My family and I are in survival mode. Not just because it’s the most stressful time of the year (hello Christmas shopping and baking and commitments and parties!). We have a 7-week old baby. Our lives are revolving around her needs. Honestly, the past 7 weeks have flown by in a blur and I can hardly believe we are less than a week out from Christmas but here we are. Sleep deprivation and all!

The other day a friend asked me how we were doing and I told her about all the guilt I felt with not having the time or energy to do many of our holiday traditions. I felt guilty that my 6 year old daughter Emily was going to be deprived of all of the magic and joy of the holidays this year because we have a new baby. I mean, I just took out our favorite holiday movie DVDs three days ago and popped them in. We made hot chocolate for the first time this week too. These are all things we would have enjoyed many, many times by now.

My friend asked me if Emily was upset over it and it gave me pause. No, she’s not complained once. She’s gone with the flow as is her personality. In fact, I believe she thinks she has the best gift of all – a new little sister! She dotes on her like crazy. And fortunately, my mom came over this weekend and baked cookies with Emily. It made me so happy to hear the two of them working away in the kitchen while I sat on the couch feeding the baby. I’ve learned a few things in this time. Sometimes it takes a village to keep that holiday magic going. And sometimes it’s best to keep things simple.