Resolutions.

Things I would like to aim for in 2013:

1. Date my husband.
As far as priorities, this has not been up there this last year. The more children we've had, the harder this has been to do. I think, at some point, we just stopped trying. This year I want to try harder to make one-on-one time for ourselves. Once a month.. Pretty reasonable.

2. Buy less, thrift more.
I've noticed my kids are becoming fairly obsessed with "new, new, everything new". Since they've taken to the whole "donate what we don't use so others can use it" philosophy, I'm hoping "used stuff is just as good, let's save some money" will also work out. 

3. Paint more rooms of my house.
Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom.. I'm not choosey. I just really need everything to not be so BEIGE.

4. Fight the clutter.
It's going down. 

5. Read.
I have a book list again but I'm not going to beat myself up if I go off-list. Donations welcome.

6. Cook things outside my comfort zone.
My grandmother kitchen-guilts me from the other side. Cookbooks are STILL coming in her name a couple times a year. I'm going to take the hint and actually use one.

7. Finish my degree.
Dream the impossible dream. Half a semester of make-up Cosme hours and a few English and math classes (plus that pesky Behav Health) and I'm outta here, college.

8. Make progress on my tattoo.
The "big one".

9. Round out my resume.
Unpaid externships? Gimme. Volunteer hours? On-the-job education? I want it.

10. Help Shamus expand his social circle.
With Chance being at school, he's clearly lonely. I need to work harder to take him out (not the easiest with a wee baby) so he can meet people his age to play with. On a side note, this probably wouldn't hurt me either. It seems like everyone I know is fleeing to other parts of the country. Part of getting older, I guess, but it's a part I am decidedly NOT enjoying. 

December!

Holiday party action.

This picture is accurate. I am tired and Jack is a blur of motion.

Birthday Adventuring.

The weekend was fun. Saturday James was gone for CORE training all day so the kids and I stayed in our pajamas and watched movies. I have had a headcold for going on ten days now and it was especially bad at the end of the week. The rest was very welcome. That night was our planned Game Night. We were supposed to play Game of Thrones but L&E were just as wrecked as James and I so we ended up playing one of the kids' games they bought Shamus a few years back. It was still in the plastic as he was way too young then to play. It was a Viking-themed game and perfect for the age the kids are now. Everyone got to play and it was a good time. They baked us a giant meat pie, so I didn't have to cook. L got me a very large purple bow headband. Best sick day ever.

My actual birthday was Monday, but since James had to work, we celebrated together Sunday. We went and had a big sushi lunch (my favorite) in Alameda. After lunch we walked along the beach and the kids helped me find a couple of sea shells. I've got quite a nicely growing pile on my night stand from our beach trips. The kids spent all week making me things secretly and slipping them into a gift bag so by the time by birthday had arrived the bag was very full of different colorful,  beautiful odds and ends. Chance also built me a gift in Wood Working class. It's a diorama of a gas station. He's never made me anything for my birthday before so I was pretty touched. We spent the rest of the day lying around, watching movies. Very relaxing. James gave me my gift, a new papier mache Dia skull for my collection. And two 2-lb. Peanut Butter Cups. It was a very insightful gift. Usually I buy myself a new one every Day of the Dead, but this year I was disappointed not to find any that I really liked. Also, it is pink and teal, which are my favorite colors (besides gray, of course). Plus Peanut Butter Cups are my favorite candy. So good job, James.

Last week I decided I wanted to take the boys to see Santa Claus before Christmas. We almost saw him at Bass Pro on the way home from Thanksgiving but the line was LUDICROUS. People had number tickets like the DMV and were waiting in line for hour blocks at a time for their time window. No way was I doing that. Instead I let Chance play hookey from school (just this once!). I figured if we went on a weekday in the middle of the day we could go see him at the mall. We bundled up and took the BART train to the Powell mall in San Francisco. After we met and had pictures taken with Santa, we went all the way to the very top and sat under the Dome. They were projecting colors and pictures onto it. We sat under it for a long time watching while we eat cookies from the Dome cafe. It was really beautiful. One of the really enjoyable parts of having children is being able to re-experience something you've already seen through them. Their faces were amazing.

They helped me do the last of my Christmas shopping (I'm all finished except for one more J thing and the kids' toys!). I let them each pick out a treat for being so well-behaved. They ended up choosing Ninja Turtle ornaments. They have good taste. We grabbed lunch (breakfast for lunch = greatest thing ever) and met up with my lovely friend Mary for a bit. I took them to one of my favorite kids' stores in the entire world.. The Disney Store. I have never taken my children in the Disney Store before as I never thought they were old enough to be able to leave the store without having a meltdown. They surpassed my wildest expectations. I explained to them before we entered that we were looking but NOT BUYING. They marveled, enjoyed, and showed me all the things they loved (I love everything in there too) and we left without anyone making a scene. Score one for my kids. Couldn't be more proud of them.

They were actually impossibly well-behaved all day. Usual manic energy with none of the negative aspects. Chance even asked if he could carry bags and packages for me. And wanted to hold my hand for no reason. I wish it were my birthday every day. Came home to find some pretty leopard gloves in the post from my mother-in-law. My mum got me a Betsey Johnson watch. I finished the day by making a meatloaf with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I really can't think of anything that could've added to it. My twenty-fourth birthday could be the best I've ever had.

Rainy Season.

I think from now on when someone asks me, "How are you?" I'm going to respond with how many buses I rode that day. It seems to be in direct relation to how crappy my day is. So yesterday I would have said, "I rode six buses today in the pouring rain, two of those with three kids, how are YOU?".

Sorry I'm complaining. I've had a head cold for a week now, James hurt himself at work so he's been needing caring for too. I haven't been to school all week, finals are approaching. I'm just tapped out. It'll pass. I took Chance to school and took the baby to his doctor's appointment. He's perfect. No more weight concerns. Less gas problems. He's a plump, rosy, smiling, singing, POWER EATING ball of baby. He didn't even cry when they gave him his shot. Just paused mid-sentence and continued on like nothing had happened. His cheerfulness defies all logic. He and Shamus were good sports yesterday. They both crashed out on the last bus home. I don't blame them.

Mommy Hell.

This morning Shamus puked on the bus while we were taking Chance to school. It was impossibly quiet. Chance and I were mid-conversation, I looked away, and when I looked back he was covered in his own vomit. We were only halfway through the first bus ride (It takes two buses to get there). I can't believe I missed how hot his forehead was. It was one of those every-mother's-nightmare kind of scenarios. I have no idea how I didn't freak out through all of that.

As much as I'm complaining, I am also pretty grateful too. Thank you to the old ladies who rushed over with napkins to help. Thank you to the bus driver who kept driving (even though they are legally required to immediately pull over, evacuate the bus, and call for a new one when someone throws up. I know this because when I was pregnant with Shamus I threw up on the bus several times). Thank you to the second bus driver who didn't say a word when Shamus climbed on still visibly puke-y. Thank you to the guy by the school lost-and-found who turned a blind eye while we borrowed a sweatshirt for Shamus to wear home. Thank you to the lady who ran and got me a plastic bag for his nasty clothes. Thank you to the people on the very crowded bus home who gave us their seats and pretended not to notice how AWFUL we smelled.

Getting Chance to school on time was a universally team effort, but I'm glad we made it.
Mama needs to hurry up and master freeway driving so she can get her license already.

New Hair.

The color, anyway. Not the hair. The hair's all mine.

Chance's been at his dad's all week so we're all missing him. Shamus is like a tiny, manic cyclone. I hear, "Look, Mom! Watch me, watch me" every five seconds. Baby Jack is like The Blob, consuming anything that gets too close. I think he gains a pound a day, he's getting so heavy!

We're all excited for Chance to get back and for us to leave for our Thanksgiving vacation. (Both happen tomorrow). I haven't packed yet. That's always insane. Not one of us can pack light. Even the baby? ESPECIALLY the baby.

Suffocating in the Stuff.

Full disclosure: I love STUFF. I come from a long line of women who have too much stuff. I guess the problem isn't owning all the stuff, it's when it crosses that line to owning you. That's been the theme of my week, "There's too much stuff. Let's get rid of some."

It's daunting, especially my night stand. James built it for me last year and it's been accumulating crap ever since. Homework, read books, books I want to read, my precious magazines, random lost makeup, hair bows... It's insane. Sometimes I find myself just staring at it. That happened last night. It was a very long and tiring day. I decided it would be a good idea to poke something near the middle of  the heap to see what would happen. The top of the pile immediately tipped onto the floor, but everything else seemed to hold, and then there it went. Pounds of stuff came down in a giant avalanche. All over the floor, the bed, everywhere.

With a sigh of resolution, I went and got a trash bag and spent two hours sorting (and tossing). I did the same thing in the dining room two days before. I already feel better. I think the junk is a physical manifestation of how I'm feeling. Overwhelmed. Unappealing. Cluttered.

It's my obsession this week, trying to get it dealt with before the holidays come and I have even less time on my hands. If only there were three of me so I could clean each room simultaneously...

Dia De Los Muertos In Pictures.

We had two, a big one in our neighborhood the Sunday before and an even bigger one in SF the actual day of. It's our favorite yearly tradition, but I don't think we've ever gone to both in the same year.

This was the first year Shamus let me paint his face. The first Dia he smeared it pretty quickly so I got smart and used different tools the second time and it survived a lot longer. Chance threw an unfortunately timed tantrum just before his turn to get his face painted so he couldn't get any, which I was disappointed about. There's always next year.

Fruitvale-

Got to wear my awesome WWII zombie girls dress. It fits, hooray!

SF-

Both kids passed out before the night was over. Shamus in his stroller, Chance at the restaurant.

Nothing funnier than a child asleep at an inappropriate time!

Halloween In Pictures.

Technically we had two Halloweens as our friend in Pacifica had a kid-friendly Halloween party the Saturday before. Shamus wore Chance's old Frankenstein costume since his wasn't actually finished yet. I was Miss Piggy. There's no pictures somehow. The blonde wig was itchy so I kept trying to take it off but every time I did Shamus would insist I put it back on. I think he prefers blondes.

 Halloween was crazy but fun. We procrastinated like champs this year so we were literally hot gluing and sewing things together the day of. We finished, picked Chance up from school, and drove straight to Benicia. It rained for the first block we trick-or-treated and then, thankfully, it quit for a while so we were able to keep going (though the baby had to stay inside after that).

Pterodactyl and Bat. (Jack was a bat too). 

 Punkins.

Shamus' is an owl in a tree. Chance made a "Skylander that shoots fireballs". Mine and James' are pretty self-explanatory.