Whew!  This morning I'm trying to teach school while my mind is racing with ideas, plans, priorities, and other things ~ all is going well until we get to our phonic game.  My youngest son and I play this board game we made up to keep him on track with his phonics.  We pick a card with a letter on it and try to think up words that start with that letter, but have the same phonic sound.  Today we chose the short vowel "e".  So, I started with the letter card  "p" - I recited "Pen, Pencil, Pet..." turning the game over to my son's turn.  He quickly answers:  "Elephant".  That's Holiday Brain! 

I'm out shopping for a few odds and ends when I come across a much too expensive Ginger Bread House for the kids to decorate.  What do I do?  Buy it!  Holiday Brain, again!

What is it about the holidays?  Just like the flu, the Holiday Brain is slowing taking over the nation!  There's justification happening for things we don't need, credit card limits being ignored, thoughts that just don't make sense, and a welcome greeting such as "Happy Holidays" opposed to "Merry Christmas".  Hmmmm.  I could surely jump right it with the best of them and forget about the real meaning of Christmas, after all running around all weekend surely has gotten me a little mixed up in my routine - there just doesn't seem to be time for anything any more.  Too much to do and too little of time to do it in. Just a lot of Holiday on the Brain!  But, a conversation with my oldest son the other night put everything into perspective: