Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Laundry Basket, Thy Name is Victory

As soon as Samuel gets home from school (daycare), he demands that we help him take off his shoes and socks.  I'd gotten tired of picking up little stray socks all over the house, and was determined to find a solution that would help maintain my sanity AND teach Samuel good habits.  A few days ago, I bought a very small children's laundry basket at Target. 

When I got it home, I explained to Samuel that his dirty clothes needed to go in the basket.  To reinforce that idea, I helped him put his dirty socks in it, and then made a big deal about it-- complete with cheering and a hug. 

Now?  As soon as we take his socks off, Samuel jumps up and announces that he needs to put his socks in his basket, and takes off down the hall.  Cheering about dirty clothes aaaaaalll the way.  Tonight, as I undressed him for his bath, I had to wait for him to take his clothes into his room, to put in his basket.

Win.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

New Year, New Post, New Resolutions

It's been over a year now, since my last post. My writing slowed dramatically when I started working 18 months ago, and has vanished into nothingness.

So, let's recap, shall we?

I got promoted a few weeks after my last post, and am currently a shift supervisor at Starbucks.
I visited my sister in San Diego for July 4 and my birthday.
I came home and got pregnant.
I had a miscarriage 8 weeks later.
Went through some crazy depression (surprise!) and relationship issues for several months.
My son turned 2 right after Thanksgiving.
I lost 15 pounds-- Hey thanks, depression.
We had the most relaxed Christmas ever-- it involved opening gifts, playing with my son, and our family eating frozen pizza for dinner. Also... I think there was snow. But seriously? If every Christmas could be like that one, I would be delirious with joy.

And now?

I have my 18 month review with my store manager on Sunday afternoon. I think we're going to talk extensively about my options for a long-term future with Starbucks... and about the Coffee Master Program, which is super exciting to me!

Jeremy goes back to work on Tuesday after 3.5 weeks at home-- he's a high school Physics teacher. I'm both thankful and sad. We have gotten to spend a lot more time together. And by "a lot more" I mean... we've seen each other more than just 90 minutes a day (usually the maximum during the school year). However... my days off are a lot more productive when I'm alone.

My son? SO SMART. No, really. I don't like to be that perpetually bragging parent... but seriously. He wants to watch "space shuttle rocketships" on YouTube. The real NASA launch videos. He understands using the potty-- although, I don't think he's physically capable just yet. He tells you, "Don't worry" when you look worried. He jokes with us-- about what animals we're looking at, what color something is, etc. He knows that mommy works at the Coffee Store. He loves LOVES vegetables. He peels the breading off of fried okra... and eats just the OKRA. He is super active, as he should be, but he also loves to snuggle up for reading multiple Curious George stories (sometimes up to 75 pages!) and Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.

We've been doing a ton of work in the house... repainted Samuel's room, re-refinished the kitchen cabinets, sorting through all the crap we should have taken care of when we moved into this house 2.5 years ago. It's been a productive Christmas season for us! Our bathrooms are getting a little touch up next, and then we're repainting our bedroom.

I've been crocheting a lot again, too. I'm working on a Moebius scarf-- it's peacock blue/green and navy. I'll show it to you when I'm done.

On to the resolutions!

1. Seriously lose some weight. No more messing around. I think that 15 pound loss was a motivational jump start for me-- I went down a pants size! I've gone from 185 to 170. I would like to lose another 40 pounds this year.
No.
I want to, and I will.
There.
I put it in writing.

2. Go see a mental health professional and potentially get on some medication. This is something I've talked about doing for years... whenever things get really bad, I tell myself I'm going to. And then I go through a good season, and I tell myself I don't need it. I don't want to live like that anymore-- with that feeling of drowning in sadness, no matter what's going on in my life.

3. Go on a trip with just Jeremy and me. Even if it's only 2 days.

4. Spend time with more "real" adults and other married couples. For me, this is a true challenge! Most of my friends are single and/or younger than I. It's very convenient that way-- they don't have all the obligations that I do, so we work our social events around my life. Ew. That sounds way more self-centered than I meant it to. But really. Hanging out with real adults and other couples (especially those with children) requires a lot more work and more planning ahead. But I am truly resolved. This is something Jeremy and I both need.

5. Attend Mass regularly and get involved at my church. Especially in the choir.

6. Make a cake (even if it's just a dummy) once a week, starting when Jeremy goes back to school. I really need to get my skills back up and I need to learn some new ones. I think I'm going to start practicing with fondant, too. But I think I'm going to hold off on that until this summer, after I've honed my icing skills. I'll try to post pictures as I go.

7. Cook dinner more regularly. And by cook, I do not mean pull Stouffer's from the freezer. Although, I do love their lasagna. Three to four days a week, I have to work during dinner. Jeremy usually goes to the local grocery store and buys dinner for himself and Samuel from the hot bar there. I have a degree in culinary arts, and it's going to waste while my family eats garbage.

8. Keep Samuel home from daycare longer/more often on my days off.

9. Run five miles without stopping.

10. Find joy in every day.

And now... it's 1:05, and Samuel will be up at 7:00 no matter what.
Good night! And good luck to us all this year!