2014

It’s a quiet night, and I finally finished my TO DO list to end off the day and week.  Craziness will be commencing on Monday, and tomorrow will be one last day of rest before jumping back into life.  

I have had just a lovely 2 week holiday.  Dave took the first week off ENTIRELY from school marking and prep, and I haven’t had any extra kids here.  On top of that, we flew solo as a family this Christmas season, so no travel, and no visitors.  While we certainly would have loved to celebrate with extended family, it did make for a very relaxing week.

Of course, the couple of days leading up to Christmas were pretty full with cooking and baking, and services and such.   But, having half the kids and double the help, the days felt breezy.  Dave took the kids out to various museums with a year long family pass we were given SEVERAL times over the course of the break, and it was so great to have a few hours here and there of a quiet and still house.

The kids were fantastic on Christmas day, even despite colds and some mild fevers.   We opened gifts in the late morning, had a walk in the freezing cold after lunch before naps, and then enjoyed a feast at 4.  Aunt Katie was in Ottawa for the day, and so joined us all for dinner.  She was pretty terrified of getting sick, with memories of being sick last year still sharp, and travel plans for the next day.  Last year, we all got a wicked FLU that just about killed us all and left Katie with a severe double ear infection that lingered for weeks.

 I have come to accept that boogers and constant bugs will plague our family while the kids are so little and we have other little ones in and out of our house on a regular basis.  This acceptance is just a recent thing, and has been good for me.  I have spent way too much time feeling like I was doing something wrong as a mother.  Not cleaning well enough, not shoving enough vegetables down my kids throats, going out too often, not going out enough.....  But I am just letting go of it all.  I am just accepting that this is a part of having tons of little people and lots of friends in the house for good parts of the day. And trying to look at the bright side, that they are developing such a magnificent spectrum of immunities.  I used to feel so panicked when one of the kids would start sniffling or get warm as I envisioned it blowing into some huge stomach flu and passing through all of us slowly and surely.   But, for now, I am just saying,  “Bring it on.  We’ll deal.”

So, we all have had a few days under the weather over the break with colds and body aches.   But, it hasn’t been too bad.   I have been pretty relaxed.  I even started a thousand piece puzzle on Boxing day, and finished it a few days later.   Dave and I have also been enjoying sleeping in until 7 most mornings, drinking lots of tea ( we have started in on green tea)  taking a nap here and there, and playing games in the evening or watching an episode from the Bible Series that aired last year.  I bought Dave the DVD set for Christmas, and I think we have 2 episodes left of 10.

 This week has certainly been busier.  Dave has been putting in full days marking, and I have been hanging with the kids and doing some spring cleaning:  walls, baseboards, curtains, that sort of thing.  I have also been gearing up for the New Year.  I am pretty big into resolutions and routines, and so when I jotted down some goals for 2014, I was a bit overwhelmed with my list of, like, 21 things I wanted to improve on or incorporate into my life.  The goals were all across the board from deep relational and spiritual ones,  to very practical financial ideas, to simple but important, “Make sure I give Cooper a bath each week and keep the dog treats stocked.”  So, the list was tremendous, and I had to prioritize and think lots.  I probably cut that in half, but with so many things STILL on my list, I spent a few days brainstorming how to pick or work all of these ideas into my life.  In the end, good old excel helped me out, and I came up with a spreadsheet allotting out the minutes in my day.  It was pretty fun trying to work goals into my already FULL day with the kids. But, I think I was creative enough, and left enough down time in my schedule that it will be a schedule that enables and guides and assists, without choking and demanding and discouraging.  If that made any sense?  We will give it a go starting on Monday and see how it feels.

Also, this coming week, I have 2 new boys starting up with me a couple of days a week.   It’s gonna make my week pretty crazy, but I think it will be a good crazy.   This was one of the reasons for my super intense spreadsheet.   To not just keep on top of life, but thrive and improve in certain things, I am just at this point where I need to make sure I have everything written down and a plan for when and how I will accomplish it.  Everything from bathing the dog, getting a walk in every week, keeping in better touch with friends, having better prep time for Jesse’s homeschooling, spending quality time with Dave, etc.   Oh...it’s ALL On the spreadsheet......oh spreadsheets....  

I am so weird.   

Well, that is all for now.  Just wanted to touch base and say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  Hope all is well.  Thanks for reading.  I’m out.