Inner Ramblings

Christmas

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:06:26 -0500

The holidays rolled in with a thunder this year. They were upon me in a fast and furious way, but I'm glad to say that I was able to slow down and enjoy the approaching day rather than speeding through and then feeling as if I missed the most important parts of it.

Christmas Eve was different this year. I had to work, and I actually encountered some client problems that had to be dealt with. After those things were taken care of, I was able to be home and put work away while I made a Gingerbread House with Ian, bake a Gingerbread cake, and wrap the last of the gifts for my parents. We left for their house around 5pm, and Ian was a ball of excitement as soon as he hit the door, even without the usual whirlwind of his 5 cousins (they are up in Boston this year). We let him open 1 gift in hopes it would calm him down, but the effect of tranquility was not quite achieved. We were able to eat through, and we had a wonderful spiral ham, pasta salad, spinach and crab pastry, and brussel sprouts. We set up the candles for luminaria, and Ian was allowed to light them this year which was pretty exciting for him. After that we sat around and had champagne while we opened gifts, and then we walked around the neighborhood to look at all the lights and to mingle with the neighborhood. There were piles of people walking around and everyone was so happy! It was a fantastic night.

When we got home Ian and Roo got right into bed. Roo fell right to sleep, and Ian fell asleep shortly after that. Sean and I put the gifts under the tree, wrote the "thank you letter" from Santa for the cookies and carrots which I taped to the fireplace, and then we put the stockings out. We lasted about 15 minutes after that, and then it was off to bed for us!

I woke up at 5:30am, but didn't want to get out of bed. I managed to make it until 6:30am, and then I decided to get up and make coffee. Sean woke up too, so we went to the kitchen to start the Cinnamon buns and winter blend coffee.

As soon as I walked down the hallway I knew something was amiss. When I turned the corner to the living room I started to laugh, because I knew Ian had been up and had been out to see what Santa had left for us. The gifts were scattered, but funniest of all was the removal of Santa's letter. Ian can't even read, but somehow he knew what that letter was all about, LOL!

Sean and I decided to open our stockings before the kids woke up, so we did that quickly. That was funny too, because Ian had obviously been in the stockings as well; there were 2 things of candy that had been in my stocking that "mysteriously" ended up in his

We had to wake the kids up at 7:30am. I'm assuming Ian was still tired after his night of foraging! He had his impish grin going when he came down the hall, but he was excited to open everything. He was appropriately excited about all of his gifts, and was SUPER excited when Daddy pulled out the gift from behind the couch, which ended up being a Wii. *sigh* Roo got into ripping the paper off her things, but the whole experience was a bit beyond her.

After a relaxing morning, we went over the my mother-in-laws house. It was different this year because there were a LOT more people there and it wasn't as family focused. Sean had a hard time with it, but the kids had a great time. I did too, although I missed the special 'alone time' we usually have with them.

We left there around 5pm, and from there we went to Sean's dad's. He was at his girlfriends, so we had to travel about 30 minutes to her house. The kids had a blast, and they each got more than enough gifts, including Zhu-Zhu pets, LOL! They were both a bit wild though, so I knew that they were getting pretty tired. We stayed for a little over 2 hours, and we left (without the Chihuahua they wanted to give us!), and both of the kiddos passed out in about 4 minutes.

Yesterday Roo slept until 8am, and Ian was asleep until 9:30am! My parents came over to visit, and then we went to Ikea to look for something I wanted, and then we hit BJs and then the mall. The mall was terrifying with all the people though, so we picked up dinner and came home to play some of Ian's games. After that the kids were tucked in bed, and Sean and I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until bed.

It was a wonderful way to spend the holiday. I couldn't have asked for better!

Ho Ho Holiday

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:14:00 -0500

This holiday season has been amazing. I am a Christmas whore, yes, but this year it's been something special. I feel so complete and so happy, and this Christmas seems to be a time for me to reflect on all the wonderful things that I have in my life. I find myself with this bubbling excitement in my chest, and I want to spread my happiness to everyone!!

A lot of this is because of the kids. My Roo has completed my heart; the hole I had in my soul is completely filled in by her presence. And Ian, well, he is my guiding star. I love the person I am when I'm with him; he truly is something amazing and special. Sean and my relationship isn't perfect, but I love him and who he is. Our relationship is getting better, and a lot of that has to do with me and my acceptance of what is and what I cannot change.

The weekend was great, complete with going to the movies with a wonderful friend on Friday, going to the mall Saturday night followed by sushi and Four Christmases, then a trip to Brooksville to Rogers Christmas Village, making cookies with Ian, and even some studying!

I am content.

Quick Look

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:55:25 -0500

I can't believe i

Weekend Preview

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:30:06 -0500

I'm not ready for Monday. This has been the best couple of days, and I don't want the weekend to end.

Friday I had a late lunch with a friend/coworker when we were done seeing clients in the jail. From there I picked Ian up from Tae Kwon Do early because I was supposed to be going with a friend of mine to see New Moon again. She ended up not being able to go, so when Sean got home we watched another Christmas movie together. Roo went to bed early, so we ended up playing games and doing some Christmas crafts.

Saturday Sean had plans for a few hours, so the kids and I went shopping at BJs with my mother. We got back around noon, and Sean was home again by that time. Roo napped and I studied, then we went to get something to eat. We were going to go to the boat parade in St. Petersburg, but Roo wasn't doing too well, so we just came home and watched another Christmas movie. Both kids went to bed early, so Sean and I wrapped presents and watched Santa Clause 3 together.

Today Sean and Ian went out for the morning while I stayed home. I cleaned out Ian's room, put away about 5 loads of laundry, went through Roo's toys, cleaned out part of her room and the laundry room, and by that time Ian and Sean were back home. Both kids had lunch, then a tubbie, and now Roo is napping off a fever (hopefully), Sean's in bed, and Ian and I are getting ready for our "Christmas Eve Lite" at my parents. Since my brother and his family are going up North for the holidays, we're going to have our annual celebration a little early this year. Food, family, kids, gifts, laughter, love... Who could ask for more?!

The Holidays Begin

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:42:50 -0500

I have about 30 seconds to write because I'm about to pass out, so this entry will be short.

Got up at 6:30am with Roo. We had breakfast together, then I ironed Ian's Tea Kwon Do outfit for his testing today. Ian got up around 8am so I got him breakfast. Right when he finished we took Roo over to my mom's house, then we got back here to pack his bag for the day. We then left to get Sean, and then we had to drive to South Tampa for Ian's exhibition/test.

Ian did great! They had a bunch of different belts there so there was a lot to see, including the Sensi and an amazing leap into the air to break a board being held by two guys on the shoulders of two other guys. Ian was at a disadvantage a bit because the student next to him kept missing their turns and such so it threw him off, but he got his stripe anyway. He is so proud, because he got to break a board twice.

We had enough time after that to drop Sean back at work, pick up Roo, then get back home so I could dress them both in layers for Sean's business party. They threw a big bar-b-que with so much food I thought they were feeding the neighborhood! It was great though. About 50 people showed up, the kids were well behaved, and I got to see a bunch of people I haven't seen in, well, a year! (This year I was smart and got a couple phone numbers of the couples I get along well with, so after the holidays we'll have some more people to hang out with.) We left there around 10pm, and both kids are now snuggly in their beds.

I can't wait to slip into bed myself. It's flippen cold out there!

Comfortable with Me

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:03:20 -0500

Not a lot has been been going on the past few days, and I like it like that. I was sick most of the weekend so I didn't do much but laze around, but on Sunday the kids and I put up the tree. Monday night Ian and Sean decorated the lawn, and all I can is that that Jeff Foxworthy should come and do a skit about our house. Four of the 5 things out there don't light up more than halfway. It's lovely.

I can't wait for Christmas! I love the holidays anyway (as most people know because I listen to Christmas music all year round), but this year is going to be different. My brother and SIL won't be here for our traditional Christmas Eve, and the people at my MILs house is going to be few this year for Christmas day, so it should be quiet. I don't mind though, because this year I feel totally different so the quiet should suit me fine.

During the past few months I've realized how few friends I really have because I decided to let the word "friend" mean something more to me than in the past, and I've also stopped trying to make excuses for people and thus feeling badly that I didn't "measure up" to whatever deserved their time and attention. Because of the change in my thinking I have, in essence, freed myself from feeling less-than-worthy and thinking that there was something lacking in me as a person. With that came a great calm and a fullness in my heart, and an even greater appreciation for the true friends and the family I have. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I can't think of a greater time to have come to this honest and amazing realization than around the holidays!

Lights In The Sky

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:41:18 -0400

We had such a good time last night! We went to Busch Gardens after Sean got home from work. My parents followed us, and amazingly we got parking places right next to eachother! Considering it was so busy they were parking cars at Adventure Island, I was thrilled.

We got to the park and headed to the grill to eat. We got to watch a show, then we headed to Jungula. Ian climbed everything in sight while we sat with Roo and just talked and had a few beers, then we headed to Dinosaur Land so Ian could play and we could watch the fireworks.

We were able to get out of the park without too much pushing and shoving, and both kids are sound asleep right now. It was one of those "perfect" family nights, and I'm looking forward to another one tonight with cooking out and swimming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!

In Preperation

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:03:15 -0500

Ian and I went to the park with the whole family today. Sean ended up closing the shop early so, when we got back home, we decided to clean out the house. So far we've gotten rid of 8 trash bags full of stuff, taken some things to my mother's, and donated a bunch of other stuff. It feels G-R-E-A-T!

I have my burning bowl ceremony tonight and I'm excited about that. I'll be going alone, but that's fine with me. I'll be meditating and 'cleansing' for an hour and I couldn't be more happy with my plans for the evening.

I have found that a few things I've come across are hard for me to let go of. Hopefully after tonight I can come home and throw out the final 'evils' of the past year.

Perfection... For Now

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:32:24 -0500

I'm still listening to Christmas music all the time. Granted, I listen all year, but only in fits and starts. Right now I'm listening to Silver Bells playing on the Sounds of the Seasons channel on TV, and I have my favorite "Christmas Mix" CD in my car. I also have our alarm set to Christmas music.

I just don't want the season to end. It's been so perfectly wonderful that I don't want anything to cause a shift... I haven't been this happy in a long time.

Labor Day

Inner Ramblings of My Mind — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:44:34 -0400

Had a busy weekend!

Friday night we drove to St. Petersburg to Quaker Steak and Lube so I could have fried pickels and Ian could play the games there.

Saturday Sean had to work on the rental house so I took Ian to Busch Gardens with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my 4 nieces and nephews. We experienced Jungala for the first time and it was awesome! The kids played in the water area and then spent an hour climbing around, so they were exhausted by the time we left. After that I had a mystery shopping assignment at Hooters so Ian went to my parent's house and Sean and I went out to dinner alone. When we got back home I got stuff ready for the yard sale, and then on Sunday we were up at 5am to set up.

The yardsale was a bust; only 2 people showed up! I was sick and in pain that day (did too much so had contractions Saturday night and just generally felt like garbage on Sunday), so I spent the rest of the day in bed.

Today I got up early to do some studying, then we hit Adventure Island for 3 hours. We came home, showered, and then went to a friend's house for a bar-b-que which was fun and relaxed. The kids even got along pretty well until the end, which was amazing because two of them are 'best friends' and Ian was the 'new kid', and the three of them are only children. There were a few moments of "we're playing a two person only game!" and some other things that we had to step in on, but the majority of the time they played nicely. We left when Ian broke down from exhaustion, and now we're home and getting ready for bed... Ian passed out at 7:30pm so I think he's done, LOL!

Work tomorrow and it's going to SUCK! I have a hearing I've been dreading for weeks and, even though I did over and above the amount of work I needed to in order to get some things straight before tomorrow, it didn't work out the way I was supposed to. *sigh* Does it ever?