I was talking to a friend recently and she commented how she couldn't wait for 2013 to be over because it sucked. Just a lot of commotion and not enough joy. And that is exactly how I feel. It seems when I reflect at the end of the year I always think of the bad things and how I want the next year to be better. Which I guess is sort of human nature?
I was super duper looking forward to selling our house this year that we had been in for 9 years. And WE DID IT! Do you know what happens when you sell a house that you have been in for any length of time? You have to pack. And there is so much packing that in order to do it properly you should take your time and think about it and sort things and be practical and get rid of things. Since Workaholic and I are champion procrastinators, you just know that didn't happen. Packing up a 4100 sq. ft. house into boxes sucked. Especially since the house was empty when we moved in and it was FAR from empty when we moved out. Workaholic wasn't (isn't) quite as willing to part with certain things like I was (am).
For example, all the furniture we inherited or took in as hand-me-downs so we could fill our big new house? He wants to keep. Or not just give away. I say, "Let's become Craigslist's best client." Bedroom furniture, office furniture, living room furniture, rugs, toys, bedding sets, and more I would be happy to part with in a big fun bonfire. I know it sounds stupid, but I'd rather not have a matching bedroom set of dressers that I don't like than have mismatched pieces of furniture that I do. AND, as it turns out, Workaholic and I have quite the different taste in...well, everything.
As a result, the story-and-a-half much smaller house that we bought has things in it that I really like. And a basement full of crap that I don't. Don't get me wrong, there are also things down there that I like. Kitchen gadgets that don't fit in our new cabinets, kid's clothing, Christmas decorations, Halloween costumes, fine china, and toys that I swear we'll bring out and the girls will play with them. Then there are other things...like Workaholic's dozen boxes of paperwork on I-have-no-idea-what, boxes of wires that belong to electronics that don't exist anymore, and OH-EM-GEE THE EMPTY BOXES. We have at least 20 LARGE cardboard boxes that are piled into a corner. This does NOT include that pile of broken down cardboard boxes that are in the same corner. There are also random assorted piles of wood and tools and sawhorses and electronics that actually DO work. And let's not even talk about the boxes (that I packed) of meticulously packed toys that were no longer played with that were unceremoniously ripped open and the contents tossed all over the basement. I walk down there and it is so overwhelming I just turn around and go back up the stairs.
Common sense and a host of hoarders experts would say that you take the big project and break it down into small projects and tackle them one at a time. A while ago I found out I have this lovely personality flaw trait called the "all or nothing". Which means if I don't think I can do it immediately and do it perfectly, then why even attempt to do it at all? I've been this way as long as I can remember and I have no idea how I graduated from college. With a somewhat decent GPA. Almost the only time I can get any type of large project done is when Workaholic is there pushing me. His unending energy and relentless desire to get everything done (and done perfectly) makes it almost impossible to just sit around. Not to say that I work as hard or as long as he does, but at least I do put in some time and energy and amazeballs, I get shit done!!
Our new home has very few decorations hung up and the Christmas decorations are half-assed at their best. And were mostly done over last weekend. I'm not a decorator at heart and I definitely cannot imagine what an entire room should look like based on one piece of furniture. I'd hire an interior decorator but HOLY SHIT THEY ARE EXPENSIVE. Their hourly rate doesn't sound bad, until you have them put in a few hours at your house and a few more shopping and all of the sudden you are looking at a couple paychecks worth of services.
Anyway, so that is where we live. The house we moved out of was perfectly decorated because I hired someone to make it look perfect for the real estate listing, and the new house is a scattered physical rendition of my brain.
The house that we were in and that we are in now is only a part of why I am looking forward to 2014. In between houses we decided to live in the cottage in Michigan for the summer. I commuted an hour-and-a half to work twice a week, while Suky and the girls spent the summer on the lake. And Workaholic came up on the weekends. Let me repeat that...Workaholic came up on the weekends. So during the week I got little sleep because of the commute and the working and the fact that my daughters didn't like sleeping in their own room or going to bed at a decent hour or not waking in the middle of the night to come in and crawl in bed with me which then woke me up. On the weekends family and friends were there and FUN ENSUED. (It really did.) Then they went home and I drove to work and finally caved and let the girls sleep with me all the time just so I could get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time. Even with Suky there, the stress level was at an all time high. She missed her friends and working out at her gym, the girls and I missed Workaholic more than we ever thought possible, and then there was a host of other things happening that added to the fun. As much as I was looking forward to living at the lake for the summer, I honestly can say that it will never happen again unless I have a) a drastic personality shift, b) a promise of 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep every night, and 3) an exponential increase in energy. So...when pigs fly. (insert smiley face here)
2014 is going to be an awesome year for a multitude of reasons. We are "settled" into our new house. Which is smaller and much more manageable. We WILL get the basement cleaned up and out. The house that my father-in-law and brother-in-law and husband are building will be finished by Memorial Day. (It better be.) I will continue to work on my all-or-nothing personality and therefore hopefully will be able to more fully enjoy every moment. Good or bad. Stressful or not.
I'm not really into making New Year's resolutions because they are crap and I never keep them. (See aforementioned personality flaw.) And I am not making them this year. This year is going to be a continued resolve of the things that I have worked on in the past. I may have fallen off the bandwagon, but damn if I'm letting it go on without me.
GO 2014!!!
And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Over the past month, I've received texts, facebook posts, e-mails all asking the same thing...Are you dead? And the answer is no, I am not dead. With everything that goes on during the month of December, I just don't have it in me to blog. Except last year, but that was an exception, and I was a total downer. January is a tough month for blogging too, as it is year end at work and there is lots and lots to do.So for now, I'll just fill you in on some random life tidbits from December...Charlotte was 15.5 lbs and 25 inches long at her 4 month check up. This puts her in the 90th percentile for height and weight. She'll be bigger than Samantha pretty soon, who was 23lbs the same day. At 23 months. Charlie is now a real kid...developing her own personality, smiling, giggling, and loving life. She is no longer a ball of mush...which is good considering her size. She loves to sit up and watch everyone, especially Sam and Fonz, but has very little to no interest in rolling over or becoming mobile. I am sure that I will regret wishing she could move, even if only a little bit.Sam has become re-obsessed with everything baby. She puts her babies to sleep, feeds them, gives them pacifiers, wraps them in "towels", pushes them in her stroller and Charlie's new walker, and occasionally tosses them down the stairs. Christmas was crazy busy around our house. We traveled a lot and saw everyone we wanted to see, and then some. Sam loves all of her toys, but especially her baby stroller, the little minivan (the doors only lasted about a half an hour) and the nursery center where can FEED and BATHE and CHANGE her babies. Oh yes...she also loves all of her babies. All 6 of them. She has become quite the little girl too. Her personality has blossomed. She loves to dance and laugh, and she has a great sense of humor. She is somewhat of a free spirit, and I hope she stays that way. She doesn't care what anyone thinks, she just does her thing...whether it be dancing in a circle or playing on her piano.
I am already looking forward to next Christmas, the plans are set. I have already put reminders in Outlook to start shopping and start decorating and put up lights on the outside of our house. No rushing around next year!!I am also SUPER excited about swim classes that the girls are signed up for. These are not typical swim classes, oh no. These are survival classes. At the end of 6 weeks, Charlie will know how to swim to the surface and roll over and float should she fall in the water. Sam will also know how to do that, plus swim to safety...taking breaks by floating if she gets tired. It is AMAZING and is called Infant Swimming Resource. I can't wait to show off their new skills once they graduate. I also hope it helps Sam get over getting her face wet. Washing her hair has become quite annoying, what with all the whining. We just can't convince her to LOOK UP!Kabo is doing good...I remember about this time every year how much I dislike it when he has his full coat. The FUR!! The SHEDDING!! No amount of brushing gets rid of the fur you get in your eyes when you bury your head in his neck. He is loving the snow, but showing his age. In and out, in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out...50 times a day. Oy.OK kids...I've got to get productive. Have a great New Year if I don't talk to ya'll!!!
Anybody who knows me pretty well and sees me on a regular basis will know that I hate the holidays. As in, really. don’t. like. Bleh. We don’t decorate our house (gave up on that a couple of years ago after a really whiny tree-cutting excursion with Workaholic…and I’m sorry, fake trees are just not the same as the real thing. They’re so….fake!), we rarely go to other people’s Christmas parties (this year though, we got invited to one that we’d really like to go to…but we have a wedding that night!) and even our gift-giving isn’t very exciting. Workaholic is hard to shop for, mainly because if there is something that he wants, he just goes and buys it. (besides, what do you get a guy that has no hobbies? I am not going to buy him tools that he will just break at work) Me? I cannot ever for the life of me make up a Christmas list. (a couple of years ago, he wound up getting me a camera that he wanted…which I love, but am not very good at using)
There are several reasons for my Scrooge-ness. It’s not the shopping for other people that I don’t like, or even the Christmas music (as long as it is after Thanksgiving), but it’s the general stress of it all. The planning, the rushing, the trying to make everyone happy, (but no one really is) of it all. I feel like there is such a high expectation on Christmas, it’s when everyone gets together, it’s supposed to be the time when you see everyone that you are supposed to, and all is supposed to be jolly and well. But invariably, something goes awry. Someone doesn’t show up, there is a snowstorm, or it is just impossible to be in two places at once. No wonder depression rates hit the highest during the holidays.
So I went to church yesterday, (I just joined this new church, and it’s weird to say this…but they are a bit…preachy?) and the homily was all about how this is the time for preparation, and basically we are supposed to remember the reason for the season. So I think to myself, “Self…maybe that is why you hate the holidays. Maybe you just need to put it all in perspective.” And then the priest talked about how today is a holy day, (and I had to go home and look on wikipedia to find out exactly why it was a holy day) and how this week we’ll be doubly blessed, and there will be a special blessing for all expectant mothers at all masses. So I think, “Hmmm….there is a 7am mass that I could make…I’m up anyway, might as well go. At least I’ll get a little blessing out of it and maybe it’ll help me get more in the spirit.”
So I go (and BTW..I was shocked at how many people were at the 7am mass…about 10 times the number I thought would be there) and it was pretty quick and I was feeling OK about life, until we got to the final blessing…and guess what??? No blessing for me. (And BTW??? I was sitting about 5 feet from the priest) You mean to tell me that I dragged my sorry 9 months pregnant butt out of bed at 5am and I didn’t even get my stupid blessing?? Geez. (either it's a sign that God is mad at me or he doesn't feel like me and the baby need to be blessed) So that’s how my week is going to go. As I walked out, I purposefully walked near the priest, but not so close as to where I actually had to shake his hand, and he said hi and sort of gave me a funny look. I’m sure that he just forgot, and my belly reminded him of his error, but still. Not a good sign. Hopefully I’ll be able to relax and just enjoy the season…either that or I am sure that I will go into labor on Christmas Eve. Ruin Christmas for everyone.
