Baby, it's cold outside!

I am home again today with a sick little girl. Right now she seems to be rallying and we might head out to the grocery store which was on my agenda before it became clear we weren't going anywhere today. Only now we are. See how that works?

Shimelle's prompt for Day 4 was to journal about your perfect Christmas. Yesterday got off all on the wrong foot. I woke up early to do the page before heading off to work but the prompt wasn't ready. It came right before I left and I pondered it all day and even played around with some ideas last night but it just wasn't working. So I went to bed early and as I lay there in the peace and quiet (finally!) I suddenly realized that I was struggling between the concepts of the ideal Christmas vs. my ideal Christmas.

You know, the Christmas portrayed with softly falling snow, a sense of peacefulness, animals gathering reverently outside the window to gaze upon the perfectly coiffed family opening presents one by one in front of the crackling fireplace. It sounds nice, doesn't it?

But that's just not how it is in my world. My family is loud and we are messy. Our houses are small and quite often, messy. (Are you getting the messy theme?) We rip into the presents and talk over each other and the whole experience can be quite overwhelming for a newcomer. (Or so my husband tells me.) But it's perfect for us. It's how it has always been. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

And the 2 peas prompt yesterday was: Does Santa wrap the presents or just put them under the tree? Of course he wraps them. Very messily.

Today Shimelle's prompt was Christmas countdown. So of course I journaled about our advent boxes which have been a hit beyond my wildest expectations. Okay, that sounds a bit dramatic doesn't it? Well, they have been a success. Justin was VERY skeptical at first. In fact, he might have shook his head in disgust and the thought that I have too much time on my hands might have crossed his mind. But he is a convert. Because the kids just love it. Wake up and race each other to the living room to open the day's box love it. Today our activity is to enjoy late night milk and cookies. And to do that, we will have to make the cookies. And they love it.


And the 2 peas prompt is something about hanging mistletoe. Which we don't do. Not for any good reason, we just don't.

And good news for any one who missed the Scooby Doo marathon on Monday. It appears to happen on Wednesdays also!