Getting There

Everything is slowly returning to not-yet-normal-but-almost-there. I'm still with the triplets every day from the time I wake up or drop Abby off til the kids are in bed (except for Sunday - looks like I'll be getting the entire day Sunday off from now on!), so there's almost no spare time unless it happens late at night when I'm exhausted, but there's some very positive signs happening. The triplet's mama is lifting a little bit (every time she does, I hold my breath!) so hopefully next Friday, which marks six weeks since the surgery, will mean everything goes mostly back to normal. And both their grandma and I got to go home last night and tonight, so that's a huge step forward in getting everything back to normal.

In the meantime, I got two days off in the last week (Sunday and Monday!!! Okay, only Sunday was scheduled, Monday happened because it snowed and I got stuck at home... but still!!!) which was absolutely. amazing.

I would love to say that I was a busy bee and got all caught up on everything that's gotten neglected in the last six weeks, and I truly did intend to - I had a to-do list and everything - but when it came right down to it, I totally relaxed both days. Watched a lot of Doctor Who (I'm up to the episode "Hide" in season seven... only four more episodes to go and then I'm current! (Well, except for Day Of The Doctor and Time Of The Doctor. Well, except I also haven't seen The Christmas Invasion, Planet Of The Dead, The Waters Of Mars, The End Of Time, or The Snowmen, either.)), slept in (actually, I kept waking up thinking "I have to go to work!!!" and then remembering... no, I didn't... and my bed was so soft, so I kept rolling right back over and going right back to sleep. I'm way too embarrassed to say how late I slept in lol!), visited with the family, took my mom out for lunch, let the girls out for a long playtime, etc. I got absolutely nothing accomplished. But it sure felt good!

Tomorrow (my day off) I do intend to clean at least a little, and get my seedlings planted in the little mini-greenhouse I bought. And take an afternoon nap. And watch some more Doctor Who. :)

The only bad thing - and I hate to say it that way because I feel like I should be much more enthusiastic about it - is that swim lessons resume next week, so I go back to teaching. And I'm trying to have a good attitude about it. I really am. It's not that I dislike teaching - I know in my head that I love it. It's just that right now I'm so very on the edge of burnt out, and I don't have much left to give by the time I get there. The last session was almost painful. Luckily, I realized last week that I was dangerously close to being overstretched, and I asked my boss if I could maybe do less training this coming session and just teach the classes I had down pat, and he generously agreed. As things go back to normal I look forward to doing more cross-training again.

I'm working on a little mini-article about things I've learned in the last few weeks (God has been so good!) and I'm hoping to have it finished and posted by tomorrow.

I can't believe it's practically April already. I'm kind of in shock.

Spring Bucket List

I thought I'd wait until next Thursday - the official first day of spring - to post my bucket list. But... it's been so warm lately (although, in all honesty, it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Y'all...) and - even more exciting - I'm going to get a whole day off tomorrow! You heard right! A whole entire day! And since it's supposed to be warmish before it starts snowing... ikr? ... I'm going to take advantage of it and start celebrating!

1) Start seedlings
2) Make new solar lights for the walkway
3) Expand patio
4) Wash the outside of the trailer
5) Wash the windows
6) Buy a new swimsuit
7) Clean out closet and pack away winter clothes
8) Wash and store winter bedding
9) Buy a new spring/summer blanket
10) Buy a new pair of flip-flops
11) Go on a picnic
12) Go wading at the beach
13) Go to dinner and sit outside
14) Paint something
15) Leave a message
16) Go dancing
17) Mail Easter eggs
18) Get a pedicure
19) Drive with the windows down
20) Send BFF and her husband a gift for their first wedding anniversary! :)
21) Have a photo shoot
22) Spring clean
23) Go canoeing or kayaking
24) Buy a birdfeeder for my kitchen window
25) Go stargazing
26) Go on a mini-roadtrip
27) Open the windows
28) Touch up paint
29) Clean out and wash my truck

Winding Down

Although right now things are still very far from normal - I'm still working between sixty and seventy hours a week, haven't had a day off in four weeks (although I did get a few hours off one morning and it felt amazing!)  and I have no. time. - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Barring any more complications or unforeseen disasters, in two weeks the triplet's mama should be fully healed and I can have my life back. Amen. I have a whole slew of ideas on how to spend my first weekend off, but for now I'm mostly trying to make sure I don't let my sleep debt get too enormous, eat somewhat decent meals, and find a few minutes to nurture my own self each day, whether that be driving with my windows down and some good music, reading inspiring blogs on my phone while kiddies nap, or snagging a few minutes outside (I hope to never be as cooped up again as I have been these last few weeks!).

The weather has definitely changed, and although it's supposed to be cold tomorrow, you can tell spring is on the way. I'm excited about posting my new spring bucket list (and actually having time to do some of the things on it!).

I've started working on the VBS script, and I'm excites about getting the casting nailed down and beginning rehearsals. This year's theme is "International Spy Academy" - should be fun!

If Nothing (Else) Unexpected Happens...

... then this will be the last night spent at work before I get to go home! I'm so very, very excited... except I'm also kind of dreading the day tomorrow, cuz I know I'll be dog-tired for most of it. But at the end there will be a full, uninterupted night's sleep, in my own bed, with no baby monitor and no getting up to feed little ones or snatch them out of their cribs and rush them out before their crying wakes the other two.

Gonna be honest... I wrote a whole post yesterday on how homesick I was, and how hard it was being snowed in even though I wasn't leaving anyway. And how it wasn't that I was mad or unhappy or regretting taking the job (well, ok, maybe for just a few minutes around 3 AM lol) but that I was so give-ed out. (Seriously, you moms, kudos to you. Motherhood is hard. I had moments this weekend where I contemplated how much having children seemed a bit like gambling, because holy cow you might have TRIPLETS!!! Adoption has never seemed so good - at least with whatever unknowns you're facing, you know you're only. getting. one.)

... but then my phone ate the post and by then my brain was so fried I couldn't have rewritten it if my life depended on it.

Here's to a good last night, in which just maybe everyone sleeps through the night.

Six On Saturday

1) The triplet's mama is back in the hospital :( so I'm reinstalled in the guest bedroom until the parents come home. And I'm tired. A different triplet was up every hour and they all got up at 5:30. 8( Luckily for me,  their grandma (who is running for sainthood, bless her!) told me to go back to bed and fed them breakfast, got them dressed, and started them playing in the toyroom. Now everyone is napping (thank God!) and I'm scoring a precious hour of "alone time," which has been in scarce supply for the past two weeks. And looks like it will continue to be so for the next four to six weeks. Hm.

2) Speaking of alone time - I've never considered myself an introvert (although I do think I become more introverted during certain months of the year when I'm fighting seasonal depression), but I think you could easily classify me as an extrovert with a high need for space. I think that's probably been the hardest part of this job, the never being alone. When/if I ever get back to a normal schedule, I'm taking a weekend off, hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on my front door, and hermiting.

3) Of course, that being said, I've also been surprised at how much I've been craving time with other adults. I was lucky to score a last minute, late night sushi date with some friends earlier this week, and it felt absolutely amazing to have someone bring me food, keep my glass refilled, and basically cater to me while getting to talk with other adults. :) It made me glad for all the freebie babysitting I did for new moms back when I could afford to work for free...

4) Enough about triplets. :) Funny story: last night in the middle of swim class, with maybe fifty or sixty kids in the pool all swimming laps and learning turns and whatnot, an older lady climbs in and begins paddling around. Everyone kept looking at me (why do I always get these sorts of jobs lol) so I finally swam over and asked if she was here for open swim. She said yes, so I smiled and told her it was in the other pool. The big empty one. I explained that this pool was reserved for the swim lessons at this time. She said "Oh." Then she asked if that meant she had to get out. ?!? I pointed out that with all the kids trying to swim laps, they would be constantly in her way (I didn't point out that she was obviously in our way. I thought it seemed obvious.). She reluctantly paddled over to the side of the pool, swam around a little while longer, and eventually climbed out. Meanwhile the kids kept asking, " Is she taking swim lessons, too?" O.o

5) A friend of mine gave me the best. compliment. ever. last week. She said I was the most positive person she knew, and I was conpletely blown away by it. Of course, she's also one of the people I've been turning to when I've been overwhelmed this past week... so it's doubly awesome that she still feels that way when she's seen me falling apart!

6) Apparently my family had a dinner guest tonight. According to Facebook, the FedEx delivery man came to deliver a package, but his scanner gun had died and he had to wait for it to recharge before he could actually hand it over... so my mom invited him in to eat with them. (I have to admit, this idea kind of freaks me out... I mean, isn't how it happens in all those true crime shows that someone ends up murdered?! ... but I also love the idea of inviting a stranger to become a friend.)

Hope everyone is having a good day! Not gonna lie... mine has been pretty rough... but I'm planning on taking a long shower, curlinf up on the couch, watching three hours of America's Funniest Home Videos, and hopefully laugh till I cry. ;)