Catching Up

Lately I have felt like running and hiding in a hole. Not because anything overtly bad has happened, I just need a really good cry and some time with myself. I have found myself crying on an almost hourly basis for the past two weeks. Again, nothing terribly bad, but just little things have caught me off guard and so the tears come. And come. And come. It's almost like I'm pregnant-I'm NOT, it's just reminds me of the beginning of pregnancies and hormones and stress and joy and fear...I think it started when Stuart got an email with the final layout of his mother's tombstone/grave marker. It hasn't even been a year since she passed away, but looking at the design just made it so real. She's really gone. I see her all around my house in pictures, when I look at Stuart (all the siblings are the spitting image of their mother), at various things that she gave us; it's just not right. My heart hurts that my boys don't even remember her. She was there for both or their births. She campaigned for Stuart and I to start dating. She will always be part of us. Then I read these heart wrenching blogs and I can't imagine the pain these families are going thru. Makes me feel like I'm worrying about tomorrow's troubles. Alright, back to reality.
So, since it's been awhile I need to catch you faithful few up to speed on my life. (Can I just say that it thrills me that anyone cares about the nothingness that is core of staying at home.)
We got our tax return! Woo hoo! Too bad all the money was already allocated to various things but it was still such a joy to log on to USAA and see such a fantastic account balance. I really wanted to leave all the money in there so that everyday I could see that number. Ahh...
We sold our Nissan Titan, borrowed a Toyota Corolla, gave back the Corolla, were gifted a Ford F150, sold our Ford Crown Victoria and bought a Mazda MPV. Yes, that's quite a lot of vehicles. I'm sure our neighbors think we are in some sort of drug ring since our driveway always has a different car parked in it. But do not fear! I think we are done with car-palooza 2009. I love my new mini-van! I am not ashamed at all. :)
We paid off one of my credit cards. It seems like such a waster to validate such a large amount of money going to one source AND getting nothing in return. But then, maybe if that person in my head who knew this was going to happen would have spoken up 10 years ago, I would still see that money. Bummer.
I have coined a new phrase for the stage that my boys are in: Tremendously Terrible Threes & Twos. Seriously. Currently the boys have taken up spitting. I really don't know where this came from-really. It's driving me insane. It's gross and messy and I think the act is repulsive. With that said, they think it's absolutely the grandest thing. Once one starts it takes a good 5 minutes for the saliva producing mouths to calm the flow enough to hear me. Ewww. Tucker is also at a fabulous stage of non-caring-discipline. He absolutely does not care what you do to him. As soon as the initial shock of "oh, dang I got caught" is over, he's at it again. All day. He gets the wallet out of my purse and dumps the contents on the floor a minimum of 4 times a day. He regularly opens all the drawers to the armoire and removes paper, pens, cards, cds, and distributes them to the refrigerator, fish tank, toilet, and Scout's mouth. Both boys have also gotten very good at screaming. I'm sure that my other neighbors think we need some serious counseling. They might have a point.
We bought new slip-cover couches from IKEA. I LOVE THEM. Why didn't I get something like this sooner? Unfortunately I didn't get to make the tremendous tour of the aforementioned palace but I think we are going to make another trip as a family so that I can bask in the glory of organization. What a heavenly place.
I got a hair cut and it came out much shorter than I envisioned. No, you can't see pictures till it grows out a bit.
Scout is doing much, much better! She is gaining weight (we'll take her in a two weeks to get reweighed) and her tail is healed (I think, the bandage came off and her tail hasn't bleed all day). She and Turbo are striking up quite a friendship filled with quiet talks by the fire, strolls along the fence and latrine duty. How romantic!
We got our carpets cleaned. One of the best moves we have ever made. I could have doubled the amount we paid for the luxury. I think we might have to make it a bi-yearly event.
Stuart and I went on our first date in over two years. That's right. Two years. Needless-to-say it was a much needed and great event. The night did end with a bit of a disaster with the babysitter, but at least we got to eat in peace and order grown up food and drinks. We have got to find a babysitter that we can use on a regular basis.
I went to the optometrist and found out my eyes are getting worse-duh. But there ARE still two or three contact companies that make contacts strong enough for my astigmatism. Dang eyes.
Shout outs:
New crayons-This completely appeals to my sense of OC-ness and it was really hard for me to let the boys actually use them.
Slip covers-love, love, love you!
Sunny skies-my boys thrive outside. Thanks for shining for a few hours each day so we could get out of the house!
String cheese-is there anything better than pulling apart cheese?