Running out of time

Current weather: 30F, Overcast skies

Only 6 more shopping days until Christmas after today?! What?! I've been really excited about Christmas so far this year, but all of a sudden I'm starting to feel like I'm running out of time to get ready! I haven't finished buying presents for family back in the U.S., I haven't wrapped anything for the kids or Shaun, and I haven't even begun to think about Christmas breakfast and dinner. At least the house is clean--but then the house is always clean. That's the one thing I manage to stay on top of (thanks to weekly visits from the handy-dandy house cleaners). I jumped on the decorating and Christmas cards early, so that's done, but after all my early momentum I just kind of stopped about two weeks ago. I'm not sure why. I think Shaun's traveling is partly to blame. He was away in training all of last week, and this week he had to leave again for a couple of days, and I'm just so exhausted by the end of the day that I do not feel like dragging out all the presents to wrap them. And the rain/snow/rain/snow/rain cycle that is the weather just makes me want to curl up on the couch under a blanket with a cup of hot tea warming me up. I do have to say, though, that the gray skies and snow definitely give things a Christmas feel that was lacking in Texas.

This will be our first Christmas without either traveling home to visit family or having family come stay with us, so maybe I just need to remember that extensive preparations really aren't necessary. No guest room to clean, no extra food to buy, no trips to the airport to schedule. It'll be quiet, and the kids would probably just rather have cereal for breakfast anyway, wouldn't they? Who am I kidding? They won't want breakfast at all--they'll just want PRESENTS!! I just need to take a deep breath and stop thinking about time running out. I'm probably as ready as I need to be--my kids are way too little to notice how nice of a wrapping job I'll end up doing at the last minute on Christmas Eve. And Shaun's way too smart to mention it. ;)