What We Learned This Week (November 17th, 2013 edition)

Someone posted on the Facebook page that there's only 6 weeks left until Christmas. What is this B.S.?! Where is the time going? What did you do this week? This is what we did. And it was awe-some!

Liz:
1. I turned 37 on Thursday. Not sure how I feel about that. I think I'm OK with it. I'll get back to you.

2. I spent my Monday night and Tuesday day preparing a talk on stress and health, which isn't my research area but I think I did pretty well. I apparently work pretty well under stress (hehe) when it's about a topic I know something about but that isn't, like, my favorite thing ever. Check out my talk here.

3. I'm realizing that persistence is paying off in the blogging world. You'll see what I mean in a few weeks. Let's just say that a certain affiliate we advertise for is giving you gals (and guys I guess) something awesome. Something awesome this way comes November 25th. Be there or...I don't know.

Robyn:
I've learned that trying to get a baby to relax and have some quiet cuddle time is not the best idea while wearing a rhinestone studded shirt. Reagan kept playing with the bling, and would get even crankier when I tried to hold her hand (Give me the shiny stuff MOM!) Is this a sign of a glitz and glamour child of the future? AH! Prepare the bank accounts now!!!

Reagan wants the bling!

2. I've learned that flu symptoms set in less than 15 minutes after getting the shot. Shoo shoo flu! 

3. I've learned that I cannot take you serious when you pull up next to me in a low rider with pink accent windows, do the upward head nod at me, and drive away with the "shocker" sticker on your back window.

Lisa:
1. I learned that things happen when you least expect them. We had to take Kai to the vet because we feared he'd torn his ACL. It turns out that he is having a neurological issue and he's losing feeling in his hind end. I would lie if I say that I'm not heartbroken. He's my first baby and it has hit me hard. My consolation though? If he gets his wheelchair, I'm painting flames on the side. He has to look cool!!

2. Banshee started her new group at Kennedy Krieger and we couldn't be more pleased for her. She is so happy, in spite of being sad about Kai, that it is infectious. She screams and laughs and dances....just a happy child. That is worth all the riches in all the world.

3. I had the bestest afternoon with Pixy. She decided to come into my room and sit on the rocking chair with me to ask about babies. She's so excited for Cubby to show up that she needs to know about when she was a baby, if his diapers are ready for him, does he have everything he needs....Pixy is a little Mama in training and it was awesome to relive her babyhood with her.

4. I learned that I am ready for this kid to get here. Anyone wanna take bets on when he shows up?! ;)

Now you! What did you learn? What was super cool-io about your week? Share in the comments!

Stress, moving, and cardboard boxes...

I hate cardboard moving boxes! They smell odd, they take up a lot of room, and they mean change even if they don't always mean that there will be a move going on. I am in the middle of the biggest moving project ever. Three houses: move my mom's stuff out of her house, move our junk out of ours, and move it all in to the new house we bought for our growing family. Did I mention I am pregnant? Yup, this is going to be interesting.

Yesterday, we completed the move out  phase on my mom's house. It was a bittersweet moment, as my father had only passed away 5 months ago, and lots of memories are attached to that place. We cleaned it, moved boxes out, and with a lot of help got the furniture into a pod. It really was therapeutic because we purged a whole lifetime (and then some) of stuff out of that house. To say that I never thought there was that much stuff is a lie. We all knew that my old man was a packrat and when I got moved out of the house, he decided he had carte blanche to stuff the place to the hilt. He never listened to my Mom's requests to clean up, because "he marched to his own drum, basically". There was some collateral damage, as Pixy decided to color on the newly painted walls for no reason: "They needed a pop of color". Sigh! But, it is all done and the house is ready for new occupants.

I walked through the shell of the place, spraying room spray to get rid of the cardboard smell, and made peace with the house. I remembered reading somewhere that every house is a living thing, and you need to talk to it. I also remembered reading that there are little creatures called house brownies, whose job is to take care of a home for you. Even though we don't reside in Ireland, I didn't want to take any chances and talked to the house, let it know our plans for the future. The Sailor thought it was a good idea, and as he worked, he patted the walls here and there. This was a huge feat because there were a lot of boxes, so he probably did this a few hundred times. All three of us, my mother, the Sailor, and myself, kept saying that we were swimming in our version of cardboard purgatory. It is now done..what do we do with ourselves? It was hard to have our thoughts move on to the other house. We didn't get to relax at all.

No rest for the weary, though. We now have to work on moving this house into the new one. It is going to be yet another monumental task and I am finding that my nesting routine is going into overdrive. I am so completely overwhelmed by it all and the pressure to have it all done, that I can't organize myself to think 'MOVE', when all I think about is 'this is a lot of work'. So, there are over 30 boxes that are still left to be packed up and sealed, with a lot of miscellaneous things to give away or throw out. It is enough to make me scream.

Instead, I decided to start taking it one day at a time. Today, I registered Banshee in her new school, we drove by the new house to make sure the girls saw it, we even had lunch near the house to learn a new route! I checked off a few things on my list and I found I could breathe a little bit better, even if I can't really nest until we get to the new house. Hopefully, this new routine of taking it a couple things at a time, will really help me out to destress. Even though, let's face it, moving three houses and getting two little girls back-to-school, all while pregnant...yeah, it is enough to make anyone's head spin. Here's hoping I handle the rest of this with grace. Ha! From the looks of things, the girls and the wolves are doing the best. The rest of us really could use a vacation!

What have you found has helped you during times of stress? Have you ever had huge changes one after the other?