Saturday, December 30, 2006

turnaround and gifts

I had high hopes for today: the boys were in Salt Lake because they had a sleepover with their grandparents and Marc was also in Salt Lake shooting a wedding, so I thought I would be super-productive.

I planned to finish making some CDs for Jessie, wrap our gifts for her family (since they got back in town tonight), deliver said wrapped gifts to her house and feed her cats, clear out all the Christmas detritus from our family room and vacuum, put away Eva's new toys, dispose of the giant box of trash we still have, finish the laundry, clean the kitchen floor, get my gifts for my book club friends ready for delivery, etc. Oh, and just relax and do something for myself like paint my toenails while Eva took a nap. Right....

Well, Jill called just before noon and all I had managed to do at that point was make the CDs! Eva is just being so needy these days, and I'm finding it so difficult to get anything done. Maybe I should just give in and not try to get anything done, but I start to get really grumpy when I can't be productive. And when the house looks like a Christmas tornado swept through.

Jill said she was on her way to bring me lunch. I advised her to stay far, far away, as my house was probably in worse shape than she'd ever seen it -- and that's saying something! She opted to come anyway, and of course I was so glad she did. We ate and chatted for a bit, and when she left to do her errands, I felt like my day was turned around.

Eva was still quite a pill, and I didn't get everything done that I wanted to -- not by a long shot -- but at least I felt like I could cope. I sorted through all the toys and trash and wrapped most of the gifts during her nap. After she got up, I finished the wrapping and bow-tying and tag-attaching. (Really, I love to wrap gifts, but at this stage, I'm just done.)


**I arranged our gifts and the ones my parents sent around their family room. (Note: this is only one of 3 pictures it took to get all the presents in!) Wouldn't this be a delightful scene to return home to?**
We made our delivery to Jessie's house, stopped to get some groceries, came home and vacuumed before Marc and the boys returned. So although I'm not finished, we can walk in our main living area and I feel sane again. When will I figure out how to make a realistic plan for what I can accomplish in a day with super-needy baby in tow?


I neglected to mention that Jill and I exchanged gifts a couple of days ago. She gave me these 3 beautiful black frames for the wall of photos that I am going to design. I have been covetous of her photo wall for years, and finally started collecting frames to do one myself. Many of the frames I have bought myself are very inexpensive ones, so the nice ones that she gave me will raise the quality considerably! She also gave me a darling black hoodie sweater, but I was too hasty in putting it in my closet and too lazy to get it back out for the photo...

I'm sure I don't need to mention that although I love any and all gifts Jill gives to me, the greatest gift of all is her friendship. She is the most perceptive, generous, thoughtful friend a girl could ever hope to have, and I feel grateful every day to have her in my life. I feel certain that I get a lot more out of our relationship than she does, but I will keep trying to hold up my end of the deal.

9 comments:

melanie said...

I have the same issue with the list getting done. If you ever figure it out make sure and let us all know! Today was a day I looked around and wondered if I did anything at all. But I was busy... oh well.

I'm so glad you have such a wonderful friend in Jill. They really are hard to come by! Hooray for friendships that get us through!

Anne said...

Jill really is an amazing friend to you and you are to her as well. You guys are just good people!

My sister has a photo wall in her house as well. I don't know if you ever go out to yard sales (I do realize that winter really isn't the season) but my sister found a lot of her frames that way. They didn't all start out black either, she spray painted a bunch and they look just as good.

Those presents you wrapped are just gorgeous! I especially love the green one. I don't know that I'd want to open them, I'd just want to sit and admire their beauty!

Anonymous said...

You have a great gift for making gifts look great! Mine was so cute and the kids said, "Look mom, good quality wrapping paper" when I opened it. Good quality wrapping paper is not something they're accustomed to.

I agree on the realistic plans. Let us know when you figure it out. I'm famous for that.

I also hear you on needy baby verses production. That was always a battle for me, but now that I no longer have needy babies, I'm glad for the days that I did put them first and let the production slide. It took a lot of self-talk to do it though.

Jill said...

Coming home to all of those beautiful presents would be a present itself. Your family has such a way with gift giving and presentation. Jessie, Timm and Bella are so lucky.

I'm glad you were able to salvage your day somewhat. It sounds like you ended up getting a lot done. I don't know how you're able to function with a clingy baby all the time, but you do a much better job than I would.

jenny said...

I felt that exact way last week. I think that is why I decided to take all the christmas garb down. I finally feel I can function now.

Your gifts look so nicely wrapped, I would even hate to open one of those!

You and Jill have such a great, amazing friendship. You seem to offset one another well. I am glad you have each other!!

Amie said...

I have to admit I was a little jealous reading that list and thinking you got all of that done in a day. I certainly need a day like that but one room that helps the sanity is a good thing.

I love the frames from Jill. I need to decide on a wall and start hanging pictures too.

Laurie said...

I relate to the clingy baby thing. It is so wonderful to have a baby and yet so hard to feel like you're always trying to get something done but nothing is really getting done well. And once they are asleep you just want to crash yourself! Happy New Year!

Alison said...

I have also been pushing back my list. Here's hoping it happens tomorrow- start 2007 with a bang.

Amy said...

I hate it when the list only keeps growing without ever seeming to get smaller. It really drives me crazy! Thank goodness for a friend like Jill who can take the sting out of anything with her generosity, and thoughtfulness. I hope you're making more progress, if that's where you want to be!

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