A Summary...

Well folks, I've been a slacker in the blog department as of late.

So, this is my quick summary of recent events:

Christmas was fantastic - we got the kids a Wii and knocked their socks off :-) We lead them all over the house with riddles & clues that finally lead to it. It was awesome! Funny enough, it was not great because of the Wii, but the look on their faces and the joy, shock and gratefulness for each other that was there before the Wii was even unveiled. By the time it came around to the Wii - it was just like icing on the cake. :-) I am so grateful to have such amazing children and family! What a joy!

Two days after our blissful Christmas, we discovered that all three kids had head lice. I instantly burst into panic filled tears and was super overwhelmed. This was a first for us. I'm not gonna lie - it was a bad case too. To top it all off - I actually also had it. I was MORTIFIED. Aaron started off thinking I was being a spaz & by the end he was the one practically hyperventilating once the reality of it all sank in. The work, the severity of the lice, the amount of people we have potentially exposed, the work. (yep the work gets 2 mentions, because dear lord have mercy...e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g had to be cleaned, steamed, dried, frozen, bleached, washed &/or examined. It was horrid.

Thankfully, we have a friend who is a lice expert & even works part time with a thing called the Lice Clinic. She was able to talk us through the process, helped us prioritize our cleaning tasks, talked prevention in the future & gave us our options on how to deal. Roz & I did the lice clinic treatment to nip it all in the bud (thank god there is such a thing), and the boys got their heads shaved. It has been a dramatic & draining week to say the least. I am, however, feeling a lot better now that the worst is behind us. SO, we are breathing MUCH easier now...phew!

2010 has been a big year - full of wonderful adventures & celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary! We got a new niece this year too, and what a joy she is!

We are looking forward to 2011 & all that it will hold for us. I really need to think about what I hope it entails - or goals or something. I guess off the top of my head:

Cosmetology school will hopefully begin for me...which will mean an entirely new season for my family. So, I pray that will be a smooth transition that is full of grace, peace & joy.

I'd really like to continue & get a bit more disciplined than I've been as of late with nutrition and consistency of exercise...okay mostly in the food department. It's time to reign it in and get back on track. So, that is definitely a goal for me.

I would like to cut our debt in half this year...which I think is absolutely possible if we stick to our plan...so knock on wood that everything big keeps working (like vehicles, house stuff, etc) so we can see this goal come to fruition!!

Hmm, I don't know - I can't really think of anything else. I love my family & I think we're in a good/healthy place for the most part - not perfect...life is messy sometimes, but it's good. I feel like we are in a place that is reaping the benefits of good/hard choices made in years past...not that we won't have times like that in the future too. I'm sure we will, but I am keenly aware that we worked really hard at building a healthy foundation early on & often times it was against the grain of society and even some friends who thought we were crazy. We were the "fighters". And, it's true - we fought a lot & I'm not suggesting that it has to be done the way we did it...but I am a firm believer in saying what you need to say. For us - it was about having the discussions or fights...not shying away from them because it's easier at the time. And not fighting for the sake of fighting, but really getting to the root issues & really helping each other deal with our issues & be better & stronger. You know the whole 'caring enough to confront' idea...it's really a true thing! Honestly, I am seeing the benefit of that even now in our life - in our marriage & our kids, etc. And I'm so grateful for it. It's good.

So, here's to 2011...may it be great!

You know when...

You're pregnant and you start noticing all the other preggers in the world (and babies and kids, etc, etc)?! Well, lately I swear that all I see are cosmetologists (and great haircuts and color, etc, etc). AND it's like I draw them to me. I was even at the gym today & 2 gals came up to me complimenting my hair. :-) One of them was (of course) a cosmetlogist. I told them that I knew one of them HAD to be...their hair was WAY too perfect for an exercise class.

Isn't that SO weird how that happens in life?! I LOVE IT! :-D

Is it wrong...

to be torn between sending a few old ladies to the naughty chair or beating their asses right there on the spot?

I SERIOUSLY contemplated both yesterday when I was SO beyond badly treated by these bitchy old ladies. I put together most of a christmas dinner for the Spokane Bridge Club last night (the main dish was lasagna made by someone else...I did the rest). It was for 70 people. I was early & fully prepared. The lasagna lady showed up late - dumped her stuff & dashed (the ass-hat). So, the old bittys got all rilled up & unloaded on ME about how they had to wait. They were being SO rude! I apologized nicely several times - trying to explain that the lasagnas were late & the gal hadn't cut any of them, so we needed to do that really quickly, etc. And they continued to be horrible to me...complaining about me, the wait, etc. They actually made it personal too - attacking me as a person! I am not exaggerating when I say how truly rude & horrible they were. After the whole ordeal I was crying in the back room. Though I'm not sure if it was because my feelings were hurt or I was just so PISSED OFF (mostly the second one). Either way, I considered both quitting on the spot & making an announcement to the whole group about what terrible people a few of them are. As well as informing that I would be horrified if my children ever behaved like they just had. (Yep, I'd shame the shit out of these bitches). Instead, I tried to serve with a smile, cried in the back room for a moment & then just cleaned up and got my behind out of there. I am considering writing a letter to a few of the head people with the Bridge Club though, because I will not be treated like that again.

Sorry, my experience with them yesterday brings out the swearing...whew, rant over.

I think I finally figured it out...

I've been feeling in a funk lately. I haven't been able to put my finger on why, but I've just felt off.

It's the holiday season and I LOVE the holidays, and yet I haven't quite felt myself. It's been really strange.

Well, just today I was ruminating on this again...praying & ruminating. And I finally think I've figured it out. It was like the picture came into focus, and I actually feel better.

I feel like I am on 'pause'. I know what I want to do with my life - I even know where I want to do it...in fact I EVEN have a timeline of WHEN I will be doing it...it's just 6 months away. And, so emotionally I can feel myself ready for this next step. I don't feel the same grace & peace for being home 24/7 like I did in so many years past. Not that I'm not grateful - because I really am! And I LOVE my family - they are a big part of why I want to do what I do. But I can feel the seasons change in my soul.

So, for now, it helps me to at least identify what I am feeling. It helps me to enjoy that last bits of this season instead of being frustrated by them. And, it helps me to know that I'm not crazy...at least not any crazier than usual. ;-)

Muffin Tops...

I have seen all the butt cracks I can take and I can't take any more!

Sadly, these are not the butt cracks one expects to see & dare I say even hopes to see (for the sake of a little giggle ONLY) ie plumbers. No, no...these are the butt cracks of ladies who are obviously unwilling to admit that they are actually a size (or 4) larger than they had once been (see how I'm giving them credit here - maybe they were once that size. Even though, if I'm honest, I doubt most of them ever were.).

Do these chicks not know that when they sit or bend over or pretty much do anything, that we can see that ole muffin top exploding out of their pants? Now, I am really not talking about the little bit of pudge that likes to make itself known around the holidays or anything like that...I'm talking about the blatant ones. The kind that we all just go 'uh, honey - who do you think you are fooling?' Since when is it more attractive to wear jeans under the belly & let it all hang out? Have we all turned into middle aged men who let their bellies hang out? I mean seriously...

In fact, it was when my size 6 friend said to me a few years ago "That's it - I need to buy mid-rise jeans from now on...the low risers are just not working!' that I had a revelation. This is not just a big girl problem. This is a woman problem...

So, I say to woman kind - buy the jeans that ACTUALLY FIT YOU. No one has to know the size that the tag says. No one has to know if they are mid-rise or low rise. I guarantee that you will be more comfortable! And, the rest of us will no longer have to pretend that we didn't just see way more of you than any of us wanted. Deal?!