Just a gentle reminder

I feel like we are officially headed in the holiday season! I can feel the pressure pushing in and this year, like last year,  I am making a conscious effort to push back. Here are some of the things pushing in on me

1. Black Friday sale on TpT and I want to finish all 100 units on my to do list. (Impossible, so I am letting go of it and finishing 3 units.)

2. Construction in my kitchen making me crazy (That’s life and a short season.)

3. My son’s birthday, Christmas and kid’s birthday party all at the same time. ( I can do hard things)

4. Lots to do, not enough time

5. Wanting to lose some of this weight.

So here is the thing about my list of pressures that mount during the holidays. Every.single.one. of those things are actually WONDERFUL!!!!! I mean even #4 with lots to do. The things on my to do list are wonderful too!!! The thing I am trying to express it that, taking a minute to clear some space in your head and really look around is the difference between a harried holiday and a joyous one. I am going to …

1. Take joy in preparing for the Black Friday sale so that I can bring my students and your students amazing resources!

2. Enjoy my repaired kitchen and new sky light!

3. Have the time of my life prepping for Jackson’s 8th birthday and Christmas all in the same month. It’s like can December hold anymore joy?

4. My to-do list is doable one step at a time!

5. All I can do is lace up my running shoes and enjoy the fresh air.

That is the same list 1-5 but seen with fresh eyes!

I wrote a post a few years ago when I used to be my own inner drill sergeant! It’s not about SHOULD it’s about what is possible. It’s about being the best version of yourself in this holiday season not a Martha Stewart copycat , gotta be just like Pinterest, perfect family.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *originally posted Nov. 23, 2012  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

       

Christmas is coming!  It's the most wonderful time of year! It can be... Or it can be miserable...

After a lovely Thanksgiving week, our household is off kilter. Naps have been skipped, laundry is piled to the sky, clean laundry is waiting to be folded,

the kitchen is .... well.... a disaster from prepping the dishes we brought to Thanksgiving dinner.

The only thing that could make this worse is to try and decorate while everyone is tired, and the house is clearly not ready to be decorated.

So what did we try to do today?

Yep! We decorated and made cookies!

Here is why...

We ALWAYS decorate the day after Thanksgiving.

We ALWAYS eat Pick Up Stix for dinner.

Then we ALWAYS load up in the car and look at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood.

Always, Always, Always....

"Keep moving Little Soldier. This is what we ALWAYS do."

Does anybody else have an inner Drill Sargent?

Does anybody else have a harsh inner critic that is super hard to please?

I do.

So this is what happened...

We threw ourselves into decorating for Christmas and ignored the reality around us.

We trudged forward, over hurtles, tripping over laundry baskets, and piling on more dishes.

Keep moving Little Soldier...

The Mr. and I began to bicker, and for the 10th year in a row, we incorrectly put the tree together and the had to start over.

Keep moving Little Solider...

We kept moving until our 5 year old melted into a puddle of tired tears. That's when it hits us.... ummmm maybe this is a bad idea.

Maybe plans have to change.

Maybe I have to adapt traditions to make room for reality.

Maybe, just maybe, I need to tell my inner critic to shut up quiet down.

Maybe I need to take a look around myself and decide what the real priorities are.

I think this year I am going to let go of should, ought to, and always.

I think this year I am going to do what is right for me, my home, and the people in it.

The rest of the world and my own "drill sergeant"  will just have to sit tight.

Right now, I'm going to...

fold laundry (so we are not naked tomorrow),

then I'm going to print this blog post, and tape it to the top of our ornament box as a little reminder for next year.

I am going to...

Live in sweet reality over Norman Rockwell-esque ideals.

Put first things first.

Be the best version of myself, instead of the version my inner critic demands.

Being the best version of myself instead of a poor Martha Stewart copycat.

I saw these cookies on Pinterest and feel compelled to add them to today's decoration day. This we can agree was a bad idea.  But the cookies were wonderful...They were yummy and easy. But time consuming with all the refrigeration time involved.

Watch your baking time. Mine were done a full 5 minutes before the time written in the recipe.

This is the {link} for how to make them. These cookies are from a darling blog called Our Italian Kitchen.Hop on over. I want to make everything from their blog...after I clean up the kitchen.