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.