Well, we've come out on the other side of Matt's annual conference trip and we all managed to survive. Matt was in San Jose, CA for a full 8 days (well, 6 days really, with 2 travel days), returning to Virginia on Wednesday of this week. He's still a little jet-lagged and overall exhausted from his trip, but he's here and we were all very happy to see him. The kids and I managed to survive the week with a few minor skirmishes along the way, but nothing too major, which was pleasant. We stayed VERY busy and apparently that was the key.
We had playgroup, a preschool puppet show, t-ball meeting and first practice, lots of time at the neighborhood playground, a barbecue at a neighbor's house, t-ball parade/picnic/and another practice, picnic at Lake Fairfax, a few errands, more playground time, cleaning the house a bit, more playgroup, a vision screening, and even a movie night thrown in for good measure. We had one more t-ball practice cancelled due to rain, so we went with some good friends to hit the kids' night at the local Silver Diner - included a kids' movie and crafts, which my kids loved since they'd never been to Silver Diner before. All in all, the week was good. Kara napped most days, John's usual short-day Monday was extended to a full day as it was a snow make-up day, which I was just fine with this particular week. I even squeezed in a couple of walks and a pedicure! We had all the usual bumps in the road that you have when you're being a single parent for days on end, but we managed to get through it and even enjoyed most of it.
Now I do fully admit to coming out the end of it being completely exhausted, but there's no time now to rest. We are now to the point of needing to get moving on more decisions on the kitchen project. I had no idea how many decisions there would be with this project! Wow! I'm trying not to get too overwhelmed, but my goodness. We've got our basic design down. Have the fridge picked out. Know pretty much what we want for the sink, dishwasher, cooktop, and oven/microwave. I sat down last night and figured out where most of our kitchen stuff will live in the new space, which a good friend of mine (who has a background in kitchen/bathroom design) strongly recommended that I do (thank you Alexandra!). And it was so very helpful to go through that exercise. I now have a much better idea of what pull-out options I need, and what other features make sense for us, and what we just don't have the room for. It made me feel much better about it all. But now we need to move forward on making some appliance purchases (yikes) so we have time to get them ordered, if needed, for our June target date. It's amazing to me that we're actually heading forward with this project, a little overwhelming, a little anxiety-inducing, and A LOT exciting. It's going to be a huge improvement and we're going to love the final product, getting there is another story, but I'm keeping the end result in sight, and we'll get through. ;-)
Just like this last week with Matt gone, we got through that, and we'll get through June and then we'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief...until the next big hurdle! Well, the hurdles hopefully will be a bit smaller than the major kitchen remodel, but you get the point.
4.16.2010
3.12.2010
Makes me wonder
Sometimes life throws curve balls at us. Sometimes we see them coming and can prepare, other times we get hit blindsided. I've been hit blindsided a few times myself and know others that have had it happen recently. Sometimes it's easier when we can't prepare, so we don't get anxious or nervous. In watching some friends go through some ridiculously awful things, I'm amazed at how different people manage their lives and how the instinct for basic survival can take over and power us through it all.
It takes strength, courage, love, confidence, support, and a never ending supply of patience to get through things that we think will break us. We've all faced tough times, some worse than others. Reaching out for support from those around us is critical. It often feels easier to curl up in a ball and try to forget the rest of the world exists than to face the problems. And sometimes we really need to do that for a bit, allow ourselves to grieve, mourn, release the sadness before it consumes us. But then, life requires us to unfold from the ball, stand up and figure out how to move forward.
I recently read a book written by John Edwards' wife, maybe a year or two ago. I knew a little bit about her, that she had battled cancer and that her husband has chosen infidelity in a painfully public way. But I didn't know that they also had a son who was killed in a fluke car accident at the age of 16. Her cancer was in remission and has spread (at least at the time she wrote this particular book). Her marriage, which had been her rock, was irreversibly shaken. She thought she could count on him, but it turned out she had to figure out a new way to live, to find new reasons to face each day and make them count. She's done that with her life.
The book describes the path that Elizabeth Edwards took to find meaning in each day. She details her own journey and recognizes that each person needs to find their own path through the rough patches of life. No one way will work for everyone. The important part is to pick up, decide that life is worth living, and find a way that will work for you.
Of course, this is easier said than done. I know that. Life is hard and filled with potholes, but it's also good and filled with joys. I try to remember that on my own dark days, and to provide the support others around me need as they navigate their journeys. The road of life is bumpy, but it is filled with love and joy too. People are resilient and strong, as long as they're willing to let themselves be.
It takes strength, courage, love, confidence, support, and a never ending supply of patience to get through things that we think will break us. We've all faced tough times, some worse than others. Reaching out for support from those around us is critical. It often feels easier to curl up in a ball and try to forget the rest of the world exists than to face the problems. And sometimes we really need to do that for a bit, allow ourselves to grieve, mourn, release the sadness before it consumes us. But then, life requires us to unfold from the ball, stand up and figure out how to move forward.
I recently read a book written by John Edwards' wife, maybe a year or two ago. I knew a little bit about her, that she had battled cancer and that her husband has chosen infidelity in a painfully public way. But I didn't know that they also had a son who was killed in a fluke car accident at the age of 16. Her cancer was in remission and has spread (at least at the time she wrote this particular book). Her marriage, which had been her rock, was irreversibly shaken. She thought she could count on him, but it turned out she had to figure out a new way to live, to find new reasons to face each day and make them count. She's done that with her life.
The book describes the path that Elizabeth Edwards took to find meaning in each day. She details her own journey and recognizes that each person needs to find their own path through the rough patches of life. No one way will work for everyone. The important part is to pick up, decide that life is worth living, and find a way that will work for you.
Of course, this is easier said than done. I know that. Life is hard and filled with potholes, but it's also good and filled with joys. I try to remember that on my own dark days, and to provide the support others around me need as they navigate their journeys. The road of life is bumpy, but it is filled with love and joy too. People are resilient and strong, as long as they're willing to let themselves be.
3.11.2010
A Few Updates
Life, as usual, has been busy, to say the least. I'm coming (slowly) to accept that the pace of our daily lives is much faster than I'm used to. Even our "down" days seem to fill up quickly with impromptu playdates, errands, and many other random, but wonderful, activities. I spend a lot of time feeling harried and rushed, but I'm trying to remind myself that it simply means that our lives are full and rich with loved ones and fun times.
The kids are growing and changing daily, which always surprises me. You'd think by now I'd be used to it, but they still bring new joys and challenges every day. John's more than halfway through kindergarten, doing swimming classes, tae kwon do (after a bumpy start, he's finally enjoying it), and about to start t-ball this spring. I'm loving listening to him read to me or to Kara and seeing the pride it brings him. He's a great guy. And Kara is my little bundle of personality - the good and the challenging! She's very funny and enjoys life in ways that are completely different from John. They get along so well, I find it wonderful and curious at the same time. I hope that doesn't change too much as they grow older.
We are also in the throws of contemplating and planning for a kitchen remodeling project. With any luck, we'll be without a kitchen for the month of June and by mid-summer will have a drastically improved kitchen to love and enjoy. We'll see if we can retain some sanity and get through the process!
This week I have added to my regimen of medications and a new doctor to add to my growing list of contacts. With the beautiful weather we've had this week, my allergies decided to knock me on my butt. I was in complete misery! I couldn't believe that it could feel so bad. It didn't take much to convince me to go see an allergist, as soon as possible. So, I did. Thank goodness. I had a very interesting visit, during which a set of allergy medications was given to me along with a diagnosis of asthma and medication to deal with that as well. I've never been diagnosed with asthma, and I'm not sure why it's bothering me so much. Over the last few days, I've thought about it a lot, and I can think of lots of symptoms that I just ignored or neglected that clearly indicate I've had asthma symptoms since high school, at least. But I'm still not ready for the label of "asthmatic." I know my case is mild compared to many, but I also think it's probably worse than I am ready to acknowledge. I feel like I've got enough medical labels for someone in their mid-30's and I'm not ready to add another one. And I KNOW that doesn't change anything and my ability to acknowledge it has no bearing on the actual problem. I am taking the medication that was prescribed to me, but still am not quite ready to fully embrace the diagnosis. But I am breathing better now!
This too shall be faced and dealt with, I know. Along with all the other challenges we have in our lives. Right?
Life is good, busy, crazy, and wild, but GOOD.
The kids are growing and changing daily, which always surprises me. You'd think by now I'd be used to it, but they still bring new joys and challenges every day. John's more than halfway through kindergarten, doing swimming classes, tae kwon do (after a bumpy start, he's finally enjoying it), and about to start t-ball this spring. I'm loving listening to him read to me or to Kara and seeing the pride it brings him. He's a great guy. And Kara is my little bundle of personality - the good and the challenging! She's very funny and enjoys life in ways that are completely different from John. They get along so well, I find it wonderful and curious at the same time. I hope that doesn't change too much as they grow older.
We are also in the throws of contemplating and planning for a kitchen remodeling project. With any luck, we'll be without a kitchen for the month of June and by mid-summer will have a drastically improved kitchen to love and enjoy. We'll see if we can retain some sanity and get through the process!
This week I have added to my regimen of medications and a new doctor to add to my growing list of contacts. With the beautiful weather we've had this week, my allergies decided to knock me on my butt. I was in complete misery! I couldn't believe that it could feel so bad. It didn't take much to convince me to go see an allergist, as soon as possible. So, I did. Thank goodness. I had a very interesting visit, during which a set of allergy medications was given to me along with a diagnosis of asthma and medication to deal with that as well. I've never been diagnosed with asthma, and I'm not sure why it's bothering me so much. Over the last few days, I've thought about it a lot, and I can think of lots of symptoms that I just ignored or neglected that clearly indicate I've had asthma symptoms since high school, at least. But I'm still not ready for the label of "asthmatic." I know my case is mild compared to many, but I also think it's probably worse than I am ready to acknowledge. I feel like I've got enough medical labels for someone in their mid-30's and I'm not ready to add another one. And I KNOW that doesn't change anything and my ability to acknowledge it has no bearing on the actual problem. I am taking the medication that was prescribed to me, but still am not quite ready to fully embrace the diagnosis. But I am breathing better now!
This too shall be faced and dealt with, I know. Along with all the other challenges we have in our lives. Right?
Life is good, busy, crazy, and wild, but GOOD.
Thankful Thursday!
I'm baaaaaccck! :-) Well, I'm intending to be back. So, since it's Thursday, and at one point in time, quite awhile ago, I was doing thankful lists on Thursdays, I thought I'd start with that.
Today, I'm thankful for:
1. GREAT new allergy medication (that's finally working after a long week of misery)
2. a fun morning with Kara's preschool class on their first field trip
3. some amazing mom friends that I adore
4. having the energy to finish a project I've been procrastinating on for a month
5. the 3-hour nap that Kara took today
6. the bright future ahead
7. the warm sun of the past few days and the time to get out and enjoy it
8. the upcoming visit from my sister-in-law
9. the ability to possibly see our kitchen dreams come true and
10. my kids, husband, family, and friends, without whom I couldn't survive.
More to say in a separate post, I'm going to leave this as just being thankful!
Today, I'm thankful for:
1. GREAT new allergy medication (that's finally working after a long week of misery)
2. a fun morning with Kara's preschool class on their first field trip
3. some amazing mom friends that I adore
4. having the energy to finish a project I've been procrastinating on for a month
5. the 3-hour nap that Kara took today
6. the bright future ahead
7. the warm sun of the past few days and the time to get out and enjoy it
8. the upcoming visit from my sister-in-law
9. the ability to possibly see our kitchen dreams come true and
10. my kids, husband, family, and friends, without whom I couldn't survive.
More to say in a separate post, I'm going to leave this as just being thankful!
1.31.2010
To Dream....
We've spent our weekend having some good family fun, being very productive and dreaming, a bit. It snowed here over the weekend, somewhat unexpectedly, so we definitely had some fun snow play time. After all the snow in December, I got myself new snow pants, a new coat, and new snow boots (thanks Mom and Dad for the early birthday gift), and then I was convinced our winter snow season was over. Fortunately, I was wrong. And I got a chance to test out all my new gear before our upcoming snow tubing trip - and it was great! I was dry and warm and happy in my new gear. Happy Mommy, for sure!
Most of the rest of the weekend was spent working indoors on tearing apart and repairing Kara's closet in preparation for her new closet system, which the kids and I are going to pick up on Monday morning. Kara got to take naps in our bed and even slept on our floor one night - which she delighted in and John was very jealous of.
The other event of the weekend was our first meeting with a contractor to talk about the kitchen remodeling project. A close friend of mine gave us a referral for her contractor and we met with him this morning. The meeting went very well and he shared some ideas with us and we are looking forward to seeing the proposal he works up for us. But for now, it is still dreaming. We have some other research-type work to do before we decide exactly which path we're going to take on this HUGE project, so there's still a lot of steps before the dreaming becomes a bit of reality. I'm hoping we can make it happen in the early part of the summer when our schedule is light and we can have lots of picnics and pool-side meals. Time will tell, but there's a lot of dreaming and a lot of optimism.
Most of the rest of the weekend was spent working indoors on tearing apart and repairing Kara's closet in preparation for her new closet system, which the kids and I are going to pick up on Monday morning. Kara got to take naps in our bed and even slept on our floor one night - which she delighted in and John was very jealous of.
The other event of the weekend was our first meeting with a contractor to talk about the kitchen remodeling project. A close friend of mine gave us a referral for her contractor and we met with him this morning. The meeting went very well and he shared some ideas with us and we are looking forward to seeing the proposal he works up for us. But for now, it is still dreaming. We have some other research-type work to do before we decide exactly which path we're going to take on this HUGE project, so there's still a lot of steps before the dreaming becomes a bit of reality. I'm hoping we can make it happen in the early part of the summer when our schedule is light and we can have lots of picnics and pool-side meals. Time will tell, but there's a lot of dreaming and a lot of optimism.
1.19.2010
Tuesdays are supposed to be easier!
On a normal week, my Tuesdays and Thursdays appear to be my easier days - Kara's got school in the mornings and then naptime in the afternoon - lots of Mommy time! John has swimming after school and then it's a pretty quick routine of dinner, bath, and bed after we get home. On paper it looks so easy. Today will NOT be easy.
Coming off a 3-day weekend is never easy, to start with. We spent a good deal of time this weekend looking at kitchen stores and doing a lot of window shopping for our upcoming kitchen renovation, which was not particularly interesting for the kids. They did well with it, but it was a lot for them. So technically today feels like a Monday, a transition day...not easy. Add to that the fact that I agreed to host our playgroup tomorrow morning and the preschool board meeting tomorrow night. This leads to me basically spending the bulk of today cleaning my house and making it presentable for the morning fun and the evening adults. On top of making sure I have enough food and drink to keep all guests happy (for me, this is the easier part). To make the day a little more challenging we also have a doctor's appointment for John in the afternoon, after school, but before swimming. I just hope I can remember that I need to go pick him up a bit early, rather than waiting for the bus later. Also, at the beginning of the school year, I signed up to provide snack this week (of all weeks!!) for John's class. I've got food for 3 of the 4 days already, but am hoping that I don't forget about Friday.
There are a few other wrinkles in the schedule during the rest of the week and then....ta-daaaa - Matt's out of town working this weekend! The light at the end of this tunnel is pretty far away right now. It's all good stuff, and I honestly wouldn't change any of it (well, except the part about Matt being out of town). I truly do work better under pressure. I just am still a bit overwhelmed with the magnitude of it all.
I just hope I'll still manage to squeeze in some time to play with the kids and enjoy my life. Because through all the madness, I really do enjoy it and everyone in it.
Coming off a 3-day weekend is never easy, to start with. We spent a good deal of time this weekend looking at kitchen stores and doing a lot of window shopping for our upcoming kitchen renovation, which was not particularly interesting for the kids. They did well with it, but it was a lot for them. So technically today feels like a Monday, a transition day...not easy. Add to that the fact that I agreed to host our playgroup tomorrow morning and the preschool board meeting tomorrow night. This leads to me basically spending the bulk of today cleaning my house and making it presentable for the morning fun and the evening adults. On top of making sure I have enough food and drink to keep all guests happy (for me, this is the easier part). To make the day a little more challenging we also have a doctor's appointment for John in the afternoon, after school, but before swimming. I just hope I can remember that I need to go pick him up a bit early, rather than waiting for the bus later. Also, at the beginning of the school year, I signed up to provide snack this week (of all weeks!!) for John's class. I've got food for 3 of the 4 days already, but am hoping that I don't forget about Friday.
There are a few other wrinkles in the schedule during the rest of the week and then....ta-daaaa - Matt's out of town working this weekend! The light at the end of this tunnel is pretty far away right now. It's all good stuff, and I honestly wouldn't change any of it (well, except the part about Matt being out of town). I truly do work better under pressure. I just am still a bit overwhelmed with the magnitude of it all.
I just hope I'll still manage to squeeze in some time to play with the kids and enjoy my life. Because through all the madness, I really do enjoy it and everyone in it.
1.13.2010
I did it
So, after posting the other day about trying to make more "in the moment" time with my kids, I managed to actually do it this morning. Kara's now in a swim class that is smack in the middle of the morning. For good and bad, it prevents running bigger errands, but also gives us some time after John's left for school before we have to be heading out to swimming. So this morning, I showered before anyone else was awake so I wouldn't lose my "Kara time" to my basic hygiene needs. Anyway, after we got back from the bus stop, Kara and I picked a project that she's been begging to do - a doll-fairy making kit she got for Christmas from her Aunt Caroline - and sat down to work. It was a bit advanced for her skill level, but I think she enjoyed doing it. I know I loved seeing her face at the completed item. The glue is still drying and we'll have to improvise some different wings for her as the kit's wings had some glue complications. Anyway, she's pleased as punch that we found the time to make the doll and my guess is even if we never get back to finishing the wings part, she'll get some play value out of the doll as it is.
It felt so good to take the time this morning to really be here with her and do the doll project. I'm hopeful it will make me inspired to be better about this with both kids. This afternoon's after school plans involve a bit of homework with John and then breaking into his new crayon maker that he's been begging to do!
It felt so good to take the time this morning to really be here with her and do the doll project. I'm hopeful it will make me inspired to be better about this with both kids. This afternoon's after school plans involve a bit of homework with John and then breaking into his new crayon maker that he's been begging to do!
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