Our Year in Review

I think most of us are guilty of looking ahead to the next “big” thing--what better time than now? With 2012 approaching, it's easy to get caught up in the possibilities of a new year and the anticipation of things to come. However, by always looking ahead, we tend to miss what's happening RIGHT NOW. And even though I didn't see it at the time, we had a pretty big 2011 around here.

Our Top Ten Moments of 2011:
1. Sassy was a flower girl in Aunt Mo's wedding. And we were thrilled to have Uncle Bear join our crazy brood. What a beautiful day! Our apologies to the numerous guests who had food stolen off of their plates by Stinkus. We really do feed her. But you saw her on the dance floor—a girl's gotta keep her energy up somehow!

2. R and I had birthdays that aren't milestones to anyone but me--but being as close to 40 as 30 is a big deal to this mama. 40?!?! Seriously?! However, I got carded yesterday at a local convenience store so I think I'll ROCK 40. :) Stay tuned for BIG bashes in five (almost four, gulp) years!!!

3. We welcomed our nephew K into the world and were SO grateful he took his own sweet time getting here. We are SO happy for Uncle M, Aunt S, and Big Sis M. Thank you, God, for answered prayers!

4. After three years, I (FINALLY) got my braces off! Definitely worth waiting for!

5. We thought about moving and then realized we have everything we want here. Lots of square footage, our own “park” outside, and a blue toilet.

6. R and I celebrated ten years of marriage by spending eight days in Florida. It was such a great time. The girls had a blast too—they got eight days of being spoiled rotten by their grandparents and aunties. :)

7. Sassy started kindergarten! She LIVES for school and honestly gets mad when a Saturday rolls around and—heaven forbid—she has to stay home with us. I think Stinkus is enjoying going to the sitter alone. The only person to tattle on her for daily timeout in the corner is herself (and yes, she pointed out to me one day which corner was hers. Nice.)

8. R started a new (and hopefully last!) career. We're SO proud of him and the difference he makes in patients' lives.

9. Stinkus moved to a big girl bed. I can remember saying when she was a baby: "WHEN will she stop crying every morning?" Well, she's stopped. The other morning I woke to a sweet little voice singing her own version of "Jingle Bells." Of course, that was before she came barreling into my room at 100 mph shrieking: "I wake up NOW?!" And someday, I will miss this too. . .

10. We went into debt with a surgery I had on my leg. Darn insurance deductibles going UP. :( I had a vein that was hurting me and it was a long time coming. Oh well. I'm hoping that I'll stop feeling nauseous about the money when I'm wearing shorts again next summer for the first time in YEARS.

We're wrapping up the year and excited for everything 2012 will bring:
a new niece or nephew
(hopefully) our last box of diapers
Daddy's certification
shorts!
1st grade
fewer timeouts in the corner?

Even better--everything that we don't know about yet! May you all have a blessed 2012!

Things We Learned This Christmas

1. Telling Daddy, "NO, YOU be quiet!" during Christmas Eve mass gets you taken outside--fast.

2. The only way to truly see Baby Jesus is to Communion line-jump and run right up to the nativity scene. You can top it all off by yelling: "Mommy! I see Baby Jesus!" when you've been corralled back to the pew.

3. Despite Santa's efforts to find THE perfect gift, the beloved favorite will be a $5 flashlight.

4. Orange Julius tastes better if you add the sugar.

5. Santa comes even if you've been naughty, and he remembers stuff you forgot to write on your list. What a guy!

6. However, he doesn't come again on Christmas night if you missed seeing him on Christmas Eve.

7. In a few years, Christmas Vacation is gonna get some big laughs. Sassy LOVED the opening scene with the tree on the car. And we decided that was probably enough for now. . . :)

8. Sister's presents are always cooler, "shared" gifts aren't always shared, and even if you have the exact same gift, there will STILL be fighting.

9. Digital cameras used by little people = being caught in some not-so-flattering shots. Note to self: Lock the door when changing to avoid future pictures without pants. . . .

10. Despite their name, bathtub crayons do not easily wipe off of the tub. Thanks, Santa. Not one of your better purchases.

11. It's ok to have M&Ms before breakfast.

12. In the future, Santa should drink EVERY last drop of milk because it's fair game the next morning. Yes, she tipped it up. GROSS.

13. We were spoiled with a 7:30 wake-up call. (I heard of some kids who were up at 2 am! WHAT?!) Anyway, girls, just know that you're setting the bar high. Next year, we're aiming for 8.

14. The best way to end the day (and melt Mom's heart): "Come here, I want to cuddle wif you on da couch."

15. Building our own family traditions with Sassy and Stinkus is a pretty amazing gift.

The Perfect Christmas

I should have called my blog: "Things My Parents Were Right About and Why I Need To Apologize." This post is a much-needed apology to my mom, decades after the fact. Pulling off Christmas is HARD. I'm trying not to panic that my list is getting longer while the countdown is getting shorter. Once again, I have NO clue how my mom pulled off Christmas each year for us. I know that I didn't make it any easier. I had this extremely over-the-top idealistic image of Christmas. I had it all planned: we would get the house all squeaky clean and then put on some Christmas music, make hot chocolate, and decorate the tree in perfect harmony. Then we would head to mass on Christmas Eve, come home and gather round with mugs of red hot apple cider and cookies, and just bask in the Christmas spirit. Awwwwww. I have no clue where I got this. It was like I watched one too many Hallmark movies, but we didn't have cable so I can't blame it on that. While I don't remember specific details, I'm pretty sure that with ten people, it did NOT go like this. Oh, and to add to the stress, yours truly decided for several years to write and direct a little Christmas play that we would present after mass. This lasted about five minutes into rehearsal because--shocking--it's apparently not fun to work with a bossy older sister who is barking out orders and yelling at people to stop ruining Christmas. Yeah, that was me. Sorry, Mom. It's funny because while I know there were tears and fights and utter chaos, Christmas WAS perfect. I have such great memories of Christmas mornings with my family and I SO appreciate everything my parents did to make it magical.

Now as an adult, I realize that "perfect" is hard to come by. For Stinkus's first Christmas, she had a tummy bug and I spent the majority of Christmas Eve Day cleaning projectile vomit from numerous surfaces in our house. In case you're wondering, an Exersaucer has LOTS of little crevices. I made a mad rush to Walmart at 3 pm to finish up some last minute stuff--NOT the time to shop--and Santa got Oreos that year because I didn't have the time or energy to roll out my famous sugar cookies. We can laugh now, but that Christmas will forever be the "How Many Pairs of Pajamas Can We Wear In 24 Hours" Christmas. Moments after putting her down (in Pajamas #1), Stinkus puked PEAS all over herself and her crib. Pajamas #2. The next morning, her diaper exploded all up her back. Pajamas #3. Then Sassy (in Pajamas #4) who was 3 1/2 and had been trained for a while, refused to break from the Santa madness to take a morning tinkle and proceeded to pee her pants in the living room. Pajamas #5. So much for the cute matching jammies. . .Last year there were fewer bodily fluids on Christmas morning, but more tears. Stinkus didn't want any of her presents--just Sassy's.

There is no "perfect." (I wish some friends on Facebook would admit to this but that's another blog. . .) There's everyday life and Christmas Day is no exception. Tonight we're going on a "Christmas Light Hunt" (coined by Sassy a few years ago) and I'm sure there will be fits, tears, and lots of ice cream dripped in the car. And it will be perfect.

Life Lessons

On any given day, the little people in my house are taking it all in and learning something about this thing called life. You don't bite people, stepstools can make anything off-limits totally accessible, and if you sit back a little too far on the potty, you can in fact, get pee everywhere but IN the potty. To say it's exhausting is an understatement. I've said things I never thought I would say ("We don't eat toilet paper out of the toilet"--yes, really), and I know that a future with two teenage daughters will continue to provide numerous situations in which I'm speechless and clueless as to how to parent. Yet, one of the things I've noticed as the girls get older is best said in this quote that I just read online: "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

HOW TRUE. Lately, I've noticed my girls reminding me what's truly important in life:

1. It's the little things that matter.
We recently dropped some satellite channels to save money. We won't miss a few channels. . . unless one is THE cartoon channel my girls adore. So for months now we've been acting shocked and disappointed nearly EVERY morning. "Ahhhhh, Dora's not on again!" Dang satellite provider. So the other morning, I was in my bathroom getting ready for another day at work, tired and cranky and ready for a weekend. All of a sudden, I heard an elephant running through the house and Stinkus appeared at my door with a giddy laugh and twinkly eyes. "MOM!!! Doh-doh's ON!!! Doh-doh's on! Are you SO excited?!" Then she giggled and danced around a bit, hopping from one foot to the other before she hightailed it back down the hall. How could I NOT be excited? If only we adults could be that excited over something so small.

2. Never let worry keep you awake at night.
Sassy was having trouble falling asleep and I immediately started worrying about her. I didn't know if she was upset about something at school, if someone was picking on her, if she was dreading a certain class. I sat down, all sympathetic and concerned, and tried to prepare a good answer for whatever she revealed. "I just can't stand," she started, "how fun every day is!" And she broke into a huge grin and kicked her legs. How many of us go to bed and can't sleep because every day is SO fun? I'm blessed to love my job but I have no problems sleeping. Ask my couch. :) And if I'm NOT sleeping, it's because I'm stressed out or worried about something.

3. Everyone deserves to have a friend.
One of my biggest concerns when Sassy started school was who her friends would be. We don't know a lot of people or families here. My siblings and I didn't grow up with money (neither are my kids) but we seemed to be friends with the "good" kids: the kids from good homes, whose parents were like mine, whose homes were like the one in which I grew up. So I've been hoping that Sassy would also be drawn to a "good" kid. Upon some investigation, I learned that her best friend doesn't have a very good home life, and really struggles in school. I initially (of course) worried. I hoped that Sassy wasn't being shunned by the "good" kids, I worried about future sleepovers and going to this little girl's house, I wondered why Sassy wasn't friends with someone more like her. So I started with the sneaky Mom interrogation: "How did you start being friends?" And my sweet, sensitive Sassy said, "She was really sad one day and I cheered her up." Interrogation over. When you're five, everyone is the same. Kids don't see the differences that we adults dwell on. So at that moment, I sent up a little prayer of thanksgiving. I was so proud and grateful that my sweet little girl is a friend to someone who may really need one, and that in return, she is learning (and teaching, apparently) important lessons about friendship. And isn't that what I've wanted?

It's funny that we think we have all the answers. And really, how important are some of the "lessons" I've been teaching? There probably aren't a lot of adults going around biting each other and peeing everywhere. I know that I'm giving my kids more than that--but how amazing that they're giving me more as well.