Black Friday

Today marked the first time in my 33 years of existence that I set my alarm to get up to go shopping on Black Friday. I've attempted shopping on this day before, but never at the sacrifice of sleep to make it happen. Before you think I've gone completely crazy, my alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., not 3:00 a.m. like many I saw today, but nonetheless, it still felt ridiculous to be driving to the mall before sunrise.


Never before have I experienced...

~So many females shopping who looked like they just rolled out of bed (me included...).

~People pushing three or four stuffed carts at one time.

~Making a decision to buy a TV in about 5 minutes time.

~Someone telling me that her husband has been searching all over town for a Leapster...at 7:30 in the morning.

~Having 10 hours of shopping time with my husband and no kids.

~Standing in a line to check out and not being able to see the register.

~Having this much of my Christmas shopping done before December 1. It was totally worth it!

Time to Breathe

I love days like this. I cannot remember the last time I was able to stay home all day. I haven't showered, I'm still in my pajamas, and the children are entertaining themselves. Sure, the house is a wreck, the laundry is not done, and my suitcase is still 1/2 packed from my trip last week, but I finally sat down and caught up on everyone's blogs and made it back to my own. I was seriously contemplating not returning here, because there are just moments when I can't fit in one.more.thing. But after catching up on everyone else, I realized this is a piece I'm not quite ready to let go of yet.

But I feel disconnected. I haven't watched TV in weeks, or read a book in months. I haven't talked to friends for days that I usually check in with regularly. In fact, one of my closest friends called this morning and she had moved to a new house since I talked to her a couple of weeks ago. WHAT?!?!

So, I must say, I am very thankful for few days of rest this week, and only three weeks to plow through before Christmas break is upon us.

I am going to try to take some time this week to enjoy the simple and overlooked things in life...such as...

~Enjoying the numerous and unique differences in my children (their pictures say it all).

~Times of complete silliness.

~Dreaming of what we might be someday...

~Celebrating successes, no matter how small.

~Gaining a little sweet revenge...all in fun of course (I had to get her back).

~Thanking God for the blessing of my family.

Did I say a couple of weeks ago that having a new person living with us was going well? Yeah, well, that was before she captured this shot of me attempting to prepare for my upcoming accreditation visit...not so successfully, obviously.

She posted this on her blog, and after I locked her in her room for a few days, I realized this picture quite appropriately portrays my life right now. I'm either working like crazy...or I'm dead.

So, unless something amazingly monumental occurs, I will return to my blog next week after my trip to Kansas City. And after I catch up on a little more of this.

Have a good week, my friends!

To say that the past week has been stressful is the understatement of the year. But, we're all busy and stressed at some level, so I'll spare you the details. Let's just say I haven't been all that pleasant to deal with, I've consumed copious amounts of sugar, and I actually felt a little giddy yesterday when my 2 yo came down with a fever because I was forced to clear my entire schedule for today. OK, maybe not giddy, but I sure haven't had any trouble seeing the "glass half full" of this situation.

In spite of the craziness, we continue to have Comedy Central - the 2 Year Old version - living right in our house. Here are some recent moments that have kept me smiling.

~The other night we were walking through Target and I noticed my two year old suddenly laying down spread eagle on his stomach on the floor. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "Just licking the floor, mom." And I wonder why he's sick.

~After retrieving his Sonic slushy from the counter a few hours after it was purchased, he came running to me shouting, "Mom, the coldness has melted all out of my slushy!"

~Yesterday evening I was asked about going to play outside. I told him no he couldn't, because it was cold and windy outside and he was sick. He cried out, "I'm not sick, I just have a fever!!"

~And my personal favorite..."Mom, does Bob the Builder work?" "Yes," I said, "I think he does."
"No he doesn't. He just helps Wendy!" Right on, kid.