Yes, yes, yes...I am taking a full 5 days of vacation this year. Which, combined with the 2 weekends, becomes a grand total of NINE days free from work alltogether! This may not mean much to some, but in the last 2.5 years I've been working (after being a stay-at-home-mom for 2.5), I've NEVER had this opportunity. Usually I take a day here and there, maybe combine one with a 3 day weekend to get 4 days off, but for the most part they end up getting sucked away by sick days with my children!
I am grateful that my children have experienced less illness this year, and I'm grateful to get to take a week off with them over their Christmas break. I'm saving money on daycare this week and we all get a break and time together. I'm at a point in my life where lately I've felt really overwhelmed and guilty that my boys spend so much time in daycare. Alec moreso than Aidan, since he's there for 10 hours/day. But Aidan has long days too: very busy and full days at school, then aftercare. Kids need breaks from their work too!
Knowing there is not really anything practical I can do to change my current work and daycare situation, I am again GRATEFUL to have this week ahead of us, and intend to make the absolute most of each day. SO much so, that I'm counting yesterday (Friday) as Day 1 of my 10 days of Christmas, because officially my vacation started when I clocked out at the office yesterday around 5!
It was a low key evening but I treasured every moment with my boys. Pretty quiet as we watched cartoons and ate leftover pizza (them), and caesar salad and leftover tomato basil soup (me). Then, I made some apple crisp I've been saying I'd make for at least a week now! Found this recipe online, and began peeling and coreing the apples. Only thing I lacked were the full 10 cups of apples, and the baking soda and baking powder. I'm sure with those the "crisp" part would have had more of a flakey cookie texture, but it was still delicious. I put a little too much water in, which made an amazing caramel like sauce that would have been PERFECT over vanilla ice cream, which we have but I was unable to get to it. Our freezer leaks water a bit, and pools and freezes down in the bottom, trapping anything in its path. This week, it captured the carton of vanilla. I substituted some whipped cream which was perfectly acceptable.
I didn't enjoy the fruits of my labor until after bathtime, jammies, and nugglin' with my boys to watch the Peanuts Christmas special (the second in the series, not Charlie Brown Christmas), and tucking them in bed. But it was a delightful little bedtime treat before snuggling up and drifting off to sleep myself.
On the list for Day 2 is blogging (presently), leisurely coffee (also presently), getting my eye brows threaded, visiting Nana and Papa, making banana bread and lasagne and whereever else the day takes us!!
Maybe I should add procuring a replacement camera battery charger. I know I'm not going to want to experience the remaining 9 days of Christmas with ONLY my phone camera...
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