The Stress Of Christmas

I am going to toot my own horn here:
Christmas Does Not Stress Me Out.

Let me say it again: Christmas does not stress me out. Why? Because why should it?

I know people from Back East will read this and scoff, but Portland saw the most snow it has seen in 40 years. We had 10 inches in my back yard alone-it blew all our minds and resulted in not only a white Christmas (sing it Bing) but also in a lot of house bound people-myself included. We aren't use to this so no trips to the grocery store, no last minute shopping, and no mail for a week ( I got my last Christmas present today).
What this taught me is that Christmas spaghetti is just as good as a Christmas turkey-family was here.
Getting a present three or four days after the fact is fine-the person who gave it to you still cares.
The people who were at my house understood that with a new baby and a three-year-old, clean is a subjective term.
The smile on my son's face was not determined by everything being "perfect".
I sent out 70 Christmas cards. I got about 20 in return and two phone calls and that suited me just fine-I still had a great time sending them out.
Christmas movies are great by myself, with a crowd, in the rain, and in the snow.

Maybe I am lazy, maybe I am clueless but I truly believe that the holiday season is only as stressful as we let it be. Maybe Santa wouldn't serve pizza for Christmas dinner, have a spotless bathroom, and throw a holiday party for 100 elves with nary a hitch, but for me some weird food and a little dirt for the holidays means I get to have just as much fun as everybody else, and that is what makes the memories happy.

A Happy Stress-Free time for everyone.

A Man's World/Boy's Life

Some disclaimers:
If you are religious, skip this blog.
Even though I get frustrated, I still love my family.

I am living in a man's world. After 8 years of marriage, and now 2 boys to boot, I see more pee-pee than I ever thought I would. So this morning, getting ready for work, I say to husband that he is on kid patrol so I can take a shower without worrying that Asa has accidentally smothered Noah. Shower ends, Noah is crying, I say to husband that Noah wants to sit up. I am a genius. Oh, and both kids are still in jammies. Okay, husband just worked 12 hours so I will cut him some slack. Phone rings, husband says to me "take the baby". Hello-I have no pants on, I am shooing kid that can walk out of the bathroom counter, and I still have two kids to dress even though I am running late. You can't talk on the phone and hold a baby?!?!?!
So on the way to work I am merrily singing along with Christmas Carols, because 10 minutes in the car alone feels like I won the lottery, and the lines are something along the lines that Jesus is King and he is God's Gift to the world. (Can't remember the song, so don't ask.) Can I point out the obvious-Jesus was a man. All men think they are God's Gift to this world AND expect the royal treatment at any given time. Why should Jesus be any flippin' different?!?! Don't mis-understand me. Any time they are talking about you 2,000 years later, you must have been a nice guy but I am sure if he were here today he would say "hey hon, can you hold the baby while I look at this camel? I need to be treated like God's Gift to the world."

Post Baby Life

This is what happens when you have kids-you feel like you are constantly just "catching up" with the world at large.
I know Obama is the new president come January.
England wants to pull out of Iraq in 2009.
Christmas is...gulp...2 weeks away.
What the hell is on tv now-a-days?
How can it be December?!?!?!
Last week I came off maternity leave and went back to "work". I put "work" in quotations because I only go in 12 hours a week. It isn't exactly the corporate track but damn skippy-getting out of the house feels sooooo good. The first time I went from the car to the office I felt like I was moving at light speed! No little troll to dig out of the bushes, keep out of the garbage cans, or yell at for getting in the street.It is amazing how fast one person can move solo. And did I mention using triple-syllable words? Oh, and not one person has used a sentence with the word "poo-poo" or "tooted". Wasn't that a treat.
The other great thing about work-it helps with the post-partum. I think I may have mentioned this already in a previous blog, but much to my disappointment I did get hit with post-partum again. Not exactly the same form as before, but same game nonetheless. This is my worldwide message, again, to all you out there to be pro-active with the ones you love on this issue. Did I ever feel like hurting my kids-never. Did I ever feel like staying in bed all day-never. Did I withhold hugs and love from my kids-never. But as said before, I may not be the best parent out there, but I will always try to be the best parent I can. And I can't be a good parent when I am crying over Jeopardy and having a hard time deciding what to make for dinner. I will admit it-we had sandwhiches more than once. Not a bad thing-I fed my kid a semi-healthy meal. But I can do better, and I owe it to my kids to at least try. I have gotten a lot of "pats on the back" for getting to the doctor so fast and all I can say is-I am no hero. I just want to do right by my kids-something hundreds of parents do daily. Now if Santa can just bring me a margarita we are looking good!!!!!

Perspective

I know a lot of people will call teenagers self-absorbed, selfish, and moody, and granted I don't have my own yet, but if you really stop to think about it, do we want teenagers who think like an adult? Isn't that part of the learning process-to quietly, and responisibly acquire the knowledge we need to get through life? Do you want 13 year old discussing the pro's and cons of investing in the stock market? Do you want your teenager so responsible for the household that their school work suffers?
Having said that, I had the most luxurious weekend of shaving my legs and coloring my hair. Hot damn skippy-when did that become a big event?!?!?! Oh yeah, right after my boobs leaked through my shirt. Remember the days when no plans on a Saturday felt empty? Now it feels like winning the lottery.
It is defenitely all in your perspective.

Yet Another Quick Update

Yikes-2 kids, little sleep, quick meals, and baby spit on my clothes! Who knew writing a blog would start to sound like a pipe dream! But just a quick note to the world to let people know that we are a live, kicking, and pooping our shorts depending on our heigth!!!
Asa just turned 3, and tells me the most amazing things. For those of you who didn't know, according to Asa, babies eat boobs, Old MacDonald has boobs on his farm, and Burger King is good eats. Um, maybe Asa shouldn't watch me nurse Noah.
Noah is almost 3 months old, 3 inches longer, 4 pounds heavier, and NOT sleeping through the night. Okay, I am whining for having a normal baby. By this age, Asa was sleeping through the night-why don't they all do this?!?!?!
Nick is adjusting to his new hours of the night shift fairly well. He loves the rides to work, and having to do less customer service, but he misses having those "family nights".
I had a bout with post-partum, again, and it didn't help that I am home alone, at night, with 2 people who DO NOT speak full sentences. But since I have been down this road before, I knew to get help a lot faster. When I broke out crying uncontrollably watching "Jeopardy", I knew we were headed in the wrong direction!!! Alex Trebek shouldn't do that to me!!! So a few weeks of drugs to control the hormones and I feel like a much better mommy, although I still don't like the dirty diapers-is there a pill to actually like that?!?!?!
So everyone is doing well, and we are looking forward to the holiday season. Asa is old enough to know what is going on and Noah loves the happy feelings everyone is throwing around. I have some great blog topics, but maybe after the new year!!!!