I had the greatest Thanksgiving holiday. I came to realize that regardless of the hustle and bustle of family life, the daily fights over bathrooms, clothes hanging in every corner in my house where there is a rod or a hook, cleaning up after one meal, only to start a new one, tired & cranky teen shift workers just coming off the graveyard, every car we own needing new tires, worrying about teens driving on possible icy roads with crappy tires, the one hour of panic first thing when the Traeger wouldn’t turn on to cook the turkeys, yes! Turkey(s) as in two of them… The boys fixed it in no time & believe it or not, three days later, both turkeys picked clean!, wet towels everywhere, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and my oven all deserve some type of appliance of the year award, I don’t think they had stopped running once, there was a little drama, but lots of love behind it, a few misunderstandings, a couple birthdays, Happy Birthday, Dad & Denise!, a baby boy was brought into our world, not Jesus, but just as precious… come on people I am talking about Thanksgiving week, not Christmas!!!, Congrats to my brother and his beautiful family!, dog slobber is everywhere in my attempt to avoid confrontation because having loved ones close is actually more important to me most of the time, we missed a few, but also gained a few, Kylie was remarkably better all weekend, only a headache to mention which contributed to the cranky teens cited above. They still don’t have a verdict of boy or girl, but she actively started to feel her little peanut moving around inside her belly. She said it’s strange because once she realized one little movement, she feels it all the time now. I smiled as I bottled that moment in my memory. If you have every been pregnant before, you know exactly that moment, and I am over the moon that I had the privilege to be there when she learned the very first of many things that her child will ever teach her. Regardless of all this hustle and bustle, I am so greatful for having the ability to live in the moment of it all. I am especially grateful for having eager-to-shop teens willing to go snag some smoking good Black Friday bargains for me. Those prices are unbeatable having so many to buy for! I am so greatful for the lessons I have learned also. I spent a lot of energy keeping kids focused on the tasks at hand, in retrospect not really sure why this was so important. I worried about the many hours of video gaming eventually sucking their brains out. Their brains are still in tact as of this morning! A misunderstanding almost propelled me into a situation, that thank goodness, I realized early on that it really didn’t have anything to do with me. Resulting in only a few tears. Hard to believe I was actually worried about other’s intentions, as if it even matters to me. Damn those codependent tendencies! In the big scheme of things, the truth really is that my family was here with me, thank you for secretly holding my hand (you know who you are) when I wanted to hang my head and cry, and when the ones who couldn’t be here sent well wishes anyway, and the ones that stopped in just to make an ornament and share a memory, made me happy and filled me up with the greatest love that is possible. Definitely the greatest holiday so far, even with the daunting task of housework to be done in the week ahead.
Month: November 2015
Creating Memories
Thanksgiving is fast approaching and with the anticipation of having the whole family together again, I wanted to make it special without a lot of work or money.
Thanksgiving Traditions
I am really excited for Thanksgiving this year.It kind of feels like the beginning of a new season for me with many changes, all the kids back at home,and grand babies on the way. I felt like we needed to start a new tradition this year.Please post in comments or email to me all your ideas or family T-Day traditions.Please do not be offended if I apply them to my own family traditions for many years to come!
Updates & Cupcakes
It all came apparent to me yesterday that regarding Kylie’s health and her pregnancy, that she and baby are going to be just fine. Yesterday marked 16 weeks! They have an appointment next week to learn the gender, but will keep it a secret between themselves. From what I understand, they plan to have a very special Christmas gift in store! I can’t wait, but I think it’s a girl… no, maybe a boy!
Appreciate What Matters
Woke up 4am, not feeling good, scratchy throat, drink orange juice just in case, pop ibuprofen, polish final draft on a project for someone else, hit the send button… Gone! Need documents, go to print… Damn! Out of ink AGAIN! Go to the library, realize my tire is flat, air it up, can’t find the valve for the air compressor, “mom, are you going to make our lunches?”, make lunches for 4 kids, stop at the gas station on the way to library. Air up tire-note to self: sign says air is $1.00, only needs 3 quarters to turn on the same amount of time! Print docs at library, home, put in load of laundry. Hungry… no food. Didn’t I just get groceries? Eat a string cheese and make a grocery list, pay bills, check emails, load dishwasher, need to go to the gym, get dressed for the gym,last minute call, on my way out the door, my editor has moved up a deadline on my 2nd rewrite, gym is out, glue myself to my IPad, oldest teen daughter is annoyed because I ignore her most urgent issues of the day, oh crap, Kylie still needs her blood tested for the week! Test her blood, drive to the bank and to express mail the blood, tire low again, DAMN-forgot it only needs 3 quarters! Forgot to drop off the express mail after the bank! Send Lopez to do it on his way to work. Laugh to myself when I notice where the elfie on the shelf ended up today when I walk in my house… his connected hands come in handy for a lot of positions, I would’ve made them Velcro… FOR GOD’S SAKE, STAY FOCUSED. Running out of time, kids home from school very soon, speak of the devil… call from the school, Isaac has detention for too many tardies, note to self: don’t forget to pick him up! Hungry, still no food, tea instead, glued to IPad, folded laundry, put away kids clean clothes, got distracted, picked up dirty ones off their floor, now the laundry is full again! Previously frozen meal from the freezer in the oven for supper, looking like grocery shopping will need to wait, giving me anxiety, Thanksgiving in 2 weeks! Emailed finished work to editor, call right back, wrong format, reformat, re-emailed, think to myself that I really need to call my parents-miss them! Kids home, homework, projects, dinner, oh crap! Forgot Isaac! In my defense, I remembered before he walked through the door! Kitchen is a mess, lock myself in my room in an attempt to avoid needy kids, they text me instead. I write some more, got some supper, note to self: really need to get groceries tomorrow! Still not feeling too good, kind of feel worse. Fell asleep fast, woke up at 2am, couldn’t sleep, pondered life’s greatest mysteries as one can only do at 2am. Came up with a few things that could’ve made my day easier: not have had kids in the first place, had stuck with my easier, more reliable job, bought a brand new set of tires the day before and quit writing. Then I realized that all those things are why I even get up every morning. I am sure the reason the kids get up these days is the anticipation of what the elfie has been up to all night. Damn, that elfie really has it all figured out!
Date Stamped!
“As a codependent person, I have effectively created a world that revolves around me.” ~AM
With Love From Family At 15 Weeks
Notes From The Broken Hearted
I have spent the past couple of days with a broken heart and ran mascara. I am sincerely touched by all of your letters. Many of my readers emailed letters from other family members which made me realize how important it was for me to read every single one. I chose one that I was hoping I could share in order to bring a voice to the pain I have literally felt through all of your letters in your own words.
Setbacks And Sadness
It is really difficult to keep faith in a goal that continues to prove setbacks every single day. Of course paternity would become an issue now. She sure didn’t contest paternity when she was asking him for money and diapers everyday.We predicted it from her and this only means more money and stress for Lopez’s custody process.
Change Is The Key To A Fairytale
Once upon a time there was a Queen of a great castle far, far away. Every morning as the Queen woke from her slumber, she went about her great bedroom tidying here, and tidying there. Everything must be in its place, big and small. Even though the Queen of the castle had others to do the tidying for her, she insisted that she was the only one far and near that could do an exceptional job.