Tis' the season...blah, blah, blah...yadda, yadda, yadda, and all that stuff...

I must admit, if you couldn't tell by the title, that I have been a bit of a Grinch this year. More than a bit, more like A LOT. The month started out cheery, even with my pneumonia, I was in good spirits and happy for the holiday season. I was really excited to decorate our tree this year, I even got out every last Christmas decoration I could, putting those up as well. I made ready all of the holiday movies and music, and I even had fun doing my shopping this year. But the week of Christmas, my mood changed. I don't know if it was the stress of wrapping, cooking, cleaning, or taking care of three very sick kids the week before(I swear my house still smells like throw up, even though we shampooed the carpets multiple times,) but I was ready to throw in the towel before the big day had even arrived. And on Christmas day itself, I was worse than Ebenezer Scrooge. Even now I am still a bit ba-hum-buggy. I know I am certainly not the only one that suffers from the stress of the holidays, but I have worked out a plan for next year that will hopefully help keep my spirits up for the whole of December. I am boycotting Christmas! Now before you get too mad at me, hear me out. My plan, is to remove myself from all things stressful--no family parties, no mother or in-law Christmas, no wrapping, no cooking, no cleaning, no secret Santas with siblings--just me, my handsome hubby, and the kids on a Christmas get-a-away. I want to do the Polar Express next year for Christmas Eve and spend the night in a hotel! We will have Santa bring the kids one gift each, our gift to them being the train ride and hotel stay. What do think? I think it sounds wonderful!, The only tricky part will be carefully hiding the gifts in the car on the way up. Oh, and Matthew's family, we are still doing gifts for our respective parents next year, so count us in on the next big family present :) Matthew is all for it, and since the Christmas Eve ride fills up really fast, I will be booking our reservations in January, and breathing easy for the next 11 months! But in the meantime, here are some highlights from the family parties and Christmas day activities.