December makes me giddy and bouncy and tired and excited. I'm a whirlwind of Christmas sprinkles and sometimes the Christmas sprinkles get on the floor, spilling everywhere, and I want to scream at people. Generally though, everything is sweet.
Tonight we wandered off IHOP.
I miss the days when it was called The International House of Pancakes. It sounded so exciting. Now it sounds like a bunny autobiography.
I stole the idea from Kelle Hampton. I love pancakes. I also love not making dinner. So the idea of pancakes and hot coco before going to view Christmas lights was a keeper in my book.
I didn't expect it to be so much fun. The kids didn't expect there to be hot chocolate under all that whipped cream. I didn't expect them to order a make your own face pancake that included squeeze yogurt, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream and, thanks to daddy, a ridiculous amount of syrup.
At first it seemed like they might tear the restaurant apart, but eventually the carbs got to them and they settled into a happy, sugar induced lull.
After the most ridiculous meal ever, we went to our local Christmas light spot where we saw about 17 Santas, a billion twinkly reindeer, countless Christmas trees and snowflakes, several Charlie Browns, and Shel's favorite: an entire homage to the Grinch with about fifteen robotic inflatable Grinches popping out of chimneys and stealing Christmas trees.
I didn't expect to be so happy. I was sort of in a terrible mood when the evening started, but when we all piled into the car and the boys began to sing Jingle Bells in the back seat, my heart filled with joy. It was the best version of Jingle Bells ever. It was terrible, off key, wrong words, repetitive, sing at the top of your lungs, Preschool Jingle Bells.
I was so happy. I realized again how nice it is to be a Mommy, and I really want to be intentional about creating a happy, fun, loving, twinkle light sugar explosion home. Even if it means sacrificing my preferences, my personal time, or my sleep...it's worth it when you hear your children sing.
Do you have any easy, won't make you lose your mind Christmas Traditions? Do tell!
