Simply Holiday

Christmas was fairly quiet and very simple for us.  Miss Monkey received her wished for Santa gifts, and we went for a ride and run on bright beautiful Christmas day.  Last night we talked about how New Year's Eve was a celebration to mark the next calendar year, then kiddos off to bed.  The Man and I had s'mores from the fireplace, watched movies, and I fell asleep until Baby E fussed somewhere around midnight.  

Peaceful holiday weekends---unless you count the massive meltdown we were embarrassed to leave a party one evening.  Small children + sugar + over-stimulation + more sugar + lack of sleep due to holiday party excitement and crazy schedules = complete utter loss of social emotional control, or Atomic Tantrum.  It's bound to happen at least once, the trick is not to make threats we're unwilling to carry out.  In this case I could see that there was no "reset" button to be found, she was already beyond.  I spoke to her firmly, quietly, right in her ear, gave her the choice to calm herself or we'd have to leave, well, we had to leave.  Sometime later, about half way home, a switched flipped and it was almost as if nothing happened.  The next morning it seemed she didn't remember much---sugar hangover?  It's gotta be challenging to keep up with adult schedules throughout the holidays, learn all the new things, the excitement of Santa's impending visit, eating all the sugar, meeting all the people, etc. etc.etc.  All things considered I think with only one meltdown we did all right.

Thank the goodness for friends and family to spend the holiday time with.  I am so grateful for the year we've had, though it was trying we kept moving forward and landed all right, a learning experience for certain.  I'm also grateful for all the new friends we've made and all the 'old' friends that have stuck.  

Hope your holidays were blessed, may you enjoy ringing in the New Year, stay safe, be joyous, may your heart be light, know that you are loved, and may your coming year burst with abundance.