So Much To Blog, So Little Time

It's been crazy around here lately. I mean it. Crazy. I feel like I'm out in the middle of the ocean and my legs are getting tired from treading water for so long. I hope I get rescued soon! It would be nice if I could be rescued by a big cruise ship heading out to the Caribbean where it is nice and warm.

Work has been nuts. You see, I got a "promotion". Ha. More like - someone left the company and I took over her job, in addition to my own, without taking on her salary. Sure, my workload has steadily been decreasing since my company was bought by another, so this just means a little more job security for me, but now I'm busy as hell. For the past month or so, I have been working late and barely getting home in time to see these two smiling faces...

What is it with my kids leaning to the side every time they see the camera?

Anyway...so yeah, late nights at work suck. By the time I get home and scarf down some dinner, all I want to do is go to bed. But then there's this blog. It has been awesome since I added Raina and Melissa, and they are helping so much, but I'm still trying to get my own commitments caught up. It's a slow process, but I'm getting there.

Hats off to all the bloggers doing holiday gift guides this year...the one I did last year about killed me! In fact, I haven't even been responding to most review requests lately. Part of the reason is that I just don't have the time (my email is out of control right now!!! and I apologize if you sent me something and I haven't responded), and the other part is that I want to be able to enjoy the holidays with my family without stressing over the blog. We'll crank back up after Rylie's birthday in mid-January, though, so hopefully none of you will leave us in the meantime.

This week has been particularly stressful and the days all seemed to run together. I had deadlines to meet at work, and trying to get everything done just had me spinning. Then there was the election. Ahhhh, the election. I'm sure you can tell by that statement that it didn't go the way I wanted it to. I was actually sick to my stomach Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and I'm terrified about the future of this country. I could write a whole post about why, but I won't. At least not now.

And on top of it all, my mom is out of town for a few days hanging out with my aunt. It's great for her, and I'm glad she was able to get away for a few days, but we sure do miss her here. She helps us out so much. I even had to find a babysitter for Saturday so Brian and I could run some errands without our darling children in tow. My good friend Tiffany is going to entertain them for a few hours while we hit the mall. Or wait, maybe they will entertain her. Yeah, that's more like it.

Wah. Wah. Wah. I know. My life really isn't all that bad. I'm just busy and I hate when I feel like I'm running all the time. My to do list keeps growing, and I never have time to scratch anything off. Whatever. I get to the important stuff, and for now, that is all that matters.

Here's something pretty awesome for the week, though...

Rylie learned how to tie!!! Pretty awesome, huh? My mom picks the kids up every day and usually fills me in on notes from school, after school activities, etc., but on Tuesday night, we didn't really talk about anything important. I have to sign Rylie's daily folder sheet every day, and when I got in her folder Tuesday evening after she was in bed, I saw that note. I was so proud of her that I almost woke her up to congratulate her.

I carried on about it Wednesday morning like she had just won an Academy Award or something. If you're a parent, then you get it...it's just so awesome when your kid learns something new or accomplishes something like that. Wednesday night she demonstrated her awesome shoe tying skills to us, and honestly, she's pretty darn good at it. Of course now she wants me to buy her shoes with laces. Fat chance, kid. Like I need something else to slow us down in the morning!

It's been pretty chilly here in Central Florida this week, so the kids got to wear some of their new "winter clothes" - like the fun neon green ensemble you see above. I so wish I could get away with dressing like Rylie! The girl loves color! Well, Bryce isn't wearing any new pants, because they are all too big for him. Would you believe that my three year old is still wearing 18-24 month pants? Poor kid. I guess he'll never play basketball. Anyway, the good thing about cold fronts in Florida is that they are short lived, and we'll all probably be back in our shorts by the weekend.

And back to the whining...we're wrapping up the week with a busted up car. Yep. Someone backed into Brian's car earlier today. Luckily there were people around when the pest control guy rammed his truck into Brian's car and took out the tail light, so at least we'll be able to get it fixed without having to pay a deductible.

So that's that. If anyone is still reading this long winded ramble, I hope you had a great week and have a fun weekend planned. We're shopping on Saturday and then I'm going to get a body wrap done on Sunday. I'm skeptical, but I'm looking forward to melting away my muffin top. We'll see.

Happy Friday, my friends!