Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except for Princess and Mommy.

See, Princess has influenza. A roaring case that has her whimpering and raw-faced.

The fevers spike above 102. The nose runs at a constant drip, meaning that even the special lotion-infused, name brand facial tissues leave her looking like someone has taken sandpaper to her face. We've managed to get her on some Tamiflu, but the recovery is slow-going. So far no one else has gotten sick, and we've got our fingers crossed for that to continue.

It's really thrown a kink into the Christmas plans. There was no gingerbread house making, no forest tree decorating. I'm lucky I got most of my buying/wrapping/mailing done before the dreaded Flu hit our house because Princess has spent the last 4 days in my lap.

If it weren't for some awesome family members, my house would be a pig sty, there would be no special Christmas food, and my little guy would be beside himself with boredom. Thanks, awesome family!!!

We didn't manage to get out Christmas cards this year, and I apologize about that. We've had a great year, and we hope you did, too.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

I used to be a morning person.

I used to attend Early (early, early) Morning Seminary at 6:30 am every day. I used to get up early for work. I used to appreciate the time I spent in the morning. The silent time, before the house wakes up, before things start bustling and moving...and then all of a sudden it's dinnertime and you have no idea where the day went. I went to bed early and woke up early.

And then I had a baby. And everything changed.

Sleep became the most important thing in my life. Everything revolved around getting sleep. Can I get a catnap while the baby sleeps on my chest? Can someone else get up with him so I can get 30 more minutes? Will he take 3 naps today or 2? Is today one of those magical-unicorn days where he'll sleep past 9 am? Naptime is Mommy Time. Mom can sleep or clean or reconnect with the outside world on the computer. Moms use naptime to keep sane. We use naptime to think up less-violent alternatives to strangling when the kids get out of control. Naptime is VERY important.

First time parents have no idea how small their world will soon become. New moms wander from activity to activity like a junkie looking for their next sleep-fix. Just look into the eyes of a parent whose kid has colic, doesn't sleep well, or just doesn't need sleep. It's like looking into a dark pit of despair and hopelessness. It's hard to imagine the time of sleeplessness is ever going to end.

Sleep becomes a commodity for new parents. "I got up with him last time, it's your turn!"

Sleep becomes the reason for a baby's fitful temperament. "Is your baby crying? He must be sleepy!!"

Sleep becomes the measurement of a child's worth. "Wow, your 5 month old is already sleeping through the night, I wish I could get mine to do that!!"

Getting enough sleep is the all-too-elusive holy grail of parenting.

But now I'm past that stage. Now I've got an 5 and a 3 year old. Bedtime is promptly at 8 pm, and I can count on them not to wake up until 8 am. Now I have hours to myself in the evening, and more to myself occasionally during the day! (Shh, don't tell my 5 year old that he's one of the few kids in kindergarten that still naps!) I have the luxury of saying yes to D when he asks if we can stay up late and watch just one more episode of whatever. I have the luxury of reading into the wee hours of the night, knowing that I won't be getting up at 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am to feed a baby. Sleep is luxurious!

So now it's ok that the dog gets me up at 7:15 am to go outside to potty. At least all she demands of me at that time of the morning is to stand outside in the freezing cold while she does her business. And then maybe a treat and a good ear scratching when we get back inside.

Now I can lie under the tree in the morning, just like I used to do when I was a kid. I can look up into the branches in the quiet, dark house. I can turn on the lights just for me and watch them twinkle and blink. I can watch the ornaments reflect the glow and the colors make beautiful pattens on the ceiling. I can lie and think about how much I love the holidays. Anticipate the looks on my kids faces as they open their presents. Remember times gone by when the holidays meant maybe not a great quantity of presents, but certainly a tremendous quality of them. Think about...

A door slams upstairs.    I know I have just a few more quiet moments before a toilet flushes and little feet pitter-patter down the steps. But they're up early today. It's only 7:45 and that means they have time to crawl under the tree with me and look up at the lights flicker on and off. We have time to talk about happy things before the chaos of the day sets in. Before lost mittens and last-minute potty breaks make time a precious commodity once again.

But for now there's colored lights and quiet thoughts and peace.