Interesting Topic

I'm in a little group for Mommy's that are due in January. It's fun, it's a great place to go for friendship and support.

Today an interesting question was asked - who is the priority - your kids or your husband.

Tough question right?

I thought about it. Long and hard. While it may seem that my priority is my children, I believe that everything that I do for my kids, around my house, is all for my husband. I want him to come home to happy children, a clean house, dinner on the table. He works hard everyday to support us at home. My only job is too make sure that the home front is taken care of.

We talk a lot about life B.K. (before kids) and love to dream about our A.K. life (after kids). We tell the kids stories about our adventures before they were born. We also talk to them about the adventures that we will have when they are grown with their own families.

I/ we feel that it is so important to nurture ourselves. If we don't make ourselves a priority what we will have when the kids are gone? I won't say that we don't prioritize our children, but I do think that we put ourselves first. How can we take care of them if we don't take care of each other.

It's kinda like the O2 mask on the airplane. How you can help your kid if your are unconscious? I don't know if I am foolish in thinking that or not. I want my children to feel love in our home. I don't think that they feel neglected, they aren't.

We don't take lavish vacations just the 2 of us, we don't have date nights every week, we rarely get out by ourselves. I think that he is my center though. Without him I am off kilter which would make the whole world spin out of control.

I don't know who is right here....I may be wrong......who knows.

Gobble Gobble Day

This year Gobble Gobble day was amazing! It was perfect! Surrounded by the love of family. Dinner was amazing. Teamwork was definitely the name of the game. The kids this year were incredibly easy. There was no chasing. It was fun watching their older cousins play babysitter and help us enjoy an easy night. At one point Chris and I looked at each other and realized that this will not happen again for at least 2 years. Next year we will have another baby at the holidays.

On Friday, there was no black Friday shopping for this Mom. I was busy at home. Making our 2nd Thanksgiving dinner. This one is a little smaller. It's just our immediate family + Chris's cousin. It was also lovely.

Saturday, we (Chris and I) drove to Norman for the OU game - BOOMER! IT was FREEZING! Granted we weren't really dressed for the freezing cold, rain, and blustering winds. I only lasted until half-time and my back was killing me and I couldn't feel my toes. Lucky for me, Chris was a sport and took me home.

Hopefully today at some point we will get the Christmas decorations up. I hope. We will see. I've spent the day with the kids "helping" them clean up the upstairs.

I pray it stays that way until Tuesday morning.

T-minus 6 days

WOW! Can you believe that Gobble Gobble day is almost here?

I can't! I still have so much to do!

I still have to write my lists, go to the store, clean the house!


ACK! I also have 2 baby presents that needed to be in the mail 4 days ago. NOt quite I am still sewing.

Then I told the hubs that I would make gifts for the wonderful ladies that he works with. I bought the stuff, haven't started yet. Another bigger ACK!

This is all stuff that needs to be done by Wednesday. At least the shopping and the baby's gifts HAVE to be in the mail.

When do you put up your Christmas decorations? Chris thinks I am crazy every year, I make him hang the lights on the day after Thanksgiving. Then they come down before the 27th of December. Yet another insane move on my part. Naomi's bday is the 27th and I want her to know in our house there is a distinction between the 2.

I have some pretty firm rules about her birthday. Until she is old enough to understand, please don't combine gifts. She doesn't understand right now that the gift is USUALLY better if they are combined, but I have a sneaky suspicion that soon she will :)

Okay, less typing more doing! ACK!

Now why did I revisit that....

I'm sure you were wondering, I was kinda wondering myself why I put myself through the agony of reliving the worst Christmas ever.


Because I'm scared. I'm scared that something will happen and I won't be home this Christmas.


Chris is a wonderful husband and fantastic Dad. But no one does Christmas like Mommy. Will he remember the milk and cookies? To take a few bites and leave the rest and leave half the milk?

Will he remember to fill the stockings?

What about the new pj's on Christmas Eve?



Then I remember, I will no matter what still have my voice and Lord knows I know how to use it.


I think that we will be just fine.


:)

The Christmas that wasn't.....

I remember this Christmas like it was yesterday. It was the worst Christmas EVER. I mean it.


I was 12 1/2. My brother was a freshman in college and I was so excited he was coming home. It was going to be great. All of us together.


My Mom was out on the eve of Christmas Eve that year running errands. My brother was gone doing who knows what. My Dad was at work - it was my sister and I holding down the fort.


The phone rang. It was my Uncle from Ireland. I could tell from his tone that either one of my cousins was in some serious poop or something awful had happened. He asked to speak to my Mom, she isn't home. He asked to speak to my Dad, he isn't home.

I had an idea - I said I can call Dad at home and use the 3 way for you to talk to him. He said fine. I called Dad and told him not to get mad at me (the 3-way calling while we had it, was NOT to be used).

After I connected the call, I was instructed to the put the phone down. I don't know why I listened but I could sense this was not the time to disobey.

For the first time in my life, my Dad was home early from work. He was home an hour after that call and sat at the kitchen table waiting....he wouldn't tell us what was wrong, but once again, I knew it wasn't good.

My Mom walked in obviously shocked to see my Dad. Her face was lit up to see him. Then she must have seen his expression, because she immediately asked what was wrong...

Once again, we were told to leave the room. So, I hauled my sister to the living room to watch TV and wait.

I heard my parents talking, my Mom crying, Dad saying it would be okay, but it didn't matter the day she needed to leave and needed to leave today.

Then, there was the family meeting after the arrangements had been made. My Mom's Mom, my Nana had a stroke while visiting her brother in England. They were making arrangements to move her home. We should come, right away. Arranging a last minute trip for 5 to Ireland over the holidays was impossible. Impractical.

So, she left, she was gone until February. We rang in the New Year crying on the couch. She passed on the 29th of December. It was honestly the worst Christmas ever.

We sat huddled with each other, not understanding but understanding why we couldn't go the funeral. It was too far, Dad couldn't leave work during the holidays. There was no one to cover.

It took years for Christmas to be wonderful again. Yes, they were good but in the back of our minds we were always thinking of Nana. The grandkids who came many years later were the band-aid for her heart.


I was thinking about how bad Mom felt when she came home from Ireland in Feb. We had Christmas again. The presents that Dad either didn't know about or couldn't find. Not that we noticed. We all tried to make it wonderful for my sister. I should ask her sometime her memory of that Christmas without Mom...

Home sweet home....

Good thing I love my being at home, since my Dr told me no more working. What a great time of year to get to spend at time at home. Actually you can see both sides of that one. It WILL be great to be home around the holidays. But those Christmas presents aren't going to buy themselves.

Santa?!?! Help?!?!


Just kidding, the second I started worrying about myself, I started thinking about Christmas and had a lot of what-ifs. What if I'm not here this year and I'm baking a baby in the hospital? What if Chris has to manage Christmas by himself?


Could he do it? I know he wouldn't do it MY WAY (which we all know is the right way), but I have faith that he would get it done or really close.