I'm still here I swear...

Okay so it's been two months since my last post. Things have been a bit crazy around here (hence the theme). There's been lots of illness, another power outage, and then more illness. This has been a tough season for the girls but I just keep trying to remind myself that things could be worse. They keep getting the annoying kid things that go around. First it was the pukes, which I did get but my husband managed to avoid. Then there was a bout of RSV which is always a joy (and don't I know it since it's the third time I've dealt with it). Then the ice storm hit and the power was out for five days which meant we slept on my sister's floor for a couple days (thank goodness for her generosity) which never bodes well for little ones' sleep habits. Just when I think we are finding some normalcy they get colds. I'm not done yet. Now we are battling Hand Food and Mouth Disease (at least one of them is so far). Ugh! Will it ever end? Thankfully they have maintained a mostly cheerful and always strong-willed personality through it all that somehow makes it all seem worth it, even if I am sleep deprived.

The reasons for my recent hiatus from blogging made me realize why I hadn't started this sooner. I was too damned tired!!! Honestly, I wanted to start a blog a long time ago because our oldest found sleep optional most of the time. I spent countless hours researching and reading all the advice on getting one's child to sleep "properly." Coming from a long line of 10-hour a night sound sleepers made this a bit of a fight for me. My husband, on the other hand, had no problem with it since this seems to be his gene contribution and not mine. Spending three years of my life without sleep wasn't something I ever considered when longing for and then finally having children. Again I try to remind myself that things could be worse. This really only works after I've had a sufficient "freak out" about something really stupid, like dropping my keys on the floor. Once I do that and realize what lesson I've just passed along to my kids then I take some deep breathes and plaster a smile on my face and hope the girls think it was all a big joke. I know I'm going to be very sorry when one or both of the girls start freaking out over something like a shoe coming untied. Uh, this would be my contribution to the gene pool. But I am working on it and here's a good example. The other day while I was preparing dinner, the girls found the huge garbage bag of freshly shredded documents I had in my office. They promptly starting throwing them in the air and said, "it's raining!" What fun for them! I didn't freak out, I hung my head and sobbed, but at least I didn't freak out.

All that said, I'm back at it and ready to continue our crazy ride whether that involves a move to Colorado or just making it back to bed in hopes of getting one solid hour of sleep. Sweet dreams!

Some clarification

Okay so it's been a week since my first blog and talk about some feedback. It seems the way I worded things requires a bit of clarification. When I said we "are packing up and heading west" what I should have said is that we have decided to move west, that is, merely made the decision that we intend to do it. My poor husband has been getting all kinds of grief and farewell phone calls. It will be months before the house is ready for a sign in the yard and then we wait until the buyer arrives. No buyer, no move. We hope to make it there in 2009 but not likely before late summer. So now everyone can just take a deep breath and put off the panic for at least six to nine months.

That said, now you see how this might actually become a "crazy ride" for us. Kurt and I will spend the next couple months doing all the things to our house that we should have done soon after we moved in. We'll putty and paint, we'll sort and sell, we'll assess and arrange. The whole time cursing it all because it won't be ours for long after that. We have vowed not to let this happen in our next destination. Maybe committing to it publicly will help.

Many people have asked why we would leave our friends and family for a new place. It may seem that we are taking our two girls away from everything stable and secure but we see it differently. We see it as an opportunity to expose them to a new world. We intend to find a community that has walking paths and bike lanes so that our main mode of transportation is our feet and not the car. Believe it or not, we've actually been yelled and honked at while pulling our precious cargo in a bike trailer. Imagine the audacity of pedaling so slowly that we might actually make that particular driver two minutes late for the Starbucks drive thru. This is the attitude we're looking to shed and not our beloved peeps. We plan to take them to the mountains (okay yes, we'll have to use the car for that but you get the idea) and show them the world of snow sports. We hope they will love it as much as we do.

So the babysitter is coming on Saturday for our first day of purging. Put on your seat belts, or better yet maybe a hard hat and safety glasses.

More than a New Year's Resolution

Sorry to sound like everyone else but it's inevitable--I can't believe another year has come and gone. One of my (many) resolutions is to do the blog thing. So here it is and I'm wondering, what the hell do people want to read that they don't already. I don't think I can answer that so I guess we'll just jump on the spinning wheel and see where we land.

Much happened in 2008 but the most monumental for me was losing my Dad. He died on November 7th and it's hard to believe it has only been eight weeks since that day. In reality, my life is not much different. Our two girls keep a 24-hour clock so each day the same (albeit usually joyous) cycle repeats itself. Thankfully, I am not stuck in the house my parents shared for more than 40 years, however, my Mom is. It won't be long though before she is packed up and moved into a small condo and the only house I've ever known will belong to someone else. I can't help but wonder how many times I will pull into the driveway on my way to see Mom only to realize that she lives somewhere else now. I wonder how many of my siblings will do the same thing. Hopefully the new owner will change the locks just in case I really space out and go that extra step to put my key in the lock.

2009 will be just as monumental because my husband and I have decided to move the family to Colorado. We have wanted to do this for some time but a few factors kept the plan on hold. The main one being my Dad's health. I must admit that I have pangs of guilt because he has been in the ground less than two months and we are packing up and heading west. I can't say that he would have wanted us to go but he would definitely want me to be happy. We long for more sunshine and snow, more walking and biking, more health and happiness and this is the way we think we can get that. I think it's going to work.

It's going to be a crazy ride but one worth taking. Want to come along?