Somebody Stole a Week!

Did anyone else notice the week missing between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year? It's been the source of much stress and chaos in my life this month. My Christmas shopping wasn't effected, but baking, wrapping, cleaning, packing, and preparing for a trip were all effected. And Christmas cards--if you don't get one from us until after Christmas, well, those were effected too. This past week I was thrown into a frenzy, as a major ice and snow storm was predicted to hit from the Des Moines area, all the way to the Chicago suburbs, on the very day we were planning to travel. So Wednesday afternoon, we made the decision to leave Thursday morning, instead of Friday morning. It turned out be a good decision; the roads were clear and dry as we headed east. But it didn't feel like a good decision at the time we made it, since there were still loads of laundry to do, nothing was packed, and no presents were wrapped. In addition, I felt bad that Emma would have to miss Thursday and Friday at preschool, and Friday was her school's Christmas party. But she said she didn't mind because she was excited about going to Chicago. (And school ended up being cancelled for Friday anyway, so she only missed one day.) We've made the best of our time here, though. Emma got to play in the snow with her aunts, and we've enjoyed taking a break from the stress of the holidays that seems to be hanging over our house back in Des Moines. I've told myself that I can worry about my to-do list when we get back--this is a vacation! I have several pictures to share, and some funny stories too. So check back in a couple days for more Christmas updates.