My little perfectionist

I just had to share the latest adventure in the house ... apparently Beth is quite the little perfectionist, not willing to let on that she can do something until she can do it just right. After setting her up at the table with some Cheerios (just a few at a time, otherwise she throws them all over) and taking Dandy out, I was leaving the kitchen to go get my computer. Beth turns and looks at me and holds out her hand, "Nnno!" She had run out of Cheerios and didn't want me to leave till she had more! Gah!

Sleep!

Beth is FINALLY starting to get back to sleeping through the night again - last night she slept from 7:30 PM - 9:00 AM *straight*! Yea! A good thing too, I was so sleepy. Thomas woke up at 8 and came to snuggle, then went downstairs, then came back upstairs and was playing so I convinced him to go watch a movie, and dozed off again. He was happy to comply and is finishing up his Thomas the train movie right now. Hey, it was an emergency - I needed sleep!
I got to go out with friends for a couple hours last night, it was a lot of fun hanging out, and the hot fudge sundae I got was fabulous. There were 10 of us at a long table so I only got to talk to a few other people, but it was still fun - I love my mama's group, it's nice having friends close by going through the same stuff.
I'm working at getting the house organized again, I got almost all the Christmas stuff back downstairs yesterday, I think there are a couple towels out still though that I'll have to track down. I'm trying to get into routines so that I can *keep* everything nice once I get it there. So far I've got this:

1. Kids get up, so I do too.
2. Feed kids breakfast, try to remember to feed myself - lol.
3. Check email/message board/other random internet stuff.
4. Make bed and get dressed.
5. Laundry.
6. Dishes, spend a few minutes clearing off counters.

By the time I'm on #6, I usually get sidetracked and do random stuff, sometimes cleaning and sometimes not, till around 5:00. Then, I've got this:

1. Start tidying up a bunch of stuff as quickly as possible before Clay and Rob get home.
2. Help kids clean up toys.
3. More dishes, start dinner.
4. Dinner.
5. Give the kids their bath and put them to bed.
6. Get absolutely nothing constructive done the rest of the evening and play games or mess around on the computer.

It's not perfect, but it's a start!

A long 3 weeks!

We left home 3 weeks ago, and it was a VERY long 3 weeks. We got to spend a day in Indianapolis with our best friends who now live in a different state, then headed the rest of the way out to St. Louis to be with my mom's family for Christmas. Then, the day after Christmas my aunt died suddenly, so we of course stayed for the calling hours and funeral. We got home late last Tuesday night (was it really only a little more than a week ago?) then Wednesday morning went to Bucyrus to celebrate Christmas with our immediate families and New Year's Eve with my family (Clay's parents had plans). We got home Saturday night, slept and worked on Sunday, then Monday started trying to get back into the swing of things, going through the mail, etc. Well, one of the pieces of mail is the renewal for Dandy's dog license, which requires a rabies tag ... I wasn't sure when she needed her next so called the vet (old family friend who lives in Bucyrus) and found out that both she and Annie are due for shots. Ugh. So, packed the kids and the animals up on Tuesday to head for Bucyrus, promising Thomas that he got to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's (my parents), and Grandma would bring him home in time for preschool the next day. We got halfway to Bucyrus when I got the call that they were having to cancel the appointment, the vet's mom (who, at 87, had been in the hospital in Cleveland for a few weeks after they discovered an aggresive cancer) had taken a turn for the worse - they were hoping to make it up there in time to say goodbye. I guess when it rains, it pours. We had a great Christmas, but it's kind of sucked since then.
In happier news, Thomas had Spanish class at preschool for the first time Wednesday and loved it, hasn't quit talking about it. He still won't tell us what he learned (colors) but at least he had fun. Beth is getting SO close to walking, but gets quite upset when it comes time to sit down - she doesn't want to let go! She's also started using more words - we've got "Mama" (me) "Um-ma" (my mom) "Dada" (Clay) "baw" (bottle) and "ba" (bye). It seems like there might be a couple more, but I can't think of them right now. Oh, and she got another tooth and is working on several more - yea (ugh!) :-P

Sick!

Another pop-in, just letting you know we're all still alive. Thomas caught the flu either from preschool or playing with other kids on Thursday, then I caught it, then Clay caught it, then Rob caught it. We'd never have made it without my mom who SO kindly dropped everything (even her workout that she was about to go to!) yesterday morning to come and take care of us. Thanks Mom!
Thomas seems to have gotten the hardest hit, he's still pretty wiped out but I think just tired now, not really sick anymore. Clay and I are both feel a lot better; I'm munching on crackers and drinking Sprite and Clay just won a game of Candy Land with Thomas. I think I'll even be able to make my appointment for massage therapy tomorrow (they're hoping to get rid of my headaches, though don't seem to be overly optimistic).
We're heading out to Indianapolis on Thursday evening to meet up with our best friends (Jeff, Onalee, Anna, Lydia, and Wesley). Wesley turned a year old this past week and we haven't ever seen him, we all lived in Kentucky at the same time but moved when Onalee was pregnant with Wesley and I was pregnant with Beth - it will be so awesome to see everyone!
After hanging out with them on Friday, my mom will drive out and meet up with us. Clay will take her car back to Columbus and my mom will go out the rest of the way to St. Louis with us - there really didn't seem to be any point in going *back* to Columbus on Friday then turning around and leaving on Saturday again.
Ok, I'm getting a little tired again so I'm going to read and rest for a while ... here's hoping tomorrow I'll be 100%!

Just popping in ...

Just thought y'all would like to know that Beth stood up for the first time today; she was holding onto me, I was sitting on the floor - she was babbling away and I happened to look over and she was standing up! Yea! She also was rolling her tongue, it was very cute.
Thomas is sick, he was throwing up all night Friday and yesterday morning, then slept for 22 hours, being awake for maybe a total of an hour during that time. My poor kiddo! I'm not feeling the greatest today (or yesterday, for that matter) and took a 2-hour nap earlier, hopefully I'll be 100% tomorrow. Yuck!

Christmas Tree!

We went to a Christmas tree farm today, actually to take pics for another family while they cut theirs down, but since we were there anyway we took advantage of the opportunity and picked ours out too. It smells so yummy! We'll decorate it tomorrow, I was planning on putting up the lights after the kids were in bed but Thomas apparently begged to help, so they're waiting till tomorrow. I love Christmas time, and I especially love the smell that sneaks through the house, reminding you of the season as you go about your day. Thinking about Christmas always makes me feel warm, even on the cold days!
Speaking of warm in the cold, I also baked some chocolate chip cookies today; however, the first ones ended up pretty crunchy. I put the dough in the fridge to chill, so I imagine the rest will turn out alright ... if not, I don't mind eating crunchy cookies! They make the best topping with hot fudge on vanilla ice cream (*stomach growls*).
I guess I don't have much to talk about right now, I'm feeling really sleepy for some reason so I think I'll just skip the goofing off or reading tonight and go straight to bed!

Oh yeah, and Beth now officially has 4 teeth and crawls, and is in love with our dog (the feeling is mutual - Dandy welcomed her into her crate this morning, cuddled right up to her!) Thomas loves doing workbooks, a friend gave us one and we've been doing a little every day the last few days - he keeps begging for more. I just wish he would focus that much on the OTHER things he's supposed to be doing (like picking up toys, getting dressed, etc.) Sigh.

Waking Up

Wow! I feel like I've been gone so long that I should reintroduce myself ... in more ways than one! I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner, Beth has been around for 9 1/2 months, Thomas is in preschool ...
You know how they do those little questionnaires at your 6-week appointment after your baby is born to make sure you're not going crazy? Well, that wasn't a problem ... but soon after my appointment, we moved and a million other things were going on, and I started falling apart. I should have gotten help sooner, but thought I was getting better, yadda yadda yadda. I made an appointment to see my old OB/GYN from here back in August, but couldn't get in till September, which I did. She put me on meds, they sucked and didn't work out, ugh. So, last week I went to a FP and she was terrific (in spite of my laundry list of stuff to ask about). I'm now on Celexa for post-partum depression and I feel like I'm all of a sudden waking up to the world (hence the title of the post). I've felt like the real me had been shoved out and just watching this crazy mean person run (ruin?) my life, and my family's life. It's been so frustrating, it feels like you're in this big hole and trying to climb out but someone keeps dumping more dirt on you, you can't get out, and it's heavy! When I explained that last bit to Clay, he said "Yeah, you don't have to tell me, I've had to deal with it for years, but you do explain the feeling a lot better than me!" True enough, it gives me a new perspective on how he has to wrestle his emotions and reactions ALL the time, not just for a horrible several months.
But now I really am getting better, I can tell on so many levels! I've *missed* Thomas when he's gone, he has a new sparkle that we haven't seen regularly in WAY too long, and I'm generally happier and easier to be around. Yea! Now I just have to get the house and the family back on track (not in that order!) There's lots of stuff I want to do with the house, but I've been so out of sorts that I haven't managed to get off the couch long enough to accomplish something real in ... um, let's just say a long time. I have tons of sewing and mending to catch up on, too! As far as the kids are concerned, I can play (for short periods of time, this is medicine, not a miracle!) and I'm looking forward to starting to work with Thomas in workbooks and fun activities as we settle into a manageable and balanced schedule. Beth gets to play too, but really a baby can't do much with crafts other than chewing on the pieces!
Expect to see more of me on here in the future, but I'll be spending less time on the computer overall - I have a life to get back to!