2009: Glad It's Over

This is going around my feed reader and though I am loathe to return to the Myspacey meme, it's not a bad way to keep track of the year.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? I didn't have a job that paid me a salary. My job was mama and I'm surprised how well it suited me. I thought I'd miss working.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did not make any resolutions and I have not planned any for this year. I've never been much for making them on January 1st.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My brother's wife. They had their baby boy in October, and I've yet to meet him. I hope they come to visit soon!

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, we've been fortunate.

5. What countries did you visit? The South.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Sadly, money. CS didn't get paid in December because he works for the worst employer in the world. Only a total shithead would not pay his workers before Christmas.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Jacob turning one. CS proposing on Christmas morning.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Finally trying to get in shape after having Jacob. I realized that I needed to do a lot of work on my body right before he turned one and I'm happy with my size now. I still need to work on it, but I fit into my clothes again!

9. What was your biggest failure? Not investing enough time into finding something for me to do to contribute to our finances. We can't afford for me to not work, but I cannot put Jacob in Daycare.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Only a few minor colds and one bad case of eczema.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A new phone. I was so sick of old, broken hand-me-downs and I am so happy with my new one. I just need it to last two years.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My mom. She's the only reason that I have been able to pay my bills on time the last six months. I feel horrible for needing so much of her help financially and I'm so grateful for how gracious she has been about it.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? CS's bosses. I have never been more disgusted with anyone as I have been at them. I want to take Jacob over to his house and demand that he apologize for not paying CS and ruining Christmas for a child.

14. Where did most of your money go? CS's truck. And moving three times.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Moving to Alabama. I was so looking forward to being there and I am still depressed that we didn't get to stay.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? "I'm Yours" by Jason Marz. It's a magic song! Jacob loves it and it can always calm him down or put him to sleep.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? The same.
b) thinner or fatter?Thinner
c) richer or poorer? Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Taking pictures and writing more letters.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worried about money. It's so consuming of my life. I wake up in the middle of the night and start calculating what we have and what is due and what we can't pay this month. It's stressful and I hate it but unless I get a job, there isn't much I can do to change it.

20. How did you spend Christmas? We stayed at my mom's house and opened presents there before sitting down to eat dinner. I got to make it for the first time ever and I loved it! We went to CS's grandma's afterwards and opened presents at his house before playing games and eating dinner.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Every day.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Glee. I just love it!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I hate CS's boss.

24. What was the best book you read? I re-read a lot of books this year that I have packed away over the years. But "The Help" was certainly the best NEW one I read.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I suspect that Kings of Leon would be if I could have downloaded the CD that Audrey sent me months ago.

26. What did you want and get? A second bowl for my KitchenAid, a Product(RED) water bottle and iTunes cards.

27. What did you want and not get? A juicer for my mixer, a house of my own.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I have seen so few movies this year, so I am not qualified to answer this. Both Harry Potter and New Moon disappointed me. Although I did watch Harry Potter 3 times in 24 hours, so maybe that helps.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 26 and we had dinner at my mom's house. I made the Car Bomb cupcakes. We had a 2nd dinner at CS's house and I made peach cupcakes that were not as good.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not having to worry about whether or not CS had a job, or if we were going to get paid on time, or if there was an end in sight of debt and living with parents.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Rediscovering clothes that have been in storage for the past two years.

32. What kept you sane? My son, my mom, CS.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Elmo, he's the bee's knees.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? Healthcare. Back in AL, when we took Jacob to a doctor for his trouble with pooping and we spend $180 on a five minute visit with a doctor, I flipped out. I cannot believe that I can't take my child in for an issue without insurance. That since I cannot afford insurance, I cannot afford for my family to be sick.

35. Who did you miss? CS when he was gone, my mom when I was gone.

36. Who was the best new person you met? Jessica, she's my workout buddy and fellow stay at home mom to a toddler. I'm worried she is going to move away to North Dakota and I will be all alone with Jillian Michaels.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. It can always be worse.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "I'm down to my last drink/time to sell my things/pack my bags and never look back/run a parallel line with the railroad track/make my get away" Love and Theft "Runaway"

Defining Moments: Engagements

I woke up before Jacob did on Christmas morning. This isn't unusual, since he can sleep until 10 some mornings. But this morning I was ancy, waiting for him to wake up so he could go open his box of Cheetos. First we woke up CS, where he was sleeping on the couch because there isn't enough room for us on the full sized bed at my mom's. Then we woke up Gramma and put on a kettle of hot water. Chris put on Christmas music and started putting gifts in piles. We let Jacob open most of his at once, waiting in between each one so he could enjoy them before ripping open a new one. The box containing his bag of Cheetos was the biggest hit. He started jumping up and down, squealing and signing "more" when he saw the bag. Then everything had a residue of orange dust on it. My brother got him a mini ball pit that required being blown up without a pump and I'm proud to admit that I did it without getting lightheaded or passing out.


After Jacob was secure in his ball pit lair and watching his new DVD of The Best of Elmo, we started opening our gifts from each other. I got CS a kit for making beer since he never gets to buy it now. He got me an iTunes card. There was also a construction calculator, a KitchenAid mixing bowl, a knitted cowl, a pillow, and small things in our stockings. Christmas in a recession is a lot more practical now.



After all the paper was cleaned up, Jacob, mom and I were playing with his toys and CS went out to his truck. When he came back in, he handed me a little gold box with a white bow. I was surprised, as the last thing I was expecting was a little jewelry type box. I tried to open the bow and ended up ripping it off before CS showed me how to peel the bottom part off. Once I got to the white hinged box, I popped it open and there was a diamond ring. My mom was exclaiming "oh my gosh" and I can't even remember what I said. I think there was gasping on my part. Then CS got down on one knee, right next to the ball pit and asked me if I'd marry him. I said yes, and eventually remembered to kiss him. He told me about the ring and got me a little sizer so it wouldn't fall off my finger.



So we are engaged. It's very surreal and since I can't get my ring back until Wednesday, it seems even less likely that I will be planning a wedding soon. You never know when those defining moments of your life are going to spring up on you.

I'd leave you with a picture of the two of us and the ring but I have none. There is one somewhere out there, but I will have to track it down. I hope your Christmas morning was as much fun as ours!

Merry Christmas!

I have been busy shopping for groceries, cooking a cheesecake, and making these for Christmas dinner! Not to mention the bazillion crafts I had to finish before tomorrow morning. I made owl ornaments for all the kids in CS's "other family" so I don't feel like a total loser when they give Jacob gifts and we have nothing for their children. My plan for downsizing Christmas a few years ago is not working when you meet people who have gift swapping traditions.

I can't wait for tomorrow morning, when Jacob can rip open his bag of Cheeto's and mac and cheese. We'll take better photos this year and hopefully he doesn't take a nap through it like last year. We're having dinner with my family at one then it's off to CS's grandma's for her dinner because it's "always at two" and we'll open gifts with his family in the evening. I can't help but wish that we had our own house to wake up in and traditions to make with Jacob but maybe next year. 2010 will be better, right?

I must go make rolls and frost the cheesecake! I'll leave you with this:

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I am one felted bag away from being done with Christmas. Well, that and taking a few picture of Jacob and having them developed for CS's dad's frame from last year. We draw names for his family so I don't have to buy him a gift, but I am making things for everyone else but his brother and his sister's boyfriend and since we live at his house I thought I should make a gesture. I really should be taking photos of the things I've made but something is wrong with me as I keep forgetting the camera and then I wrapped everything. I have to go by CS's house tomorrow for things like Pampers, clothes, and lotion so I will try to remember the camera.

CS got back from his work trip last night and Jacob was overjoyed to have him back. He refused to take a nap until after 2 and slept until 4:30 when we woke him up so we could go into town. CS had to go back to his house and get the sink snake for the kitchen drain after coming over this morning and I sent Jacob off with him so I could have a break and they could have alone time with his parents. I'm not going to lie. IT WAS GLORIOUS. I took the dogs for a walk and I haven't felt more lighthearted in a while. I put my favorite songs on the ipod and bounced around the block, high off being alone. I didn't have to entertain anyone, or worry about cold fingers or wind on his face. I haven't walked Hunter without Jacob since the week before Jacob was born. That was almost 16 months ago. Oh, wait. I went on a walk once without Jacob when we first moved back here. I left Jacob in his crib and told CS, who was sleeping on the couch, to listen for him. And I came back to a wailing infant and a sleeping CS. I was pissed. This time was much better now. When I got back, I got out my sewing machine and whipped out a final clutch. I was sewing without interruption at before noon. This NEVER happens. It was like I finally realized that I could do something without Jacob and we could both be happy. I see now why other moms enjoy letting other people take their children for a few hours. It's like regaining yourself. I've been in a co-dependent relationship where the only thing that matters is the male factor and I never got to do anything without checking with him first. But now, I see the light!

But Jacob came home and the first thing he did was hug on me. Then demand some food. And juice. The cycle repeats.

Dishwashing, A Cautionary Tale.

The sink at my mom's is clogged with something. I suspect it's a bell pepper stem that managed to avoid getting chopped by the disposal but I guess it could be something else. My mom put a bottle of drained opener down it last night but it hasn't worked as of this morning so I had to do something about the mound of dishes next to the sink. The dishwasher is full and since we can't run it, that wasn't an option. So I loaded up a laundry basket of dishes and went to the bathroom to run a tub of water and wash them, on my knees and fighting the shower curtain just like the pioneers use to do. After unloading half the basket into the sink, I started to wash a few and realized I needed to be on the other side of the sliding door. So I scooted Jacob over and went to stand up and knocked over the basket of dishes that was perched on the toilet lid. There there was a shower of broken glass and the baby started wailing. I only broke three glasses and only two of them were the nice ones. I guess it could have been worse. Like I could have been alone and had to clean up glass with a weeping toddler and a tub full of dirty dishes so I didn't have anywhere to stash him.

However, I have to go now because the baby is sucking on the end of the cord from the vacuum cleaner and I'm pretty sure that's not good. Also, Barney is on and I haven't taught him how to change the channel yet.

Ten Days Later

NaBloPoMo should have prompted me to write here more. I'm going to blame Christmas on this last absence. I am busy with knitting and occasionally sewing. I am *this* close to being done with crafting for everyone but I have at least one bag to knit, two hats to knit, and either two bowls to knit or to clutches to sew*. I should probably knit up two bowls since the recipients are both capable of sewing but not knitting and I cringe to think of them checking my stitches but the clutches are so much quicker! I sewed up four in about 45 minutes, and that's with fighting my machine because it didn't want to go over four layers of fabric. Why does my machine hate twill? Twill is so nice! Except it also ruined my rotary cutter and I don't want to buy a new blade.

Jacob and I are at my mom's for an indefinite amount of time. CS is in, well, somewhere in Colorado...by Durango? Off Highway 50? I don't know, honestly. I know the hotel he's in but not the town. Hmm, anyways. My mom had a procedure on her sinus cavity and gums to start the process of getting an implant for the tooth she had pulled due to an infection; so instead of staying at CS's house while he was gone, I packed up some bags and moved home. But now his parents are re-doing their bathroom so his mom wants me to stay here until that's finished. It's perfectly fine for me to stay here, but I hate that Jacob's crib is not here and that he refuses to sleep in the pack and play for longer than an hour. And when we return to the crib, I have to fight him for a week or so about sleeping in his crib for at least three hours before joining me in bed. The boy needs his own room. Which!

We may be moving into CS's brother's house when he returns from his trip. We'd have two rooms, I think and it's in the basement but Hunter could join us! We would be out of his parent's house! The only problem is paying utilities. We wouldn't pay rent because the house is owned by his family. It's perfect, sort of. Perfect in the sense of getting us a place where we can be a family but not so perfect that it's our own house with no roommates. In Jacob's entire life, he has only spent 2 months with just us under a roof. We have lived with my brother and his wife, my mom, then his parents and now his brother, possibly. Now we just have to pray that CS's job starts paying him what he deserves and we can get our own place when he starts getting VA checks for going back to school in January. Maybe by June I will be able to wean the baby and get a part time job. I actually have someone to help me watch Jacob starting in September. She's having a baby in April and she offered to watch him a few times a week if I wanted to go back to subbing in the fall. I am optimistic**!

*SarahB-Uhh, surprise? Pick one!
**woah, who am I? Optimism? What is that?

A Boy and His Hose

Jacob has a thing for hoses. I don't know why. Maybe all kids have this. Or maybe just those of the male persuasion. I suspect it has to do with his long standing love affair of water. But it doesn't make sucking on a hose any less gross. It's a good thing he's got charm and adorableness in abundance.