Tis the Season Not to Complain

With just a couple of days left before Christmas, I know what I have at the top of my wish list – To hear fewer complaints. Now I know it’s natural to have complaints when it’s a busy, expensive time of year but come on people. Let’s have some holiday cheer. Now, I am not without the complaining bug myself but I do think that some people have been bitten by the bug more than others. We all know people who just take every single task and put a negative swing on it. Can’t think of anyone? Well then maybe it’s you. Here’s the thing: We are all doing the same things this time of year. We all have shopping to do, cards to send, parties to attend, family to see, baking to do, traveling to do, etc. etc. etc. If these are your biggest problems right now then you’re life is pretty good if you ask me. If these tasks make you that miserable then why don’t you make some changes? Buy less, do less, have a few vodka shots, do whatever it is that will make you happy. So leave the Grinch north of Whoville, put a smile on your face, ditch the grievances at the door, and join me in a toast (or ten) to the most wonderful time of the year!

Deck the Halls

A few weeks ago, we decorated the house for Christmas and did the whole tree thing. After a couple of years of being blinded by fairy tale ideas of picking out the perfect Christmas tree as a family that never turned out the way I (obsessively) planned, I now just send Tim to buy one and bring it home. It worked out well this year since the tree flew off the roof while he was driving home on the highway. He pretty much risked his life to retrieve the tree and bring it home for us. I most likely would have just kept driving! This isn’t my first time at the rodeo so I planned tree trimming around Daniel’s naptime. The big kids were excited to decorate the tree and we had a nice little morning. 

The perfect road kill Christmas tree

 

Upon Daniel waking up he was VERY interested in the tree.  I kept telling myself that the thrill of it would wear off and he would just leave it alone. Yeah, not so much. I spent the following weeks one by one removing the ornaments from his mouth and/or chasing after them as he threw them across the room (in his defense, ornaments do look a lot like balls). 

 

 So now a few days before Christmas, our tree is looking very bare from the waist down but it did provide him with endless hours of enjoyment. Oh, and it totally also put him on Santa’s naughty list. Hope you’re excited for coal, little Buddy!

Please note the very bare looking bottom half of the tree!

A Letter to Past Me

I recently learned of a website called futureme.org where you can write emails to yourself to be sent at a later date up to fifty years in to the future. I thought the idea was pretty cool but upon thinking of it, I would really have no idea what to write. I could ask questions like: Do you still overindulge in ice cream, peanut butter, and wine? Do you still put ketchup on your pizza? Do you still get roped into trashy television shows? But I think we all know the answers to these questions already. It got me thinking of how a note to yourself in the future would probably be easier to write during a time of turmoil in your life. During a time when you are looking for answers, seeking the truth, or starting a new path. Ten years ago, I was in that spot. I had just called off an engagement to a great guy. It was a total “it’s not you, it’s me” scenario and I was young and wanted to live life for a while. I was cancelling a wedding, moving out, and starting down the path of the great unknown. At the time, I thought it was the right thing for me but my fear was that I would look back and realize I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I bet at that time, it would have been easier to write a letter to the future me but since I didn’t, I figured I’d take a minute to write a letter to the past me. It would go like this...

Dear Diane of Ten Years Ago,

Fear not, because you have made the best decision of your life. You were honest and true to yourself in a time where it would have been so easy to take the simple road. You turn out just fine – better and stronger than you can imagine. The people who supported you now will remain/become the most important people in your life. The people who did not support you will eventually disappear because they honestly were not worth your time. You will fall in love with your perfect mate and you will never doubt that he is the one you are meant to spend the rest of your life with. You will marry and make perfect, little, demon children together. They will become your whole world. It will be a world that is happy, complete, and more than you could have dreamed of. So for now, keep being young and fabulous because your grown up life will be waiting for you when you are ready.

Love,
Diane (with a few more age spots, pounds, and stretch marks)

What would you write to your past or future you?

It’s Nice to be Wanted, Right??

After a long day with the kids, I love when Tim comes home. Tonight they had an early dinner so by the time he got home, the kids had already eaten and were ready to play. Tim agreed to play “restaurant” with them so they went off to the front living room and I was excited to have a few free minutes to catch up on important things (like Facebook and Blogs). But the few minutes of alone time never lasts long because the children apparently think that I am the only one who can do anything in the house. Henry comes in to tell me he needs help putting his sticker back on his shirt. Please note, he was sitting next to Tim on the couch and instead of asking for his help he got up and came in the other room to ask me. Shortly afterwards, Henry is back asking for help with a tissue. Again, Tim couldn’t handle this? Now it’s not Tim’s fault at all. He would gladly help him with a sticker or tissue but the kids don’t ask him. Instead they go out of their way to seek me out and ask me. Restaurant time then ends and Tim gets started on tubbies. Isabelle uses the potty and then leaves the bathroom (where Tim is) and finds me in the house to ask me to help her get undressed. Now not only can she undress herself but she was also in the bathroom with Tim. Apparently I need to send out a memo:

DEAR CHILDREN: YOUR FATHER IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF HELPING YOU. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR TIRED MOTHER ALONE SO THAT SHE CAN CATCH UP ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES. THANKS, MOMMY

A Superb Santa

As an adult (particularly an adult with children) you realize that along with the joy of Christmas it is also a lot of work. Between decorating the house, buying presents, hosting/attending parties, completing crafts with kids, it’s kind of a wonder that there is any time left. But of course, there has to be time left because someone has to be Santa. When you’re little you think that Santa lives at the North Pole and all his elves help him pack up his magical sleigh to deliver gifts to good boys and girls. However, as adults you realize that the jolly, red suited man is actually YOU and the only elves you have are spouses, friends, and the delivery man. As I sit here worrying about when I will find the time to wrap the presents, I wonder how my mother ever did it. She was widowed at a young age and left to raise two very small children on her own. When I think back on my childhood I can always remember decorating the tree, setting up the Nativity scene, and on Christmas morning excitedly coming down the hall to see all the presents that Santa left. My mother lived before the age of online shopping, so how she managed to get out alone, have money to buy presents, hide them, and make Christmas morning magical every year is beyond me. She always got me and my brother just what we wanted and more. I am sure that it was beyond stressful for her but she never showed it. She always had a smile on and I think she was truly happy to make the holidays special for us. So when I begin to worry about small things, I try to take a minute to remind myself of just how lucky I am. I have a family that is healthy and complete and my “problems” are actually quite miniscule in the grand scheme of things. So the presents may not be wrapped perfectly and the house may not be immaculate, but the children are going to wake up Christmas morning and have the same excited face that I had as a child and I think that's pretty cool.

Baby Diane (13 Months Old)

Party Crasher

Isabelle loves to have pretend parties with Play Doh. She makes all kinds of “treats” and we adorn our hats and party like rock stars. 

 The problem is there is always one party crasher…

Now we are pretty open to guests but it never ends well with this particular one. We eventually give in because nothing ruins a party like a screaming baby. So we set up a special area for him and let him have his own party. 

The only problem is his party always ends the same way…

Mmmmmm...Play Doh!!!!