Groundhog Day

Hello?  Hello?  Anybody out there?

Maybe I should be asking myself those questions.  I'm here, but haven't really made much progress in the good ol' blogosphere.

Our lives have been crazy over the past few weeks.  Don't get me wrong -- I am thankful that we have food to put on the table, clean clothes to wear, and jobs to go to each day.  But that doesn't mean that it's not hard and exhausting.

I have started to feel like we are in the movie Groundhog Day.

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Here's a snapshot of our "normal" day:

5:30am - Dad (J.) wakes up, gets ready for work
5:45am - Mom (me) wakes up, gets ready for work
6:00am - Dad leaves for work
6:30am - Mom wakes up D., gets him fed breakfast and ready for kindergarten
7:00am - Mom leaves for work, Pop-Pop comes over to take D. to kindergarten
7:40am - Pop-Pop drops D. off at school

*****

2:00pm - Pop-Pop picks D. up at school and stays with him until Dad gets home
3:15pm - Dad gets home from work
4:15pm - Mom gets home from work
4:45pm - Mom starts making dinner while Dad helps D. with his homework
5:30pm - Dinner
6:00pm - Clean up from dinner and pack lunches for next day
6:30pm - D. gets a bath or shower
7:00pm - D. gets to watch a TV show (usually a Disney one) and have a snack (usually fruit)
7:30pm - Mom or Dad takes D. upstairs to read
8:00pm - Lights out for D.!  (Although most nights, this has been closer to 8:30ish...)
8:30pm - Mom does work to prep for school the next day and catches up with Dad while watching a little TV together (and oftentimes we fall asleep downstairs on the couch!)

*****

My husband and I try to head to bed by 10:30pm, though that doesn't always happen.  Because we wake up so early and have such busy days at work, we really feel it the next day if we had a late bedtime the night before.

So that's a snippet of our lives lately.  And because I'm in a new position at work, I've had a lot of "take home" work to do that I don't have time to do during the day.  So far, I'm enjoying my new job, but it is non-stop when I'm there.  There really isn't any downtime.  Even my lunch is rushed.  I try to get out of my little office to eat lunch with some of the other teachers since usually by that time I need a "brain break," but there are a lot of days when I work through my lunch and try to eat a little along the way.

I really miss blogging regularly and I have so much I want to post, but I have a feeling the blog will be a little slower for now.  I appreciate those of you who are still reading, and I'm still trying to read so many other blogs when I have a few minutes.  Right now, though, I'm not doing a very good job keeping up with that.  I currently have over 500 new blog posts in my Bloglovin' feed.  Whoops. Guess I'll need to skip a few.

I'm so glad the weekend is here, though, especially since we were in Disney last week.  This past week was basically us playing "catch up" in so many areas of our lives -- most importantly sleep.  I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a viral infection with a side of allergies, and my husband has been uber-congested as well.  We need this weekend to recuperate for sure!

I hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying the change of season.  I love fall.  I always think of F. Scott Fitzgerald's words from The Great Gatsby:

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Have a great weekend!

All Quiet on the Blog Front

I know.  It's been a while.

We literally just returned -- like half an hour ago -- from a weeklong vacation to Disney World.  We are exhausted.  But we are excited to sleep in our own beds tonight.

I'll be back soon with a recap and pictures... after we resume our normal schedule and routines having been off them for what feels like forever.

Goodnight for now!

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(Oh, and PS -- thanks to those of you who are still reading.  I hate not blogging regularly, but going back to work in a new position and then taking a trip have definitely thrown things -- aka me -- for a loop.)

Thankful Thursday - Sickness

Guess who's sick now.

Yup.  Me.

It was bound to happen, I guess.

It's just fun times all around here.

My husband and I are like two ships passing in the night (we seriously never see each other anymore!), my house has basically become a pit stop, and my kindergartener is, as usual, non-stop. Busy, busy, busy.

But I'm thankful today that we have jobs and schedules and responsibilities because that means we are living.  I may be sick, but I have access to Benadryl and Claritin and cough syrup.  There are so many people in our world who are sick and who are dying, and that breaks my heart.  My issues are minor in comparison.

So today I'm going to focus on the good.  We are alive.  We have each other.  We are stable.  We can do this.

Can't stop.  Won't stop.

What are YOU thankful for today?

Running on Empty

Goodness.  Our life has been crazy the past few days.  I swear -- I don't know how people who have more than one child do it because we feel like we're running on empty.

This'll be a quick post because our "to do" list is ever-growing and the stuff that was already on there still needs to get done.  

Side note: I miss posting as regularly as I used to... I'm hoping once this first month or two of school goes by, I can get back to posting more frequently.  Right now, though, we're all just trying to keep our heads above water.  It's been a huge transition for us.

* * * * *

Here's what's been happening lately:

1)  We all had our first official week of school this past week.  We're getting used to super early mornings, packing lunches, and new routines.  Our sleeping schedules are all over the place now and we're trying to figure out what works best for us now that we all have such busy, busy days.  I'm trying to find time to get some of my school work done, but it doesn't usually happen until my little guy is in bed for the night, and -- by that time -- I'm too exhausted to really focus.

2)  We are in the midst of a major family room renovation.  The room is torn apart.  There are tools strewn all over, half full cans of paint waiting to be emptied, and furniture in odd places to accommodate for the renovations.  It's a mess.  A big mess.

3)  We have a trip coming up soon, so we're trying to prepare for that -- packing, getting lots of laundry done, shopping trips for toiletries and other necessary items, etc.  I know I've mentioned this before, but it's hard to get anything done with a super active 5-year-old running around at all times.

4)  On Saturday, my son woke up and said his one ear hurt.  He had the sniffles the day before, so I assumed he had an earache.  After a call and visit to the pediatrician, we came home with antibiotics in hand.  Not only did he have an earache, but strep throat as well.  And he has no desire to rest to get better.  Nope.  Go, go, go.  I wish I had half of his energy.  (This is why I drink coffee!)

5)  This week, we have two "Back-to-School" nights, an evening meeting, and two appointments.  I hate when we have commitments at night after we get home from school.  We are usually all so exhausted.  It's going to be another busy week!

* * * * *

That's our life in a nutshell right now.  So this is my current goal:

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I mean, what else can you do, right?

Have a great week!

Thankful Thursday - Fighting... For One Another

For Thankful Thursday today, I had to share this video.  Rachel Platten, the singer who is rising to fame with her hit "Fight Song," stopped by to surprise a young boy who is fighting cancer and who is also a huge fan of hers.

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So today I'm thankful that there are people in this world who want to help one another and support one another... in all different capacities and on all different scales.

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What are YOU thankful for today?