Category: Living the Life

This weekend was another activity-packed weekend where I barely saw my house and saw even less of my bed. I really do love the holiday season, but I am SO ready for January to get here and things to calm down a bit.

The weekend started out with our usual Friday night at our friends’ house. The boys played their guitars and drums while us girls stayed upstairs and visited. When the boys were done, we got into a game of spades and before we knew it, it was 2:20 a.m. By the time we got out the door and drove home it was 3:00. So much for catching up on sleep!

At 9:00 Saturday morning, I drug my sleep-deprived butt out of bed to do a really rushed cleaning of the main part of my house. I fed Zach and took a really quick shower just in time for my sister and her family to arrive. Then we all piled into our cars and headed to the mall to visit Santa. What should have been a 30-minute drive turned into a 60-minute drive thanks to the wreck on the highway. We finally got there and grabbed a quick lunch, did a bit of shopping and then let the boys visit with Santa. I had to do a quick exchange at Old Navy so we headed out while my sister finished up her shopping at the mall. We finally got back to my house around 6:00 where my mom and Grandma were waiting for us to have dinner. We visited for a while after dinner and when everyone finally left I collapsed into bed.

Sunday morning we got up to get ready for church. I had to put a little extra effort into getting dressed because hubby and I were joining the church and having Zach baptized. I actually put on something other than jeans and even wore make-up (which rarely ever happens). Everything went great except for my pictures. They all came out pretty dark so I’m going to have to try to doctor them up a bit. After church we went out for luch where my son decided to create the nastiest diaper ever. I think I was in the restroom for about 15 minutes trying to clean him up and I’m pretty sure his clothes are now completely ruined.

We then went on to my sister’s house to hang out for a bit and wait for out 6:00 appointment for portraits. As a Christmas gift for our parents, my brother, sister and I decided to have portraits done of all of our families together. They turned out really good and I can’t wait to see the finished prints. After that, we went back to my sister’s house, had dinner, and finally got home around 10:00 lastnight.

Today I am totally dragging and hoping that sometime this week I can get caught up on a little bit of sleep. Only two more weeks to go before our trip to Louisiana. If I can just make it until then I can finally relax a bit…and hopefully take a nap everyday for a week!

I’m feeling pretty good today. Zach actually slept for 5 1/2 hours straight lastnight before he woke up. Thanks to him I figure I got at least 5 hours of sleep all together at one time. It is amazing the difference it makes. I have accomplished so much today. I finally got Alicia’s blog finished. Plus, I have finished up a bunch of stuff at work that I’ve been putting off for weeks now. I really need to get ahead of things as I am taking a week of vacation just before Christmas. The end of the year is super busy at work and a really bad time to take off, but spending the holidays with family is much more important. Plus, I get a week off to spend with my little munchkin which is very important too!

Indigo Girls – Power of Two

Now the parking lot is empty
Everyone’s gone someplace
I pick you up and in the trunk I’ve packed
A cooler and a two day suitcase
‘Cause there’s a place we like to drive
Way out in the country
Five miles out of the city limit we’re singin’
And your hand’s upon my leg

So we’re ok, we’re fine
Baby I’m here to stop your crying
Chase all the ghosts from your head
I’m stronger than the monster beneath your bed
Smarter than the tricks played on your heart
Look at them together then we’ll take them apart
Adding up the total of a love that’s true
Multiply life by the power of two

I know the things that I am afraid of
I’m not afraid to tell
And if we ever leave a legacy
It’s that we loved each other well

‘Cause I’ve seen the shadows of so many people
Trying on the treasures of youth
But a road that fancy and fast ends in a fatal crash
And I’m glad we got off to tell you the truth

So we’re ok, we’re fine
Baby I’m here to stop your crying
Chase all the ghosts from your head
I’m stronger than the monster beneath your bed
Smarter than the tricks played on your heart
Look at them together then we’ll take them apart
Adding up the total of a love that’s true
Multiply life by the power of two

All the shiny little trinkets of temptation
Something new instead of something old
But all you gotta do is scratch beneath the surface
And it’s fool’s gold
Fool’s gold

Now we’re talking about a difficult thing
Your eyes are getting wet
I took us for better and I took us for worse
And don’t you ever forget it

Now there’s steel bars between me and a promise
Suddenly bend with ease
And the closer I’m bound in love to you
The closer I am to free

So we’re ok, we’re fine
Baby I’m here to stop your crying
Chase all the ghosts from your head
I’m stronger than the monster beneath your bed
Smarter than the tricks played on your heart
Look at them together then we’ll take them apart
Adding up the total of a love that’s true
Multiply life by the power of two

I always tend to find myself slightly depressed after a long holiday break. I enjoy my time off so much that coming back to this place just puts me in a very foul mood. Dropping Zach off at day care this morning was very hard. I would have given just about anything to have been able to stay home with him just one more day. But, regardless of my feelings today, I’m so thankful that I had a wonderful break from work and got to spend a lot of time with family and friends over the last four days.

We started off the holiday by going to see the new Harry Potter movie Wednesday night. It was a pretty good movie, but in all honesty, it just wasn’t as good as the previous ones. I was a little disappointed with it and I’m hoping that the next one is better. Zach was a little angel that night and slept through the entire movie.

Thursday morning we got up and headed over to my brother’s house. His wife and MIL were already in the kitchen working on dinner. Shortly after we arrived my sister and her family and my mom got there. We pretty much all took turns in the kitchen preparing our part of the meal while the boys went outside for some football, played video games, and then watched football on tv. The babies took turns playing and napping. When everything was ready, we had a very nice dinner together, watched a movie, and then said good-night. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Friday was my favorite day of the enitre break. Hubby had to work for a bit Friday morning, but Zach and I snuggled up in the bed and slept in until 9:30!!!! I’m pretty sure that’s a record. I don’t remember the last time I got to sleep that long. When we finally crawled out of bed, we stayed in our jammies and played together for a while. Zach decided he needed a nap, so while he was sleeping I started working on cleaning up the house a bit. When hubby got home he helped me move some furniture around and I worked on re-arranging Zach’s room. We caught up on a couple of TV shows that we missed the week before and put together the Christmas tree (although it has yet to be decorated). I finally decided to shower and get dressed and then we went over to hang out with some friends for the rest of the night.

Saturday we celebrated my nephew’s 6th Birthday. He had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/swimming pool party at the Y which was a lot of fun. I didn’t swim because I didn’t have a swimsuit that would fit me, but hubby took Zach in the water for a while. Since I wasn’t swimming I got to take lots of cute pictures though. The kids all had a really great time. After the party we went over to my sister’s house for a while, helped the nephew go through all his loot, and watched Madagascar. We stopped by our friends’ house on the way home to drop their daughter off and ended up staying for a short visit before heading home.

Sunday morning we got up and headed to church. After church we went to my dad’s house for our Thanksgiving dinner with him and his wife. My sister and her clan arrived shortly after us and my sister and I headed out for a little bit of shopping without any kids. I had to buy Zach a new carseat (because he’s already outgrown his infant seat!) and she had some Christmas shopping to do. When we got back, we helped prepare dinner. My brother and his wife arrived an hour or so later and we all feasted on turkey and dressing (which oddly was much better than Thursday’s dinner) and all the fixins. Afterwards we played a quick game of team Scrabble before everyone headed back home.

It really was a wonderful weekend. I really enjoyed the time with my family. Zach is finally getting old enough that he can play with his cousins a little bit and it is so much fun to watch him squeal and laugh with them. It is hard to believe that he is already 5 months old. I think if I could only have had one more day off to recover from all of the festivities this would have been a perfect weekend.

For the first time in many years I am excited for the holidays. There are three things I think that have attributed to this change in mood for me. 1) I have a beautiful baby boy to celebrate with. 2) My family has grown much closer over the last few years and I actually enjoy spending time with them. 3) I get to EAT and the diet is thrown out the window for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I am getting really anxious for Christmas. I already have all of Zach’s presents bought. For the first time in at least 5 years I’m going to have a Christmas tree and decorations up in my house. I spent an hour this morning buying Christmas music cd’s on the internet and I can’t wait to start listening to them.

But, it isn’t Christmas yet, so I’ll focus on Thanksgiving for a minute. This year I am very thankful for all that God has given to me. Above all else, I’m so very thankful for my baby boy Zachary. He has brought so much joy and love into my life. There are times when I feel like my whole body could just burst from all the love I feel inside when I look into his eyes. I am so thankful that I was blessed with a child this year. There is just nothing in the world like it.

To everyone out there who might read this, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time with your family and friends and take a little time out to reflect on the things in life that matter most.

Happy Thanksgiving!