What I Want From 31

I turned 31 yesterday.

Wow. That’s very strange to type.

I’m THIRTY plus ONE. Really? Because I swear I just turned 22, and I feel like I’m 26… except when I look in the mirror and see the gray hairs and bags under my eyes and the lines on my face from exhaustion. But other than that, yeah, totally don’t feel like I should be 31.

I’ll deal, though. 31 and I can actually become great friends, I think, so long as we get a few things straight.

For one, I would like for 31 to be a year I don’t assume I’m dying of cancer every time I get a cough, sniffle, bruise or cellulite. Because 30 was a little bitch like that. F-ing 30 and all it’s anxiety and irrational thoughts that came with it. F you, 30. Good riddance.

As 30′s parting gift to me, it gave me a week of worry over a giant bruise that appeared on my knee after I discovered a small, sorta itchy, kinda sting-y bump on it the night before. It’s very unsettling to find bruises in places you don’t recall getting beat with a baseball bat. Especially bruises like this:

Note: If you are prone to freaking out about things like this, don’t post a picture on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook. 1% of people will tell you it’s okay, you’ll be fine, you’re leg won’t fall off. 99% of people will tell you you’re going to have to get your leg amputated, you’ll have nerve damage, you should get your white cell levels tested, and that a spider might have laid eggs under your skin and in a few short hours your knee will erupt and give birth to thousands of tiny spiders.

Google will, of course, do nothing but confirm the suspicions of the 99%.

So, on my birthday, I woke bright and early to head to the doctor to ease my fears that this was a cancerous bruise, or possibly brought on by a brown recluse bite that was going to turn into an open, seeping wound of flesh rot.

The verdict was it’s likely a spider bite of some sort, though the doctor couldn’t say what kind, and that… I’M FINE. Totally fine. Just really not fit to be wearing any skirts at Blissdom this week.

So, 31, let’s not be so alarmist, okay?

Also, I would like 31 to be the year I don’t sit in front of my computer, refreshing Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and WordPress all at the same time, while accomplishing nothing and simultaneously freaking about all I should be accomplishing at that very moment. I want 31 to be the year I attack every day and have a PLAN.

I want 31 to not feel like I’m drinking water from a fire hose and putting our fires with spoons.

I’m not asking for the perfect body or for wealth from 31 (though I wouldn’t mind a book deal), I simply want 31 to be a year I feel in control. Just a little bit. That’s a reasonable request, don’t you think?

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In Their Natural Habitat

Watch as the young male builds shelter to protect him from wild dogs, crazy cats and unleashed little sisters…

Now observe the tiny female as she steadies herself on her feet and explores her surroundings by shoving every bright piece of plastic into her mouth. She then scatters her stockpile of toys to take daily inventory, pretending not to hear the calls of the older male sibling baiting her to his shelter, where he would likely trap her and leave her for the dogs…

My house, my kids, National Geographic style.

Kendall is 3 years 9 months and Leyna is nearly 14 months old

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Rainy Day Paint Tape Town

My friend Sarah posted this pin on Pinterest this weekend, and it made the Popular page- for good reason!

 

It’s funny how we spend all this money on toys and entertainment for our kids, and it’s the $3 roll of painters tape in the garage that keeps them occupied the longest.

It’s a rainy, cold day here and I neglected to plan a play date, so that means all the conditions are perfectly brewing for maximum whining and big headaches. I remembered Sarah’s super idea, so I busted out a half roll of painters tape and randomly taped some shapes on our floor. It started out as an obstacle course, and then it turned into a town.

Paint Tape Town

We built buildings, drove cars and trucks down the blue streets, and even put some fields of grass and parking lots in (thanks to some FLOR carpet tile samples I’ve been hanging on to).

For all the attitude and the tantrums, I love this age. His imagination inspires me and his persistence amazes me. That log cabin fell down at least 4 times before he got it built exactly how he envisioned, windows and all. It’s “the office where daddy works, very far away.”

I think we’ll be buying more painters tape soon. Heck, I think I’ll be giving a roll of it at every birthday this year. Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah!

Kendall is 3 years 9 months old

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Funny Thing About Sleep

It’s, like, essential to function. Bummer, right?

I mean, I would be a MUCH better mother and housekeeper and a freaking rock star blogger if I didn’t need sleep.

Why, sleep, why must I be so dependent on you?

Scott’s been on a business trip all week, but I was determined not to let everything fall to pieces while he was gone. Monday started out great. I actually slept pretty well the night before, having gone to bed at 10 (possibly a touch worn out or…. buzzed from the Super Bowl festivities). I got to sleep in since Scott was driving out that day, but he didn’t have to leave super early.

I kicked Monday in the ass. I cleaned all the things and blogged all the things, and I did that while the children slept. I kicked Monday in the ass so hard that I was SuperMom, Blog Superstar and a fucking Merry Maid all in the same day.

Monday night I had to get up with my STILL WAKING UP ALL THE FREAKING TIME ONE YEAR OLD, but I was able to make up for it by taking a quick power nap on Tuesday while Leyna napped and Kendall was at school. I powered through, cleaned even more things, got some work done, and totally didn’t neglect a single child.

Wednesday was a struggle. I napped again while Kendall was at school and Leyna napped (for 3 hours because why sleep at night when we can sleep all day when mother should be working?), but it was less a power nap and more a coma. I got drive through Taco Bueno for dinner and killed 2 baby seals by throwing everything away since I didn’t have the energy to take out the recycling. I then stayed up until 12:30 getting work done that I should have done while I was in my afternoon coma.

Leyna woke last night 6… 9… a billion times? Kendall crawled into bed at 7 this morning and I handed him my phone without even opening my eyes, “Here mmmmpphhhh….. play. Game. Quiet.”

Being the brilliant boy he is, seeing how beyond tired and completely vulnerable I was, he began whining that he didn’t want to play any of those games. “I want a neeeewwwww game, momma,” he quietly whispered in my ear while I tried to bat him away like a fly. Before he could eek out, “pleeeEEEEAAAssee” the 5th time, I’d typed my password into the app store and hit purchase. I do this often. There are days I don’t even remember buying the new game. I’m certain I do it in my sleep.

Now, I’m in walking zombie mode. I care not about the house. The blog schedule can go to hell. I didn’t make Kendall brush his teeth this morning. I’m not even sure if I brushed my teeth this morning.

Scott’s going to be home in a couple hours, and I’ve been bragging all week about how on top of things I’ve been. I’ll just have to throw my hands in the air and say, “Sorry you missed it,” when he walks in.

I’ve had my suspicions over the last year, but I finally feel confident claiming any and all of my incompetencies and my raising iTunes budget on my total lack of sleep and my sickening dependence on it.

Kendall is 3.5ish and Leyna is 13 months old 

 

 

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