Resolutions

I've tried limiting screen time for the kids and myself, but find myself checking social media or mindlessly scrolling through feeds of people who are obviously living better than I am (or so it appears). So, I've decided that my only social media will be my blog, my Twitter, and maybe my Instagram (though I could maybe use Instagram as a business account instead of a personal one). I'm going to delete my Facebook once and for all and spend much less time scrolling along. I've unfollowed a lot of Instagram accounts that make me feel envious or uninspired, and why do I want to follow people I don't know in real life? Isn't that the point of social media? To keep in touch with real acquaintances? Also, I plan to send out birthday cards and write actual letters to people and make an effort to talk on the phone more. It's silly how technology is most likely the root of today's anxiety. I'm also going to focus on being happy with current house, current belongings, current location, etc. and stop wishing we were somewhere else. Things will work out when they're meant to and I need to be content. I can always rearrange the living room to appease the urge to move. I can't promise to work out every day, though I'll definitely make an effort to drink more water and be more active. And, I'll do my best with the social media. I only really talk to maybe 5 people these days anyway.

Friends

Ashley's golden birthday was yesterday. She and Mike were in town today so we met up with them for a double date. Our lovely first born offered to babysit, with the help of Leah, and he did a great job! We were out for about an hour, but he kept in touch with his phone, put on Adventure Time, and gained a new level of trust. Lunch was fun! And so much cheaper without the kids. We were able to talk about adult things without kid-interruptions. Ah, bliss. After lunch, Mike and Ashley met us at our house to exchange gifts and have coffee. We hung out for a few hours and talked about homesteading and candle-making, etc. She's getting into painting again, so we're going to try to inspire each other with art.

Gingerbread

We bought a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve, but got overwhelmed with everything that we didn't decorate it right away. So, this morning we managed to create a mess of crumbs and frosting before going to the library. I've decided no more store-bought gingerbread houses. I'll find a recipe and bake a gingerbread cookie or cake or something for us to decorate that tastes much better than frosted cardboard. But hey, at least the kids had fun, right?

Christmas 2019

It feels like Christmas is over too soon, but lasted too long... does that make sense? I didn't feel sad this year, so that's a plus. We're going to start a new tradition of having Mexican dinner with Irish dessert. It's easy and delicious and not as stressful. Christmas Eve, I was getting the kids ready for bed and reminding them to brush teeth, then started reading Elias his bedtime stories when I realized I hadn't baked Santa's cookies. So, after baking, cooling, and tasting, the kiddos FINALLY went to bed close to midnight. I install the Santa Tracker app every year and they got lucky he didn't fly over before they were tucked in. On Christmas morning, they were the last ones up. Mom came over and we gave her a small bag of gifts and she headed home. We enjoyed some Christmas king cake with coffee and watched A Christmas Story. It's been a day, but my babies are happy and I'm ready to take down the tree.

Christmas Visits

Happy Holidays!

Zac and I spent the weekend in Louisiana (though, we arrived midweek). I gave the kids the week off school so we could enjoy the holidays. Most of our laundry was washed and packed by Tuesday and I loaded the van Wednesday. Once Zac was off work, we loaded the van and headed out. I'm very glad Cole is such a good traveler now that he's older. He basically slept the whole way. Once we made it to Sean's, the kids opened some gifts and headed to bed. Sean found the gifts amusing because most of them were gag gifts.

Thursday, Sean was off so we spent the day with him. I insisted we pick up beignets for breakfast, so we popped into Cafe Du Monde and introduced our youngest to a surplus of powdered sugar. He wasn't impressed. We stopped by Sean's mom's house to visit for a little while and let Sean pick up his police car. The kiddos enjoyed running around her front lawn like maniacs. She was super happy to meet the baby. Sean had to take a nap to prepare for staying up all night, so Zac and I went to Walmart to buy some spaghetti stuff for dinner. Kyle came over after work to eat with us and exchange gifts, then we stayed up WAY too late playing Cards Against Humanity. Our sweet Jac offered to get Cole to sleep if we let him stay up as late as he wanted with the promise of coffee the following morning, so we took advantage, ha. 

Friday, we drove to Slidell to visit at Mawmaw, Marie, and Janie. Marie cooked lunch and we visited and exchanged gifts. Marie even had us play a Christmas themed bingo, then whipped up hot cocoa for the kids. We left there around 4 to get across the lake to meet up with Katie and Chase in City Park for the Celebration in the Oaks. Katie wasn't feeling well and she couldn't find a parking spot for nearly an hour, so I left Zac with the big kids in the park to meet up with her for a quick visit. They couldn't stay long because they live nearly an hour from the park, so she dropped off the gifts for the kids (ornaments!) and they left. I made it back to the park and was able to ride a few rides with the three big kids. Elias loves scary fast rides! He was squealing with delight, it was too funny. Jac even swallowed his fear to get on the ferris wheel. We roasted giant marshmallows and bought a huge cotton candy, then Leah lost a tooth while we were waiting in line! It's been bugging her for weeks. We finished with a train ride around the park and headed back to Sean's.

Saturday, we got up early and headed back across the lake, though Zac made the trip earlier that morning, unbeknownst of me, to take Sean to the rental shop to drop his car off. So much driving! But, we made it to Krystal's and hung out with her and Kevin and the girls. Kylie is looking so grown up now. She and Kayden showed me some drawings they did and they're just so talented. Kayden drew with Jac and Leah while Elias played with Piper. We even watched a few Disney movies. It was such a nice visit! We're going to try to make visiting them a priority when we're in town next time. Before it grew too late, we left Krystal's and met up with Christina and Steve at an abandoned Toys R Us parking lot to hang out for a little while. We had planned to meet at the mall but there was zero parking, being almost Christmas. We exchanged gifts and drove back to Sean's.

Sunday, we drove across the lake once more to visit with Jessie and Grahamm. I woke up with clogged milk ducts so I was super uncomfortable, but the wine and coffee definitely helped, as did Jessie's cooking. Orrin pulled out a Zelda-themed Monopoly for him and the big kids to play while Elias chased the four different cats around. Jessie has FOUR kitties! Two are bobtails, one orange tabby and one tuxedo; a heterochromatic white cat that made herself at home in the car seat; and a three-legged Sphynx with the most judgmental face I've ever seen. It was so good to see Jessie and I wish we were able to see Katie before we headed out, but alas, the stars were not aligned. Next time, though. We picked up our dogs and loaded up the van and came back home. At least the laundry is all washed.

And That's A Wrap

I had my last performance of The Rented Christmas tonight. It was bittersweet. I met so many wonderful people and made a few friends. It's going to be a little weird not going out every night and rehearsing and such. I don't think I'll miss wearing so much makeup, but I'll miss my cast mates.

issues in my tissues

In case you needed an alert: Christmas is in exactly two weeks.

Yup. Two. And then 2020 is a week after that. Just like that, the year is over and we start again.

My three big kids are at church for a Christmas party tonight. Zac picked up our groceries and kept Cole distracted because I noticed just this evening that I have about 30 lumps of clogged milk in my "working" boob. So, I spent about an hour in a lava-hot shower massaging, cussing, pulling, and willing the milk bumps to budge and quite a few did. I've still got maybe 3-4 left and they're large and stubborn. I also poked my nipple with a needle trying to pick at a dried milk piece over one of the holes and gave up when I started bleeding a bit. Oh well. This issue probably explains why Cole was a thrashing baby shark in the wee hours of this morning and would not sleep more than 10 minutes over the course of 6 hours. Hopefully tonight is better. I just want more than an hour of consecutive sleep.

I've got four more nights of The Rented Christmas and Leah wants to jump right into auditioning for the next play about Snow White. She wants a bigger part, which is cute and outside her comfort zone. Kylee, who is one of the main characters of our current play, has come down with the flu, so I'm gonna see if Leah wants to learn the part of Lettie just in case.

A few weeks ago I took another one of those test strips that check for a UTI and I'm still coming up positive for leukocytes and negative for nitrates, so there's still some sort of bacterial issue without symptoms. I'm still taking my probiotic and drinking more water. It's just frustrating. But no symptoms, no worries, right?

The Rented Christmas

I had my first performance last night at the theater. It went well! I knew all my lines and wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. It was so much fun. I'm off tonight, but I've got performances for tomorrow and Sunday, then next weekend. I'm a little burnt out, but once it's over I can relax for a bit. I'm thinking I may be ready to go back to work since I've spent plenty evenings away from Cole. It'd be nice to actually be out and get paid, but I know I'd hate everything about retail while we're in the middle of the holidays. Also, I sort of learned how to apply makeup, so I picked up some products from Walmart and watched a few YouTube videos and haven't done too shabby. I got a few compliments from cast mates, so that's a plus. Now I just need some correct makeup brushes and maybe a Caboodle (haha).

Zac and I are figuring out our holiday trip to Louisiana. We were planning to see Meredith and Matt in Texas, but that's not working out like we thought it would (and we're really wanting to save as much as we can for New York), so we're going to see some friends and family closer to home instead. I'm a little disappointed, but we'll do Texas another time. However, I'm very very tempted to make a solo trip up to Nashville to stay with Jena in July so I can see Garbage and Alanis Morissette since they're unfortunately not coming towards New Orleans (or Jackson, even). Wahhh. I doubt it'll happen, but eh, a girl can dream.