Happy? New Year!

This year has been off to a bit of a bumpy start.  Car troubles, money troubles (that's every year), kid troubles and household issues.  Shew!  My Husbands car has had a plethora of problems lately, sucking up a lot of any extra cash, and then some!  While working on his vehicle, my van decides that heat is no longer an option for us.  We've tried several fixes and no luck so far.  I really don't want to go to a mechanic, but it looks like that's what we'll have to do.  This actually wouldn't have been too big of a deal because the weather here was pretty mild but of course the day after the heat quits, the temps drop and we get our first snowfall (thanks Mother Nature!).  This is also when the kid issues kick in. . see school was out for Christmas break, they go back for one or two days and boom,snow!  So there goes a few more days out of school and stuck with me at home.  So, here we are now with one vehicle providing adequate heat (the vehicle Husband must drive to work) and 3 kids stuck home with a cranky Mom who has no money to order a pizza or movie because of said vehicle troubles.  Can't get any better than that right? I know it could be worse, trust me, I count my blessings.  I am allowed to vent and complain though and this has been pretty rough. 

Over the weekend, the oven decides it too feels it has provided enough service for our family and quit working.  Now, this can be good. . (sorry dear Husband, I can't cook dinner tonight, the oven isn't working, remember?)  but it's mostly bad.  There is really no extra fundage for take-out and I don't typically keep microwave friendly foods around, not too many stove-top items either so now we're in a pickle to get this oven mess squared away as well.

Ugh!  So, now that I've vented about that mess, let's move on, shall we?  Have I mentioned before that my oldest child is obsessed and I do mean obsessed with Star Wars?  It's getting kind of ridiculous and my Husband loves it.  I know nothing about Star Wars, never really watched the movies and can't keep up with all the characters names and events.  Luckily, my Husband is all nerd and knows all this information and he can translate for me.  It has gotten to the point though that my son, who is convinced he is a Jedi, has begun to sign his schoolwork with his name then Jedi.  His teacher doesn't seem to mind it, but I'm not sure if I should ask him not to do that or just let it go.  He also has a lot of demands when it comes to his clothing.  He's dressing himself in layers and gloves and extra, unnecessary apparel to look more like a Jedi.  (insert motherly, annoyed eye roll here)  I can deal with this for the most part. . 'you want to look like a dork, go for it son!'  but last night just came to a head.  He had a total, level 10 meltdown because his cape was missing. (yes, he wears a cape 98% of the time)  This meltdown lasted a good 45 minutes before he wore himself out and just went to sleep.  If it has become this important and causing such an issue for him to be a "Jedi" maybe we need to re-evaluate this Star Wars thing.  (A little disclaimer, my child has Autism and though this makes handling these situations a little tricky, I do my best to treat him no different than I do his siblings and handle each situation in as much the same manner as possible.)

Aside from all the other issues with Star Wars and my son, I REALLY can't take hearing that theme music any longer. . there are no words for how I feel when I hear it come on for the millionth time.  Any one else dealing with an obsessed kiddo?  I'm hoping this phase passes very soon!

In the mean time. .  I'm hoping to do a little revamping on my blog here.  I want to change decor around a little so excuse any mess and please, keep stopping by!

Ho-Hum Holidays!

I don't know about everyone else, but I am sooooooooo glad all the Holidays are over! I some what enjoy putting up my puny decorations, but my OCD sets in and I can't get the ornaments just right or the ribbon even and it just usually makes me grumpy.  Then all the shopping, not just shopping for gifts, but shopping in general.  I don't care where you go during the month of December, it's going to be busy, busy!  I think next year I am going to buy groceries for the entire month of December in one shot that way I won't have to leave the house!  On top of all that, we always go over board with gifts for the kids and it's stupid, they're spoiled, yet we do it every year!  So, with all of this lingering bah-humbugness I have, I've decided next year we're doing a destination Christmas!  A nice hotel suite, swimming pool and various attractions and that will be the Christmas present for the family.  Anyone else ever tried this?  Any tips or suggestions?  I think it'll be swell.  Perhaps we can take a mini tree with a single gift for each child.  I suppose I can't ruin the whole Santa Claus thing for them just yet, but this massive pile of gifts and expense has got to take a year off!  Besides, I think we should just enjoy being together and savoring experiences as a family.  Fast forward to next Christmas and as I read this post, I'll weep uncontrollably at the good intentions I had, HA!  I at least have a year to plan it all out, we'll see. . . . .

I hope everyone had a great New Years.  I was asleep by 10:30 and I believe my Hubs was asleep shortly after midnight.  The kids crashed around 9.  Basically, it was a typical night for us.  I've never been a big New Years person, I dunno why.  Just always seemed silly to me, partying so much for a calendar technicality.  I suppose I could be all dramatic and think of the possibilities of a "fresh start"  or "clean slate" for the new year, but I'm too much of a pessimist to go for all that.  For those who are, more power to ya!

When thinking about these Holidays, perhaps my attitude towards them stems from the fact that my birthday is the day after Christmas.  Yes, my name is Carol and I was born the day after Christmas, Thanks Mom!  Having a birthday in the midst of all that Christmas craziness has always sucked.  I've had 1 birthday party my entire life and it was in June.  I can't remember how it all came about, but I have a few pictures of me and friends all together in the summer having a birthday party.  My actual birthday always gets swept under the rug.  My poor Husband has tried every year, unsuccessfully, that we've been together to make my birthday special.  I've given up on it, I just don't get a birthday and that's okay.  I've finally got myself used to the combined presents and brush off of any potential birthday celebration anywhere near my actual date of birth.

After all this complaint though, I can say I enjoyed Christmas overall through the eyes of my children and if nothing else, this picture made it all worth while!