January Haps, Words Only

I have taken 4 pictures in the last month, and none of them are interesting, so this is a text only post.

BIRTHDAYS AND BASEMENT:

We finished up birthdays last week, hallelujah! This was supposed to be the off year for parties, but when we asked Anders what "fun activity" he wanted to do for his birthday, he just wanted to watch some of the movies he hasn't seen. So, we let him invite a few friends over and they had a movie marathon. For journaling's sake, he invited Isaac, Isaiah, Elias, Caleb, and Jaden. 12-13 year old boys are super annoying. Non-stop talking, repeating one-liners over and over, laughing like school girls, etc. I hid in our room the whole time they were all over. Nils tried watching one of the movies with them, but he couldn't handle it. Anders has a good group of friends, so no complaints about the quality of them. They're lovely boys individually. In a herd, they're tolerable for 10 minutes at most.

On a related note, the basement is coming along nicely, which will be fantastic for our mental health when the kids' friends come over. Nils works hard on it when he's able, and progress is being made! He put the first couple panels of sheetrock up today. Our goal is to have it done by April. Hopefully it will be sooner! It's pretty roomy down there; we'll have 3 bedrooms, an exercise room, a theater area, kitchenette, family room, and bathroom. The kitchenette will have to go in later, and we're going to paint the concrete floor and put throw rugs down until we can save up for carpet. Everyone is excited for it to be usable space, and when it's ALL done it will be amaze-ballz.

Addie had her birthday as well, and had friends over for a movie and games. Same deal. We put food out, provided the movie, and disappeared. They're old enough to entertain themselves, right? I think they loved it. She invited Lina, Emi, Yennika, and Ben. Ben didn't come because he didn't clean his room. Or maybe he was scared of being the only boy? Ben is one of Addie's best friends from school, and we think it's hilarious that they get along so well. Last summer we went to the city's "Saratoga Splash" celebration at the park, and Addie ran into Ben there. At the end of the evening, Nils found the two of them sitting on a bench watching fireworks together. No words.

NEW KNEES FOR GRANDMA:

My mom is getting both of her knees replaced this next week. She's a stubborn woman and has been dealing with stiffness and pain for several years. She finally went to an orthopedic surgeon to see if she could get injections, and he couldn't believe she was able to function at all with how bad her knees are. She told him that she mows her own lawn, and he didn't believe her. Her knees are totally deformed because of arthritis, and he told her there was nothing they could do for her except replace them. It's bad enough now that she's having a hard time doing normal things, like going to the grocery store. This surgery will give improve her quality of life a great deal. The recovery is expected to be hellish, but it will be worth it. #prayersforgrandmasnewknees

JUST GET THE COAT ALREADY:

The last time I bought a parka-style coat was about 15 years ago, and I have been freezing my hiney off every winter ever since. I would go shopping for coats, and could never bring myself to pull the trigger, thinking "oh, it's just a couple more months, I can tough it out, " or "I just need to wear a hoodie under my million-year old coat and I'll be fiiiiine." Well, one night I was lying in my bed searching the interwebs for new coats for my girls, and I decided to get myself a coat. The warmest coat in all the land. And I did, and it's amazing, and I'm never cold when I wear it. I can't believe I waited 15 years to be warm. I wonder where I get my stubbornness from. *cough* MOM! *cough cough*

IDENTITY CRISIS:

I'm on the brink of an identity crisis. I've been feeling it coming on for quite awhile. What am I going to do next school year when all of my kids are in school all day? What's the purpose of my life? What am I good at? What don't I hate? I don't want to get a job just to have a job. I already graduated from college and have very little interest in going that route again. Help me, Obi Wan!

I have thought about starting a blog- ANOTHER blog, about how I do things. I can write, I don't hate writing (bonus), and I do stuff sometimes. Something along the lines of "The Underachiever Mom", but not so self-deprecating that it's sad, or rude to the overachievers. Because overachievers need to be loved, too. It also needs to not be so underachieving that it looks like crap and is unappealing. Thoughts? I'm serious- I need validation, people.