Ketchup

I always think ketchup when I want to type catch-up. ;0)

It seems that I was holding my breath for so long...now that I'm breathing again...I feel like I've forgotten how to live life normally.

It is so wonderful to know that my hubby gets up and goes to work 5 days a week. I think when you have a job that you don't like and you hate getting up early, you take for granted that you'll always have a job. This season of unemployment taught us how to appreciate the small things. M has a commute in traffic. As he drove home the first night, he just marveled at the cars around him. He was relishing the traffic...because he was driving home from work with all the other people that had been at work all day. When you haven't had that for 14 months...you see the traffic with eyes of gratitude. I'm home alone with 3 kids all day again. I'm finding a new normal in our school routine. It was wonderful having M home as he would read the science textbook to the kids. It was miserable having M home because he would be a distraction to the kids. They wanted to be a part of whatever he was doing. We're adjusting to the quietness of just 4 of us in the house during the day instead of 5.

Since M started his new job, I've gotten 4 new tires on my Expedition, our roof leaked into out bathrooms, and the toilet started leaking. The tires were $950. Thankfully, the roofer recommended a mastic from Home Depot and told M he could fix it himself. We're hopeful the rain will stay out now. We need to see how much of the drywall needs to come out of the bathrooms. Hopefully it's something we can do ourselves. The toilet leak...that was just the hose from the wall to the toilet. We're thankful that was an inexpensive fix.

We've had two broken light switches (we fixed those in December). My car needs an oil change. I need a hair cut (I took the kids in December...it had been 18 months since the boys had been to a barber...I'd been cutting their hair). I need new kitchen dish towels and the kids need new bath towels (they're still using ones with the alphabet...7 & 9 are a bit old for that). I need a new bath mat in the bathroom...yes the old one still drys off feet when you step out of the shower, but it's unraveling. In spite of all these "needs," we never went without any of our true needs. Friends and family made sure that we never ran out of toilet paper. And because of my crazy shopping, I never ran out of Bath and Body hand soaps. I also had enough art/craft supplies from Michael's. I ended up going there in November because I was out of gold paint and 9 wanted a new sketch book for his birthday. Of course, I never ran out of yarn. And if I had, wonderful friends offered their stash to me. What I can't get over is the abundance we have. It's ironic because when M came home with six figures I always felt that there wasn't enough. Now I'm thinking more and more about those who truly DO NOT HAVE.

A friend visited Mongolia over the holidays. She stayed with a family that had been her neighbors in Orange County 2 years ago. She met many who had nothing. I happened to be reading an email about her trip outloud to M and the kids overheard. 5 wanted to know if any of these children were girls. She said I could clean out her closet and share it with these children. The boys told me they would give up the hats I knit for the stockings this Christmas. I felt my heart leading me to give 100 hats. I have 2. Do you think I can make it to 100 hats by Christmas next year? Do you think I'm crazy? Do you think you might want to send a hat my way?