This year has certainly had it's ups and downs. The last couple of months have been on the upside thanks to my husbands new found sobriety and love for our family. I honestly was a little worried about how our Christmas would turn out. D came through as he has been for the last little while. Slowly but surely he is determined to show me what kind of husband he can be.
I had taken Wednesday off of work to spend with the kids and for a little mental health. D had found out earlier in the week that he would be getting off early and asked me to stay out of the house until about 3 pm. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong. I had the girls out since 8:30 am and Peanut with no nap until 3 makes for a not so fun day. We went to the daycare to see Santa, delivered Christmas gifts to my coworkers, hairdresser, and nail lady, had lunch and then hung out at my parents house for a little while. D finally called and let me know when I could come home. I was a little miffed only because we were all tired and I knew I had a lot to do at home since I had been gone all day. So we finally get home and he walks outside to help me with the kids, or so I thought. He told me to go ahead and go inside first. I walked up to our door in the garage and there was a card and a big red bow on the door. I read the card and then went in. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The best Christmas present I've ever gotten from my husband in the ten years we've been married. I was in complete and utter shock and my jaw hit the floor. It was really more than my senses could handle. The smell and sight alone would send anyone into a tizzy. Would you like to know what I had been kicked out of my house for? He cleaned the house! THE WHOLE THING!!! I know what your thinking, a guy cleaned the house, so what, he shoved things in a corner and vacuumed and maybe did the dishes. NOPE! We are talking scrubbed the showers and tub, cleaned off the whole desk, dusted, vacuumed, mopped (even the bathrooms), cleaned up the kids rooms and made all of the beds, washed all of the bathroom rugs, did the dishes and cleaned the entire kitchen. Yes, he even cleaned the basement bathroom that I hate going into, that I never use other than to use the washer and dryer. It's HIS bathroom and it only gets cleaned when he feels like it. I was so thankful and when we got the kids in the house and settled I stood in the kitchen and looked around trying to figure out what to do. I just looked at him and said, "I have nothing to do". Just then Punkin asked me if we could do the Christmas activity book I had bought her weeks ago. I happily said yes. I was able to say yes because D had given me the greatest gift of all,
Time. I laid on the floor in the family room next to Punkin doing her activity book with her, without a hint of guilt thinking that I should be doing something around the house. It was the best Christmas present I've gotten in a long time.
So with that said, the rest of our week has been so enjoyable, only because everything was caught up and I was able to enjoy our Christmas weekend to the fullest. Christmas Eve we went to IHOP for breakfast, which the girls thoroughly enjoyed, then out to a couple of stores for last minute items. Then we came home and hung out for a while and then made a nice dinner, went to Willard to see the lights on the Bay, we came home and opened our Christmas Eve PJ's and bathed the girls. Then we made a gingerbread house, sprinkled our magic reindeer food, and put the girls to bed. D and I were up till about midnight playing Santa. We really had the great time that I've been longing for in our family forever.
Christmas day was very exciting for all of us. Punkin and Peanut got so many nice things from us and Santa and Grandma and Grandpa and also their Aunt and Uncle. Punkin received a Leapfrog Tag System from Santa that is really the neatest thing. She has shown so much interest in reading but Punkin and I both lack the patience for her to actually learn. Tag is making it fun for her and I don't have to be so involved. She also got a toy guitar, a littlest petshop daycare, a 12 cd set of stories and nursery rhymes, and some much needed clothes. Peanut got the Leapfrog My Pal Violet from Santa. Now, let me tell you how stinkin cute this little pup is. You can plug it into your computer and upload songs and certain details that pertain to your child including their name. She loves it and I loooove it even more. She also got a snap n style doll, a baby with a stroller, and a huge Mr. Potato Head package. They received some super cute joint gifts too. My ultimate favorite was the little table and chair set that Santa picked up at Ikea along with and Igloo tent. My dear hubby was daring enough to buy me some clothes that I so badly needed and he got some clothes and truck accessories as well. We really had a great Christmas and we are looking forward to so many more like this.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that the year is ending on such a good note for me. It was by far not looking so hot about half way through, but if I had to go through that much bad to get the great things I'm receiving now I'll gladly accept it. I thank God for trials and blessings that I have received this year and hope I can continue to learn from them.
I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as I and an even better New Year.
