I said to my husband one night, "I have a confession to make. I didn't get out of bed until 9, then I just stumbled downstairs just long enough to make oatmeal bowls for the kids and turn on a movie for them, then I stumbled back upstairs to watch t.v. until NOON." Maybe other stay-at-home moms do this regularly (and, hey, no judgment here!) - but not me. (I'm also their home school teacher; we have a lot to do!) That day was me at rock bottom. I've slowly crept my way out of my fog, and hopefully I'm back to myself. This is the perfect time for a few New Year's Resolutions.
But first...here is what New Year's Eve looked like for the vegan and so forth family.
Homemade Pizza Whole wheat crust, marinara sauce, kale, shiitake mushrooms, black olives, garlic stuffed green olives, chopped broccoli, cheddar and mozzarella Daiya, tomato slices, and spices. The kids had alternative versions. My 5 year old doesn't like kale or tomatoes, and my 10 year old wanted cheese, olive, and mushroom pizza, with the veggies raw on the side.
Root Beer Floats...for Ryan and the kids (I abstained.) - this is a HUGE treat because we don't generally let them partake in carbonation of any sort. Organic Vanilla So Delicious and Virgil's Natural Root Beer ("so rich and creamy, you'll swear it's made in heaven" - so says the bottle).
And several rounds of Pix Mix!Pizza, floats, and Pix Mix! - we know how to party around here.
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays - I've read several posts so far, and I look forward to catching up on your others. I have OCD enough that I do things like, "Well, I can't blog about today because I haven't blogged yet about yesterday." etc., and then before I know it, 3 weeks have went by. So I'm jumping back in, and hopefully...I'll even be back...tomorrow, perhaps? Have a great New Year's Day!
Jump right in; the water's fine ;)
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better. Kids can really help sometimes in forcing you to pretend everything's fine and eventually, forcing yourself to be happier helps make it happen. Hopefully.
Anyway, welcome back and happy new year.
Oh wow your whole day looked like it was awesome! Your kids must have really thought it was a party with that pizza, floats and games! Sounds like a party to me! I haven't had a float in forever! I try to stay away from soda as well. Good call on that one. Are your children vegan as well?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you've been feeling down. Golly, homeschooling three kids and running a household is a lot of work! You deserve a little break once in a while...I hope you're feeling brighter.
ReplyDeleteYour New Year's Eve sounds like so much fun and yummy. Root beer floats were one of my favorite treats when I was a kid.
Happy New Year to you and all the family. All the best in 2011.
Hi Jenny! i was just thinking about you last night! i was going to email you/message you!! wondering what was going on! lol. but i know you are busy so i guess thats why i let so much time go by. sorry about the blue moood. when that happens to me i try and remind myself that i dont always feel like this and i wont in a few days.
ReplyDelete"Pizza, floats, and Pix Mix! - we know how to party around here"
lol sounds fun to me:)
i love FF's comment!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Pix Mix! A game of scrutiny sounds like a good time. Add some Pizza, Root Beer Floats, adorable kids and a hot hubby and I say 'Game On!' Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteso sorry you felt crummy. i have been there both with chronic fatigue and depression. it's so much easier to get away with sleeping until noon if you dont have kids. you deserve some down time though and don't beat yourself up for it. i have found that blogging can provide some structure for me and if it is a fun thing, do it, but don't feel burdened by it. we'll love you no matter what. happy new year!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you need some sister-spooning!
ReplyDeleteI will be down in a month and make you some treats. I already have some meals planned out that I will need your help on.
Love you!
Email me yor address at SCARShelter@gmail.com. Then I'll email you mine :)
ReplyDeletePizza looks delish! Sorry to hear you've been so blue. Know that you're not alone though - I've definitely gone through some super blue periods. Hopefully the new year will bring about a new energy for you. And if you ever want to meet up and chat - you have my email!!! Still need to get together.
ReplyDeleteRaising three small kids and home-schooling them sounds like the opposite of lazy. It's a huge amount of work, and you need breaks and time for yourself, just as if you had an outside job. (I used to go folk-dancing two nights a week for exercise and socializing, and just to get away from the house.) Right after a great vacation (like the one you had) it's hard to get back to the mundane and tiring tasks of daily life. You seem like a pretty positive person, just overworked.
ReplyDeleteYour New Year's celebration sounds like it was fun — I could go for one of the pizzas, right now! (Never could stand the taste of root beer.)
Here's hoping you'll be back on track in no time!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
foodfeud, THANK YOU! I really love your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteCarissa, THANK YOU, as well. They are practically vegan/almost vegan. They have non-vegan (vegetarian, not meat) food occasionally away from home. For example, they eat birthday cake at their friends' parties. And I wouldn't ask if the bread on the table at a restaurant was vegan for their sake - I'd just let them eat it. Things like that. We try to be as prepared as possible by brining food with us everywhere we go, but sometimes it's impossible to be prepared for everything. If the soccer team is eating non-vegan cookies, and I have nothing else to offer in its place, I tell them it's not vegan and give them a choice. Sometimes they choose not to eat it, and sometimes they do. We don't have non-vegan food in our house, though.
Thank you, Rose, happy new year to you, as well!
Awww...Michelle! Thank you for thinking of me! Already I can tell if I'd just blogged and corresponded with my bloggy friends, I'd have felt substantially better. I miss all of you!
SV, you never fail to make me smile.
THANK YOU, Bitt. You are so right. I do think blogging is a positive thing in my life, and I notice a difference when I'm not doing it. I don't feel like it's a burden - I do get bummed about not being able to squeeze it in when I want to. I'm sorry you know what it feels like to be blue, too. :( I'm also glad you are proactive about your health.
Cary, sister spooning would help...as well as vegan meals and treats...can't wait!
Heather, I'm not leaving the month of January without hanging out with you. I'm not! If it gets to January 31 at 10 p.m., I'm driving to your house and knocking at your door, if I have to. Hopefully, we won't let it come to that. I'll email you soon.
Andrea, root beer is the only soda taste I can really stand. I don't know why. I will, on occasion, take a few sips of some other kind of natural soda or ginger ale. A few sips is enough, though. Thank you for your comment - compliment and motivation. You are so reasonable and so thoughtful. Folk dancing sounds fun! I'll try to think of something I can do. My husband is very generous with offering his time and assistance to me, and I need to take advantage of it by actually leaving the house, I guess. It's hard to make myself in the winter, though!
Amanda, thank you. Same back to ya.
KALE ON PIZZA? Love love love.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. Some days won't go the way we intended, but there is always tomorrow. I hope things get better for you.
By the way, I am loving the design of your blog! (These kinds of things don't show up on Google Reader...)
Happy new year to you and your family!
Sorry to hear that you have been down. I think all of us get that way at some point. I think the every day hustle and bustle gets to all of us at some point. I know it does to me. I hope you are feeling better now. It's new year so new beginings. :o)
ReplyDeleteThat pizza looks awesome. I'm not a big kale fan, but I am determined to try different ways this year and hopefully I sill start to like it. I have some at home, but haven't decided what to do with it yet. Pizza sounds like a great way to start. :o)
Happy New Years!!!