Thursday, January 3, 2008

It's Been a While

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything, and so much has happened that I wanted to write about, but now I pretty much feel like there's no way to catch up. It's been a crazy month or so.

In the beginning of December, G and I were re-married. We renewed our vows, and it was a big to-do. It was a lot of work, and I have no idea how people have great big weddings. It was also pretty stressful at times. The event marked our 10th anniversary, which is something I still have trouble getting my brain around. In all honesty, it's something I was not confident we would achieve. It makes me feel quite old. I feel as though we've moved into new territory...this is a new period for us. We've transitioned into something different; hopefully it will continue to grow and be progressively better. Sometimes there's nowhere to go but up, you know?

Christmas was VERY hectic, this year, since we were largely preoccupied with the re-wedding right before. My sister was wonderful and helped me with last-minute wrapping that a certain someone wasn't inclined to help with (in his defense, he did assemble some stuff that I wasn't inclined to). I actually got done all that I needed to and was able to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but when the day was over, I could have slept for 16 hours. Every year, I vow to start and complete the shopping and wrapping process earlier, but every year, it seems like I'm down to the wire. I really need to change that. This wasn't my favorite Christmas, either. It was very nice, but the actual part with the kids...well, it just didn't go the way I wanted. My middle son seemed disappointed, to some extent, and they all three unwrapped in record time. Next year I think I'm going to have them alternate unwrapping a gift so that it can be more appreciated by all of us. Not to mention, maybe it will make the gifts "stretch", and they won't be left simply wondering what they can open next. I want them to be grateful for what they have and what they get. Anyway, now comes the process of culling the existing toy collection and finding homes for the new stuff. But I really think that this year they got a reasonable amount of stuff. More importantly, they seemed very interested in traditions, this year...which was nice. I hope they continue to appreciate that.

The inlaws came and went without much to-do, which was nice...but not without all the phony-ness and half-truths. I don't know why my mother-in-law can't just say and do what she really feels. I really feel sorry for G in that respect. I'm pretty sure he'll never have a decent relationship with her. She's just not capable of it...and he's got to realize that it's not his fault, and he can't control that. Some people just weren't meant to be parents.

New Year's was uneventful. We had family over, and we all ate and drank and finally watched the ball drop. We let all the kids stay up (which I remember doing every year), so they were ridiculous by midnight. We drank the champagne which someone gave us for the re-wedding (we have no idea who it was from...the card became estranged from the bottle), and gave the kids sparkling cider (which they weren't exactly fond of). We lit fireworks and let the kids bang on pots with metal spoons...a ruckus we quickly distracted them from. Kisses from all my babies and my family was a good way to start the new year.

So, G needs to quit smoking, like, today. I'm not having the $4.70/pack. That's almost $2k/year. Imagine the vacation we could take! Not to mention that he's been smoking for a long time, and promised to quit when I was pregnant with Cameron (um, that was nine years ago). I took one for the team, it's time he did, too. He'll smell better and live longer. Besides, I have no idea how the boy can run the way he does, and smoke the way he does.

My tooth (the one that was root canaled) is bothering me again. The gums around the crown are irritated, and I read about it online last night...I should know better. They described the patient needing something called crown lengthening...very painful, very expensive. Great. I hope to God I don't need that. That is NOT how I want to start the new year.

I hope this finds you well and happy.