Non-Productivity

Not sure how many more days of doing absolutely nothing I can put up with, but something tells me I will have a few more before I get back on track.

I guess I'm just bummed because I don't really get to have real holidays anymore. Christmas Break always seemed like the BEST vacation for me growing up. Sure, we just had a week-long vacation a month ago, but it wasn't long enough and I probably had homework. Christmas break is just... pure relaxation. All my exams would have been taken before the break so there is literally NOTHING school wise that needs to be done. Plus you have two awesome holidays a week apart and you get to do all sorts of things that are usually off limits - FUN things like eat candy for breakfast and stay up past midnight IN THE LIVING ROOM. Those two weeks seemed longer than summer, some times... nothing to do except sit around in  jammies all day and play with the new toys you just got.

Once you start working for a living - UGH! Goodbye winter break! In fact, goodbye having more than two days off in a row. But that doesn't mean actually relaxing for two days in a row, it just means you only have your HOME job to do and not your WORK job, too.

Blech. Take me back to candy canes sword fights. PLEASE.

I guess I'm just worn out from working too much. Because of the freak Christmas Day snow around here, followed by a day of feeling like death-warmed-over, I only worked one day last week. I think it tricked my mind into going back in time. It must have because the only meaningful thing I have done for the last week is plead (in vain) for someone to PLEASE pick up their mess. I'm still in my pj's right now. I have cooked dinner exactly once since before Christmas Day. The house is still littered with bits of Christmas paper and candy wrappers.

My brain has definitely gone on vacation. Apparently, it took with it my entire storage of Give-A-Damn. About a week ago, we found out that the drain behind the washer was blocked. DH said he cleared it, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to test it out. So, the massive pile of laundry? Still there and getting higher. Meh.The garbage disposal stopped working completely. Whatever. Scrape your plates in the trash before leaving them in the sink for two days. Who cares? That horrific army of Latino Insects - uh, I mean Argentinian Ants - is trying to take over the house again. Hm. Spray them with Simple Green. I'll call the exterminators later... after the holidays... after the house gets clean... after I find where the hell I put my box of 'Round To Its...

I am winning no Mommy Awards this week, for sure. Luckily my kids are getting really good at recognizing that glazed look of "Oh Well..." Instead of asking for me to make breakfast, EG got a bright idea and asked me to show her how to make breakfast. She's a smart one, that girl. LH decided her laundry needed to get done RIGHT NOW and tested out the drain for me. Turns out it IS fixed. And one less load of laundry is waiting to be done. TD got bored and wanted to "make something" so I showed her Pinterest, hoping to keep her busy for an hour or two. Now she and EG are hooked on using what we already have to make things they really want.

Yep. I'm a complete failure this week.

My kids are learning to take care of themselves, entertaining themselves, even learning to cook and clean on their own. What kind  of legacy is THAT to leave!?!? ;-)

Deb "Lazy Mom" Lollar

One of those days...

Ever have one of those days where you WANT to write, really you do.  You just... don't.

It makes me want to write something - ANYTHING - that will somehow spark my inspiration and get the crazy cyclone of thoughts to slow down and line up into a pattern I can use.

Today is one of those days, so I will share with you all the flow of consciousness that has passed behind my brain this afternoon:

I usually sing in the car when I am in a good mood. Often, I can tell whether or not I am actually happy by how many songs I have sung to and how loud I am singing. Does anyone else do this? Not the singing in the car thing - I know virtually everyone does - but the happiness gauge thing? Am I the only one who has to self analyze all the time to figure out just how positive or negative my mood is? I DO think it is a little strange that I don't always just KNOW. I mean, it's my own mood, right? Shouldn't I  be able to judge it for myself without some weird Behavior Scale? Perhaps I should, but I can't. So there it is.

And that, my friends, is what goes through my head when I am in the mood to sing with the radio but there are no "singing-worthy" songs on the radio.

Good night and God bless.

Deb

'Tis the season for...

Life is certainly crazy around here these days! I've been working more than full time (including late hours) and that leaves very little time in the day for writing. I really can't complain, though. Just having a job is a blessing these days! That doesn't mean I don't WANT to complain sometimes, of course. But, keeping gratitude in mind helps guide my thoughts down more positive avenues.

The past few weeks have shown me that no matter how tough things get, I have an awesome family and that makes everything worthwhile. When frustration at work gets the best of me, I know that I can come home and my family will be there to love me, hug me, let me vent if I need to, and rest when I have to.All in all, I have way more things to brag about than complain about.

I have a loving husband, a houseful of kids, food in my pantry, and Christmas presents ready to put under the tree. Growing up, we never put gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve, but my kids have made their own tradition. As soon as the tree goes up (and sometimes even before) there will be little packages in the living room, waiting for the next few weeks to go by. These precious little parcels are the gifts that my kids have chosen to give each other. This is what makes ME love this time of year so very much. It is such a beautiful thing to take the kids to shop for each other. We help them make a list of people they want to buy gifts for, give them a small budget, and let them make the choice of what to give to whom. Seeing how carefully they choose these gifts and how excited they are when they find the "perfect" thing to give each other shows me that in spite of their tiffs and arguments, these kids really DO love each other. What's more? They LIKE each other. Between here and Christmas morning the kids will have fun taunting each other, "you'll NEVER guess what I got YOU!"

By then there will be so many presents under the tree that they will be spread out halfway across the room. Some are store bought gifts and others are hand made trinkets along with handwritten cards and even re-gifted items, all carefully wrapped and labeled from one kid to another. I know that everyone will have a gift from everyone else. No one gets skipped, shorted, or forgotten. That's just the way my kids are.
I can't ask for anything more than that.

All this would be enough to make any Momma proud, but last week I got an extra piece of news that made me even more so. I got an e-mail from EG's teachers that said something to the effect of this:

"Today we saw your daughter on the playground helping out a younger boy from another class. He was sitting down by himself because he wasn't getting along with one of the other kids and before we teachers could even react, your daughter was by his side, patting him on the back and talking nicely to him until he felt better and ran off to play again."

I can't even describe how good it feels to hear that your own kid does something like that, without prompting, unaware she is being watched, without thought of a reward. This is something EVERY parent should hope to hear. It means that we have taught her the right way and that she is confident enough to act that way in front of her peers.

She doesn't know this, but Santa was watching, too.

Deb