Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

December Progress Report

December 31, 2011

So, not only is it the end of the month, but also the end of another year. A year for us as a family that saw change as never before. A year for me personally that has found me looking forward and that I have not done in a very long time.

So, we all know that I haven’t made much progress in the weight department – or have I? I lost 3 pounds this month due to a lot of running around and that’s good. I also started to eat more and drink more water – both are sorely needed. You might say, but Alice, you’re overweight, why would you eat more? Because not eating enough packs the pounds on – your body goes into save the fat for energy mode. What I am aiming for is sensibility and it starts in my thought processes most of all. I need to make peace with food and not see it as good or bad but fuel for my body. And it is okay to enjoy what I eat too and that is the main theme of “French Women Don’t Get Fat” (really need to re-read some of that). My kids gave me a digital scale for Christmas and that is going to help me measure out foods so that I can be sure I’m eating enough but not eating too much. It will allow me to see what a true serving size looks like. SO, I feel like I’ve made progress even if I haven’t loss much weight.

I feel like I spent alot of the last few months of this year putting out fires and then needing to rest afterwards. I suppose it is becoming my way of doing things right now because sometimes I get overstressed or things trigger feelings and the depression starts looming again. It usually takes time to thing through things as well. I think this year maybe I really do need to journal because writing things out is proving to be very therapeutic for me as you can see :-). Not everything can be written down here though and a journal would be a safe place to do that.

I plan on doing my own Happiness Project in 2012 as well. While it will be MY project, I am probably going to take my cues from her for some of the months because it really is a good starting point. So, next month I will aim to boost my energy level – right now it’s lower than a caterpillar’s charm bracelet. I think using that formula SNEW could be good for that while also adding vitamins in as well. All of those things are proven to improve your energy and even mental clarity. I think it’s a good place to start without over doing it.

Well, I think that covers things for the month that I wanted to share. Obviously it was a busy month and I didn’t follow Organized Christmas as well as I could have. Other issues cropped up as well and made for a stressful month. Hopefully I can get a grip on my physical needs in January and it will help with the stress I’m under on a daily basis. So, that’s where I stand and where I plan to start (again). HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you and I’ll be updating the 12 days of Christmas as soon as I can find my SD card for my camera – UGH – it’s always something!

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12 Days of Christmas – Day 4

December 29, 2011

On the Fourth Day of Christmas in the Hackmann Family:

Four Pillow Pets

Three yo-yo’s twirling

Two Doodle Bears

And a bed chair for Mom to rest in

Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas and the Feast of St. Thomas A Becket bishop and martyr. He and Henry II of England were buddies until Henry made Thomas Archbishop. Thomas took his office seriously and wouldn’t play favorites with Henry which made the king mad. So, Henry (supposedly) uttered that famous line, “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest” and four soldiers took him seriously and assasinated Becket.

There is a great movie called (what else) Becket with Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole which tells the story well. It is on Netflix Instant Watch so you might want to check it out. I think I’ll grab some popcorn tonight and watch it myself – it’s been a few years since I’ve seen it. Pray for us St. Thomas Becket that we too may be faithful to Christ and His Church!

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12 Days of Christmas – Day 3

December 28, 2011

On the third day of Christmas in the Hackmann family

Three Yo-Yo’s Twirling

Two Doodle Bears

And a bed chair for mom to rest in

December 28 is the Third Day of Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Innocents. We remember on this day, the slaughter of the innocent children in Bethlehem ordered by King Herod. Today let’s pray for children everywhere.

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12 Days of Christmas – Day 2

December 27, 2011

On the second of Christmas in the Hackmann Family –

Two Doodle Bears

And a bed chair for mom to rest in.

Today is the Second Day of Christmas and the Feast Day of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist – the patron of our parish church.

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12 Days of Christmas Oh Cr*p Style!

December 26, 2011

Here’s our Christmas in song form. Sing with me now! Mmmmmm!

On the first day of Christmas in the Hackmann Family – A bed chair for Mom to rest in:

Come back each day for the next 12 days to see our Christmas celebration!

Note: Today is December 26 and is the First Day of the Christmas Season – Advent is over and now it is Christmastide! As such, the First Day of Christmas is the feast of St. Stephen – the first martyr. Also, this is the day referenced in Good King Wenceslas – Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen. Happy Feast Day!

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Merry Christmas To All!

December 25, 2011

And hopefully a day of sleep on Monday to all too :-). For all my yapping about having an “Organized Christmas” and even having a link on this blog to that very website, I ended up being not at all organized. Oh, I started off okay, but now it’s Christmas Eve and I’ll be working my butt off right through Christmas Day. It is almost 5pm and I still haven’t wrapped all the gifts. It was a real temptation to just throw all those boxes and mailers under the tree with to and from written in Sharpie. Heheheh. Yeah, that would be a shock to some kiddos wouldn’t it!! Ah, but I supposed it will all get done. BUT…I’m already noting what I want different for next year. A simpler Christmas – and really stick to that. Don’t get me wrong – I love giving gifts – really I do. But when you have too much on your plate then it all just becomes too much – kwim?

At any rate, I’d like to wish you dear readers a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY, HOPEFUL, NEW YEAR!!

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Plastic is Good

December 15, 2011

Yes folks, plastic can be good and NO I’m not talking about credit cards – this is so much better! My $17 Scotch Laminator arrived today and I’m thrilled!! First off, yes, I really did get it for only $17 – it was on sale last week at Amazon during their Holiday Flurry Deals. I hemmed and hawed for a little bit, but ultimately decided I’d be kicking myself in the butt if I let this deal pass me by. So, I clicked and bought it.

Let me tell you, I’ve wanted a thermal laminator for awhile, but they can be so cost intensive! I just didn’t have the money to buy the over $100 plus versions no matter how good they were. So, when I saw this deal on Amazon, and saw all the 5 star reviews raving about it, I figured I couldn’t lose.

So, it arrived today and I just got finished laminating my first piece – it was so fun! It takes a few minutes to warm up, but you can use that time to pull together all your projects. The laminating pouches are folded/closed at one end and open around the other sides. That means you just slide your paper in the pouch leaving a little bit around the edges and you’re ready to go. Once the laminator is ready, a green light will come on, and then you just feed your project through. It is very speedy and quiet – very quiet! And this is the kind of lamination that is stiff – not just a coating – but the kind you would find in educational or office supply stores. It is exactly what I have wanted!!

I think my only problem will be that the kids will want to “play” with it whenever I have things to laminate, so I may have to let them help out a little bit. I can keep it on the table in the office (heck, I could probably find a space in this gigantic desk even!) and then it’s ready to roll when I need it.

Now I know you’re all asking – Did you take pictures?? Well, of course I did!

Wow! This is going to be so much fun for school and other projects I want to do! It feels like Christmas already :-).

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SNEW – Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise, Water

December 14, 2011

We found this cute book at the library this weekend – M.O.M. (the Mom Operating Manual) – and it’s as much for moms as it is fun for kids to read. I’m wondering if that was the intention of the authors – to help moms to take care of themselves when they need to as well as getting kids to understand a bit more about their moms. Although it also gives a good dose of reality. For example, how a mom dresses. Most kids have the Reasonably Alert and Attentive Mom and if mom starts to look really bedraggled, it’s time for maintenance. Hehehe. Every mom can relate to just about everything in this book.

Now, on to the point of this post. This book talks about Daily Care and Maintenance of mom and gives the acronym SNEW – Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise, Water. I am taking this to heart because I’ve talked about my plans for self care upteen times here and this is probably the easiest way to remember to get your basic needs met. It even gives 3 great meal ideas – grilled chicken with vegetables, hearty soup with fresh baked bread, and tuna salad on a bed of crisp lettuce. I think I’ll be remembering those! Eating chocolate covered raisins, cream puffs, and water crackers won’t cut it.

She also talks about grooming in the book and maybe we should add a G to the SNEW – that’s important too. I know it’s harder for a mom with a new baby to do things like, take showers and make yourself presentable, but for your sanity’s sake, you have to do it. Even if it’s just a quick shower with a special soap or body wash.

So there you have it – SNEW(G) – easy to remember and something we moms ALL need to do (although sleep may be the most difficult). The last thing I want to leave you with in this somewhat reviewy post is what it says on the inside front cover flap: Take care of mom and she’ll take care of you. Both mom and kids need to remember that I think – don’t you? It’s time for this mom to take care of herself so she can better take care of her family.

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My Christmas List 2011

December 12, 2011

So, I wasn’t sure I wanted to post my Christmas List 2011 for fear of being seen as being caught up in the consumerism of the season, but I need to post something (in case there is someone still reading my blog) so here goes.

1. Erin Condren Life Planner – Yeah, it’s expensive for a planner but OMG it has TABS!! I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff – it’s a planner, it’s colorful, it’s customizeable, and it has tabs! What’s not to love??

2. Catholicism DVD Set – This is a fantastic video series by Fr. Robert Barron and is good for cradle Catholics as well as ones who are newer to the faith or even those who just have questions about what Catholics believe. There is even a companion book and study guide if you really want to delve into it all.

3. Kitchen Scale – I really need to start measuring out my food so I can be sure I’m eating what I’m supposed to be eating because I know I’m not. I really have no idea what an ounce of meat looks like especially, so this would be very good for that. It would also help with packages because I’m probably going to start selling my used homeschool stuff again next year as Katie and Becky outgrow their kindergarten and first grade curriculum.

4. These chair things for bed – Okay, I think they’re officially called “bedrests” but whatever. It would be nice to sit up and read in bed so my back can be supported rather than lying on my side, which is okay, but not overly comfortable.

So, that’s my list for this year. I looked over last year’s list and I actually got one of the items as a Mother’s Day gift – the stick blender!! That’s been fun to use! I forgot about the Quality Street chocolates – they’re hard to find over here anyway. Overall, I’m so thankful for many things this year that the gifts are just fun, the real gifts for me this year have been getting out of debt, Maggie being healthy since our scare with her, and my healing that continues. Thank you God for your gifts each day – even when I don’t recognize them or I want to give some of them back because they don’t look like gifts. Help me to accept what you want for me. Although, I’d like fewer house problems. Sorry, had to throw that in. Luckily, Lord, you understand me :-).

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