CHRISTMAS EVE.

I woke up yesterday super tired and a little cranky. I walked into the living room and was cursing the mess under my breath. The last thing I wanted to do after a crazy busy Christmas weekend was clean my house. I do not do well with chaos, mess, or disorganization. I knew I'd feel better after a hot cup of tea and a shower to kick my butt into gear. I got myself moving and it wasn't actually that bad. Brother took a super long morning nap, and the plus side to all that holiday crap bliss spread across my house? Nugget played for hours. By herself. And totally happy. Cleaning went surprisingly quick...funny how fast you can go when you don't have a baby and a preschooler following your every move and tugging on your leg. And you know what else? After lunch I got to take a nap. I never nap. Only when I am pregnant and sicker than a dog do I let myself slow down and rest. (And no, I am not preggers.) I hate to waste a single second, so when my kids are sleeping, its usually go time for me.

Any who, I'm still feeling totally over Christmas, ready to de-holiday my house and get some space back. Even though our Christmas was crazy busy with too many places to go, my heart is still happy with the memories we made and the time spent with family.

We started out Christmas Eve with brunch at my Mom's. A low key get together with my mom, sister and her family. We were late, go figure, but I stood firm in my ground that I was going to give Brother at least one decent nap that day. It just so happened that he slept until 11. You can't please everybody, so might as well please yourself, right?

Of course Nugget was in heaven to play with her cousins all day. And this time she actually stopped to eat a meal. Impressive.

All the grandkids on my side of the family, minus one who lives in California.

Christmas is super fun when you have a baby experiencing it for the first time. And he probably would have been just as happy if he received a roll of wrapping paper, but hey, tractors and little people trains are cool too.

Nugget got some awesome stuff too, her favorite being a suitcase and a princess book.

We ate, played, and lazied the afternoon away until it was time to head to my Grandma's house.

Here we ate dinner, played a little more, and opened matching jammies from Great Grandma Mary.

But shortly after is where Christmas Eve started to fall apart a bit for me, and I had to wrestle with the emotions of pleasing family and doing what is best for my family. It was late, past Brother's bedtime, Nugget was running on high all day and was due to crash (aka melt down) any second, and we still had a 45 minute drive home. Not to mention setting out cookies and milk for Santa, sprinkling our reindeer food, and reading The Night Before Christmas all snuggled together in bed.

A tree by my Grandma's that we look forward to seeing every year. Isn't it awesome?

Needless to say, I didn't accomplish all that I had hoped too. The kids fell asleep in the car on the way home, and Nick and I carried them up to their beds without them making hardly a peep. We met each other in the hallway after they were tucked in, and I just melted into his arms and cried. As much as I love continuing the traditions from my own childhood, it came at the price of not making new ones with my own family, and it was just too much. I hate to disappoint anyone, but I know that next year somethings gotta give.

On a happier note, Santa helped himself to some cookies, and was happy to sprinkle the reindeer food himself during his stop at our home.

Despite my sadness about traditions missed, I couldn't help but smile when I looked back at pics from the day...

I still had lots to be thankful for, and as I slid into bed that night, I smiled again, knowing the real magic would unfold in the morning.