Christmas day

I was a little tearful yesterday. But then Steve texted me and said that Chanel had been upset and that she would call me later. Then I sobbed. I mean, gut wrenching sobs. Silly, really. It wasn't so much that I missed her, though of course I do. It was just that she was upset about not being home with us for Christmas.

So, she did call. She said she had been having a rough time of it. So much so that they even checked on getting her a flight home yesterday. It was so great to hear her voice. She'll be okay. She is just such a traditionalist when it comes to the holidays and she wanted to be with us, with the tree and the stockings, and the eggnog and the christmas lights, and A Christmas Story and a nap on my couch.

Today, Rick actually let me sleep in until 8! What a nice way to start Christmas morning! He has continued to spoil me all day. He is wonderful. Sienna came over about 11. Usually, she has to struggle with Chanel to get over here by 1. They always spend Christmas morning at their dad's with their little brothers. Sienna too was a little tearful over Chanel not being here. She did get to talk to her and I think that made her feel better. She was thrilled with her loot and I was very excited to see how excited she was. I love giving my kids gifts!

Rick asked me to make him Jambalaya this year for his Christmas lunch. Weird, right? Usually we have ham and potatoes etc. But the jambalaya was really good. It was nice for a change.

We played one of Sienna's new games. Deal or No Deal. Lame. We watched A Christmas Story as per our tradition. That is the most hilarious christmas movie out there. I love it. Sienna, took a nap. And then it was time to eat again! Well, Jamablaya is very spicy and a little hard on one's stomach so having it two meals in a row didn't sound very good. I hadn't actually planned on another meal. I don't usually cook and we didn't really have much in the house to eat. (Except desserts, we had lots of desserts thanks to Robin's mom). Well, we looked online to see if there was anywhere open on Christmas day. The only place we could find open was Waffle House. I have a newfound love for Waffle House so I was all for that idea! That's what we did! We went to eat dinner at Waffle House and it was lovely.

After that, we drove around looking at Christmas lights. I am like a little kid when it comes to Christmas lights. I just have so many fond memories of doing that as a kid and as my kids were kids.

I love Christmas traditions. Its always fun to reminisce and have that nostalgia feeling but its kind of fun to make new traditions. I have to be open to the fact that the kids are adults now, making their own way. Things are going to change. I think I'll just roll with it. Hope you had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas

This will be the first Christmas in all of Chanel's life that she will not be home with me. I guess this is just what kids do. They grow up and have their own lives and leave a lot of their childhood traditions behind in order to form their own traditions. Chanel is in California with Steve.

I didn't think it would bother me that much, but it does. I'm trying not to be a cry baby about it. :) It's just going to be a little weird. I just miss so many things about Christmastime with Chanel. Long standing traditions. Eggnog, the Santa apron, christmas lights at night, piles of mashed potatoes, tons of silly photos, Christmas stockings. Chanel would rather have a full stocking than any presents. Lots of things I will miss. I am happy though, that she is navigating her adult life and that she has Steve to form new traditions with but if I have to hear Sienna say one more time that this is going to be a sucky Christmas, I may just have to bite her beautiful head off.

So, we will have a great day tomorrow. Rick is spoiling me as usual and I love it. He's been giving me gifts all week. When I said something about me not having any gifts for Christmas morning because he had already given them all to me. He said that Christmas morning should be for the kids and that the grown ups should celebrate christmas separately. To which I said, um, you mean our 20 yr old adult kid? lol. They will always be kids to us, I guess. I even have a few gifts under the tree for her from Santa.

I hope you all have a very merry christmas!

overcoming the chaos

My life has been in a little bit of disarray lately and a few years ago, that would have been just fine with me. I used to like chaos, thrive on it even. But I don't much like it anymore. Now I like for things to be predictable, calm, quiet, relaxed. I have felt like since thanksgiving, things have been spinning a little out of control. So, today, I took back control. I cleaned out my office. You can always tell how things are going in my life by peeking in my scrapbook room. It has been a total mess. Boxes everywhere, wrapping paper, piles of mail and magazines, bags and bags and boxes and boxes of scrapbook stuff I have bought over the last few months. (One of the things I do to cope with chaos is shop). and now..Ahhhhhh. I feel peace. My scrap table is clean, my floor is vacuumed, everything is labeled and in its place. My magazines have been sorted and filed. My trash cans are empty.

It feels so good.

I love to scrapbook. It is an outlet for me. It helps to center me. I haven't been able to do it for the last 2 months or so because I was too overwhelmed with the clutter. Now, I should be able to spend some time doing one of the things I love doing most.

I was in Walmart today picking up some gift cards and I went back to the Christmas card section to get cards to mail the cards in. Go figure. I have had every intention to make my Christmas cards again this year but for some reason, the creativity bug hasn't bitten me yet. So, I'm going to buy a few cards. I was just sort of browsing through the cards when I came across this card for a husband. I just had to get it because it made me cry. The sentiment goes like this: Loving you
brings a smile to my lips,
hope to my heart,
and joy to my life.
and on the inside it says : Loving you is like Christmas 365 days a year.
Merry Christmas from your one and only.
Awwwwwww. How sweet!! I bought it for Rick and though he is not an emotional kind of guy, I bet he will cry when he reads it too!
That is so totally how I feel. My days are filled with joy and laughter and that is thanks to me having my very own jolly santa claus! I'm a very lucky girl.