Hold on January, let me take a breather....

Holy long time, right?  You might have thought we forgot how to type or something!  Almost friends...almost.  

Are you a "New Years Resolution" kinda person? I'm not.  Never have been.  But this year's different.  
More on that later.

It's been downright cray cray around here.  Please tell me you relate?

We spent Thanksgiving in Nashville, as we always do.  We came home and got to have an awesome date night out with none other than Mr. Garth Brooks!!!!  

Then left two weeks later for Disney.  Came home and two days later it was Christmas! Talk about hectic. 

Like packing and unpacking, then packing again. And long car rides and long shopping days.  Then another car ride and a quick flight that ended in puke.  

Yes, puke.  

Then princesses and parades and lines.  

Ohhhh the lines.  

And more charters and yes...more lines. And trolleys and monorails and some not-so-friendly mousekateers (more on that in a future post....they lied...it's not the happiest place on Earth).  

Then baking cookies and frantic last minute wrapping at midnight.  Lots of family and a whole lot of food.  More gifts. More food.  More toys.  Noisy ones...thanks family...

But most importantly....

MEMORIES.

Soooooo many gosh darn memories....

It's 10PM right now and I have two sleeping babies.  The house is quiet and as I sit in my dark bedroom typing... I'm taking my time...watching Shark Tank (secret obsession) ....taking deep breaths and .....soaking it all in.

All of it.   

I've had a lot of time off of work over the past two months due to holidays and our Disney vacation.  I normally work 8-5 everyday and have little time at home with my girls and hubby.  This past two months has been stressful and exhausting but oh so fantastic all at the same time.  I've been able to spend some quality time with my family and make memories that will last a lifetime. 

We're so very blessed and sometimes it's easy to forget that.

Enter New Years Resolution here...

We've got a very sick baby on our hands this week, which led to more time off of work for me.  I've seen doctors twice, Walgreen's too many times to mention and have a small pharmacy sitting on my kitchen counter.  About 3 hours ago I found myself sitting in the middle of the living floor surrounded by building blocks and dress up clothes and tissues and Tylenol, with a two year old on one knee and an 8 month old laying helplessly on my shoulder.  And slowly but surely the tears began to fall.  I felt helpless and exhausted and like I couldn't make it one more hour until bedtime routine.  Then, Paisley turned around and looked at me like she'd just seen a ghost.  I'm not sure if she's ever seen me cry.  She slowly sat back down on my knee, this time facing me.  She very slowly and gently wiped away my tear and whispered "ohhhh don't cry baby".   

Enter more tears...

She somehow got it.  She knew sissy was sick and Mama needed her help.  Her little finger to wipe away my tear and her sweet little whisper made it all ok.  

Unfortunately, my girls are used to me being gone a lot.  I have to wake up almost every day and explain to Paisley why I can't play with her today, but will as soon as I come home.  And then, I lie and tell her I'll be home really, really soon.  The 3 hours a night I get with them seems to fly by.  So these past two months of vacations and holidays and me being home a lot more than normal has created a couple of adorable little mama's girls.  

And this mama is choosing to be present.

Because in a few short days, life goes back to normal.  God-willing my sweet little Guthrie is healthy by Monday, our normal routine will once again be in full swing.  And, my hours with my family will be minimal again.

So, I'm choosing to be present.  I'm putting away the phone.  I'm not thinking about work.  I'm playing on the floor with my kids and having real conversations with my husband.  I'm going to stop staying up too late and start eating healthier so that I feel better.  I'm going to spend more time doing things I want to do that I don't take the time for.  If I do things that make me happy, I'll be happier for my kids and my husband.  And, I want to show my children how to be happy.  Not stressed and tired and on a time crunch.  

I'm choosing to be present in 2015.  

What are you choosing???