Fantasy v. Reality

Everyone imagines sharing a magical, glowing, memorable Christmas with their children.  If you are at the right point in your life, sharing Christmas with your kids is the best part of the holiday.  I'm not going to say that I have waited my whole life for this, because I admit that for many years the best part of Christmas was laying around at home during break from college and staying out all night drinking with my high school friends who were also home after watching my brother and sister play in high school basketball games.  Sharing the wonder of Christmas with a baby was not on my mind at all.  Once I found out I was pregnant, however, making Christmas special for my children was something that made me very excited.  I recently came across a message board on Babycenter where women who are struggling to conceive, some who had been for years, talked about how they couldn't even enjoy yet another Christmas without a baby which is something I try to remember when I get really frustrated with my own baby.  It would make the holidays a sad time. 

 

Instead of just a magazine here or there, I now have Pinterest to fill me with inspiration (Pinspiration!) and ideas for fun and memorable holiday foods, pictures, and decorating.  Ooooh...I couldn't wait to give Ben a wonderful "Baby's First Christmas"! 

 

Here is what I dreamed of...

 

 

Here is what is really happening...

 

 

What a dream!  Cluttered mess of toys and ornaments strewn about the floor, tree only half decorated because SOMEONE won't leave the ornaments alone, rumpled tree skirt that won't stay put on the wood floor, special Christmas books that are supposed to be stacked neatly under the tree spread around (and not being read because SOMEONE only wants to rip the pages and eat books so I only read him board books), beads and lights that have been pulled down, and on and on...I am not even going to attempt to put wrapped gifts under there. 

 

Oh well...there are many years ahead for drinking hot chocolate while watching Christmas specials on TV and reading beloved Christmas stories and I'm sure in ten years our tree (hopefully a bigger one in a bigger house!) will be covered with homemade school project ornaments along with the current collection (and everyone will give the tree respect and be appreciative of its boundaries!) and there will be kids arguing over who gets to open each day on the advent calender. 

 

Speaking of boundaries, Allan has been having his crossed on a regular basis lately!

 

 

He's a nice kitten and puts up with it but you can by the position of his ears that he is not very excited about playing!