Tidbits

Bit #1. I got a weird comment (since deleted) that suggested that I'm not anonymous enough and that this will negatively affect the girls in the future.  Nothing about the boys, although a reference to K's work.  It has put me a bit off my writing game.  I hope that the person who wrote the comment had the best intentions.  I found it creepy.  I guess I got my first troll.  If you are reading this and are said troll, I'm sorry if this is offending you, but your suggestion that my little blog could harm the girls is pretty far-fetched.  Of course, it did make me question my blog and whether or not I'm being selfish.  A few days of thinking and missing writing hopefully has set me back on course.  I'm not going to lie, though, I was rattled.

Bit #2. Today is M's birthday!  Yay!  She is 14 and such a funny, sweet kid.  She has certainly gotten served a rough hand, but she gets up every day and tries.  We had a joint family birthday celebration for M and D, our February birthdays, last night for the Super Bowl.  The party was a blast and both birthday kids had fun.  The highlight of the night was my dad giving D the crossed little league bats he made for him to commemorate his little league career (this spring will be his last little league season since he turns 12).  The hand turned "D--- Slugger" bats were amazing.  He even put a hook on the box holding the bats for his all-star hat.  D and my dad have a tense relationship at times and it was so nice to see D give his grandfather multiple hugs throughout the night thanking him for such a great present.

Bit #3.  The further and further we get away from October, November, and December, the easier things seem to be around here.  The emotional toll of those months is hard on all of us.  It's gotten better each year.  I think that my recognition of this is actually a good step in the right direction.

Bit #4. We are going into a tornado of sports activities with the kids in the next 7 weeks.  I'm not sure how we're going to get through.  Swim meets, basketball playoffs, away soccer tournaments....yikes.

Bit #5.  Take bit #4 and add to it science fair for two 8th graders, the state geography bee for one 6th grader and two birthday parties.  Can you say stressful?

Bit #6.  I talked to my therapist today about trying to admit more to myself that things are going well with all of the kids and that I need to cut myself some slack.  This is hard for a bit of a control freak and perfectionist.  There is always something that needs to be done around here whether it's laundry, cooking, work, cleaning, driving or just hanging with the kids.  I'm not sure how to get to the place where I can be satisfied and proud of what I do get done.  And, more importantly, proud of how well our family is doing in the big picture. I tell everyone all the time that our new family is still a work in progress.  I need to recognize the real progress that we've made.  I'm trying.