Christmas Meltdown 2011

Oh, Christmas...How did you sneak up so quickly this year? The only thing I've done as of Dec. 18, one week before the big day- is decorate our house. Yep. Deep breaths here... I'm trying to avoid Christmas Meltdown 2011.

I have managed to wrap the handful of presents my dear husband has purchased for his family-- he's so ahead of me here--, but those are the only things under our tree. I am mentally preparing myself now for a whirlwind week full of high-strung kiddos on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday- two doctors appointments, a cookie exchange, and a birthday dinner for my mother, Thursday- Christmas gathering at our house, Friday- Christmas cocktail party at our house, and Saturday and Sunday-- all full up of family.

Sheesh. I'm tired just thinking about it. My fashion style for this week will most definitely be Cozy-Chic. I will probably be in jeans, a comfy top and either tennis shoes or bejeweled flats-- frazzled hair, limited make-up, and caffeinated beverage in hand (images of Britney with her Starbucks just came to mind). Let's hope my husband called "What Not to Wear" for me for my Christmas present and they are secretly filming somewhere.

At some point I need to squeeze in all of my holiday shopping. I am actually seriously considering waiting until Christmas Eve. As long as I go really early I can still make it to our Christmas Eve lunch ... depending on what I have to cook ...

Will my entire family be offended if they all get gift cards? Thoughtful, not at all. But I think we can all agree that gift cards are in the top 5 list of most wished-for gifts AND I can purchase them all in one store in less than 20 minutes. Another pro: a basket full of gift cards is much easier to transport to the three different family functions we attend.

I keep reminding myself to do something thoughtful and to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Hopefully those two mantras will help me refrain from assaulting someone in Wal-Mart.

So, if you see me out shopping in the next seven days, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm not lost. I'm not homeless, despite my appearance. I'm simply trying to avoid Christmas Meltdown 2011.

Holiday Update

How quickly time passes during this time of year! Here's a quick run down of our past few weeks...

Since my last posting, we hosted Thanksgiving (which turned out quite fabulous but not without its fair share of drama). I've decorated our house for Christmas... after multiple shopping trips and close to 12 hours of labor. :) I must say I'm proud of myself for the holiday decor this year despite its blows to the budget. I even made a wreath for the front door, an all day project that was an amazing distraction from reality. Last week, I spent two amazing days changing diapers, rocking, and giving bottles to two of my handsome baby nephews.
In the last hour, I've finished addressing Christmas cards and purchased the ridiculous stamps required for square cards. My plans for this evening are to get some housework done and pack for a trip to Atlanta. I'm excited to spend some time with my husband, his sister, and her new baby, Spence. I'm actually really excited because being away from home will give me an excuse to procrastinate on Christmas chores, like shopping. I haven't bought the first Christmas present. *Sigh

My act of kindness to note today... I know there have been so many more in the past few weeks... but it's been a long day with 19 kindergartners who are already so excited about Christmas. After my two hour shopping trip for holiday stuff in Hobby Lobby two weeks ago, a nice lady offered to take my cart back in the store for me. I think she could clearly see I was dizzy and lightheaded from spending way too long in those florescent lights. Or maybe she just wanted to get the buggy for herself; either way, I didn't have to walk it back inside the store.

Enjoy the next few weeks until Christmas! I know I'm reminded everyday of how exciting this time of year is, especially for the little ones.

Charlie Brown Wisdom

The last week at school has been… trying. My emotions could be summed up through the words of Sally Brown: “Anyway, why should I give thanks on Thanksgiving? What have I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school.”

Oh holidays! How they add excitement and inevitably more work for all. My kindergartners have worked for weeks preparing for a Thanksgiving play, and my colleagues and I have worked for weeks getting costumes made. Well, I never really made a costume, but my assistant worked for weeks— almost months—making sure these kiddos would look perfect on stage.

All of this hard work created much added stress on everyone, finally peaking Wednesday afternoon at the last rehearsal. The kids were exhausted, the assistants were exhausted, I was exhausted-- stressed, fed up, frazzled, irritated, OVER IT! I began to question my career choice at this point as the students were losing focus and restlessness settled in among us all.

At home Wednesday evening, I forced myself to think of something thoughtful for my blog. I hoped reflecting on a reason to give thanks would help adjust my attitude toward this play and the days pending before the holidays. I remembered how eager another colleague had been to help us make our students’ costumes when we couldn’t quite figure out the pattern. To be perfectly honest, I had given up on the whole costume thing and would have been happy without our Native American paper bag vests, but another kindergarten assistant reached out in kindness to make them for us. I’m pretty sure she could sense my impending stroke from high blood pressure after dealing with these things.

The program went on without any major glitches, except for my student who had to dramatically exit the stage to take a potty break in the middle of the performance. Comic relief for the audience, I suppose. And on Friday, my class celebrated with a Thanksgiving feast. Nearly thirty parents and grandparents filled our classroom to celebrate and share with us. Yes, this did cause more work for me and for my sweet assistant (and my amazingly kind husband who carved the turkey and ham at 9:00 Thursday night), but it was so worthwhile to see the smiles on everyone’s faces.

Thanksgiving is always my favorite holiday for many reasons. First, I get to entertain family and friends with tons of good food, but I don’t have to buys presents for anybody. Second, it officially kicks off the Christmas season: beautiful lights, Christmas carols, family photo cards, cocktail parties, trees, Advent candles, shopping sprees, etc. Yes, this time of year does make more work for us at school and at home. Despite the work, most of us are at our best during the weeks building up to Christmas; we are hopeful, giving, kind, smiling, singing, sharing.

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, and soon thereafter Christmas, I am reminding myself that yes, it is hard work to clean, decorate, and prepare a meal for our families. But in the end, “Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. … We should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,' Charlie Brown.”

Successful Sunday

At only 3:20, I'm declaring today a success. We attended church and met our new pastor. I've had time to catch up with a dear friend. And... I've repaired my MacBook- at least for now, anyway. This laptop repair has been bugging me for three days, and now I think I've done it!

As for my "thoughtful" action to note... I had the best Wal-Mart experience in the history of Wal-Mart on Friday. I typically despise Wal-Mart and leave the store with my blood pressure around 140/90. But, on Friday, I really wanted one of their delicious deli pizzas for dinner. This of course meant going there on a Friday after school and battling the large "first of the month" crowd, but I was willing to take this one for the team.

I rushed in after parking somewhat close to the door, grabbed my pizza, and quickly scanned the lines to see which of the 8 open registers would be the fastest. I was amazed when a little old lady in front of me let me go ahead of her. I guess because I only had the one thing and clearly was in a state of panic (that's how I always look in there). How sweet she was! I was in and out of Wal-Mart in less than 10 minutes. That woman probably added an extra year to my life by helping me keep my blood pressure low. And she definitely made me smile on the start of the weekend.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Blessed beyond Belief

My weekly blog post has slowly declined to a monthly posting, but maybe that will be next year's resolution.
When I write these sentimental blogs, it may sound like “cheese” to those of you know me. Please know, I am writing today with great sincerity and gratitude.

When I made my resolution to be a more thoughtful and kind person, I also made a commitment to observe kindness in the world around me. I have been inspired by the love and kindness of people around me, including friends, family members, and complete strangers.

For today, I need to take a few minutes to reflect on the kindness of a dear friend-- one who goes above and beyond the call of friendship. I will be the first person to admit that I am not always the best friend I can be. I’m what some would call selfish at times and definitely not the best listener in the world. However, God has blessed me with a friend who understands these faults and loves me anyway. The past month has been overwhelming, both at work and at home. I’ve had chaotic days with students, busy weekends tailgating, a baby shower to host at my house, and an out-of-town trip. Through all of this, my amazing friend has been there to help… listen when I needed to vent (however irrational), lend me her dishes because I don’t have party platters, decorate my house for a baby shower because I can't "place" things very well, bring me batteries when my TV remote is dead, even dog-sit my fur baby.

To say I’m lucky to have her as a friend wouldn’t suffice. I’m blessed beyond what I deserve to have such a kind and thoughtful friend in my life.

Fall Cleaning

After two weeks of boycotting any type of housework, I think it is time to get cracking on some fall cleaning. Our house is filthy and in desperate need of scrubbing. Blah! But first, I wanted to catch up here. Clearly a procrastination tactic.

October is always extremely busy, and I'm not exactly sure why. I'm guessing fall sports play a major part in the madness, as well as Halloween and the annual Oktoberfest. Throw in a baby shower to host and planning a trip to Atlanta and you've got one slammed calendar. Normally, the Garlands are MIA at family functions this time of year and feel super guilty about it around time for the holidays.

The past few weeks, we've been able to spend some quality time with my aunt Cindy, my mom and her boyfriend, and our new nephews. Cindy, my mom and her boyfriend have been able to tailgate with us in Clemson for the past two games. Some may think having them there could cramp our style, but you don't know my crazy family. I've so enjoyed hanging out with them, playing cornhole, and eating some delicious tailgate snacks.

My random acts of kindness to note actually come from my mom and her boyfriend. My mom stopped by this week to bring us some homemade broccoli bread, something I love but have never made myself. It was a nice surprise, even though the husband ate most of it. And yesterday, at the tailgate, I was impressed by her boyfriend's thoughtfulness... opening doors for her and offering to help me with moving heavy objects. Of course, I wanted to pick up the cooler myself because I'm that hard-headed, but it's the thought that counts, right?

The husband and I definitely need to do a better job of spending time with our families. But, it's always nice to know that no matter how long we're apart, the love is still there and we're always welcome when we do come around.

Fall is here!

Today is an absolutely beautiful day here in SC. Cool breeze, upper 60's, bright sunshine. And football on all day. Ahhhhh. Now if only my Tigers would bring home a win from Blacksburg, this will be perfect.

As for my thoughtful observations this week, I've noted many small things. First, my husband came home with a homemade apple pie from a group of students at his high school. I thought it was so kind of them to think of him (us)... and the thing was delicious! We argued over who would eat the last bite (not so kind), but I won in the end. I know. Selfish me. Second, he was also invited by a student to Rally at the Pole, something he usually wouldn't attend, but agreed this time. I was proud of him for going, and he came home excited about the experience. These small acts of kindness from his students served as a much needed pat-on-the-back for him.

To celebrate the start of fall and the harvest, I read Stone Soup to my class this week. On Friday, we made soup together and had a taste test. I was impressed with most of them for eating, not just tasting, what we made. The soup was mostly potatoes, onions, carrots, and chicken broth; it tasted a lot like pot roast without the meat. I enjoyed watching them "sharing" the ingredients for the soup and enjoying it together.

I'm ready for my football-watching-marathon. Happy Fall Saturday, everyone!