Manic Mondays

When the tiredness creeps in… 

I won’t lie, friend; I’m tired.  The kind of tired that doesn’t abate with coffee, won’t relent after a nap.  It’s the bone weariness that accompanies the Striving-for-Too-Muchness (STM) of which I am perpetually afflicted. 

This weekend was a difficult one emotionally – the pendulum swinging manically between fighting off pressing sadness and the desperate need to soak in every.single.moment.  Because life is entirely too flimsy a thing to take for granted. 

And so, I did what I do when I’m overwhelmed and can’t stick the landing in rest.  I kicked my plans into overdrive; determining to do.all.the.things!  And to get them done today.  I don’t need to tell you that this did not happen.  It never does.  And with twenty or so projects in the smack-dab-messy-middle of completion, the Officer said to me, “I’ll be glad for you when Christmas is over so you will rest.”  (This was after I told him I’d be forgoing most of another night of sleep to plug away at all that I want to get done.)

Before any of your hackles raise (mine would), and you think, “why doesn’t he help?”  Let me make a few things per-fect-ly clear: The Officer rises at 2:30am, works out (both his jobs demand it), puts in an eleven hour day (by the time he gets home), and still spends his evenings with us – doing silly things like painting nativity scenes, playing indoor basketball, reading to the minis, and helping with the dishes/straightening/bedtimes.  So he’s the last person you’d want to accuse of laziness.  Also, not a one of these projects were his idea, nor are any of them in the purview of his expectations.  No, these are all things I have put on myself; things I want to do.   

And I’ll be honest, I want to do them because I feel like I need to make this Christmas count.  Even before Friday, but certainly more so after.  See, this is the first Christmas in a very long time that neither the Officer nor I are in school.  We have no finals breathing down our necks, crowding out Christmas prep and forcing us to cut corners on activities and wistfully sigh, “maybe next year.”  Add to that the fact that in the last half of this year, we experienced one of our most challenging as a family; so that we are still trying to steady ourselves.  We need an abundance of joy, gosh darn it. 

So I feel this need to squeeze every last ounce of Christmas out of the season.  Every single Pintrest idea needs to be followed through; every tradition must stand.  Every night needs festivity, and everything needs to be purposeful and memorable, and photographed and catalogued.  So that one day, my children will look back on this Christmas as the one when Mom got all the things right.  The one, golden Christmas that had so much joy and so much laughter that it crowded out the dark, made us forget all the tears, and gave us a glimpse of the Heaven for which we hope. 

Yeah, I know – I have moments of certifiable perfectionism that border on insanity.

Because we all know that I’m either going to fail epically, or – worse – I’ll succeed in doing all the things, but I’ll be so tired and grouchy and wound so tight that no one will enjoy a moment.  And trust me, no one wants that. 

So what’s the answer?  Do I stop everything and give in to my weariness?  Or do I plug on, knowing that I can rest in the new year?    

For me, the answer is: both.  I am going to dial everything back.  Because I am tired (and it’s okay to admit that, even without finals/papers/all-nighters or stress from outside circumstances).  But I am also going to stay the course and do everything I can to make this Christmas special.  Not only for the kids; but also for the Officer, for my family…for me.  Because in truth, the moments that I spend doing all the things are forgotten when I see the smiles erupt on little faces, when the Officer laughs because he’s enjoying himself so much, when my family finally walks through the door and we envelop each other in too-long-between-them hugs.  That’s what makes Christmas special for me.  And I know every bit of missed sleep is worth it.  Truly, legitimately, and lastingly worth it. 

So, in the dialing-it-back department, the elf wasn’t all that creative this week.  He decorated my writing nook; and wrote on the mirror again.  He hid in a cereal box.  He read a book.  He did bring the kids a little gift (on Saturday); and he handmade another.  Last night, he wrapped all three of our baby Jesus-es in tissue because the temperatures outside dropped and it was legitimately cold.  Tonight, he’ll probably just do a little wrapping because he’s tired; and frankly doesn’t really think pranks are all that good of an idea right now.

I hope you have some rest during this season, friend.  And that it is made all the more sweet with the presence of the ones you love.  May your homes be filled with laughter, light, and love.      

 

 

 

 

Manic Mondays

It is Monday but I’m still not perfect. 

Alright, if you’re following along here (even not that closely), you’ll probably have noticed that I’ve tossed up 3 posts today.  To make up for completely slacking last week.  I told you I wasn’t perfect.  Do you remember how last week I said the elf had gotten lazy?  Well, I think the dwindling light is really taking a toll on his creative juices, because this week he was really lazy.  Or, if I spin this just right, his bad behavior is diminishing so that next week he can start being really nice…Here’s hoping LMS (lazy-mommy syndrome) will dissapte soon and I can follow through with my ideas…Until such a time, here’ s our elvish antics for this past week:

Mirror Mirror

J.F. has apparently drawn a self-protrait on the mirror.  The minis loved it and tried to get their eyes to line up with his, while wondering how he completed such a large (to an elf) drawing. 

Cousin to a Leprechan

J.F. has done something to the milk – he even “startled” the Officer this morning as he reached in to pour milk for the mini’s cereal.  I proposed J.F. may have contaminated the milk (think yellow snow) since elves are related to Leprechans.  But the kids decided J.F. just used food coloring.  Though, they continued to gross one another out at the prospect of the other.  {Also, note the magic elf tongs at the base of the milk carton.  These are what we use to safely move J.F. out of our way.  Apparently, the plastic/metal combo doesn't conduct our humanness to him and prevents his magic from disappearing.}

Knight of the Realm

Jingle-Fapple has apparently noted our love of renaissance festivities and decided to engage in his own mini festival.  With the Nutcracker as his second, a dragon for his steed, chopsticks for a lance, he hosted a jousting contest beneath the tree.  Oddly enough, J.F.’s second choose an R4 unit for his mount. 

The opponents, while classically outfitted and trained, seem to be no match for the dragon.

Gamer

J.F. decided that since we would be gone all day skiing, he would take this time to brush up on his Wii skills.  The minis wanted to know how much “screen time” an elf gets.

Snowball Fight

In hope of snow, J.F. challenged our resident snowman to a dual.  It didn’t snow, so they used cotton balls instead.  In the morning, we had to removed J.F. from the little shoe in which he perched, using our “magic elf tongs” (they’re pictured above with the milk).  And the minis had their own cotton ball snow fight in the afternoon.  At least J.F. is inspiring new activities. 

Movie Night

With the temperatures dropping, J.F. decided to snuggle up with some of his new besties (note that even baby Jesus—hand colored by a mini in the previous year—scored an invite) under a festive blanket and watch a holiday classic. 

Yep, this week was even less inspired than last.  And yes, these were even more “easy and quick.”  But, it just means that someone will have to step up their game for the week to come.  Only 14 more nights to go!    

If anyone has some really fun ideas, J.F. would love to hear them…I’m sure he could read the comments below.     

 

 

Manic Mondays: Elvish Eddition

It’s not Monday and I’m not perfect. 

Here it is, what I’ve been promising from the get-go: I failed.  Don’t worry, I’m not in the least upset about this.  And I hope all three of my readers (hi, Mom!) aren’t either.  You see, the reason I started this blog was to let other moms out there know that there are p-l-e-n-t-y of women just like them.  Sometimes that’s hard to see in the world of Pintrest and publications both on and off-line full of self-aggrandizing accomplishments, where the homes in the photos look like the Pottery Barn magazine, the kids are un-rumpled, squeaky-clean Macy’s models, and the mom stepped out of a fashion spread from a fitness magazine, holding freshly baked organic, gluten-free, oatmeal raisin cookies (can’t have the kids ingesting too much sugar, dears).  Moms who do 2 hour devotionals with each child individually every day, while homeschooling kids who are 6 grade-levels above their peers; moms who maintain careers that are sky-rocketing their family into the next two tax brackets while never failing to capture a memory with their professional-grade camera and photographer skills.  Moms who always have a lap free for cuddles, never burn dinner, have children with perfect manners and behavior, volunteer 60-plus hours at church and school, and go to bed in the sexist of lingerie so that their Mister doesn’t lose interest.[1]     

This blog isn’t for those women. 

I mean, good for them for having it all together all the time (but I have more than a creeping suspicion that these are the women who might need the permission to be imperfect that I hope to cultivate here).  But, and I can say the following because I spent many years striving to the point of suffocation for that picture-perfect life, I’d rather live transparently.  I don’t say this because I want to condemn women who are outwardly more put-together than I, rather to encourage moms like me, who have grandiose plans and the absolute best of intentions but inevitably fall short.  Because that’s what people do, even the almost-perfect ones.  And more than anything, moms are people too.

So, [stepping down from soap box] with a sick mini, here’s the belated-Manic Monday, chock full of elvish mischief, LMS (lazy-mommy syndrome), and my eldest out-smarting me.  Again.

Snow Day Wishes

J.F. misses the North Pole, and even though we live in Colorado,

there’s none of his favorite white stuff on the ground

(I hear it’s that way in Anchorage, AK, too). 

So, he dumped half the bag of flour out on our table and made a snow angel. 

I told him next time to put some plastic wrap or a trash bag underneath for easier clean up.

TP-ing the Tree

We still haven’t trimmed our tree, which is apparently a sore spot for our visitor. 

So he did some decorating of his own. 

Bubble Bath

J.F. choose to use our bathroom sink and the entire bag of marshmallows to luxuriate in. 

I think he needed a smaller tub.

Holiday Party

In need of friends and a little frivolity, J.F. hosted a holiday party by the light of the Christmas tree. 

He invited a rather posh set of new friends

and even scored some wheels with which to impress a particular princess.

  …Meanwhile, in the mind of a 9 yr old….

The eldest has been redirecting elf behavior for nine days now, and has come to this conclusion (and yes, she phrased it thusly): “Since Jingle-Fapple doesn’t have to fly to the North Pole every night to report to Santa, he’s got too much time on his hands.  Elves need stuff to do to keep them busy.  Because of all the syrup they eat and because they don’t sleep.”  (Apparently, Will Farell is the reigning expert on elvish behavior.)

Should You Choose to Accept it…

So, she decided to give the elf a task before going to bed. 

She did so without my knowledge, just tucked a little note beside him on the tree

(we have special “Elf Tongs” that we use to move J.F. during the day,

 so that no human touches him; but if he’s in the way, we can negotiate around him. 

Hence, his repeated positioning on the tree.),

and snuck upstairs to bed. 

Ah, so sweet.  So smart.  So much more for elves to do before bed. 

Compliance.

Of course, J.F., being an elf, complied.

Tactical Nautical Training

J.F. has apparently taken up an interest in all things military

and began training in strategic nautical maneuvers with Snake Eyes, G.I. Joe extraordinaire.

Golden Knights

Having completed his navy training, J.F. became a member of the 181^st Airborne

 and executed his first High Altitude Low Opening jump.

Because He’s Still Young

And, even though he’s training with the armed forces, he’s still just a boy. 

So we weren’t too surprised to find his handiwork on a photo collage.

Yep, this week wasn’t spectacularly inspired as far as elvish antics go.  And yes, most were the “easy and quick” category that I’m sure J.F. intended to use later in the month when he was more pressed for time and tired.  But, I’m sure once everyone’s in bed, creativity is a little hard to come by. 

If anyone has some really fun ideas, J.F. would love to hear them…I’m sure he could read the comments below.     

 

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[1] Hyperbolic references to Proverbs 31 woman intended.  If you’re feeling a little worn out trying to keep up with her, check out Rachel Held Evan’s book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, the chapter for January in particular.  Seriously.  It’s not as anti-evangelical as some have posited.

Manic Mondays:

The Naughty Elf

There are quite a few articles out there about that little North Pole dweller who perches on shelves and with stalker-esque precision watches your every move , reporting each to the big guy in the red suite.  For the next few Mondays, I’ll give you an amalgam of my favorites…completed by moi. 

We’ve done the Shelf-dweller for the past few years, but when I stumbled [*ahem* Pintrest-ed] across the idea of an elf who requires grace, by Leena over at A Small Snippet, I immediately wanted to revamp our tradition; teaching the kids a practical spiritual lesson, while having so much fun?  Yes, please.  So I did. 

Thus our new tradition of Jingle-Fapple, Naughty Elf was born.

Our elf came the day after Thanksgiving, bearing a gift for the family, and sitting sweetly on the counter delivered a personal letter from Santa.  In his letter, Santa explained that our elf almost wasn’t allowed to come back to us this year.  He’d been that bad!  But, because Mr. Claus knows that the Firefly and Koala are consistently well-behaved and king children, Santa hopes that our elf will see good behavior modeled for him and changes his ways. 

The kids loved this!  I can’t explain how much.  They were being praised for kindness and good behavior by the big guy himself!  What an ego boost.  And it still allows me some wiggle room on the inherent correction: “we want to show J.F. how to behave; let’s help Santa by making better choices.” 

After his arrival, however, our elf was exceptionally naughty.  So much so that the Officer wanted to kick him out of the house (the Officer is such a trooper—always going along with my deceptions).  But the kids were determined to show this little guy grace and to love him, even though they ended up having to do extra work because of the elvish antics.  I was greatly impressed with their fortitude and kindness towards this stuffed {ahem} character.  For the remainder of this year, instead of reporting back to Santa, J.F. will be pranking us nightly, as he lives out the impression that he’s covered by grace, so good behavior doesn’t matter.  However, Santa hopes J.F. “learns” good behavior by watching the Firefly and Koala, as well as receiving directed mentoring from them on an individual basis.  (They’ll be talking to him about his behavior and how he could make better choices.)  Hopefully, the kids will take away the idea that every.single.one needs our grace.  And in order to influence someone for God’s kingdom, you have to be their genuine, true friend every day.  Even when they’re not acting lovable. 

My plan is to diminish J.F.’s naughty behavior and replace it with acts of kindness, as he “learns” from his hosts.  Not entirely realistic (in the context of real-world relationships), but neither is the idea that Santa needs an army of elves to do his watching for him. 

So, here’s what the little guy’s been up to so far:

Day 1:           Showed up, with a personalized letter to both kids from Santa himself. 

                      See Santa’s letter here.

Day 2:         Ate all the remaining Halloween candy (to Mom’s delight)

 

            and “spray painted” the dog.     

 

Day 3:           Made a blockade over bedroom doors, so that our out-of-town family couldn’t leave. 

                 Also, hid the car keys atop the tree…for the same reason.

 

Day 4:           Tied kids’ and mom’s shoes together so they couldn’t go to school.

And that brings us up to today.  Less creeper-stalker elf, and more an idea of how to live a grace-filled life, even when the folks who most need it are difficult to live with.

Enjoy your Christmas prep, dear ones; just don't forget to have some fun, too!