Good riddance, Christmas break

I feel like I need a pin or a bumper sticker that says, "I survived Christmas Break 2010." There were a lot of highlights, and Christmas itself was fantastic. But there was no arguing about getting ready for school this morning. And I'm not sure who was out the door faster. A long break like that was just too much togetherness for Ella & Natalie. Zoey didn't really get her quiet naptimes. The toy chaos. The bickering. The constant mess.

Still, I'm not quite ready for Christmas to end. I'm not somebody who is ready to take down the tree on the 26th. Mine will stay up til January 6. At least. I'm still listening to Christmas music. So today, despite the fact that I'm ready for the routine to start again, I'm still kind of longing for Christmas.

The highlights:

• Sleeping in. Nearly every morning as Captain America left for work, the rest of us were all in bed.
• Jammies. I think Ella & Natalie spent about 90% of their break in jammies. With birds' nests in the back of their hair.
• Cookies. So many delicious Christmas treats. And I've got the pants size to prove it.
• Christmas Eve. We ended up staying in on Christmas Eve (except for my solo trip to the grocery store with the rest of the town). The girls opened their Christmas jammies and put them on. We set out a buffet of appetizers, opened some IBC root beers for the girls, and watched Elf. Ella declared it THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. Thus solidifying my theory that Buddy the Elf is Ella's soul mate. "Good news! I saw a dog today!" "I love smiling! Smiling's my favorite!"
• Gift opening. We follow one of Captain America's family traditions. We get the gifts out from under the tree, and give them to the people they're from. Then we take turns opening. I love that because it puts more emphasis on the giving than on the getting. Ella and Natalie couldn't wait to open their presents from each other. And they couldn't wait to give their presents to each other. And the opening ended with huge hugs. If this Christmas had a cover, that would be it for me.
• The sleeping (during the first half of break). Zoey was an awesome sleeper around Christmas. Her Christmas gift to us was sleeping through the night. DELIGHTFUL. She did it a couple of times, and then I think she got so behind on sleep from All of the Excitement, that she was overtired. Last night was her worst in a long time. I think even she was ready for the girls to go back to school today.

There were a lot of great things and moments. While I work today I'll drink some holiday tea from my new mug, wearing my cozy new slippers. Sad to see the Christmas season go, and happy to see the routine returning.