Monday 26 December 2016

Reflecting on 2016

I have to warn you that this post is going to be sprinkled with curse words.  SO if that's not your thing - just cross your eyes as you skip along them.

2016 is coming to an end and let me tell you - it fucking sucked.
Sure - I decided that turning 30 - this would be the year of the "Fuck it".
I applied that to most of my year I have to say.

And now I'm going to push forward and end this year off with a bang.

I haven't slept in (anything past 7am) in months.  I've been having crappy quality sleep every.  Single.  Night.

Which says something because I'm spending 40% of my time at home and 40% of my time at another person's home dog-sitting for them (because their dog doesn't get along with Milo) and 50% of my time on a bus between the two (yeah I know - the math doesn't add up) and you would think I would get a ton of good, solid, melt those saggy bags under my eyes away sleep - right?!
Hell no.

My body is still programmed to wake up at whoever gives a crap-o'clock (aka between 2-6am repeatedly) and I am not a coffee drinker.

I had this conversation with our guests last night around the dinner table for Christmas last night - I don't know what's worse:

  • Being so tired I can barely function. 
or
  • Riding an excellent caffeine (Pepsi preferably) and sugar high and then crashing horribly.
Either option demands I take a nap (none of this "power naps" crap either!) that isn't interrupted and ends with me in tears typically.

These past 3 days - have been a fucking mess.

It doesn't matter how often we drag the kids out hiking with us and the dogs - and it's been an absolute sheet of ice outside (until this morning - yay snow!) - they've protested every nap oppourtunity and sleeping in?!

HA HA HA.

A-Man has been waking up around 4:30-5:00 am - every single freaking day.  Of course playing by oneself isn't satisfying enough - he insists on waking his sister up and she insists on waking V-Man up - who doesn't nap at all.

So let's recap shall we?

School: I did a work practice and while stumbling through it all - it was fun and I'm going to a new work practice across the street from my son's day-care.  So I can't complain about that!

When I did return to school, I was placed with a different group that just started in August.  I took this on as a challenge and an oppourtunity to practice more Finnish.  I get along with most of the group but there are a few - they're incredibly special and push my nerves at every oppourtunity.
Of course, being a mom of 2 special needs child (one moreso than the other) - you would think I would have endless patience for practical strangers that have "something".  
The answer is nope.  And trust me, I've questioned every thing I've said or done that may not be considered 100% super nice.  I'm not saying I beat them with a shovel or tried to knock them over with a pot of soup.  
There were times where my patience was tested with endless Facebook friendship requests and an overabundance of personal questions - or silent observations of reading my text messages over my shoulder...so I just shut down around them to save my sanity.
Maybe it's selfish of me to say that I go to school to get away from my life at home which involves special needs and so I can try to enjoy my time away from home - but it's true.

Things like that.

However, I'll be off to my work practice and can't wait to get lost in a mess of a U-shaped kitchen, not knowing anyone and going under the assumption that nobody speaks or understands English.

I was supposed to practice more Finnish this holiday break but with the unexpected hate relationship between Milo and the guest dog - that kind of went out the window...

Christmas: 
Milo turned 6 on Christmas Day and celebrated by pulling his back leg.

I kept it simple for gifts this year.  Sugar scrubs for all of the teachers.  I skipped the chance to work and sell handicrafts at a Christmas market because I was just simply exhausted.
For friends - pictures of the kids and Christmas bark (melted triple chocolate and sprinkled with toppings and chilled).
I was even psycho enough to think I would get Christmas cards made and ready and on time.  Silly me - I started on the 15th of December. HA.
Needless to say, they're not done or filled or mailed out.

I kept it SO simple - I didn't even put up the window sticker Christmas tree!  Mostly because I couldn't find it.

My dishwasher was perhaps worked too hard and despite regularly deep cleaning it - it crashed on me.  There was a water overflow onto the kitchen floor.  Then a friend popped in with her husband and it worked!
And then it died again and the pump wouldn't push water in after a round.

I'm trying to think positively in the sense that while I'm back to hand-washing dishes - I now have a very suitable two level drying rack beside me...

Dinner went great and the kids were all hyped up on being around each other - that M-Girl opted to refuse a diaper for a solid 25-fucking screechworthy minutes.  It was bed time and she's not 100% potty-trained...so diapers are still necessary for our mattresses and her.
Literally hanging off the bathroom door handle (it was locked) and screaming like a banshee.
I'm honestly surprised she didn't barf.



Today is Boxing Day and I had the pleasure of falling asleep last night while watching Suicide Squad by 11:30pm with the PIC (Partner in Crime - "Hubster" is a real pain in the ass to type repeatedly with auto-correct fixing things up and calling him a "Hipster" ;) ) sitting beside me and I can't tell you what happened in the movie because I passed out after twenty minutes.

I was awoken to "MOMMY - V-MAN SPILLED JUICE!"
That gets me to haul ass pretty fast because we have old wooden floors that soak up anything and everything.
Luckily it was in the kitchen.

Along with about 6 chocolate bars that I needed to finish making gifts for people we were going to see before the New Year.
Oh and M&Ms...and about 3 cups of apple juice all over the fucking floor that PIC just washed yesterday.

Do you see red? I did..
It got to the point this morning - I was losing my voice from screaming so bloody much.
I've been crying for the past 3 days because of my kids.

Following that Willy Wonka display on my floor - I tried to take Loki and the guest dog back to his home - so then there's some calmness in the household.
Well, I offered to take the little two with me and we missed the bus.
WHY?  Because they refused to listen.  They didn't get dressed and decided to jump around and play and dick around plenty.
On our way to the bus stop - there was a slim chance we could still catch it - but no.

A-Man and M-Girl had to stop every two feet to grab fresh snow to eat, knock snow off of bushes and so on.

I know - they're just kids.  I'm the adult.
I can't and shouldn't have the same expectations of them as I would a friend my age.

But when I'm running on little sleep, regularly being told "NO"/screamed at and so on - I begin to test what sanity I have left and therefor question myself as a motherhood.

That certainly was the case today.

I had a hundred thoughts fly through my mind at warp speed and I can confidently write here that I absolutely hated my kids for the better part of today.

Not "hate" to the point you'll read about me murdering them on the front page of the Finnish newspapers!

But they were being awful little shits and I just could not deal with it all.
Between the dishwasher breaking down, the regular screaming and 2/3 male dogs testing each other and trying to rip each other's throats off occasionally - I'm pretty fucking worn out.

Then finding out a family member had a mini stroke last summer - while guests were over and while eating dinner...and nobody felt like telling us - I mean, to each their own...but still.

I'm hoping your holidays were WAY better than mine!
I know it can always - ALWAYS be worse...3 Christmases ago - we had a massive hole in our bathroom sink...so I'm trying to be feeling "blessed" and happy and thankful.

I'm just - having a shitty day and had to get it all out here.  And I clearly need to boost my alcohol consumption and tolerance levels...

Thanks for reading and happy holidays to you and yours. 
<3
BIMU

Friday 2 December 2016

Trending: BuJo

Yeah I had no idea what a BuJo was until today.
BuJo is short for "Bullet Journal".

Tonight I went to have dinner at my friend's place and I noticed the pile of post-its alongside her fridge had dropped from a colourful neon rainbow down to 2. 
2 Post-its and a notebook nearby.  I didn't inquire about it mostly because my head was starting to throb thanks to our kids having a blast (aka screaming and running and banging everything loud together possible).

So I looked it up after she asked me if I heard of "a bullet journal".

The first thing my friend did was show me hers - I didn't read it in detail as I think of a journal as a very personal object.  That and it was probably written in Finnish.
Anyway, the next thing is that she warned me, "Dominique - don't look it up on Pinterest."

So, naturally,  I had to look it up on Pinterest!
Then I started saving/pinning and saving/pinning and saving/pinning some more ideas onto my own board for Bullet Journalling.

So, it was easy for me to find a notebook that was 99.99% blank.
The only thing I'm using from the original BJ (oh that's why they call it "BuJo"...ha!) is the INDEX and the FUTURE LOG.
I have no intention of using this journal as an agenda/daily planner because I have one.  I buy one by Sandra Boyton every year and love it.
I don't trust myself to sync stuff to my phone and never mind the fact that my ability to make sure the dates and times are correct have failed miserably on multiple accounts!

I'm an obsessed "list-maker" person.
I'm also one of those people that can't shut their brains off.  I'm constantly thinking of something - whether it be typical "Mom-life" related things or it's completely random and useless/stupid junk - my brain just doesn't shut off.
Every night, I find myself usually falling asleep with the lights on and mid (texting) conversation with a friend and my mind going 100 km/miles (your choice) a minute.  It's why I've been trying to go to the gym at night when the kids are asleep - it exhausts me more and in the gym - I am focused.
During the day time - I'm usually in class but at the same time, if it's slow enough - I am able to get a lot of thinking and planning done.

So this journal method of having an index and my lists of random things - will help me focus on 1 thing at a time - even if temporarily.
I won't do my grocery lists or bills to pay - every day things in the book - no.

I also won't be writing long sad crappy posts about feeling super bad etc.  I've found that I tend to buy a new journal because I love stationary and a new pen to go with it - and after a couple posts - I never go back to it.
I've found myself angry and hurt all over again - and maintaining a journal didn't continue to be fun once I purchased a new notebook and pen.

Some ideas of what I have in my book (I'll be sure to do a future post once the pages look not so bare!):

  • Birthdays of my nearest and dearest!
  • My Happy List
  • I want to learn...
  • Self-Care (Mind Body Soul)
  • A-Z About Me (This will be funny to see how it changes every year or every time I create a new journal)
  • 2016 Memories
  • 2017 New Year Resolutions
  • 2017 New Year Resolution Recipes! (Then I can blog about them here!)
  • Books read in 2017
  • My bucket list
  • Daily/weekly/monthly
  • Positive shit the kids did
  • OMFG Shit the kids did
  • Movies watched in 2017
  • Craft Projects in 2017
  • Quotes
  • Becoming the BEST version of myself
I'm still working on this list to fill in my journal.  
However, I'm thrilled with the start of it.

The way this Bu Jo is working for me - reminds me quickly of those "mindfulness books/journals" I've seen in the magazine section of the grocery stores.
The kind of notebooks where everything is printed out for you and you just need to fill in the blanks or jot down your ideas.
What I like about this - is that it's tailored to what I want, how I want it and I will try my hardest to not spaz out over every tiny screw up as I scribble in it.  Especially since I prefer writing in pen!
I also love that these topics that I've listed - are things that I am truly interested in writing about and I can always add to something later on - as long as I've marked it for myself in the index.

I am trying to make this journal as positive as possible - because being a busy mom of 3 and a student - life can get hectic.  I do crash and burn occasionally and I'm hoping that this will help to prevent it.

I love that there isn't (as of yet) an app for Bullet Journalling because with pen and paper - I have to focus and it gives my eyes a break.  It gives me a chance to be creative - although, I assure you - my pages won't be nearly as fancy-pants as some of the amazing artwork I'm seeing on Pinterest!

I just simply don't have the time to make my pages super fancy! :D

I applaud those that are creative and those that carry a journal!

Let me know if you jump on the BuJo Junkies train! ;)
BIMU