to say I am tired would be an understatement. When I do get to sleep at three, I tell myself, I won't get up until nine, but that's hardly ever the case. As exhausted as I am, when I hear the girls screaming downstairs, I am quick to wake. And once I'm awake, there's just no going back to sleep. It's frustrating. But, it's no one's fault. And, by the grace of God, I have managed to maintain my sanity. I know once he holiday season is over, things will go back to normal. Nothing last forever. Everything has it's season.

Speaking of season, Christmas is upon us, but before we can get to that there is the not so little matter of Kira's birthday! Last year, we didn't make a big deal out of her first birthday. She wasn't verbal yet, and didn't really seem to show much of an interest in it. But, this year is a whole different story! She has been excited for weeks. Every time I pull out her birthday decorations she squeals with excitement. She can tell you it's Kira's birthday. She having a Monster's Inc. party, she's eating cake and we are going to sing her happy birthday. It amazes me to see how far her speech has come in the last year. She went from screaming for everything she wanted, to telling David, "Dad, get baby doll", when she wants him to take Korra so she can have a turn nursing. Today, as we started to put up her birthday decorations, I could see her little face getting excited. I am so happy we can celebrate another year of life with her. I am so blessed to be entrusted with the lives of three beautiful beings. There's nothing about my life that can top the feeling of knowing I get to enjoy these little beings for as long as God allows me to be on this Earth. What did I do to deserve such a privilege?

I will end today with three random events from the last couple of weeks....

1. I had a panic attack this week, thought it was a heart atack, so I called 911. Went to the hospital in an ambulance, and freaked David and Karly out. I'm sure I will get a nice little bill in the mail for that episode.

2. Karly was sick last week. Said she had major pain in her shoulders and chest. It was concerning to us, so we took her to the pediatrician. After a twenty minute exam, he was unable to determine what could be causing her( as she called it), excruciating pain. Grasping for straws he asked her if she'd been doing any push ups. "Oh yes", she responded." We've been doing push ups for two days!". (Insert face palm here.)

3.I received the most awesome gift from work today. We were all blessed with an extremely generous Christmas bonus. I had to do a double take to make sure I was seeing the right number of zeros. Man, I love my job!!!

                                

                                     

Thanksgiving came and went, and now it's time for Christmas!

After a month of anticipation, Thanksgiving dinner came and went quicker than I would have liked. We did not go down to my parents this year. With me working overnight, I didn't have the mental energy to pack all three girls for a two hour car ride. So, we bought all of the fixings for dinner, and I cooked this year. I rather enjoyed it actually. It was the first year I had to make Thanksgiving dinner. We kept it basic, a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and roasted asparagus. But, it was more than enough and thankfully all of it tasted delicious. Kira didn't really care for any of it, she has become so picky as of lately. But, Korra couldn't seem to get enough. Karly ate a little. But, Thanksgiving for her was kind of ruined because she decided to watch animal cruelty videos the night before. She actually told me Wednesday night that she wasn't eating dinner and was becoming s vegetarian. That kid. She is so like me. But, I managed to get her to eat Thanksgiving dinner and promised to help her become a vegetarian come Monday. She was okay with that. I guess we will see if anything comes of it. I kind of doubt it as she loves her hamburgers, but she is so strong willed. I know if she truly wants to make a change, she will. Today, we put up our Christmas tree. It was the first time we've ever had it up so soon after Thanksgiving. We usually drag our feet, but Karly really wanted it up, so David got it out and we got it done. I am happy we did. Seeing the tree up reminds me of the season and gives me that warm Christmas feeling. I know it's not about the tree, or the gifts, but it is nice to have the visual reminders. Shopping for the girls will get underway soon. David did get Karly something last week. But, he left it in the trunk and I sent her in there to get something out. Yeah, she saw it. Tried to play it off like she didn't,but the smirk on her face gave it away. We were going to take it back, but it feels wrong. I mean it's not her fault we left it in there. It's David's fault!

I had good intentions

But, it seems as though working overnight, taking care of the girls during the day, and fitting sleep somewhere in between, have sidelined my plans to write daily. I am writing today while at work, the only time of the day I seem to have the energy to write out the exhausting details of my day. I am on my third week of working graveyard. So far, I have to say it has gone much better than what I expected. The girls have miraculously turned into amazing sleepers, lessening the fears I had that it would be an all-night scream fest without me there. This however makes me realize, I am easily replaceable. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I mean, I am glad they have been doing so well without me. But, I kind of wish they had put up more of a protest. Of course, that is a completely selfish desire. Them having a bad night would only benefit my ego. So, I will suck it up, and be grateful that they are all able to sleep peacefully while I stay up all night. There is of course, things I enjoy about not being home with them all night. When I do get home, I am greeted by two babies who are thrilled to see me. Kira will give me a “Good morning mom”, the minute she sees me. Baby doll, will smile and crawl as fast as she possibly can with her footed jammies bunching up. I love that they are happy to see me. I had never had that before. Karly isn’t as thrilled to see me. But, she’s ten. What can I possibly expect right? I have been taking her to school lately. She had specifically asked for me to drop her off. And, when she gets out of the car, she kisses my goodbye without worrying about her friends seeing her. She’s such a good kid. I hope she never changes. Sleeping has worked itself into my day where there’s an open spot. I take an afternoon nap with the girsl around noon. This usually gets me through to three when David gets home. I will usually sleep four hours then, and I am awake by 7 at the latest. Not as much sleep as I would like, but I will take it. This week I am getting moved to my regular shift, which means I won’t have to work so many weekdays. This will help me with sleeping more during the day…I hope. I will try to make it a point to write daily, even if no one but me is reading 

Happy Halloween!

Just a brief post to share the girls looking adorable in theor costumes. Kira and Korra are too little to go trick or treating around the neighborhood, so we went to the Galleria in Roseville. Kira had fun saying trick or treat and getting candy., Karly was thrilled that people recognized who she was and were commenting on how great her costume was. It was the perfect amount of fun for us.

Back from Disney and only five days left!

My siblings and I decided to take a family vacation together to Disneyland last Friday, Initially, we weren't going to go, but because I am starting a new job in less than a week, we decided we might not get another opportunity soon . We left on Friday at four in the morning, hoping that the girls would sleep through the six hour drive. Luckily for us, it worked and we made it to Burbank at around 11 a.m. We stopped at our favorite place to eat, Portos, and then settled into our hotel room. Disney was uneventful, maybe even a little boring,. There isn't much you can do when you have an almost two year old and an eight month old, but we did manage to get on some rides thanks to my sister volunteering to watch the girls. On Sunday evening, the night before we are set to leave, Kira started throwing up. Other than vomiting she wasn't acting sick, so I didn't think much of it. Later on that evening, Korra also started throwing up, once at 2a.m. in my hair. Upon waking Monday morning , David was also sick! Not good. Checkout is at noon and I have three sick people! We decided to brace for the worst and hope for the best and hit the road despite the illness. As we were leaving, I noticed the parking spot my sisters car was in, was full of leaked coolant. I called her to tell her and hoped that it was nothing major and they would make it home alright. About five minuted later, I get a text that their car is smoking and they aren't going anywhere. We decided to pick them up at the gas station and get the car to a shop. The car ended up needing a new radiator and would take hours to fix. Meanwhile, Kira throws up again, and we decide we are all better off staying another night. My sisters' family and our family all bunked in one room for the night. Thankfully, we got a call around noon on Tuesday that the car was done. We both finally got on our way back home, and seven hours later we were back. I don't think I ever want to take a trip to Disney again. On a side note, I spoke top my new boss who gave me my first week's schedule. For training I will have to be there during the day for at least a week. This means, David is on duty by himself. I can't lie, I am scared, but there is no option. I love my new job, and this is only temporary. We can manage a week right?