Mish, Mash, Mosh

Oh, the things going on in my head...where shall I begin?

Christmas trees. What are we going to do? I have had a real Christmas tree every year since I moved out on my own, but something about getting one this year just feels like a hassle. The whole lugging it in the house, waiting for it to "fall", putting it in the stand, needles, keeping it watered, more needles, the possibility of Miss J pulling it over, more needles, the odds that it will last and not turn brown and lose more needles before Christmas....it just seems very overwhelming. So I thought, hmmm, maybe I could find a fake tree that I could "deal" with this year. Less hassle? Right, if we want to spend $300 on one. So it would take almost 4 years of buying real trees to make it worth buying a fake one. And the $100 ones, yeah, they look like a plastic tree I would have made back in kindergarten. Ugh...so I am under pressure now. Because not there is only 3 more weekends until Christmas. If we don't find something or make a decision this week, I don't think it will even be worth the time and effort to pull everything out to decorate just to take it all down again. You know what though, I am pretty sure I go through this every year. And every year I am glad I went through the effort and it is so worth it. But it doesn't feel that way now.

I think I am going to have DH just pick a real one up at a local place where we normally get mulch every year. And just trust him to pick out a full one and not too tall, not too narrow, not too crooked one. Oh, heck, I guess a branch from our pine tree outside would probably be Ok at this point. So this week is challenged with getting the house decorated.

Work, oh, yeah, bored again. I had all these projects I needed to do and get done and was having a hard time finding time for them with all the other stuff going on. But now, my big project is on hold until we get a team from Oracle out here to "review" our needs. So the small projects are on hold, and guess what...all the other stuff is now done. So what do I have to do right now...nothing. I spent Friday afternoon looking for presents online. Heck, I created a whole picture calendar on Snap fish for presents. That took all afternoon. So, today, I am feeling like a slacker again. Unfortunately they keep changing our security so it is getting more and more difficult for me to read your private blogs and for me to log into my blog. I have to keep "tricking" the system. One day, I won't have no more...then what will I do?

Miss J has been a pill...all weekend...full of whining and fussiness. Ugh, I just wanted to pinch her little cheeks and tell her to "shush". And I have a high tolerance for fussiness. I am usually the calm one, but this weekend, man, I didn't have any patience at all. She is teething again, her second molars, and she has a runny nose, and I think she is getting frustrated that she cannot communicate to us what she wants. So she whines and points. We have been working on sign language for her and my great friend Mrs. T2 gave me an EXCELLENT recommendation on a book to use.

Sidenote:

You know how awesome it is to have a friend, all the way on the other side of the US, to be able to email for ideas and thoughts on things. It is pretty cool to tell people..."yeah, my friend who is a director at a childcare center in CALIFORNIA, recommended this book to me." Oh, that is awesome! Thanks Mrs. T2!!

Back to the book...so I picked it up yesterday and am excited to start teaching Miss J more words. She knows all done, more, please, and blue. But that just isn't enough. Hopefully this will help her communicate a little better with me instead of whining. Plus, they were working on some signs with her at her school, so that really reinforced it too.

Today, she started full time in the Toddler room. Gosh, I feel sorry for the teachers today. She has not been sleeping well and has been so fussy, wanting her binky all the time and her blanket and to just be held. In the new room, she is down to one nap (at 12:30) and is not allowed the binky except at nap time. Ugh...how are they going to do it. Guess she will have to deal with it. I am planning all week to be putting her to bed around 5:30 or 6pm so she can catch up on sleep. We will see, maybe it won't be that bad. I guess she could be a real angel!!

Speaking of...we figured out yesterday that she only seems to whine around me. What?? Why would that be? It was funny because we went to my MIL's house yesterday and Miss J was asleep when we got there. So we put her down for a nap and I went out to pick up that book. When I got back, she was up and playing with daddy and her toys, and the minute I walked in and she saw me...she started whining for things and getting into things she wasn't supposed to be in and wanting to be in the same room as me. And they all told me that she didn't whine once while I was gone. Great...so I am the problem of all of this? I guess I should read up on some of this. It is probably a "testing" kind of thing. See how much she can get away with until I say no. Come on...I didn't think that started until she was like 2 or something? I am not sure what to do about it. Maybe it will change in a few days...everything seems to go in cycles. Her sleeping patterns, her colds, her teething, etc. Lets hope.

OK, one more thing then I promise I will end this long entry. My SIL. She got engaged last month, and DH is not too happy. Not that the guy that proposed is not a great guy, not that he won't be a great addition to the family, not that they don't get along well or that he doesn't get along with the family. No, there is nothing like that. First off, I don't think anyone would be good enough his younger sister (by 6-years). That is just a fact. DH is her big brother, always watching out for her and wanting to be sure she didn't make any of the same mistakes she did. Problem is, she is a big girl and she can fend for herself. She is 26. She has a bachelors degree and has a full time (well paying) job. She is still living at home, but that was only going to be for a short time until she could save up for a house herself. Enter, her current fiance. They met in January of '07. Yes, less than a year ago. She hadn't really dated much in the past 5 years, off and on, but nothing serious. Then fiance shows up and they become serious. Then, we start finding out the details about him - that are not OMGoodness crazy, but when they all fit together the flags kind of come up.

He is 37 yrs old (never been married nor does he have any kids)
He is not a Christian and doesn't attend church regularly
His younger brother has 2-kids with a "crazy" younger women who he has never been married to and is dealing with custody battles constantly (which I guess really doesn't say much about him, but maybe the family style and upbringing he comes from?)
Not to mention how quickly after FIL died that he proposed.
He never asked her mom or brother if it was OK to propose to her
And they have almost everything planned and only been engaged 6-weeks.

So these couple of things kind of worry DH. And, to top it off, fiance proposed just over a month after her father died (my FIL), and they are planning the wedding (a BIG wedding by the way) for May of 2008. OK, so kind of quick and accelerated if you ask us. But, you can't say that marriages haven't worked for those who have known each other a short time. But then you throw the other facts about him into the pile and it has my DH worrying. Oh, and they pretty much picked out the hall they were having the reception at within a week of being engaged, picked out her wedding dress and ordered it within a month, and most of the details are taken care of. Again, just seems like they are trying to force it and rush it (looking in from the outside) when they really don't need to.

And DH is not very non-chalant about saying things. He comes right out and tells her she is doing it all wrong, which isn't the way it should be handled. So she is all defensive and now every time we see them, there is that weird, uncomfortable feeling between us and she doesn't want to talk about the wedding - for fear DH will rip her apart and give her a guilt trip.

Not sure what to do about it right now. I told DH he needs to get the top reasons of things that are bothering him, take his sister out for lunch, and sit down like adults and discuss this stuff. Don't attack her, address his biggest concerns with a concerning tone, and let him hear it straight from her mouth that they are thinking it through, they are in love, they are not rushing it just to "sleep with each other"(she is waiting until she is married, which is very respectful), etc. I think if he hears it from her, rather than through the grapevine and in bits and pieces and assumes how things are, that he might lighten up a little. At least that is what I would hope for.

I mean, really, she is a grown up. We have to trust that she is going to make the best decision and right choices. She is getting married for goodness sakes, that should be a happy occasion. Not a stressful one.

So, I hope that they are able to work this out. It is not fun feeling on edge when you see them and not being able to ask about wedding stuff. Gosh...hope this gets better!

Ok, sorry this dragged on. I have been meaning to talk about this for awhile, and just haven't had the time...as you can see it is a long drawn out situation. All we can do right now is pray for them, and pray that God will lead them, open the doors that should be opened and close the ones to be closed. And that they both listen to their hearts, and not what everyone else says.

If you are still with me...thanks for reading. Off to "pretend" to work.