Pre-Christmas

Right now the entire family is sleeping (literally everyone) except me. And this has been the scenario for all Sundays the past couple months. It's crazy frustrating! I can't remember what it feels like to not be tired, and yet the one time I can snag some extra sleep, I just lay there with my thoughts racing.

Tomorrow afternoon I board a plane with my two munchkins to visit AZ, and I'm SCARED. I don't know what I was thinking, flying with two small kids by myself. Collin will probably be fine with the DVD player (I bought some new Curious George and Caillou DVD's), but Weston just started crawling and I don't think he's going to be happy staying in one spot for 6 hours. He also woke up yesterday with a nasty, runny nose and hasn't quite been himself. I've decided to pay the extra ten dollars to preboard and hopefully get the first row of seats with extra leg room. Maybe I can lay a blanket down and Weston can have some space of the floor to move around.

I think this is the least prepared I've been to come home for Christmas. I've been working hard on my to do list, but here I sit at 4:30pm on Sunday and loads of laundry are dirty, the bathroom needs to be cleaned and the kitchen floor needs to be mopped. Christmas cards haven't been addressed (but thanks to Trav, they are stuffed and stamped) and I have a kitchen table full of Christmas treats to be delivered. Nothing is packed and I just realized I have expired Benedryll (yes, I'll be bringing that on the plane just in case.... the pediatrician said it's perfectly safe so please don't judge). I should be thankful on two counts... I thought I was getting mastitis on Thursday (confirmed by my doctor), but it seems to have gone away with no need of antibiotics, and Weston scratched his eye (like eyeball) on Wednesday and saw the pediatrician, but that also seems to have healed with no need for a pediatric eye doctor visit (didn't even know those existed until now).

It's good to remember blessings because life has felt kind of overwhelming lately and I don't know that I've taken much joy in motherhood. Travis has been studying for his board exams and I've felt like a single parent in many ways. And I am the WORST "single" parent in the history of ever. I get so cranky doing everything by myself. And Collin has energy like I've never seen before. Since we are spending much more time indoors, he gets rather stir crazy. He begs me several times a day to go "dance in the basement". (imagine in a whiny, pleading/demanding voice) What this means is that I turn on the I-pod to blaring music and walk around the basement next to him while he runs back and forth, climbing on the chairs and walking on top of them until he gets in front of the small table. He subconsciously rubs his belly with his right thumb, then extends his left hand for me to help him jump onto the table. Then he launches himself onto the couch, only making it with his chest, his feet on the floor, then repeats his routine. He will do this for half an hour straight if I let him. And if I try to do lunges back and forth or anything out of the routine, he yells at me until I step back in line. Between our "dancing" and watching Pink Panther (his latest obsession) our days are quite boring.

But Trav took his exams last Wed. and Thurs. and things nearly instantly have gotten better. :) Now we just hope he passed!

In other news...

I went through my picture files and found some of us at the last UB home football game the week before Thanksgiving. It was pretty chilly, but I got a free soft pretzel so it was worth it. No, actually it was my idea to go. I think football games are so fun and we sat right behind the band, so that was even better.

 The traditional ornament exchange party was this week and this was the ornament I made. I cut up scriptures from Luke 2 and decoupaged them on a clear ornament then doused in glitter. I thought it turned out really pretty and hopefully will be forgiven for crafting up a page of the Bible.

I got a new do! I lost about 6 inches, cut bangs and added highlights. My hair was ridiculously long. Like Rapunzel long (or 8th grade Stephanie long, as Trav put it) so this was a big deal for me, even though it doesn't seem like anything drastic in the picture.

 This week, Collin disappeared then started calling for me. I could tell his voice was coming from the bathroom, so I opened the door, looked around, then was puzzled because I couldn't find him. Then I looked down and laughed out loud. He thought he was super funny. Only, then he's done it two more times and conked his head pretty good trying to get out, but tipping over instead.

Also this week, I guess he was going to the bathroom when he noticed the toilet bowl brush and asked Trav what it was. Trav told him it was used to clean the toilet, to which Collin responded, "Oh, Mommy cleans toilet. Not boys." So Trav said, "Well, boys can clean toilets too." But Collin wasn't buying it, (I mean, in all his 2 years of life, he's only seen Mommy clean toilets) and kept arguing, "No, Daddies don't clean toilets, only Mommies clean toilets." Again, Trav tried to tell him that boys and Daddies can clean toilets too, but I guess Collin was never convinced. How would he believe something he's never seen? :) I thought it was pretty funny. At least he knows Daddies can do dishes.

Something else kind of funny that happened this week was, I was in the kitchen and Collin had disappeared for quite some time (at least 5 solid minutes), when I heard him start to scream. And this was a scream that you know something is wrong. It actually scared me. I started heading toward the voice, yelling, "where are you? where are you?" and his hysterical, truly terrified scream was making me start to panic. I didn't know what to expect when I found him, but the pit in my stomach was not a good sign. I ran into the office and saw him sitting on my computer chair and realized the problem. He had inadvertantly started the printer and it was groaning and churning, ready to spit out a paper and probably sounded like a monster... that he had awoken. I scooped him up and he was trembling and still crying like he was about to be eaten alive. I had to chuckle. The things that scare kids.

 On a final good note, my Sunday School lesson is done for the day (always a HUGE burden off my shoulders) and I have 3 weeks of family filled fun awaiting me! I can't wait to see my family. It's been a whole year since we've been home and most everyone hasn't even met my nearly one year old "baby". Whatever happens on that plane will be worth it. AZ here I come!