Simply Stephanie

Ahhhh....Christmas vacation! There is simply no better time! This year found me in the spirit of the season much earlier than normal. I've tried to determine what has made the difference so that I can make sure it happens again next year, but so far haven't been able to come up with much. So, I'm thinking back over the last decade of Christmases:
December 1999 - teaching full time...began Christmas shopping in earnest exactly 2 weeks after having 1st baby via c-section, then fulfilled all of the holiday festivities, gatherings, etc. approximately 2 weeks later.
December 2000 - the year of Y2K...also was 9 mos. pregnant and had 13 month old baby boy who had not yet learned to walk...still teaching every day.
December 2001 - had 25 month old, 11 month old, and was 4 weeks pregnant and didn't know it...miscarried one month later...teaching 5 days.
December 2002 - need to look at pics to remember what was going on then...teaching three days, taking care of 3 and 1 year-old, doing a complete house remodel on a fixer-upper.
December 2003 - teaching at least 3 days, taking care of 4 and 2 year-old, 7 mos. pregnant.
December 2004 - enjoying my baby girl (7 mos.) and two toddler boys (5 and 3), teaching kindergarten 3 days.
December 2005 - back to teaching 5 days, taking care of 19 month Kaitlynn and 4 year old Evan, while Ryan was in 1st grade full time.
December 2006 - working on grad degree, teaching kindergarten 3 days...Kaitlynn 2 yrs., Evan in kindergarten, and Ryan in 2nd grade. Relative peace and quiet...not for long!
December 2007 - teaching full time again, trying to balance my grad classes, Allison 4 weeks old, Kait 3 years, Evan in 1st grade, and Ryan in 3rd. Once again, stretching that incision with every light that was hung! Ugh!
December 2008 - Oh, the busyness of the season! Little Alli was quite mobile, but very good at keeping her tiny fingers off of the decor...teaching 5 days...feeling overwhelmed...

(I think I've found a pattern here...now that we're done having kids, maybe we can relax and enjoy them!)

2009 - totally determined to take the time to savor the season! School program out of the way Dec. 1st. 1st family gathering Dec. 12th. 2nd one on Dec. 25th. 3rd one on Dec. 31st. Two full weeks of vacation!!! Toddler potty trained!!! So, what's not to enjoy?

(Although this post may seem a little wierd to you, it was quite therapeutic for me...Merry Christmas!)