That should have been my one little word for 2011.
Tenacious isn’t in my nature, but I am determined to hang in there. {Everyone sing it with me: I Will Survive.}
Tenacious does happen to be in my husband’s nature. He is working like a mad-man! Here is a depressing photo of ‘project in process.’ I was asked not to post before pictures. Yeah. This room is going to win transformation awards. I promise. But we’re not there yet.
So my husband has been working around the clock. Remodeling. Picking blackberries. Scraping adhesive off cement. Taking half-night shifts with a non-sleeping baby. Installing light fixtures. Miscellaneous projects around and about. Prying up vinyl tile. Running the tractor on our over-grown property. Painting. Taking boys to piano and swim practice (and swimming and competing, himself!). Trips to Home Depot. And IKEA. Working for his private consulting clients. Oh, and working at a full-time job with a 45 minute commute each way. He is the man. And he deserves a vacation. But there’s more work to be done.
Tenacious. That would also be a certain little girl who is having a rough time sleeping. For those of you who might suggest co-sleeping: Do you sleep 13+ hours, or does your child only sleep 8, or do you leave her unattended on a flat surface (and does she just lie there peacefully, instead of falling off the bed, when she wakes up? Really?)? Yeah, none of those options work for us. Even if I could sleep well with a baby in bed with me…or on top of me as she thinks she should. For those of you who might suggest letting her cry it out: Well, we tried that, too. Did I mention tenacious? I will laugh (slightly maniacally) if you tell me it might take 30 minutes. Or even an hour. Or even two hours. Or even four. Did I mention tenacious? Y’all have no idea. We’ve come to a slight compromise, she and I, and we’re are working on our routine. I’m PRAYING this sleeping thing improves. (P.S. Yes, I was being rhetorically cranky. No suggestions needed.)
Tenacious. That would also be a certain first-born son who will, when he so chooses, NOT do his math. Will you suggest rewards? Consequences? He can sit in front of a 15 minute math worksheet, which he is more than capable of completing, for six hours. Including while at the beach watching his brothers play. And out to dinner, sitting in front of a glass of water, while the family eats. (P.S. Again, being rhetorically cranky. No suggestions needed.)
Hey, and while I’m being real, you might want to imagine a 10 hour trip to IKEA on a holiday weekend with three little boys and a baby. You can imagine one over-loaded cart (and a baby) being ‘manned’ by the 9 year old. And THREE flat-beds ‘manned’ by Russ, me, and the 7 year old. The five year old was in charge of the empty stroller, but that was just. too. much. so it was folded up and added to one of the flat-beds. You can question my sanity or be extraordinarily impressed. I’ll let you choose.
All this to say—we are still not there, wherever there is. Maybe we’ll start school in October. Yeah, that’s it.