Ugh. Just. Ugh.

Tomorrow will be Day Four of being stuck at home. And what's the worst, I am willing to bet that it will be most of the week. Maybe on Friday we will get out. I just don't know how much more I can take. I feel like I'm overreacting, but it's just too much.

Let's see how much gets dumps on us tomorrow. Bring it on! :/

Can I tell you that snow sucks?? We got about 27-30 inches at my house on Saturday. I was not able to do much shoveling at all. I got our sidewalk cleared on Saturday evening but had to stop then. Sunday, my dad came over and started to work on the driveway. My neighbor, Marc, came out with his snowblower and at least did the big portion of the driveway for us. I honestly do not know what we would have done without him. The trees that line the driveway were weighed down so much that they were leaning across the driveway. As of right now, the driveway is pretty clear minus a bit of iced over snow/ice that I can't break up. But, all this is great when the end of my drive is a massive block of snow. I seriously do not know if I will be able to ram through it tomorrow if Towson decides to open, which I'm sure they will.

Oh, and all this is on top of the treat of yet another storm to start tomorrow and possibly end up over a foot more of the crap.

Things wouldn't be as bad if Chris was here. Without him, it's just me dealing with getting the snow cleared from where it needs to be, dealing with both kids. Today is the first day that they have both taken an afternoon nap at the same time. I really should be resting during this rare moment, but I can't. Carter is getting stir-crazy. He is starting to realize that Daddy is gone. This trip has taken a bit of a different toll on him. Usually, he's pretty nonchalant about it, but this time he keeps asking when Daddy is coming home and he also is asking about my brother who is also deployed. And now that it's just been us since Friday, I think he's getting tired of me. :)

If we get walloped again, please keep an eye on the news. There could be a story about the crazy chick that went wacko.

( Here's some pics )

There are more pics on my Facebook if you have friended me there. If not, feel free to. Brooke Jacobs | Create Your Badge

Well, it's really been going on for hours, but this is the first I've gotten to post.

Left work at 1pm. This is something that truly pissed me off today. But it turned out better than I expected. So, as you know, I work at a university. They cancelled classes after 1pm, but didn't officially close the school. I work in the Event and Conference Services so we are in charge of any and all events that take place on campus. Well, the VP's and all still wanted events to go on because the students were still on campus. Hello!! Here you are, you have cancelled classes because of the weather by yet you still expect your staff and student workers to stay on campus in case a group wants to have their scheduled meeting?? Most of the groups were calling us all day to try to reschedule their events anyway. So, we were told that we could take Liberal Leave at 1pm. Now, normally I would just take it and suck it up. But considering all that went on last year, my leave is all but depleted. I just knew that I would leave at 1pm and have to use my own time for the following three and a half hours and then the University would decide to close at 2pm and I would not be allowed to use the Administrative Leave. But, after all my bitching, TU never did fully close. So, at least I didn't waste precious hours.

I could not imagine driving home any later than I did. I finally got to my house around 3pm after sticking around my parents for a little while. As I was coming home, while the temps were well above freezing, the snow was coming down in near white-out conditions. I can just imagine what it would have been like had we been much colder this morning.

Digging out is going to be FUN! It's just me here, so I'll have to work on it while Ali is asleep. Carter will be able to come in and out of the snow if he wants. But, my neighbor has an SUV of a snowblower, so I am hoping he has pity on me and comes over tomorrow.

The sad part is, Maryland is starting to get used to all of this after all the crap we've gotten this year so I won't be surprised if everything is all cleaned up and ready for everything to be on time on Monday. Especially since we may get hit with yet another storm mid week next week.

I'm ready to pack it up and move somewhere warm! I've always liked to have one good snow a year, and then I was done with it. We are now looking at the most snow Maryland has seen in a winter ever, I do believe. This storm isn't going to be the worst we've ever had, I'm sure, but added with all the other storms...yeah, it's way too much!

I promise I will write up my thoughts on Lost, it's just been too crazy! I may watch it again to see things that I missed. Basically, it was an evening of "WTF" and "OOOHHHH!!!"

Okay, off to bed. Long day ahead of me tomorrow, I'm sure. Two kids that don't nap at the same time and a lot of snow to move around!

So for all my new followers on here, I have to warn you. We are now entering into the final season of my all-time favorite show and you WILL be forced to hear my raving, ranting and confusion over LOST. I am going to save my official wrap up of the show for a bit later, after I have caught up on some work.

We had another snow storm last night. I got about 3 1/2 inches at my house. Luckily it warmed up a bit today so it wasn't too bad. We were delayed a few hours so that was nice. But, this weekend, we are supposed to get hit by a noreaster. They are saying it could be as small as just a few inches or it could be as bad as four feet in some areas. I really am not looking forward to that! Being alone, cooped up with the kids, for possibly a week, yeah...not my idea of fun. I think I may see if my mom can stay with me or something.

Well, I started this about an hour ago and still have way too much to do. Better get to it!

Found this today on PostSecret. And I don't know about you, but it's totally my not-so-secret. Sorry if it's TMI, but ya know! We are all adults here.

I don't know if Pfeiffer is going to like it when Lucy isn't around any longer. Andrew has spent the last two nights over at a boy's house (already!) and he took Lucy with him the first night. Last night I told him to leave her with us so the two dogs could be together. And while I think Lucy missed Andrew, the two dogs laid next to each other on my bed when we went to sleep. It was so adorable. Makes me want to get a puppy very soon to give P a permanent playmate.

But, I'm quite surprised over the fact that Andrew has already gotten to the point of spending the night with this guy even though they just met. Now, maybe they have been talking on the internet for a while and his move out here had other motivation behind it. I just hope that he doesn't get hurt.

Chris and I are planning a long weekend when he gets back. He is pricing out different places, but my top choices are San Diego, Savannah and San Francisco. I've been to Savannah before, but it was under different circumstances and we really didn't get to explore the town. But San Diego is probably my top, top choice. Just to see southern California and to go see the zoo. That would be awesome! And Chris' choice is San Fran. I'm sure I would love it too, so I'm all about it. We would leave the Thursday of Towson's Spring Break and then get home on Sunday. I would just miss two days of work so it should be great. No matter where we go, it will be nice to just get a break. We won't take the kids so it will just be a nice weekend to reconnect with Chris after he's been gone. And considering it's probably the only vacation I will get this year, I'm really looking forward to it. I am trying to build back up my leave since having Ali depleted it all. Maybe next year I will get to take a week off, but this year, it will only be a day here or there.

I have fallen in love with a new radio station. I used to listen to the local "pop" station, Mix 106.5 basically because I liked the morning DJs, not really because I liked the music. But Mandi recently was surprised that I had never heard of WRNR 103.1. This station was made for me. I used to listen to the alternative radio station 99.1 HFS back in the day but that went bye bye. WRNR plays my music. I now hear U2, Depeche Mode, Cake, old and GOOD REM, you name it, they play it. Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam...I love it. I can't believe I never knew about it. So, that has been what I have had on at work and in my car lately. And they actually play music! I know, amazing, huh? When I listened to Mix, in between all the talk and commercials, you would hear the same 25 songs over and over. And when I hated 20 of the 25 that really sucked. Ahh, point made...right now, Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty just started. I <3 this station!

Okay, back to work. After I take some meds...my head is pounding again!

Oh, I forgot to mention...I lost two more pounds this past week! That takes me down 8lbs since the first of the year. I am now down to the weight I was when I got pregnant with Alison. I have four more pounds to go to hit my first goal in Weight Watchers. It really hasn't been hard yet. I am just keeping track of what I am eating for the most part. I also am very proud to say that I have only bought lunch here at work one day this entire year. For me, that's amazing. I don't even want to think of how much money I have saved by doing that.

I'm so over this whole single parenting thing. Granted, I have had my friend Andrew here for the weekend, so that has helped out a bit more. He got to my house around 9pm on Thursday. We've had a fun few days just catching up and filling each other in on our lives in the past five or so years. It's amazing how some friends you can go so long not seeing but when you get back together, it's as if no time has passed.

His dog is ADORABLE!! Carter loves having a dog that actually plays with him. Pfeiffer isn't really a kid-loving pooch. She's tolerant of the kids, would never bite them or anything, but just doesn't really like to play with him. But Lucy lets Ali pull on her ears and Carter has been hanging all over her.

But today was a crappy day for my mood. Work was fine, but it was the first day back for the students so it was a bit busy. Then Carter was just irritating the crap out of me tonight. I love the child to death, but wow can he get under my skin! Now I'm sitting here at the computer when I really should go to bed and try to get a bit of extra sleep. I think that's part of my problem. I need a day of just pure laziness. No diapers to change, no meals to prepare. But, alas, that is not going to happen anytime soon. When Chris gets back, I'll treat myself to a pedicure and massage or something.

We have three weeks down, another five or so to go. I can do this, right??

Tomorrow morning is my day to weigh in. I don't have a good feeling about this past week. I feel like I cheated a few days and ate way more than I should have. But, we'll see.

Okay, I'm going to bed. Maybe my mood will be better in the AM. Here's a pic for the road.



( And a few more )

You can definitely tell that the students are coming back on Monday. Work has been pouring in this week!

I need to update several things, let's see just how much I get to before I have to go again.

Last Friday, Alison had her check up scheduled. Since Christmas, she has been very congested and has had a cough off and on. Lately, it was a bit worse, but I just chalked it up as teething. The doctor did his usual checks and as soon as he listened to her breathe, he said she had bronchitis. That is twice now and the poor thing is only seven months old! And, she also has a bad ear infection But, she's a big girl. She weighs just under 18 lbs and is over 28 inches long! She's now pretty much in 12 month clothes. I don't know what I was thinking this past summer when I bought 12 mo summer clothes on sale! Guess she won't be wearing them! But anyway, she of course didn't get her shots and he prescribed her Zythromax yet again. Well, Carter has had a horrible cough and runny nose for a while again so I asked the doctor if I should bring him in. He said yes, so I just called out of work and headed back out there with Carter later that day. Sure enough, he has bronchitis as well along with a sinus infection. So, now, I have to take Ali back on Friday and hopefully she will be well enough now to get her shots.

Now, Ali got much worse as the weekend went by. On Monday, she woke up from the one real nap she took and had a 101.7 fever. Her breathing also was much worse. So, I packed her back up and headed back to the doctor. They monitored her oxygen levels and luckily they were fine. So, her breathing was bad, but not too bad. They just told me to keep an eye on her and hopefully the medicine would start working soon. Yesterday, she seemed much better. So, hopefully, come Friday, she will be better and we can put this behind us.

I do think I am going to ask the doctor about asthma. I just have this nagging feeling that Ali is going to end up with it. If I could even get a nebulizer just in case, that would make me feel a bit better. After hearing her breathe this weekend, it just breaks my heart!

Any of my mommies out there have kids with asthma? When were they diagnosed? I just find it strange that she has been so sick already so much.

But onto lighter things...I got out of the house twice this weekend without the kids! For some reason, when Chris goes away, I tend to get my "free nights" all at once. On Friday night, I met up with my friend Jenn and we saw Avatar in 3D. I really enjoyed it, especially the visuals effects. The story was pretty predictable, but it was really good, still. One thing that stuck with me was the detail of the People and how they connect with the things in their world. If you haven't seen it, the blue people all have this braid that have nerves that connect with nerves of the animals and the nature of their planet. I thought that was a cool concept.

And while we are on the subject of movies, I finally watched Star Trek the other day during Carter's naptime. Granted I had to stop it a few times to deal with Ali, I still really enjoyed it. It will be nice to see a few more stories with these characters.

Then, on Saturday, I had a ticket to a Bull and Oyster Roast for the summer theatre program at Essex that many of my friends are part of. If you aren't from Maryland, you may not know what this is, but it's basically just a chance to eat "pit beef" and oysters. True pit beef is cooked outside in a big grill, but I'm sure this was made in a kitchen. It was fun because it was essentially just a venue to watch the Ravens/Colts game. While that game didn't end up well, we still had a fun time. Carter spent the night with my parents and my co-worker, Krystle came over to watch Alison. Even though Ali was feeling horrible, they still had fun.

So now I am waiting my friend Andrew to get into town. He left Tuesday and should be here tonight. My dad isn't too happy about the fact that he is staying with me. What I haven't told Dad is that I'm not his type anymore. Plus, it's not like he's staying at our house for long. It's only going to be until the townhouse is ready.

Well, I got more out than expected. I can't wait until March. Maybe my life can get back on track then. I won't feel so stretched.

Yeah, I'll get back to work after this one! :)
( The Boy List )

Tagged by arrctic
A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it".

1. There are times that I wonder what life would have been like had I not gotten pregnant. I don't like the life that I think up if that road had been chosen, but when the kids are screaming and there is no end in sight, it does cross my mind. I also wonder at times if I would have met someone by now had Chris and I not worked out or if I would still be alone.
2. I'm very particular about how things are done. I am borderline control freak with some things. At the bookstore, I had the HARDEST time delegating and admitting that I couldn't finish a project. When planning things, every detail has to be worked out, so much so that things tend to become not as fun for me. My being is two personalities battling it out. There is the easy-going side of me that says relax. But the controlling, "it has to be done NOW!!" part of me over powers it all. This has causes many riffs between Chris and I and it is something that I wish I could fix.
3. I am not happy where I am as far as work goes, but I also have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. There are so many things that I enjoy doing, but there really is no hard and fast drive to get myself to a place in life to do any of those things as a career.
4. I bite my nails. Well, let me correct that...I bite my fingers. I always have, probably always will. Even when there is no nail to bite on, I bite the skin around it. The intensity of the biting ebbs and flows with my stress. When I have a lot of things on my mind, I can bite them down to bleeding nubs.
5. I want to be thinner. I would love to be a healthy weight again and not have to worry about clothes fitting and getting out of breath just walking up stairs. But I am also extremely lazy. I would rather sleep those extra minutes than get up and jump on the elyptical before work. I am trying to remedy this laziness, but it's hard. Years and years of practice is hard to break. The biggest problem is that "working out" just bores the hell out of me.
6. One of my dreams in life is to run a doggie daycare. However, I have no idea how to make that a reality short of winning the lottery and not having to worry about the other details of life.
7. I say that I enjoy reading, but the fact is, in the past several years, I have only read a handful of new books. The biggest reason is that I didn't use to make time to read. Now, I try to read a bit every night, but it's been re-reading old favorites and only a chapter or two at a time. I also haven't read MANY of the books that most people would consider Must-Reads. But, I have come to grips with this. Deep down, I know that I'm not really a bookaphile.

Okay, so these aren't the most interesting tidbits, but it's time to get back to work!

Now comes the hard part. I tag rockinlibrarian, wookiewife, navygreen, ksausville, bookgirl2632...okay, that's all that I have that haven't been tagged already or that I just know won't do it.

Missed my email saying my LJ paid account had expired. Was going to just go with the unpaid one, but decided to go ahead and renew.

It's been a crazy weekend. Not sure how long I have to post here because I hear Ali starting to stir. But can I just say, I can't wait to eventually have a real day off again. I'm off work today, but it's still frustrating how exhausted I am all the time!

Didn't help that Pfeiffer decided to take an adventure today. We had BGE come out today to do that free home assessment so I had P out in the backyard to keep her calm. As I was talking with the guy, I looked out in the yard and saw the piece of lattice that I have as a "gate" had fallen down. So, needless to say, I freaked out. Alison was up in her crib so I walked down the street calling for her and asked some neighbors if they had seen her. No one had. I came back to the house and started panicking even more. I called my dad and he was heading over to come either stay in the house with Ali or to go out and look for her. As I was in the living room, looking up numbers to local shelters and all, I hear Pfeiffer shake. She had come back home and was just walking around my car like nothing was wrong. My dad is coming over tonight to figure out how we can rig the lattice up so that it won't fall over any longer. Otherwise, P is going out on the lead and she will just have to deal.

Well, Alison is now fully awake so I better go get her. I'll have to post either tonight or tomorrow about the rest of the weekend.

Hey guys. I know that I have not been around as much as I should be and I know that Facebook has sucked many people away that used to be here all the time. I just went through my FL and took off anyone that have removed me or who hasn't been around. No hard feelings. I just wanted to clear things up a bit.

If I removed you by accident, please, let me know. I love having other people's journals to read, I was just trying to save you the bother of my mundane posts. :)

I'm so over the cold weather. It's been a bit warmer this week, but it is still unbearable! Even though spring brings with it allergies, I am so ready for the warmer temps. Ugh!

Well, yesterday was my birthday. Wasn't too big of a deal. Tonight, Tammy is coming over to my house to make dinner. That is so sweet of her. On Sunday, my parents, Emily and all of us went to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate both my dad's birthday and mine. It was a sad morning for us because my brother left then to go to Iraq. Both of the guys are now deployed. Emily didn't take it too well. My brother will be gone for about four months, so that's going to be pretty tough for her. Chris has been gone for a week and a half now. Only about eight and a half more to go!

I have joined Weight Watchers Online and in the first week, even though I really haven't been working as hard as I should, I still lost four pounds. That's a nice start and hopefully I can get on a bit of a better schedule as far as eating right goes. I hope to make a bunch of healthy meals on the weekends and eat on them throughout the week. There just isn't that much time during the week to actually cook for me right now. And with me doing this, maybe Carter will eat better more regularly. He's a good eater, but I tend to take the easy way out and just fix him a PBJ or chicken nuggets most nights. And lately, because that is what he is used to, he refuses to eat "real" food when I make it. I'm not used to dealing with a picky eater and it's so frustrating. But, if that's all I have to offer him, then he will have to deal. He's open to change after dealing with it a few times, so we'll see.

I am so excited. One of my closest friends from when I was in high school and after, has not been back to MD in about five years or so. I haven't seen him in so long. He is now moving back here from being in Montana for a few months with his sister. He needed a place to stay, so we are going to let him stay at the townhouse until we either are ready to sell it or he finds something on his own. But, there could be a mold problem right now so I am meeting with a specialist tomorrow to see what needs to be done. Andrew is heading back next week, so until the house is cleaned, he'll be staying with me. He has a dog so it's going to be interesting to see how Pfeiffer reacts to that. She loves other dogs, so I'm hoping she will be very happy. But, I am so happy that he is coming back here. He just has to find a job and that's going to be the tricky part. This is why Chris and I aren't going to expect him to pay much in rent or anything. At least there will be someone staying in the house until Chris gets back and we can do the projects that we need to do.

Andrew also just recently told me that he was, in fact, gay. I had an inkling that he was, but he finally felt comfortable enough with himself that he could tell me. It's kinda weird to think that I was the only girl he ever really liked and I never liked him in that way. So, another perk of him living here and not in the middle of nowhere in Montana is that there is more of a "scene" for him. I am really excited to reconnect with him especially now that that big secret is out. I used to always worry that the fact that I wasn't attracted to him caused tension in our relationship. Now, that's not a problem.

Work is going. Just found out some very frustrating news that makes me not want to be here even more. Someone in the department that is one of the biggest whiners is possibly getting a pay raise. Now, what does that say to everyone else? I hate the fact that Dawn and I are probably the least paid in the entire department yet we deal with more types of BS than most everyone else. Sure, we don't have to work crappy hours. We don't have to lug tables all over campus. But, if anything happens as far as event times or event space, then we are the first ones on the chopping block. Even if it was not even our control. We have to think of more rules and policies and stupid details than everyone else and we are thought of as the peons of the peon. It's depressing to think how much I make compared to what some of the other people here make. But, I'm not going to complain about it, because it's not going to make a difference. This other person is maybe getting this raise because he knows how to smooth talk. I'm sure he has convinced the higher ups that he NEEDS this money. I can't do that. But, do I feel like the intense process of looking for other jobs just to be in the same position somewhere else because I do not posess that piece of paper that says I took enough school to claim to be a better worker? No.

Ugh. Okay, well, enough bitching. I need to get back to that pointless job that I have. ;)

*edited to add* Trying to update with my phone. Sorry the pic is so big!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Yeah, this is going to suck this year, but I have to do it!!

January 5th:
New Years was great. I got my hair cut on the 30th and had a nice fall in the middle of the city on my way to it.

February 4th:
We have had quite a few little dustings this winter. Today was another one.

March 2nd:
Early this morning, I got the text from TU saying they would be a delayed opening of 11am. Looking outside, I decided that I wasn't taking my big pregnant butt out in it and I would just stay home.

April 1st:
Because I am not a member of the fan club, I'm sure I'm getting excited for no reason...BUT....

U2 has announced thier tour date for this area!

May 4th:
Writer's Block question
Like many things in my life, I can blame it on my best friend, Mandi. We both have always enjoyed writing and she was always "hip" to the newest things online.

June 1st:
I spent the better part of yesterday at the hospital. I probably got there around 11am and I left around 6pm.

July 2nd:
I tell you...I give single mothers huge props because I really don't think I could handle it! I thought that dealing with one child alone was tough at times.

August 11th:
Well, the end is neigh. Next Monday I start back to work.

September 11th:
I swear, I'm just going to have to shut this thing down. But that would totally make me sad! I haven't posted since mid-August...shame on me!

October 1st:
Yesterday was just a wash for me. I was so tired that I could barely make it through work and then class which was a total downer.

November 5th:
Life has been good in November so far. Nothing spectacular, but anything is better than how October was for us!

December 17th: (wow!!)
Can I just say once again, this LJ laziness on my part really sucks. I can't believe how bad I have been about updating.

So, there you have it. According to my first posts each month, I had a very boring year. While I would love to say this next year will be different, I know I am just kidding myself. Makes me wonder if I should renew my paid account this year.

I'm a single mother again. Yes, that is my excuse for everything!!

What has been going on, you ask? Quite a bit of nothing yet never having a moment to rest either. Let me just start doing a rundown now that I have some free time.

Christmas Eve:
I had wanted to go to church for their Christmas Eve service, but since my mom had to work until almost 6pm, in order to go with them, we would have gone to the 7pm service. This was just a bit too late for us now considering Alison gets awfully cranky after 7pm. And since we had lots of things to still do, we forwent with church. Chris had to work this day, so Ali and I had gone out to do the dinner shopping and to get a few last minute things. My brother had been helping Chris out with building some built in bookcases up in the attic so Emily was with us during the day as well. The kids went down for the night and Chris and I set about doing the Santa part.

Christmas Day:
We got up around our normal time and headed downstairs. We didn't have too much to open because we don't really buy that much. Carter got his GEO Tracks Train and a CD player as well as his Polar Express sleigh bell. Ali got a Rumble and Drive toy and a purse that talks and stuff. They both had a few other smaller things as well. Chris got me a CuisineArt Stand Mixer so I forsee lots of baking. Then I called my Mom. Well, her and Emily had apparently come down with the stomach bug that night so they weren't even sure if they should come over. I talked them into it so a while later, we were opening more presents. Mom got Chris and I a box full of kitchen things. They got the kids way too much, but it still wasn't as much as it has been in the past. Emily was very excited for the DSi that her favoritest aunt got for her. Then we had our Christmas dinner.

At Thanksgiving, Chris had bought the Big Easy, an infrared fryer, for the turkey. Well, because there is no oil, you can cook pretty much anything in it. So, we had decided to do the ham in it. I bought a fresh ham from the grocery store and we had brined it and all. Well, when he brought it in to cut it, it was white. We looked at each other totally confused. Then Mom said, that's how it's supposed to look. So, instead of the pink, cured ham that I love, we ended up with a huge hunk of pork loin for the most part. I was a bit disappointed, but oh well. After we ate, we had to shoo everyone out so we could leave for his parents' house.

We finally got down there maybe around 7pm or so. Their neighborhood was still covered with ice! It was quite scary driving up to their house.

Day After Christmas:
After spending the night with them, we headed up to Springfield to spend the day with his brother's family. Tom wasn't feeling good so he stayed home and Cora went with us. We had a fun day of the kids playing and more food. We finally had to head out. My brother had stayed the night at our house to watch the dog and had gotten the bug. So he wanted to get home.

The next week, I was off work but Chris was not. It was a pretty stressful week with the kids. Emily spent the night Monday night and all day on Tuesday. By the late afternoon with dealing with her and Carter and a teething, cranky infant, I was about to pull my hair out. Chris and I were planning on meeting up with Zach, our realtor that has become a good friend of Chris, and his fiance. By the time Chris came home, I was ready to just go into a room and hide. I ended up getting a bit gussied up and we went to Bahama Breeze and ended up having a good time. On Wednesday, I had a picture appointment for the kids since I never got around to doing it before the holidays. Well, I had thought I had washed Ali's Christmas outfit, but I never did, so I ended up just picking a regular outfit and going with it. But then Ali would not stop screaming that morning. I called Mom and told her that we may not get to the appointment because of this. But, I eventually got Ali calmed down enough to get Carter and myself together and out the door. Once Ali hit the cold air, she was happy. Maybe she was a bit stir-crazy ontop of in pain.

So, we got to the mall in plenty of time and headed to Picture People. Can I just say this...once my Portrait Club discounts are used up for this year, I'm never going there again. At least, not the White Marsh one anymore. Well, to be fair, Carter was not cooperating on this day. Everything the girl asked him to do, he would shy away and not do it. I didn't get many good shots of the two of them together, but ended up with a few good ones of them individually.

New Years Eve:
Every year, we go to Rob's house for a party and the fun gift exchange. Chris had to work so he didn't get home until late. All week, he was working so hard to get the group ready to leave on Saturday. Thursday, my parents came over and I finally got a break to get ready. I had wanted to catch a nap this day since Carter was in daycare, but Ali did not let that happen. We headed over to the party with the sloppy joe that I made. The party was tons of fun. I drank a bit too much considering I haven't drank much in forever. We counted down the night and headed home around 2am. I had to compose myself when we came home so my parents couldn't see just how far gone I was.

New Years Day:
Started with the biggest hangover I've ever had. Headache coupled with queasy tummy. Chris' parents came up with food and I didn't even want to try to eat. We had a pretty quiet day and we enjoyed our last day with Chris.

Chris left the house around 3am that next morning. I have been suffering through single motherhood since then. It's crappy, but, knock on wood, it hasn't been overwhelming.

Oy! these mass updates are just overwhelming! What's sad is that it's not even entertaining! Oh well, maybe now that I've caught up at work, I'll get some more time to get on here. Forget about trying to do it at home! By the time I get both kids in bed and make the preparations for the next day, I barely have the energy to move at night, let alone type up witty (or not so) commentary on life. Getting old sucks!

There were many times lately that I thought of things that I needed to vent about. But, due to other circumstances, never got to on here. There was a point in my stressful winter break that I just wanted to vent and complain about my current life. I was honestly wondering why and how I had gotten to where I am today. What would have happened if I never had gotten pregnant in 2005? When I had a screaming daughter who wasn't being calmed down by anything I could offer her, did I wish that all this never had happened? Yes. But then after a while and Alison fell asleep in my arms and I looked down at that sweet face, I knew that it was, in fact, all worth it. Sure, my life is much different now than it was six years ago. But I'm going to take the stressful days and weeks and even months in exchange for watching two of my flesh and blood grow up before my very eyes. And even though the fact that Chris has to leave us so many times is so hard, we will manage. Luckily with these separations, come the financial perks of being comfortable in life right now.

So all in all, I'm glad to see 2009 done even if it wasn't as bad a year for us as it was for a lot of people I know. It was a life-changing year, but also a stressful year. With my aunt's stroke and watching the family deal with that now; Alison's birth; moving into the new house; Carter's newest defiance stage; my gall bladder surgery; a few deaths of those around me; now with Chris gone...it's time to start fresh. In my mind, 2010 may have started, but I hope it gets better after March. May 2010 be the year of healing.

*Oh, BTW....It's absolutely friggin cold here!! And now they are calling for more snow tonight. Again, can it be March yet?*