Good Bye January, oh and I hate this month!

 I dare you to tell me something wonderful about January.  Except that it is over.  I know, I know that if we get philosophical one could talk about how there needs to be a season of rest, recovery or a winter so that there can be a spring.  I guess.  But would it really be that bad to have summer everyday?  Would I really miss this time of year, hmm... I don't think so.

Why you may ask?   Let me just be a negative Nelly and tell you the reason I don't like January.  It is cold, and typically rainy.  It is also very dark, and yes fires and candles are nice but I like blue sky and some natural daylight.  On work days it is dark when I go to work, and dark when I come home.  I have spent the last two months doing most of my running with a headlight on.  Soon I am going to be developing some sonar so that I can be even more efficient in this low light.

Other reasons, the post holiday let down which was accelerated by the fact that we have been sick non-stop since about the second week of this month.  K and I had the stomach flu which included one of the worst 8 hours of non-stop vomiting, and a embarrassing public 'getting sick' episode at Old Navy I have ever had.  We have followed this up with a never ending, runny nose and are finishing the month strong with a hacking cough.

I know it could be worse.  But you know what, I am just glad to see this dark sick month in my review mirror!  Maybe next year I will have a month long conference somewhere.

Changing in 2013.

I am all about changing it up a bit this year.  I spent the better part of my weekend painting my bathroom gray.  I LOVE IT!  I was worried that gray was a mistake, too dark, not me.  I would miss the old blue.  Nope, it was about the most fun I have had in awhile.

I am on a roll.  Time to change the blog up a little too then.  I think I have about 3 faithful readers, one of which is my mother but oh well.  Its about changing the way I look at things, and by doing little things bringing a smile to my face and a new look.

Plus I usually change it up every year or so.  Now bear with me, the codes and things take me a bit.  I am not a computer person at all. I will get there, and it will look great (or I will ask for help).

Being an Example.

 Being a parent is about being a good example.  Being a role model.  Helping a little being figure out how to behave in a situation.  Being a parent is darn hard.

We had a stomach bug visit this weekend.  One of those viruses that leaves you laying on the bathroom floor, unsure if  body fluids are going to be coming from the front or back.  More than once I had to do a baby shove off and toddler jump, to make a mad dash to fall into a heap in front of the toilet.

The good of a illness falling on a weekend is that we don't miss a lot of school, or work.  The bad is nothing got done in our 'down' time.  Groceries weren't purchased, life wasn't cleaned or organized.  Who am I kidding, lets just say life is less organized and less clean.  There are piles of vomit laundry and clothes everywhere, and well lets just not look at that 'contaminated' bathroom too close (thank-god we have two).

Anyway, on Monday I was home sick.  I stayed in bed, cramping and still producing grossness.  The girls had somebody looking after them, so I actually got some sleep and started to feel slightly human.  My mood was grim though, here I should have been in bliss.  I had quiet and rest, something I never get.  Unfortunately it was so much like when I was on bed rest last year.  Same time of year, same nausea feeling, same having others take care of my children.  Helpless, and somewhat useless.  It gave me time to stew in how much I hated bed-rest, and the months I spent laying in our downstairs.

My mood, combined with the stomach flu and not eating for two days continued to be dim.  K was in an equally sore mood that evening.  Her tummy hurt again.  We battled to get through the typical routine.  Finally she was in bed. Then the crying started, followed by whinny screams.  I went and layed down with her and rubbed her belly.  I knew how she felt, helpless and crummy with a aching belly.

I told her, "We couldn't dwell on how bad we feel.  We have to think of happy things.  What type of sprinkles do you like best?"

K was not going to budge.  Tears still streaming.  I rubbed the belly more. Finally she said,  "Don't want to talk about, sniff, sniff things I like.  I just want to cry and feel bad, sniff, sniff."

"Oh, come on K we really need to try even when we don't feel good.  We aren't going to feel any better by just thinking of unhappy thoughts."

"No."

"Okay, I'll rub your belly for a bit."  I then sang my 'mommy' songs that only my precious children find comforting.  I told her that I liked purple sprinkles.

As I rose from her bed, she sniffed a bit more and said just above a whisper, "Red, I think those are the best."

A few hours later she coated her bed, pj's and floor with more putrid vomit.  She then proclaimed that her vomit made the shape of a fish and we both smiled at each other.

Its not easy.  But, I don't like being a hypocrite.  I want to be that example for her.  Its easy to let your problems, memories  and thoughts cover you like a blanket, and even strangle the joy of each day.  And yes there are times to just cry and get it out.

I do think though that even in the face of days of stomach flu, one needs to think about what their favorite color of sprinkles are.

The Plunge, 2013

Let me start by saying that I don't like to be cold.  My ideal vacation is on the beach and I love to be in the sun.  I also am not a funky, wacky person.  I don't wear crazy items even on holiday usually.  I tend to be more your standard type 'A', and now type 'A' mom from my head down to my socks.

For me to decide that I was going to dress silly and go plunge into a freezing cold lake on the first day of January was a bit different for me, and a very new experience.  I will say though once I put my mind to something, I will do it.

There I was running the double baby jogger as quick as I could to get down to the lake with my family (of course we were a little lake, parking was a nightmare, and K was being a challenge), where I then stripped down to my running closes, Wonder Woman socks (I love Wonder Woman), and K's borrowed cat fuzzy hat.  I stood with one of the oddest group of people I have been with in awhile, the man next to me had on pink skinny jeans and wig of blood braids.  Then at noon on the dot we all ran into a freezing cold lake, with a outdoor temperature of 30 something degrees.

What an experience!  First you feel the cold on your legs, and it feels a bit shocking.  Then it hits you, well you can imagine what comes next.  Now that takes your breath away.  I couldn't help but already be pondering what would be next because I vowed to go under the water.  My head and face, and that is when I think I stopped breathing for a minute.  Before I knew it I was running back to my family and wrapped up in our beach towel.

Its a great analogy for life though.  A mini example of taking a risk, or doing something a bit silly and unexpected.  You worry about it, you think that you shouldn't do it, you start to plan a way out of it.  Then get a little courage and do it!  And it was fun, silly and gave you new sensation and appreciations.

I want to have some positive changes in 2013, this I decided was just the way to start things off!