2010

Dear 2010,

I had high hopes for you.

2009 had nothing but wonderful things to say about you. She said you had extraordinary potential for greatness. I believed her. But, and please don't take this the wrong way, I gotta tell yah....you've been a bit of a disappointment thus far. I feel we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. A misunderstanding perhaps? Whaddaya say we just start over? Start this relationship from the beginning on a better, more stable foot this time? That'd be lovely.

Looking forward to better tomorrows, Mamma Smurf.

January 4th - Hubby leaves work in the morning and drives himself to the emergency room with symptoms of a heart attack. Chest pain, shortness of breath, feels like he's gonna pass out, and diaphoretic. Is later diagnosed with WPW syndrome and is now awaiting an appointment with the cardiac electrician and possibly a cardiac catheter ablation procedure to cure it.

January 8 - Daughter complains of itchy head. A letter was sent home from school before the holiday break saying that lice has been going around the school. So...when my daughter complains of an itchy head? I freak out. Guess what I found. Go ahead. Guess.

YEP!!

Dude...seriously?? They say the dear Lord doesn't dish out more than a person can handle?? REALLY?? I beg to differ. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since. I've washed at least 3 dozen loads of laundry. Bed linens are changed daily. All unwashable toys, pillows, comforters, etc have been bagged and are out in the garage where the creepy little critters can freeze to death until I can get around to washing everything. My furniture, floors, and mattresses are now vacuumed daily. I've spent 2 hours each day for the last 4 days picking through my daughter's hair strand by frick'n strand. In the last 4 days I have discovered where the phrases "nit picking" and "going through something with a fine toothed comb" originated from. Knowledge I could have gladly lived a lifetime without. Thankyouverymuch.

Your head itches now doesn't it??? =)

And now? We are waiting for more bad news. As my husband's aunt is terminally ill with lung and bone cancer. A woman who never smoked a day in her life. She was diagnosed in November and is not expected to make it through this week.

Which, of course, in itself, is horrible....sad...news.

But this also means that my husband will likely have to fly out of town next weekend which means I will have to travel to Chicago with 3 children by myself next weekend for a gymnastics meet. With a child with lice. Most likely in a snow storm. (The last 2 years that we've driven to this meet have been through snow storms....Why should this year be any different?? ).

Oh, well hello there....my name is Mama Smurf....*holding my arm out for a hand shake*....it's such a pleasure to meet you 2010! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better! And I'm hopeful that this urge to gouge your eyeballs out will pass soon. Let's hope the 2nd impression is better than the 1st.

Better late than never?

This is how good I am at blogging....or how close I am to a dementia diagnosis...you decide: I wrote the following post over a month ago. Then forgot about it. It's been sitting in my draft box for that long. I sat down on my couch and decided to fiddle around and try blogging from my iPhone cuz, well, it's been awhile, again, and....well....looky there. A 1/2 assed post just waiting for the publish button:

Here I go again! It's been almost a month since my last post. I lay in bed at night thinking of brilliant posts.  Yah know...right after I complete the grocery and todo lists in my head.  They come to me one after another night after night. And by the time I wake up in the morning? They're gone. Never to be recalled again. I don't know what happens to them.  The sand man?

I have my Single Parent Hat on again as hubby is out of town. Again. Somethin's gotta give. I'm overwhelmed, exhausted, and teetering on the proverbial edge of insanity. My prayers lately sound a little like "Dear God, please help me be a better and more patient mother tomorrow". I hate going to bed feeling that way. HATE. IT. Especially during this time of year when nothin' but sugar plums should be dance'n in my (and my kids) head(s). BAH!

Grandma's highly anticipated volume 2 heritage album Christmas gift is still not complete. Once complete it'll take a couple weeks after uploading to receive it in the mail which at this point means the earliest hope for it's arrival will be sometime in.....January....of 2011? I'm dreading that phone call. "ummm, Grandma? You know that scrapbook I promised you? Yeah..... it'll be a little late  I'm still not done with it  did you really want it?  How's about a nice Snuggie instead?  They're sooooo comfortable and cozy warm.  Toasty even."

We spent the week of Thanksgiving with my FIL.  In Texas.  That?  Just sucked the holiday spirit right out of me.  I missed Thanksgiving with my family.  I didn't get to do my black Friday shopping.  The lights on my house didn't get put up.  We missed the last "warm" weekend for outside/yard fall cleanup.  Which means I either brave the frigid MI weather to get the leaves off my lawn or they will be the topic of conversation in my neighbors' homes.  I didn't start shopping until last week...when in past years I would have had all holiday shopping completed by October.  I know I should be happy that my husband was able to spend Thanksgiving with his father....and that my children were able to see their grandfather....and that my FIL didn't have to spend Thanksgiving alone this year.  But.  Well.  Yeah.  That's all I'm gonna say 'bout that.

So, for the first time in the 16 years that my husband and I have been together....there will be no outside Christmas lights.  That just sucks.  I put the tree up.  But that's it.  There will be no Dicken's Village this year.  No wreath on the front door.  I didn't even pull out the nativity scene.....*GASP*