Christmas Break 2009 - Not A Great One To Remember.....

I had HIGH expectations for the 10 days I was going to get to stay home. Problem was....I didn't communicate them to anyone else. Which then lead to a few mommy meltdowns and a regret that we did not do anything too fun during that time. When I am at work, I dream about getting to stay home.....getting to do all the seemingly fun things that my stay at home mom friends get to do, make memories, bake, fun outings, etc. Well, this last week, I got to experience it first hand....and let me say, it was not too dreamy! Here is the week in a nutshell:

* Madden starts a runny nose, cranky Christmas Eve.

* My family comes (which was fun!), but I tried to do too many things while they were here.....too many projects, too much cooking, etc. They leave on Sunday.

* I go to work for a few hours on Monday. Come home with a horrible sore throat. Marc takes care of Madden and I go to bed at 7:00pm.

* Tuesday still feel bad and we just shuffle about our day. Notice Madden is cutting all FOUR molars - hence the drowl that has been dripping from his mouths for days and his crankiness. Decide it is finally time to put on the cabinet locks....as Madden is getting stir crazy and exploring places he has never gone before!

* Wednesday, take Madden to the doctor, get antibiotic. They weigh him at the doctor and he is 30 pounds - what? He has gained 5 pounds since October.....is this a problem????!!!!

Maid comes to clean for our NY Eve party (thank goodness!) Wednesday is the day I have a meltdown and realize, WE have done NOTHING fun as a FAMILY and the week is ALMOST over!

* Thursday, prep for NY party. Thursday night, had a houseful (which was lots of fun), but I had NO voice and was feeling crummy.

* Friday, head to Austin to watch Bowl games with the Mayers.

* Saturday, head home. My family comes back to Dallas so we could attend a wedding.

* Sunday morning, Marc wakes up with sore throat, sinus junk. Madden gives me a black eye. He has always been a 'yes' man.....but over the break, he started saying no. I needed to change his diaper and he told me 'ni' (which means NO). I finally picked him up and he slammed his milk cup in my face. Nice.

Pretty fun, huh?!

I had planned to go shopping, to the movies, the park, playdates with friends, a haircut, a visit to The Gaylord to see the Ice exhibit, and more! And we didn't do any of that!

But, I did learn something during my break. As much as I think I want to stay home, I think it is best for me and my family that I work and Madden goes to 'school'.....or at least have a plan. We do a lot better with some structure!

Here are a few pictures from our week:

BATH TIME with our new bath toys from Santa!

LOTS of basketball with our new goal from Santa!

Maria, Caroline and Ben

This was the grooms cake - it turned out SO CUTE!!

Mary, Becca and my mom. My mom and Mary were college roommates at Harding and have remained friends all these years! Mary's daughter, Becca is the beautiful bride!

Ben and Caroline - thrilled to be back in the car. They drove to Dallas and back in less than 24 hours.

My black eye from my 17 month old son. Please ignore the fact that I need to have my eyebrows done. That was also one thing I expected to get done last week.

So, that was our week. Certainly some highlights and memories along the way, but I hope to be better planned next year and communicate my expectations with someone other than myself early on so we can have some special, FUN memories during that time of year!