I Have Hobbies!

My husband has hobbies.
Lots of them.
Bowling, golfing, hunting, being outdoors, the list goes on.

Up until this past year,
I had nothing. 
I mean,
I occasionally scrapped.
Or worked out.
But nothing consistent.
Nothing that led me out of the house...
Or someplace to work.
Or made me feel accomplished.
Or happy.
Or "Dude--this is FUN!"

That is,
Until this year.

So, then I ponder.
What caused me to be this way?
Not enough time?
Teaching and being a mother were my priorities.
No energy?
See above.
No ambition?
See above.

I've taken teaching out of the equation.
(THAT'S IT).
And, NOW...
I often feel torn in what TO do!

Sewing, scrap booking, crocheting, blogging.
My time is still limited.
So, I choose wisely daily depending on my mood.

And it's SO nice to do something for me.
JUST me.
That I love.
And cherish.
I get to be creative.
Use my skills.
And be ME.

Top 10 for the Week:
(I still hear the boy making roaring noises in his room--Nap time).

10.  Sicky Sunday.  So, I woke up yesterday morning with some tummy issues.  Enough to cause me to not want to do anything the whole day.  It was horrid.  Feeling better now.  But still not in the mood to eat too much. I'm thinking it's something I ate over break.  My stomach is so sensitive now.

9.  Laundry Room CHAOS.  We are redoing our laundry room.  Great right?!?!?  You would think.  But I hate the process.  Our downstairs is so chaotic...it throws me in such a grumpy mood.  As I search for coats, shoes, paper towels, toilet paper.  We are not even close to being done.  UGH.

8.  OCD.  I have a little of it.  I grew up in a tidy household.  BOTH my parents were very clean, organized, tidy, whatever you'd like to call it.  So I've developed a bit of it.  Marrying Jay has helped:o)  He is so laid back about things and is not at all OCD.  Some days I'm good, others I stress.  Mal has a good balance of what she keeps clean and what she doesn't.  Clayton I'm a bit worried about.  I see tendencies in him.  Not huge ones.  There's nothing wrong with wanting a little order and clean, right?!?! 

7.  Christmas Décor.  So, I had this fabulous idea to put up our Xmas decorations on the Wednesday Mal didn't have school.  Mind you, in years past, I've done it at night or the weekend after Thanksgiving, when Jay's here.  He manages the kids a bit and we all help put it up.  Well, I thought the kids could handle it.  It was CRAZY.  And then Mal seemed bored with it and didn't want to finish.  (She wanted to put it up SO badly, that I finally caved in and said okay).  But it's done.  And we are planning on getting our tree this weekend--which will be SO fun!  I truly love this time of year with the kids.  They get so excited over such little things. 

6.  Crochet.  Thanks to another dear friend, I've finally mastered (the best I can) crocheting!  I'm so pumped!  I'm on my second scarf and have plans to do other things too!  Only took a few teachers...and I finally figured it out!

5.  Black Friday.  Five years ago, Jay and I bought a treadmill on Black Friday.  But other than that, we have never done any of the big shopping.  I decided last minute to head the sales with her.  We were at the stores around 8:00 and honestly it wasn't that bad.  Got a few good deals.  But I wish I would have been better prepared.  Maybe next year.

4.  Clayisms.  Sunday morning, while all of us were vegging on the couch, Clay went into the kitchen.  Opened the fridge, grabbed two carrots, and brought them out to the living room.  Gave one to Mal, and they both started munching on them.  It was so strange.  And hilarious!  His speech has been going VERY well.  I feel like we finally have a little light at the end of the tunnel.  It's SO encouraging!  He is really starting to pick up words and you can hear them if you really listen.  One happy Momma here.

3.  Malloryisms.  She's loving school and everything that goes with it.  One day this week, she just started singing one of her Christmas program songs.  It was so sweet and she was SO great at it.  She knows the sounds and can identify 6 of the 7 letters they have learned.  And she's becoming interested in writing out everything.  She's our little sponge.  And I LOVE teaching her new words and seeing her connect things. 

2.  Friends Visit.  We had friends over on Saturday night.  I love how the kids get along so well.  It's so easy.  And so nice to be able to just enjoy their company. 

1.  Holiday.  So nice to have Jay home for a few days.  Although I think the kids were confused:o)  And it probably didn't help that we started the laundry room.  A little bit of boredom and bickering kids caused a few long hours.  But we all had a chance to do things that we love.  And got to spend some time with Jay's family which was fun (food, drinks, & cards--what could be better?!?!).  I'm looking forward to Christmas break--and having more time to just be with our families!

It's December!
Wow!
Enjoy your week friends!

Love to you all.
Until next week,
Mrs. Newell


P.S.  Just so you know, I often do not have time to proofread my blogs (besides just spellcheck).  Like now, I'm choosing to finish the vacuuming and do some crochet before the littles get up from their nap!  Please forgive me:o)  My time is limited! And precious!