"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" performed by Judy Garland

There are many versions of this song, but in my opinion, you can't beat the original. This has been my favorite Christmas song this year. It has been hard to get in the Christmas spirit without my husband around, but I am "muddling through somehow." The thing I love about this song is the sense of hope for the future, that in time things will be good again. That is what is getting me through right now.

Merry Christmas!

Week in Review (Dec. 12-16

Monday — Was 15 minutes late to work because it took me 40 minutes to get through downtown Tampa (a distance of less than two miles). Did I mention that I was actually running 10 minutes ahead of schedule that morning and was excited to get to the office early to get the work week underway. Didn’t happen.

Downtown Tampa as viewed from our boat on the Hillsborough River.

Tuesday — Bad day all around. More traffic woes on my way in (car had slammed into a pole on the other side of the road and everyone had to slow down to gawk at it), couldn’t get the copy for the parents’ newsletter right, and Western Union rejected my money transfer to my hubby because they didn’t believe I was me (wasting a good hour of my day). The bright spot in that mess was attending my three-year-old’s Christmas program and watching her sing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

Wednesday — Much better day. Got to work early, banged out a press release and finally got the copy for that newsletter straightened out.

Thursday —Best day of the week, by far. Finished copy for another newsletter, went on a Hillsborough River cruise with my fellow UT Public Information peeps (so fun) and had a blast playing with my three-year-old in the evening.

Friday — Decent day. First one in the office this morning, talked to a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient this afternoon, and have been noshing on all the yummy vendor holiday swag we’ve been getting at the office this week (thank God for Ghirardelli gift baskets). Not to mention it is FRIDAY!

Discovered this week: ABC’s Revenge. All the episodes are up online right now and it is such good guilty pleasure fun. Check it out.

Plans for the weekend: Two words. Christmas. Shopping. (Haven’t even started so I will be out with the crazies tomorrow, babies in tow!)

What are you doing this weekend?

Wordless Wednesday: Oh My Darlin' Clementine

(One of the reasons I love winter in Florida.)

"The Cave" by Mumford and Sons

I cannot get this song out of my head. The lead singer has a great voice, all deep and gritty.

I love the lyrics, especially the chorus:

"But I will hold on hope
And I won’t let you choke
On the noose around your neck

"And I’ll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I’ll know my name as it’s called again"

And I also love the banjo. Not an instrument you hear often on the radio, unless you're listening to a country station, and even then not so much anymore.

New Routine

This has been a rough week for me. Basically, my husband is going to be away from home for quite a while and this was my first week without him around. Besides missing him (a lot; he is my best friend after all), it has been a challenge for me to figure out how to juggle everything by myself. He’s always been the one to get the kids up and ready in the morning, so I had to work that into my schedule.

The three-year-old

Bedtime has been the other big challenge. Typically, we’d “divide and conquer” — I’d put the baby down and he’d read to our three-year-old and the whole thing would be done by 8 p.m. This week, I’ve nursed and rocked the baby down around 7:30 p.m., then immediately started the process of getting the three-year-old to bed.

And it is a process! First I have to get her up the stairs, not easy when she doesn’t want to go to bed and goes all limp-noodle arms on me. You try carrying an unwilling 30 pound three-year-old up 17 stairs and see if you’re not winded! Then I have to get her to brush her teeth without sucking all the toothpaste off the toothbrush or spilling water down her shirt. Once I finally get her to sit in my lap after she’s spent five minutes making faces at herself in the mirror, we have ten minutes or so of peace while I read her a story or two (which I actually love). Then comes getting her in the bed and tucking her in. I’ll ask for a hug and a kiss and she will wrap her little arms around my neck and give me a hundred slobbery kisses (my absolute favorite part of the process). Once I’ve extricated myself from her grasp, I turn out her light and say I love you and close the door. Usually, within five minutes of closing that door — just enough time for me to sit down and turn the TV on to see what’s on the DVR — she comes out of the room to say she has to go pee-pee. Sigh.

Most nights I’ve been lucky to get a half hour of “me” time before falling exhausted into bed.

Not that I don’t love being a mom, because being with my kids truly is the best part of my day. It’s just that this week has been harder than usual without my parenting partner there to help keep the chaos to a minimum. I suppose like all things in life, I will get used to this new routine.

But today, I am truly thankful it is Friday!