Christmas Memory Making vs. Christmas Reality

What I imagined decorating the Christmas tree with Whitney would be like:

Whit says "Merry Xmas from Mommy's phone!"
Look how happy she is! 

I thought we'd watch a nice Christmas movie (in this case, "Dora Saves Navidad" or something - I don't know; I didn't get to watch it), and build some beautiful memories decorating our tree together.


This is what actually happened:

... Yeah
Lorelai literally puked on and over my shoulder
as I was taking this shot. I could hear the vomit
splashing on the floor behind me.
(You're welcome for that visual)

Pictured above: Whitney watching Dora while I decorated the tree by myself, her uneaten dinner on the table. My tiny living room a total disaster, and the space around the tree so narrow, I constantly tripped and bumped into things.

Not pictured above: Me, home alone with the girls, a screaming infant either in my arms or in the Ergo at all times, fluffing and lighting the tree for the first time ever (I hate decorating Christmas trees, by the way, and in the past, I have managed to squeak by by hanging a few token ornaments and letting someone else do all the work. Looks like Whitney has that job now). Me, Youtubing how to string Christmas lights for 20 minutes, and then telling Whitney to go away every 3 minutes for an hour and a half while I fluffed and lit said tree (climbing over and around the couch to do so - Whitney also climbing over and around the couch to watch). Me, screaming like a banshee when a short on one of the yellow bulbs gave me a shock I could feel long after it happened. Whitney, pulling everything out of boxes, and wandering away with ornaments so she could play with them elsewhere. Me, struggling to remain cheerful, despite the fact that I actually kind of hate Christmas and all of the happy-memory-making pressure it brings with it, and me, doing a happy dance when I put the girls to bed at 10pm (tree only partially decorated), long past their bedtimes, and well past my patience limit.

Also not pictured above: Me, plotting to have Chase decorate the tree with the girls next year.