SS's Christmas reading loot.

SS scored a lot of books from Santa, and he was well aware of her love of Star Wars and Minecraft.

Santa also added a Darth Vader reading lamp with there extra books.

The cutest reader likes her new reading light.. 

How could anyone not immediately fall in love with this precious, beautiful inside and out, and innocent child?

Last day of 2015 and good riddance, as it was an awful year for us. It sucker punched us in the gut and kicked us when we were down. We are looking forward to a better year, and will start the healing process by treating SS to a little getaway.  Children are incredibly intuitive and no matter how much we want to insulate them from stress, hurt, pain, they just know when it's there.  SS has already articulated things we hoped she had not noticed. But she did and sadly she was right about her perceptions. I'll write about that later because I'm still trying to process it and I'm a freaking adult who has known all along. 

But not all is doom and gloom and we do not have the luxury to be fragile, we are SS's only source of comfort, strength and guidance. We have to suck it up and move on. When things settle some I will post about Halloween and our last Disneyland visit. I was also able to join a school field trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. That was fun and an incredible treat because they had the required chaperones, but the school made an exception in my case because of our annus horribilis, and the effect it had on SS.  We also made it to the school's harvest festival for the first time. As bad as things were, as distracted, as exhausted as we were, we tried our best to make sure SS got to be a kid.  

Shortly after the zoo outing SS requested to visit a museum, and said she'd never been to one. That is not factual, we had season passes to the Turtle Bay Museum, and we would visit after our morning walks Monday through Friday, and on many weekends with P. But SS was rather young and perhaps did not see it as a museum. SS stated she wanted to see extinct animals, prehistoric bones, and art. Okay, what eight year old makes such a request? P and I had quite a laugh thinking about when we were SS's age, and a museum visit were not on our radar. If things go as planned we should be able to fulfill the art  museum request next week. The Natural History Museum visit will have to wait for the end of next month or February. At least SS has intellectual curiosity and we want to encourage her to expand her horizons. 

And then there's P, my incredible shrinking man, who has lost thirty five pounds without dieting. Sadly I have gained every pound he lost since we are polar opposites coping with stress. I don't usually make new year's resolutions, but I do intend to get P back to a healthy weight.  And while I may not always agree with his coping mechanisms, that is what they are, his.  The only time I am vocal and downright pissy is when it affects my child, and well, it has affected my child. However, I will always love P unconditionally, and will always have his back, no matter if we are together or apart. We share two children and that is a lifetime commitment regardless of marital status.  P has busted his ass for twenty years providing for his family, taking on responsibilities that many would not even when it is actually their responsibility. P has an excellent work ethic, and has never resorted to whining to get out of significantly challenging rough spots. He goes out of his way to work holidays and extra shifts so we can treat SS here and there to something extra. Every little adventure, season pass, day pass, flight, activities, etc we have enjoyed have been paid by him (except our Maui condo). I do admire his dedication and his strength, taking time to feel sorry for himself has never been an option. We are ready for 2016, and let the good times roll!