Dolly Mama Strikes Again!

So how are you all doing with getting ready for Christmas?

Personally, I'm kind of into crunch-time here. The only stuff I've done was buy a few things for my children with the gift money my grandmother sent. I haven't even finished spending that, and haven't bought a single thing for anybody else on my list. Not done. Not close to being done. Not good.

My husband's parents and sister's family were expected to come for a visit on the 26th and 27th, but that's now been cancelled. His sister was hospitalized for over a week until just the other day, and they aren't up for the trip. We considered traveling to them instead, but with the way the weather has been in their area his parents recommended against it and actually told my husband that they would worry so much and it would be very stressful for them for us to come see them at this time of year.

So, the upside is that I am no longer stressing about cleaning our house to the detail, or about packing up 6 kids and a sleighful of holiday cheer for a 14-hour long car trip. Instead I can stay home and relax, except for a few small details like:

-needing to get gifts bought and mailed within the next 5 days
-have 6 children underfoot for the next 2.5 weeks
-and, the granddaddy of all pain-in-the-rearisms: We're being audited by the IRS! (and a Merry Christmas to you, too, Uncle Sam!)

Goodie goodie goodie.

All I know is that this situation will be the one that brings me around to getting everything filed instead of in many ancient piles that say "to file."

I went to the chiropractor the other day and now my upper back pain is mainly gone, my headache is gone, and the ankle and wrist are somewhat better although not entirely normal. My lower back decided to start hurting almost as soon as I finished up with the chiro. My body must just love pain.

Today the kids got a surprise day off from school, which I didn't discover until we waited by the door for 15 minutes with no bus in sight. The roads looked fine but I guess that somewhere out there they weren't. Sometimes it's very inconvenient to not have a TV blaring in the background. I dearly wished to stay in bed this morning, so it was quite disappoiting to get all of us up and ready and fed and then have it all be for nothing. I got back in bed, but it's not the same.

Remember my bet that our new mouse wouldn't last 2 weeks here? Well, he defied my expectations and survived until just the other day when he was accidentally crushed during a frenzied family-wide attempt to recapture him after he had escaped from his habitat. Poor thing.

Yesterday I had a redeeming experience thanks to freecycle. You see, back a week or two ago when I was in the throes of being sick, our microwave died. (great timing) We've been limping along without one, and I wasn't sure if we could afford to buy a new one amidst all of the other monetary needs of the season. I decided to post on my local freecycle that I was in need of a microwave, and lo and behold someone offered me one. I went to get it yesterday and was greeted by a lovely woman who called me "a beautiful young lady" and gave me a very nice, barely used microwave that she had recently replaced. She even hugged me after she helped me load into into the back of the Burb! How sweet. And what a blessing! (because it's a real drag to not have a microwave!!)

I know you probably think that a free microwave just can't be topped, but alas yes it can! I am also getting a free toilet and sink today! I know that's weird but here's the thing: We have a bathroom in our downstairs that I just hate. Everything about it is ugly and falling apart and not working well and in general very depressing and unpleasant. The toilet doesn't flush unless you hold down the handle and say a magic word, and it's all so yukk that I never feel like I can get it clean. So, someone in our homeschool group is remodeling their bathroom and giving away their unneeded items. She said it was all in good condition and all of that, so hopefully it's true. Won't my husband just love to add in "bathroom remodeling on the cheap" to his list of duties next week? Hey--maybe the kids and I can figure it out and do it all ourselves. hahaha (If we do, I'll be sure to take pictures)

Free microwave! Free sink! Free toilet! It's a Kentucky Christmas, folks. fa la la la la, la la la la!

Well, dozens of items await my attention today, so I better get at it. Talk to you later!