A New Year

After a wonderful Christmas break it's back to the real world again; and today felt like it! We came back last Thursday from Idaho but today was when Chris started back up with school with just me and the boys at home. I loved being with family over the holiday and toward the end of my two week visit I was getting ready to have a schedule again and be productive. But today has felt anything but productive.

At the end of my day I have come up with my cons of my Christmas vacation:

• At home I was always cleaning and cooking with someone so it was always enjoyable and never overwhelming. Now I am in an apartment too small that has clutter all over and I'm constantly doing dishes by hand and cleaning up after two boys (it didn't help that Jared wet his pants today throwing in a load of laundry I wasn't planning on doing)


• Over the holiday I ate, and ate, and ate!!! I am now trying to break the bad habit of eating constantly and trying to eat things other than sugar and chocolate! I wanted to start running today and Chris was going to go to the Smith Field House with me and run with me and the boys on the indoor track before classes but he forgot and showered first thing and didn't want to go. So I used that as an excuse and didn't go either, pathetic! Maybe tomorrow.
  
• Now I don't believe in a thing as too much love but Jared definitely got lots of it over the break from family and Chris. Jared LOVES his dad and I love their cute little relationship but after Jared has had a constant taste of his dad for a long period of time he goins through withdrawls when he's gone for long periods of time. (Today I made the mistake of having Jared pray for his dad in our lunch prayer and immediately he started wanting him and I ended up finishing the prayer because Jared was too distracted) (To the contrary of my earlier statement Jared can sometimes get too much of mom and dad as he informed us after being home a day with only mom and dad (no grammys or aunts and uncles) he asked for Nursery!)

I'm sure there could be more things that are negatives towards a holiday break but these are the ones I witnessed because I felt like today was so ineffective for me. But I hate being so negative so I'll end it with a list of the positive things I LOVED about this holiday season:

• Being with family. All of Chris' family was there for Christmas and it was so much fun being together and we did their annual Chinese dinner which is absolutely fabulous (even if Brandon doesn't think so;). And I got to see everyone in my family except for Angela (missed you!) My family borrowed the Meservy's Wii to see if my dad could do some of the games and for New Years we almost missed the New Year but luckily my dad interrupted our game playing to warn us we had five minutes till 12:00. The next day I invited my sisters to come over and play and it was really fun watching non-skilled video game players contest in different games (the next day I heard complaints of sore arms, backs, and even one admitted to a sore bum! he, he, he!)
• This one is on my cons list as well but I enjoyed the food. The whole time I kept saying to myself that I would regret having little self control over my eating but I decided then that I wouldn't care and take care of it later. So I did thoroughly enjoy eating over the break and now I'm trying to take care of it!


• Spencer became less clingy to me. I love how he loves me but when we first got there he would hardly let anyone hold him and it made me sad because everyone wanted to love on him but it's not very fun holding a fussy baby. But by the end he would let people hold them for extended periods of time! And people started to enjoy him more (not that he was never not loved or enjoyed it's just more fun to hold a happy cooing baby if you know what I mean)


• It's fun to give and get. I was excited to give my sister-in-laws their gift of jellies and a shirt. I bought the jellies I think the end of September or beginning of October and couldn't wait to give them. I almost bought me a pair but reminded myself I was shopping for others not me. During the vacation Bailey excitedly showed her jellies to some friends making me feel good! And now we are enjoying the gifts we received, most recently the basketball hoop that is really a family gift that we are all enjoying. Chris taunts me and tells me I'm not athletic which I respond to by taking him down! (literally, he doesn't last in my pin very long though:(


• And this isn't a holiday pro necessarilly but a pro: Spencer gave us his first little chuckle yesterday and a few today. I have to tickle him to get it out of him but it's the warmest, most happiest feeling to hear your child laugh for the first time.

I know there are additional items I could include in my pros list as well but I'll take in consideration of your time and spare you, plus Chris is calling for me to come to FHE. Yeah we're having FHE! Maybe we'll get our new years resolutions written down. (Another con to being away for the holiday, you're having way too much fun with everyone you don't want to set aside time to write down resolutions but hey who said you had to start January 1st!)

Jared, Spencer, and me sporting some of our Christmas attire

So to all those we spent the Holiday with we love you and miss you and really the cons are because we just had way too much fun and now face reality!

I had to add this real quick: I just got off the phone with my sister-in-law Mardy (Trent's wife) and we get to have her stay with us next Friday while she's down for her brother's indoor track meet at BYU. Yeah! My day just got better!

Trent and Mardy