When the boys are tired, it really makes for long day for us on the weekend. Our goal is to keep them as busy as possible on the weekends, doing things that are fun and educational, but mostly fun on the weekends, so we really want them warn out so that they will get a goodnight sleep.

Today was no different, except my wife and I both are still sick. My wife has a bad cold and I’m still fighting a sinus infection and honestly, the highs today were in the low 30s and staying in and playing and reading and watching a few Christmas movies, just seemed like a better idea. But, we also paid for it too, because the boys had a lot of energy and they didn’t expand nearly all of that energy, so we had more tantrums and crying. Translation, today was really a long day for me, as my wife was resting trying to get better.

The boys and I played Dinosaurs, Thomas the Train, watched Elf on the Shelf and Polar Express. We talked, we laughed, we ran around the house, but towards the end of the day, I could just tell that they were exhausted. But they held in, they fussed, threw a few tantrums, but when we watched the Polar Express, they were really engaged. They have already wished us a Merry Christmas. And by 6pm, they were ready to eat. I fixed them a quick meal, got them in the bath and tonight the boys were down in less than 15 minutes.

Long days are hard. They are hard when you are by yourself and having to do it all, because I also had to do laundry, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen and also clear out the fridge. The kids did a great job letting me get all those things done as well, but with the medication that I’m on, I’m not sleeping that well, so I’m exhausted, the kids are exhausted, it just make for a really long day.

But after getting them in bed and covered, I kissed them in the head and whispered in their ears that I loved them. And in that very moment, as I was making my way to the door to head downstairs, the day wasn’t that bad, even though it was a really long day.