The After-Christmas Merge

We went on a two-week trip over Christmas to see family and friends and though it was a great time, this family was ready to come home and get back into the usual routine. The trick, though, about taking such a long vacation during such a present-heavy month is the space. We traveled in a mid-sized sedan with my hubby, Monkey, two dogs, myself and all our luggage. Then add in the gifts. I am proud to say that my infatuation with Tetris has proven to be a life skill that translates off the screen, but incorporating these things into our home has been more of a challenge.

There was the first step: Separating the chaff. We sorted through everything and set aside things that we wanted to return. Though the returning hasn't been completed yet, this first step has somewhat diminished the amount of things we need to find homes for. Unfortunately (fortunately?), our friends and family know us well. So this pile is pretty small in comparison.

Then the second step: the long process of finding a place for all things. We are stuck in this phase since three additional things are happening simultaneously. 1) We are returning Christmas decor to boxes for storage. 2) Since we're mucking around in storage we're also pulling out stored stuff we will need for baby #2. 3) We're setting up the big girls' room for Monkey. All this to say that most of everything is "staged" and we're waiting for the right time to put things in their new proper home.

Our house looks like a disaster. I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead when the chaos might be contained.

Back again. I'm the worst at this blogging thing, but I figure if I plug in every once in a while its better than not putting my thoughts down at all.

So what have I been up to? Well, with Halloween over, so is the SAH Mom's pursuit for perfect costuming. Monkey was funny this year, having the basics of Halloween firmly under control. Consistently, she answered the following questions the same way.

What do you want to be for Halloween? ~ A giraffe.
What is Spots going to be for Halloween? (Spots is her constant companion, a leopard who eerily resembles the comic strip Hobbes.) ~ A leprechaun. (It's my belief that this is her interpretation of "next life" for leopard. They do sound similar.)
What do you want Mom to be for Halloween? ~ A zebra.
What is Dad going to be for Halloween? ~ Just my Dad.

There it is. Mom gets the short end of the stick by having a costume assigned by a two-year old... and like I've seen in the meme... when a two-year old hands you a phone, you answer it. Luckily for me, rain and tornado weather kept us in for trick or treating, but Monkey still got to dress up in her adorable handmade costume and pillage for candy at other events.

I've also been trying hard to implement some money-saving and budgetary strategies I learned earlier this year. If you haven't read the book, America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve and Annette Economides, it's worth it! (And when I picked it up, I thought, ok, they're writing under a clever pseudonym. Not at all! And with that kind of name how can you not go into some kind of finance role?) I'd even say it's worth buying just to have it around, though during reading, you may feel deep remorse for not checking it out of the library. But everything has been going well... I still have trouble with some discretionary spending from time to time, but I feel like our family is happy and well adjusted. Even if one of us stays home most of the time. (OK... two.)

And now the nap is over, so ends this blog.

After another long absence

Well, I have moved into the new job of full-time wife and mother and part-time I'm working at Home Depot. I have conquered the depression that totally changed me my first year of mommyhood by meeting AMAZING moms in a local MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. And in a little more than a month we are moving to a new state and a new adventure.

My sweetheart is 2... moving in on 2 1/2.... She is the most amazing thing I've ever done. She makes me so happy and cracks me up with her emerging sense of humor.

The biggest obstacle in the transition into staying home so much is the juggling. I have to keep the home nice and organized, entertain and teach my child and be the wife and companion my husband deserves. For example, right now my balls in the air are, in no particular order: 1) changing the sheets on all beds and laundering linens 2) teaching Bells about letters, numbers and weather 3) planning meals for the week ahead 4)keeping the house neat for showing potential renters, but packing our possessions for the upcoming move.

So what am I doing typing on a blog that I imagine no one reads because my posts are so infrequent? The link is in my toolbar. I clicked on it in a moment of downtime. But maybe by clicking that button today will get me to click it tomorrow and so on. Maybe I will continue to journal my thoughts like I should.

Maybe.