Twas Merry, As They Say

Christmas came. It was fun. Now it's over. Enjoy these grainy cell phone pics, because I totally forgot to charge my camera the night before. Yep, again, mother of the year right here.

All the girls showing off their matchy matchy jammies they get from Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve.


Gretta opened her first gift, promptly took the wrapping paper to the garbage, and sat down waiting for permission to open the rest of the gifts. It didn't take her long to get the hang of just ripping into them after that, though.


Maggie enjoying the the Easy Bake Oven she received. Oh joy. Plasticy tasting mini cookies and cakes that take teeny tiny parts to use.


Emma in the throes of gift unwrapping. She got a sewing machine, and she is actually pretty good at it!

So that was Christmas. I'm glad it's over. Now it's time to get the house in order and get on with things.

Merry Christmas Letter

Hello friends and family,

Instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, I've decided to write a letter detailing every minute detail of our mundane lives. That sounds like so much fun, right? Right. Here we go.

Beginning in January, we found ourselves back home in the Motherland, also known as Utah. Sean was beginning school at LDS Business College, and the girls were going to school with Grandma at Eastlake Elementary. We were living with Sean's parents, and plugging along with our new lives.

February met us with crazy cold and snow, unlike anything I've seen in Utah, and a lot more like what I was used to in Illinois. I got a little homesick for my life there, but I was also very glad to be back with family. School continued, and life was good. I also found out I was going to be an aunt again with Jill expecting her 5th baby! I was thrilled!

March was a welcome month, bringing the prospect of Spring, and warmer weather. Sean was wrapping up school, and hoping for a 4.0. The girls were off track, and thought that was pretty neat to have a long vacation from school.

April brought more changes, still. Sean was home from school, having just missed his 4.0 by this much. We moved into my Dad's old house, and I pulled Maggie out of school to begin homeschooling her. I also started a business doing hair again, and things were trying to get off the ground.

May was a great month to enjoy Spring weather. Emma was looking forward to Summer since Maggie was already enjoying some serious time off, and Gretta was enjoying having a friend around to play with. I was working here and there, and it was nice to be back behind the chair. We enjoyed a long weekend vacation with Meg and Josh to Lake Mead, which was a lot of fun. I could literally feel the winter melting off me while we were there.

June was the official beginning of Summer, and we started it off by getting annual passes to Lagoon. We had originally intended to buy passes to Six Flags again, but good thing we procrastinated, because those would have done us no good here in Utah. Lagoon was a great distraction for us throughout the summer, since Sean was going a little stir crazy being at home and not working or going to school, and I was only working a couple of days a week.

July was spent enjoying family and friends. Sean's brother and his family returned to Utah after living in Brazil for 2 years, and we loved having their kids around. My sister came up from Vegas and stayed with us several times, and we always love having her. We also found out that Meg was expecting, and I was thrilled to have a new niece or nephew coming to our family.

August was hot and long. My birthday came and went, and now I'm another year older, yet no wiser. Sean was looking forward to school beginning again, and I was working hard. I also ran 26 miles that month, and I was loving the running life.

September brought our summer adventures to a close. We certainly made the most of it, though. I think we counted at least 20 visits to Lagoon. Those passes were worth every penny. The kids really got brave there toward the end of the season, going on upside-downy rides, and learning to wait in line without mom or dad there to help them. We were all nice and tan from our times at Lagoon-A-Beach, and tired from a lot of walking. I also became an Aunt again; Jill had her baby girl, named Elsie, and she is fat and yummy and it takes all my self control to not eat her.

October was a fun month for all of us. Sean was back in school and working hard, and I was working very hard, and thinking of making a change in my work situation. I was ready to grow the business more, and I needed more room. By the end of the month, I was officially moving into a new building, and renting a space all my own. I was thrilled. Unfortunately, during the month, I also had to have my appendix out, which really threw me for a loop. Trying to move things while recovering from surgery can be tricky. Luckily, I recovered just fine, and the move to the new place went off without a hitch.

November brought thoughts of Thanksgiving and other family adventures. One good thing we had happen was my Dad and Noma getting sealed in the temple. We were all there, and it was nice to see them so happy. We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Jill in Vegas, and it was a nice new tradition. We did major Black Friday shopping, and even though it was colder than normal, it was still warmer than Utah! Emma was in 6th grade and loving it, and Sean was in the throes of schoolwork, wrapping up the finishing touches for his business transfer degree. Maggie and I were doing homeschool, and she was thriving, just like I knew she would.

December brought the one year anniversary of Sean getting laid off, his 35th birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary. A busy month for sure. We didn't celebrate his lay-off day, of course, but we did celebrate his birthday with a nice dinner out, and a stay at Little America for the night. This is also known as our North Pole trip, since we wrap up our Christmas shopping at the same time. Sean finished up school, and although he could be done at LDSBC, he has chosen to stay one more semester to gain his accounting degree, rather than a transfer degree. I think he will fare better in the future with 2 solid degrees beneath him. Christmas is upon us, and I'm looking forward to being here this year to celebrate with our families. On December 3oth, we'll celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. My how time has flown!

I hope you aren't too terribly bored, I tried to keep it to the bare minimum. And let's face it, my life just isn't that exciting. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Props

I'm exhausted. My feet hurt, my ribs hurt, and my back is sore. I had to work (dramatic tone, here) all day.

Insert tiny violins here.

Don't get me wrong, I love working. I love my job so much! I look forward to each and every day. Knowing that I have a talent to make people feel good about themselves really gets me going.

But how do you full time working moms do it?

Because I'm exhausted.

I did have the pleasure of coming home to a prepared dinner and a clean house and folded laundry and even clean sheets. So I didn't have to do much except load the dishwasher. How spoiled am I? I know I couldn't do it alone.

So to all you working moms out there, props to you. You have my respect for sure.

I Don't Want Your Address

I've been on the fence this year about Christmas cards. I ordered a whole slew of them last year, and then with the job loss and impending move, I managed to send out 2. 2. That is just sad. It made me feel like a failure, to be honest.

So in order to avoid the failure feeling this year, I'm just giving up on the Christmas card idea. We all pretty much look the same, maybe a little older, but not anything super. I just don't have the energy, 0r the time, or the money, to buy us all matchy matchy outfits and accessories, and then force my kids to look all lovely and sweet. They aren't lovely and sweet. My life is crazy and they are messy.

If you really want a true to life card, you can stop by any day and see my messy table covered in crafts and the TV set on Disney, and kids with crazy hair and morning breath. That is my Christmas card.

So I don't want you address. Sorry. You can check this here blog for any sort of joyous sweet moment that probably won't happen. And in the meantime, at least I don't feel like a failure. I'm awesome.

When It's Cold, We'll Skate

We went ice skating at the Olympic Oval on Saturday. It was a pretty good time. I'm still a little sore. Apparently ice skating uses muscles that bowling and blogging don't. Go figure. My left butt cheek is getting pretty rock hard from bowling, and now my right cheek is sore and stiff from ice skating. My rear end is pretty much a mess. Now I know how J-Lo feels.

Enjoy the rare glimpse into my life with these adorable videos (just a few seconds each) of my kids "ice skating". More like ice walking, but whatever.

A Lot Can Happen When You Let It

It's been a year since this post. A year that has flown by. So much has changed since I wrote that post. So much around me, and so much inside me. I shudder to think what my life would be like now, had things not taken such a drastic turn.

Sean has a year and a half of school under his belt, and a scholarship awaiting him at the U. We started a business, and have been plugging away at actually making it work. It is. I started homeschooling Maggie, probably one of the best decisions I've made as a parent. We have a whole new appreciation for all types of assistance; family, church, government, and so on. The sacrifices we are making now are for a bigger pay off in the end, and I know we have the gumption to do it.

I see how smart Sean is, and I see how his mind wasn't being put to its full potential at his job. I see how he can excel at anything he chooses, and I know in my heart of hearts that he will be very successful and happy with whatever road he chooses. I'm content to be a working mom, a homeschooling mom, and a crazy mom, for a while, because I know my family is benefiting more than they would if we were just to be mediocre at something else.

I'm not gonna lie, I miss the money. It's still hard to not buy the kids something they want, or to not go out to eat because we can't afford it. Saying "we can't afford it" still tastes like vinegar when it comes out, but it's getting easier. I miss the perks. The Cubs games, the Bulls games, the trailer, the big house, the vacations, and the ease of not worrying about where the next paycheck was coming from. But I feel far more fulfilled now, so I guess that's saying something. I know this is part of the plan for us, and I know it will work. Sometimes life is hard, but sometimes it's easy. Either way, it keeps coming around.

I'm so glad we were given this trial. We have had a lot happen that would never have happened otherwise, and we're better people for it. I guess that's a good thing.

It's Really No Excuse

I understand it's the Holidays, and all, but this eating thing has seriously got to stop. Let me be clear. I'm not eating too much. I physically can't. But I can eat crap. Loads and loads of sugary sweetness and calorie laden crap.

People, I'm being honest here. I cannot remember the last time I ate fruit. Wait, yes I can. I had one raspberry off the top of my creme brulee the other night. Does that even count? I don't like fruit, therefore, I have a hard time eating it. See how that works?

But fo realz, what do I do? I feel like I can't make improvements in my eating habits because I'm so scared. That is just silly, I know. But it's true. There are a couple of variables to this problem. One, my kids. They complain about everything they eat. Unless it's macaroni and cheese. I might just drop kick one of them if they ask for mac and cheese one more time this week. And it's only Wednesday. Two, physically I'm not able to eat a lot of foods. Rice, out. Bread, out. Anything with a tortilla, iffy. Those things make me barf, and that's not good.

So where do I even begin? I know the best way to start off the day is with a good breakfast, but I can't physically eat breakfast, so I usually pop a couple of tums and have a glass of Ovaltine. Lunch is hit and miss, if I feel like it, I'll eat whatever the kids are eating (usually mac and cheese). Dinner time is the worst. My kids complain no matter what it is, and hubby will pretty much eat anything, so I usually defrost something and call it good. I can eat pretty well at dinner time, but sometimes I can't. If I still seem hungry later, I'll drown my sorrows with some Ben and Jerry's or some Milano cookies.

See? Bad. I need help. This is my rock bottom, I think.

Today is Sean's birthday. Lets all yell a big happy birthday to him. On 3. Ready? 1, 2, 3, Happy Birthday!

Thanks.

So remember last year on Sean's birthday? My sisters showed up at our restaurant in Illinois and totally shocked me. You can read the story here.

This year I hope there are no surprises in store. I will be content with a nice quiet birthday celebration this weekend.

But happy birthday, Sean. I love you, I really do. I hope you have a great year ahead.

Giggle Words

While doing school today, one of Maggie's lesson books was teaching the -unk sound. It was used repeatedly in different words, you know, to enforce the correct usage. We came across one sentence that used the -unk sound in the word form of Junk.

She giggled.

Yep. My sweet 7 year old giggles at the word junk. Just like her daddy. I'm totally mother of the year here.