Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

The 30th and 31st . . .

of December. These days are probably some of the most influential and the most conflicted days on my life calendar. At least in the later portion of my life!

14 years ago, just after 10:00 pm on December 31, 1998, my water broke. Excitement, joy, anticipation, a full moon, anxiety and trepidation all traded places throughout that evening.

The following year, on December 31st, I along with the rest of the Western world worried about Y2K, with no lasting effect or issue. I remember sitting in my little house in Ukiah, rocking a cute little Dylan, wondering how everything would change with that one tick-tock of the clock. Again . . . lots of hype, not a lot of change! 

In 2001, I spent the New Year in Lake Almanor. One of my best and memorable holidays with then-friends and then-family. (Note to self . . . rent Almanor cabin next year for New Years!)

2002-2004 were more mellow. Me and my little guy. Usually prepping for his birthday. Nothing earth-shattering on those years. Just mellow love of a Mama and a very sweet little boy.

On December 30, 2005; I met John. Enough said. That one changed my life. Big time. Good time.

In 2006, John and I had been married for a few months. (Yes, we really did move that fast!) Faster yet, I had just found out that I was pregnant with Sissy. Just barely-moments-pregnant. Against the doctor's advice, we headed up to Tahoe and spent the New Year with our good friends the Gomersalls in the snow. That was fun. Really fun.

In 2007, we were home with a 3-month-old, sleep-deprived and cranky. Getting ready for John to head to Texas for a six-week Air Force training assignment. I shed a few tears those evenings.

In 2008, we were aboard a lovely cruiseliner, headed to the Mexican Riviera with all of John's family. (Note to self, that was the best way to celebrate New Years ever!)

In 2009, there was nothing outstanding to report. Low-key celebrating and preparing for Dylan's birthday. (Hey, I had a toddler! Standards were low!) 

In 2010, I got really, really drunk on the 30th, thereby limiting any fun or enjoyment on the 31st.

And then this year, 2011, we again hit the town on the 30th. I had a bit too much to drink, but NOTHING like my preceding year's overindulgence. Thankfully. (Forever and ever, amen!) We joined our friends and headed to the El Rey for a comedy show with a former local as the headliner. As he was also a PV alumni, there were lots of jokes especially for the Chicoans. It was pretty funny, really. We headed to Crush and enjoyed some cocktails with friends and actually stayed out until after midnight. Holy smokes! That's late for me!

Tonight, we will stay home with our little family. Some neighbors and friends will come over. We will eat some yummy appetizers and sip some bubbly. Play some games and have some laughs. It's really the best kind of New Year's Eve. At midnight we will ring in the New Year and sing Happy Birthday to our 13-year-old. THIRTEEN! How does that happen? Ah, well, that's a post for tomorrow . . . 

"A happy New Year! Grant that I may bring no tear to any eye when this New Year in time shall end. Let it be said I've played the friend, have lived and loved and labored here. And made of it a happy year. " Edgar A. Guest 

Random Goals to Consider . . .

by this time next year I would like to 

(a) feel like I made a BIG difference in someone's life. (Someone other than my immediate family :))

(b) be practicing the art of calligraphy

(c) have girlie fingernails (I know . . . this is both petty and a repeat resolution)

(d) have replaced at least three outdated fixtures in our house and renovated at least one room. Preferably a bathroom :)

(e) weigh less than 155 for at least half of a year. Again, petty, a repeat and ridiculously vain. But I digress.

 

Busted Stitches . . .

whoops!

Last night, I was uncomfortable. In a crampy, I'm-gonna-have-my-period sorta way. But let's not forget that I am now sans uterus and ovaries. Which leaves very few culprits for a cramping source. So I heated up a rice bag and went back to bed at 3:30 this morning. I slept until Halle woke up, at which point (7:30 ish) she came into bed with us. (As a side note, I'm getting very used to laying in bed, with my chai, hubby and child(ren) and my laptop for a couple of hours every morning. Next week might really suck when it comes to having to be up and functional and getting kids to school!)

All was well. And then right about 11:30, I squatted down to get the dishsoap from under the sink and felt something pop as I stood back up. And then I started bleeding. As in, immediately soaked through my jeans. (TMI, I know.)

So one quick visit to the doctor's office and an ultrasound later, it would appear that I broke through a stitch. Somewhere. The good news? There are multiple layers of stitches and everything that needs to be stitched up? Is still stitched up. The doctor put me on bedrest today and I can resume normal activity tomorrow, assuming that I am no longer bleeding. (Again, TMI, I know.)

So I farmed out my kiddos, since John was working (thank you Linda and Pina and Robyn!) and spent the remainder of the day on the couch. Good times. Let's just say that I am all caught up reading all my favorite blogs (and about a bazillion new ones) as well as browsing any and all possible online shopping sites. Thus far, other than a little $$ spent at etsy, I've managed to refrain from buying anything. Thankfully.

Now, John is putting Halle into bed. And here I sit/lay. I'm crabby and short with everyone. (Sorry.) I have remembered how much I love being home with my kids. At the same time, I've remembered how much energy they have when they are not in school! Plus, they talk. All. The. Time. Non-stop.

Anywho . . . 

I almost tackled taking down the Christmas tree today. Ultimately, it didn't happen. But I'm close. Really close. I am thinking that tomorrow, all medical issues aside, it could happen. I could get all the ornaments off and wrapped and packed up and then John could take down the lights and drag the tree out. Then he or Dylan could vacuum since I'm not allowed to. It almost feels like a plan . . .

And a plan feels better than sitting on the couch!

Clueless . . .

as as to what day of the week it is. Truly.

This no school-no work-no schedule-thing? Is amazing. But really, truly, I cannot keep track of the hours or days.

I may have wasted the large majority of today. I did a phone interview. I did some laundry. I had my post-op. I helped Dylan with his house-sitting duties in exchange for a couple of hours of free babysitting. I arranged for Dish Network to come out and upgrade our receivers and dish to HD. I cleaned up most of the living room mess. I cleaned up a small corner of the garage mess. I returned some movies to Redbox. I made dinner.

Wait . . . I retract my earlier comment! I kicked today's booty! And now, Halle is asleep. Dylan and John are playing a video game. (Ironic that it was John who wasn't onboard with the Xbox, eh?) And I am in my warm bed with my laptop. And it's quiet in here.

Can you say, Amy's personal bliss?

The Day After . . .

there are piles of toys. Piles of stuff. Piles of treats. Most of the piles of recycling have been dealt with. Thankfully.

But frankly? I've been too tired to be bothered by the piles. Which would normally drive me bananas! I'm not sure whether it was just that I did a little too much over the last week, or what, but this post-op girl is down for the count! I have my post-op appointment tomorrow morning, so I should know for certain, but I have a feeling that it's just all catching up with me.

Yesterday was good. Different, but good. We had my immediate family over. We opened gifts. I made breakfast. We drank Baileys or mimosas. We watched TV.

And that was it for me. I fell asleep. I barely dragged myself up to watch the Packers game and that was 5:15 pm! 

No Christmas dinner. No visiting family. No gifts at my Mom's. No church. No family picture. No getting dressed. (Seriously.) It was weird. But given the circumstances of the last couple of weeks? It was probably exactly what we needed to do.

Plus, we enjoyed playing games on and watching our new, crazy-big screen TV. Merry Christmas to us and hello, 21st century, all in one! 

We are super-blessed and spoiled. And still a little (very) tired. Hope your Christmas was as sweet as ours.

Merry, Merry . . .

Today in the town of David

a Savior has been born to you;

he is the Messiah, the Lord.

This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:11-12.

A Season of Giving . . .

and receiving.

Having surgery on the 13th of December has forced me to be on the receiving end of kindness and generosity more than I admittedly like to be. Allowing our Shannon to drive up from the Bay Area to basically babysit me (and Halle!) for 24 hours in exchange for her gas money? Was hard for me. Having friends bring us meals when I felt like we could just survive on sandwiches and snacks for a couple of weeks? Difficult for my stubborn nature. But the very smallest of gestures have blessed me just as much as the largest.

My sweet Aunt offered to come and vacuum my house and mop my floors. Because she knows that's a big post-hysterectomy no-no. My BFF drove me to the craft store. And she doesn't even like crafts! Our friends brought us dinners and breakfasts and sweet treats . . . always just when we needed them. Friends called and offered up playdates for Halle, just when she/we needed a break the most! My friends saved us a place at the preschool Christmas performance because they knew I'd be moving really slowly and wouldn't have gotten there in time to find a place to sit. My Mama friends stepped up and drove carpool every day. My Basketball Mama friends drove to and from practice everyday. Most days I didn't even know who was driving, but just knew that those ladies were going to take care of my boy.

I love living in a community like we do. Not just the city in which we dwell, but rather the community that lives and breathes and grieves and celebrates with us. The pre-op nurse who clutches my hand and wipes my tears and she prays for me on the gurney. Our friends who just step up and fill our needs. The people who love us . . . not just with words, but with the heartfelt actions.

My friends Robyn and Karissa are probably about as close to a wife as I'll ever get.  (And if you are a wife or have a husband or have had a husband or been a wife, or heck, seen a husband and/or a wife in action; you will understand what I mean. No offense intended.) They call me when they are out and about to see if I need anything. They bring me things from their own pantries when I am missing an ingredient. They reprimand my (almost perfect children) if I'm not around to do it. They share clothes with me. And boots. We call each other for computer issues at any given hour of the day or night.  Or emotional issues, for that matter.

Yesterday, Robyn went to Trader Joe's for me. I went to Costco for her. THEN, she ordered dinner for us at Tong Fong Low and had her husband deliver it to my door!  (After spending an hour gathered by my tree, sharing challenges, champagne and eating yummy strawberry licorice!)

That, my friends, is community. That is love. That is giving and receiving all wrapped into one. That is relationship. There is no tit-for-tat. There is no scorecard. It just works. And it breathes life into me!

So thank you, friends. You are family to me. Karissa Jean. Robyn. Shannon. The other Shannon. Lauren. Lynn (even if you didn't make me a sweet embroidered Advent craft like you did for Linda). Linda. Karen. Stacy. Janell. Ree. Kathleen. Renee. Marci. Julie. Pina. Keri. Hannah. Becky. Dawn. My basketball Mamas. My carpool Mamas. My church family.

All of you. Bless me beyond measure.

And today? Was beyond amazing. I put out the call on Facebook that I wanted to raise $100 for a local family. I didn't even know who it was when I put out the call. Almost $300 later . . . made with mostly $5 donations . . . we are going to bless 2 single Mamas and their littles, as well as help out another elderly woman. 

Tomorrow, I get to go shopping. And I get to play Santa to some young (teen) Mamas. Girls who have been through the wringer. I maybe even get to squeeze on their sweet little ones as I drop off my goodies. Groceries, coats, toys and gift cards.

Do you have any idea how blessed I am by this? I mean, seriously. 15+ people giving $5 or $10 dollars. One friend giving $25. Another giving $50. My Dad matching my first $100 raised. 

Community. That's what it is. That's who we are. That's what we do.

Wish List . . .

I have been told that I am hard to buy gifts for. I disagree. It's not rocket science!

Behold . . . a list of things I would love to receive as a gift:

Eddie Bauer Traveling Vine Sherpa Hoodie ($39)

Born ($198)

14k gold endless hoop earrings ($64)

 

Custom Return Address Stamp

Custom Silhouette Necklace- Portrait of Your Children ($30)

A $20 donation to the Adventure Project. I love that charity. Mark my words, someday, I will go and do something for them. Something with my own two hands. Something more than writing a measly check.

And of course, anything handmade by my cchildren. Anything at all :) Or photos of my children. Or go big and put those photos on a canvas . . . I may swoon! Or money towards a dishwasher. Or replacing the tile entry way. Or Barnes & Noble gift cards that I can use to buy Nook Books. Or Amazon gift cards to rent movies with. Or any number of other simple, random and sometimes useful items. Including a potato masher. 

See, that wasn't that hard? Something for every budget! I swear that I am not that difficult!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming . . . 

December Confessional . . .

I really should be Catholic, if for no other reason than I seem to need to confess my wrongdoings and shortcomings.

For example, for the second year running, I have failed to do our advent calendar. It's been in Halle's room for weeks, housing countless Polly Pockets. (Some serious occupancy violations going on there!) And this year? Just to top my previous years' failings? We haven't even lit our advent wreath or candles. Not once! (And that, honestly, is my favorite Christmas tradition.)

And, just now, because I tried to type this post while multi-tasking? I managed to burn yet another bagel in the toaster oven. Maybe it's time for me to go back to a pop-up conventional toaster. One that will eject before I can burn food to a crisp!

Halle's dinner tonight? A monkey bar (a Z-bar), yogurt and cheese crackers. And water. So sue me.

I didn't pull it together in time to do teacher gifts for Halle's amazing preschool teachers and staff. Lame-o. Aiming on New Year's gifts for that group!

I haven't gotten out of my pajamas all day.

I swore at my Mac because iCloud wasn't working like I thought it should. Probably because I didn't install it on that system. It was syncing between my other devices, but not my main one. Because I didn't tell it to.

I have a stack of photo ornaments sitting next to my computer. They have been there for three weeks. And I still haven't printed out any photos to put into them.

I put some Kahlua into my Chai latte before we went out to see the Christmas Lights last night. And then washed down my 800 mgs of ibuprofen with it.

I took some people off my card list this year. And even though some of them sent us cards, I'm not feeling compelled to reciprocate. If you are toxic in my life or on the fringes of it? (Or if you are mean to un-named members of my family or friends?) I'm not sending you a card. Sorry.

I told John that I was taking a nap earlier. But I was actually laying in bed finishing up my Christmas shopping on Amazon. Whoops.

I have wrapped one present. One.

I didn't do my 2011 Photobook yet. The MyPublisher 60% code ends tonight. I'm banking on the idea that there will be another hefty discount around the New Year. It's too hard for me to sit at my desk, and since I'm an iCloud idiot, I can't pull my photos from my laptop. Which was my plan. So no photobooks on Christmas Day. 

I was going to track how much money we've spent on all of our RACK stuff and put it into our Christmas budget. I haven't tracked a red cent! And I'm still giving. Must slow down. (But it's so fun!)

I encouraged Dylan to doorbell-ditch a friend last night. Later I realized that he was wearing his basketball sweatshirt. With his last name in reflective letters on the back.

I have gotten so used to missing church and listening to the sermons online? That I am tempted to go to church for the music portion only and then go get a Chai latte and listen to the sermon later. On my couch.

I have forgotten to pay the orthodontist for the last three months. I'm so embarrassed that I think I'll send Dylan into his appointment with a check while I stay in the car.

In addition to having not done a darn thing with our advent calendar (other than allow Halle to use it to house her Polly Pockets)? I had completely forgotten that I had ordered another (adorable!) advent calendar from Terrain. The UPS guy just delivered it. Double-lame Advent calendar fail!  

I was committed to making a different Christmas craft with Halle every day this week. But she really loves one of the crafts. So we've made them three days in a row!

And to round up the confessional, I'm posting my Friday Phone Dump. Today. On Monday! Whoot, whoot!

Better(ish) . . .

Yesterday was bad.

Today was better.

I did, however, have a mini-meltdown, just as about 20 people that we know (and love) showed up at our door Christmas caroling. It wasn't the cheeriest timing ever. I managed to hold back my tired/hurting tear-fest until they all left the porch, then snapped at poor Halle and promptly burst into tears.

Since I was wearing the world's ugliest bright pink poncho when they all arrived, (over my pajamas, because I'm sexy like that), I just tucked my head into my poncho, continuing to cry as John injected me with my long-overdue (massive) anti-inflammatory, and waved my family away, telling them (forcing them) to go and join the carolers and leave. Just leave! 

Nice, eh?

But that was definitely the low point of the day. For the most part, it wasn't too bad. I am pretty much off pain meds. (Unless I have to um, have a bowel movement . . . TMI, I know . . .but just think back to those times after delivering your babies and you knew that you couldn't delay the inevitable poop-fest any longer! It's horribly similar. Just saying.) I went a little too long without the anti-inflammatory, but considering that I certainly didn't want to inject myself with them, and John was out of town, I didn't have a lot of control over that. Catching Dylan's cold was really crappy luck, because coughing? When your insides are all freshly stitched up? Not fun. Nope, not at all.

So yeah, as long as I don't cough or poop, I'm doing OK.

Moving right along . . . thankfully . . .

Dylan's team won their tournament. Wish I could have been there, but there would have been no way I could have made it up there, or managed to sit on bleachers all weekend either.

Our Shannon and Auntie Karissa did a fabulous job taking care of me while the boys were gone. We also managed to have fun. And do crafts. (Karissa's favorite thing ever! Not!) Pictures tomorrow. But for now, bed. Hey it's the first day I haven't napped all week! I'm tired!