End of Year Ramblings:

It has been a good month. 

A very good month. 

The calendar  was filled, but we had plenty of down days as well. Knock on wood everybody has been really healthy, we have had lots of fun with family and friends, and Christmas day did not disappoint one bit. The kids were an absolute riot, Santa was very good to them (as was Mom and Dad, and Grandmas and Grandpas), and at one point during the morning Jed yelled out "This is the best Christmas EVER!"

I love those little twerps, they make the Holidays so much fun!

I just finished undecorating the house. As much as I enjoy Christmas, the lights, the colors, it always feels so good to lighten the house up, give it a good cleaning, and start the year fresh. And we have some big changes coming at the start of the year. 

Joe was in at the dentist office the day before Thanksgiving and they told him they were looking for a part-time assistant and they told him to have me come and talk to them. I used to work for an Orthodontist that worked out of their office one day a week, so I know the family really well. Joe told me about it a couple days later, and I really didn't give it much thought. I had no intentions on going back to work even though money has been very tight this year. 

As the week went on things just started falling into place, I decided to go talk with them and.... I start working a few afternoons a week starting in Jan. It really has turned out to be such a blessing, even though ideally I would love to remain at home. I am at home all morning with the younger two, then on the afternoons I work, I put Gage on the bus for afternoon K, put Cori down for a nap, and I head to work. They get to be with family (Yea!) and one of the afternoons is Joe's half day, so they get QT with him. 

I am sure it will be quite an adjustment for all of us but there are a few reasons I am very excited (hey, if it has to be this way, might as well find all the good in the situation). First, the money is very much needed. Then there is the fact that I LOVE what I do and who I work with, it is actually a nice break in the routine that I have had for the last 8 years. I like that it is very fast paced work, time flies, and it is time to go home before I know it (I have been training for the last few weeks), and when I leave, I am done...the type of work that stays at work. I never have to work a Holiday or a Sunday, I also talked to the Doctor about switching to mornings when all the kids were in school full time, that way, during the school year, they won't even know I am gone. And last but not least, I hope, really hope, this will be good for the kids, to help them not be quiet so attached, realize what I do for them, and we are going to have to get organized!! I still have plenty of days to get things done, and maybe it will help me be more "present" when I am here. Does anyone else do that... get so into a routine that your "there", but sometimes too distracted by the TO DO list to give your full attention?

Anyway, enough about that.

It is a big event in our lives... but we will figure out what works best as we go.

Now this is my next focus for the new year.

I have been working out hard, and very consistently ever since I finished the Marathon, but my eating could use a little (or maybe a lot) of work. So... that is what I am going to be working on, no crazy races, just being deliberate in my choices... which to me is much harder than training and running a marathon, because there is no finish line. You wake up and work at it all day, everyday. My goal is to figure out, and establish habits that I will use, and be able to re-adjust to work for me FOREVER.

Easy, Right?