Oh, and Merry Christmas by the way.
The reason that Santa didn't visit our house last night was because mommy and daddy were woefully unprepared. Presents were wrapped, but had no tags on them. And there were 4 major assemblies that needed to take place. Greg got the 3 Cozy Coupes put together while I weeded out some toys, prepped a breakfast casserole that's a tad labor intensive, and cleaned up after a dinner that involved rice (a major undertaking at our house... the girls LOVE rice, but have a hard time getting it to their mouths. I ran the vacuum at least 3 times trying to clean up the mess.) So we're working full steam, making progress, Greg pulls out the kitchen set, I'm about to start helping him with it, and it's around 11pm. No presents out yet. And Julie wakes up. Greg went and got her until I could finish the casserole. Then, I took Julie, Greg went back to the kitchen set, and then around midnight, Emma and Becca wake up. So, that's where it ended. No presents out. And a kitchen set still in pieces.
It made me feel like a complete failure as a parent to wake up on Christmas morning this way. I know they don't know how badly we screwed up. But still, I hate being unprepared. I hate not having things ready in advance. I feel a bit like things have been out of control here. And I know I'm to blame. In a lot of ways, I feel like there's too much on my plate right now to do anything well. And at the same time, I feel like there's so much that I'm not doing that needs to be done. The girls not sleeping through the night is certainly not helping the situation. There is rarely a night where I can get anything beyond the bare minimum done around here. That pile of laundry on our bed from before Thanksgiving? Still there. Different clothes, but the pile's still there. Sometimes we just pull clean clothes out of the pile. And it's ridiculous.
Anyway.
We *barely* managed to pull it together and finished off the kitchen set during nap time - it took both of us. (And yes, we're still married.) Got the presents down under the tree and tagged. Doing the final clean up as the girls were waking up from their nap.
And they woke up and LOVED everything. We got a couple of presents unwrapped later in the day, but they are so excited about the stuff that wasn't wrapped that they spent most of the day playing with the kitchen set, the cozy coupes, the new baby dolls with their stroller and high chair, and the Mr. Potato Heads. There's still a bunch of stuff under the tree, but I think it's a bit overwhelming. We had to practically beg them to unwrap the presents. They can't see what they're missing, and they're just not interested right now.
She literally did a little happy dance when she saw the cars.
The reason that Santa didn't visit our house last night was because mommy and daddy were woefully unprepared. Presents were wrapped, but had no tags on them. And there were 4 major assemblies that needed to take place. Greg got the 3 Cozy Coupes put together while I weeded out some toys, prepped a breakfast casserole that's a tad labor intensive, and cleaned up after a dinner that involved rice (a major undertaking at our house... the girls LOVE rice, but have a hard time getting it to their mouths. I ran the vacuum at least 3 times trying to clean up the mess.) So we're working full steam, making progress, Greg pulls out the kitchen set, I'm about to start helping him with it, and it's around 11pm. No presents out yet. And Julie wakes up. Greg went and got her until I could finish the casserole. Then, I took Julie, Greg went back to the kitchen set, and then around midnight, Emma and Becca wake up. So, that's where it ended. No presents out. And a kitchen set still in pieces.
It made me feel like a complete failure as a parent to wake up on Christmas morning this way. I know they don't know how badly we screwed up. But still, I hate being unprepared. I hate not having things ready in advance. I feel a bit like things have been out of control here. And I know I'm to blame. In a lot of ways, I feel like there's too much on my plate right now to do anything well. And at the same time, I feel like there's so much that I'm not doing that needs to be done. The girls not sleeping through the night is certainly not helping the situation. There is rarely a night where I can get anything beyond the bare minimum done around here. That pile of laundry on our bed from before Thanksgiving? Still there. Different clothes, but the pile's still there. Sometimes we just pull clean clothes out of the pile. And it's ridiculous.
Anyway.
We *barely* managed to pull it together and finished off the kitchen set during nap time - it took both of us. (And yes, we're still married.) Got the presents down under the tree and tagged. Doing the final clean up as the girls were waking up from their nap.
And they woke up and LOVED everything. We got a couple of presents unwrapped later in the day, but they are so excited about the stuff that wasn't wrapped that they spent most of the day playing with the kitchen set, the cozy coupes, the new baby dolls with their stroller and high chair, and the Mr. Potato Heads. There's still a bunch of stuff under the tree, but I think it's a bit overwhelming. We had to practically beg them to unwrap the presents. They can't see what they're missing, and they're just not interested right now.
She literally did a little happy dance when she saw the cars.
R, backing up.
J & R taking care of a new baby doll.
R with Mr. Potato Head. They are more interested in the little pieces than they are in putting them in the potato heads. In fact, Mr. Potato Head's glasses have been on everyone (the new baby dolls, Bear, Monkey, Julie) except Mr. Potato Head. They love those "yassus."
Dusty on her new perch.
Complete chaos. J, E, R.
Becca was the first to find the kitchen set up in the living room (in front of our battle place of a fire place). Emma wasn't far behind.
Mamo went for a ride on top of the new doll stroller.
We also got a simple IKEA pop up tent. The girls love it, though Becca still won't go all the way in it. And the cats love it too, and have already put their marks on it.
Honestly, once the girls got up, we just kind of hung out and let them play. We did some video chats with the grandparents, snacked on some appetizers, and just enjoyed each other's company. In the end, we had a good day and the girls had a blast. Next year will be different, though.
Honestly, once the girls got up, we just kind of hung out and let them play. We did some video chats with the grandparents, snacked on some appetizers, and just enjoyed each other's company. In the end, we had a good day and the girls had a blast. Next year will be different, though.
2 comments:
OMG Sarah, you are WAY too hard on yourself! I can't even imagine how difficult and exhausting it is to have 3 active toddlers at once; yet you and Greg seem to do an awesome job and provide plenty of love and little adventures. Whether gifts were wrapped or assembled on time is of little importance, even though it makes a cute diary or scrapbook memory. Next holiday, don't ask so much of yourself and for goodness sake, know that you are wonderful, loving parents, wrapped gifts or not!
Oh, this is so us. First, I am SUPER impressed that Greg put together 3 Cozy Coupes on his own. I thought Phillip and I were going to kill each other putting together one, which we tried to do Christmas morning after Henry had gotten up.
Long story short, I don't think he minded waiting until later to play :) I'm sure the girls didn't either.
Also, I'm banging my head against the wall here whenever you talk about them not sleeping through the night. All I can think is, I might have another YEAR of this? Ack. H woke up last night at 10:30. Finally put him in bed with us at 1:00. And that was a halfway decent night.
You are doing an AMAZING job taking care of those three little girls. They look happy, and that's all that really matters, right?
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