I am entering this holiday season with three little girls, a 7 year old, 3 year old and 6 month old. This means that it has been a sleep deprived, emotional couple of months in my household. My wife and I are focusing on making Christmas fun for the girls in lieu of giving gifts to each other. We prefer family experiences instead of gifts. All that being said, there are a couple of things that I would love for Christmas nonetheless:
- To sleep for more than 4 consecutive hours. Between the baby waking up, my wife waking up, occasionally our 3 year old running around her room above us (what is she doing at 2:00 AM?), my average of 6 hours a night is typically interrupted three times. I can’t remember the last time I slept for more than 4 hours straight.
- For my kids to learn how to blow their noses. I mean, when do kids learn this skill? They would rather just wipe their noses on their sleeves and deny that they need a tissue instead of attempt. And when I do convince them to try, it results in a lot of blowing air out of their mouths and nothing out of their noses.
- To go to the bathroom without being interrupted. When our oldest daughter was 3 years old, she came into the bathroom while I was in there…again. When I asked her for privacy, she responded with, “If you don’t want me to come in, lock the door.” I couldn’t argue with that logic and I have locked the door ever since. It still doesn’t stop them from jiggling the knob though and asking how long I will be.
- To run more outside, and between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM. I was never a treadmill runner, but since having kids, I have become one since the only time I get to run is typically at 4:30 in the morning or after 10:00 at night. I miss the sun, wind, and trails.
- To own a pair of pants without stains and worn knees. I find myself on my knees a lot more these days…playing horsey, wrestling, or just being a human jungle gym. My pants take a heavy beating. I also love going to work and then realizing that there is a stain on them from where one of my daughters hugged me that morning with dirty hands. My definition of acceptable professional appearance has lowered a couple of notches since having kids.
- For my kids to not insist that the tag on every piece of clothing they own needs to be cut off or a tantrum will ensue. I am not sure how the tag on the tutu that you are wearing over leggings over a diaper is bothering you, but yes, let me cut it off.
- To clean the floors and have them remain that way longer than one meal. This one is partly my wife’s and my fault since we tend to serve a lot of quinoa and orzo. Two foods that easily find their way to the floor. Mealtime is the only time I wished we had a dog instead of a picky cat. Sometimes, I don’t even know why I vacuum.
- To magically know ahead of time if my kids will eat their meals or not. That way I can portion mine out appropriately with how much of their meals I will be having. Typically, I have a full portion only to find myself finishing theirs because I just hate wasting food. This is promptly followed by me regretting that I ate too much….again.
That’s it, just eight little things. I would even settle for two or a third of them (that’s 2.64 for you math nerds). So forget my two front teeth, Santa. I’ll take one of the above instead.
