Busy Mom Soapbox

Archive for December, 2007

This year I started Christmas shopping early.  I’m usually one of those people that like to think of the perfect gift, but can’t make up their mind until it’s down to the wire.  But this year, I started thinking months ahead on what to give to family members.  I made mental notes on what they needed, or enjoyed.  During the after Thanksgiving sales, I looked at the ads and found what my kids asked for.  I cross checked different store ads to compare prices and then made my "game plan" on what stores I needed to hit in the wee hours of the morning and at what time.   I’m not one for sitting and wrapping gifts for hours.  So I wrapped a few presents every day.  The week after Thanksgiving, I was all done wrapping presents. 

 As I was visiting my daily websites I came upon ksl.com and it had a story about a family in Pleasant Grove that won a KFC Festive Fanatics Display Contest. They even went the extra mile and raised about $4,000 for Make a Wish Foundation. It’s amazing to see the hard work and dedication people put into this stuff. Every year it’s fun to see homes decorated and holiday blowups in the yard. But this is on a whole new level. Here is a link to their website to see the 4 different videos that go in sync with different Christmas songs. Holdman Christmas
Here is the one that I really enjoyed.

Over the weekend it was my son’s birthday.  He turned 4 years old!  I can’t believe we’ve been lucky to have him in our family.  I came across pictures from when he was a few months old and recall where we were, who was with us, and the event that led me to taking the picture.  When he was first born, we were ecstatic to have a boy.  His first few weeks in the world were pretty tough.  He was very jaundiced and needed to be taken to the hospital on a daily basis until his bilirubin was normal.  At the hospital they did lab work and took a sample of his blood.  With a little baby only weighing about 6 lbs., it’s heartwrenching to see them go through this.  At home, he had to have home health care from Praxair.  They carried in a tiny suitcase, and inside it was the portable bili-lights he needed to get better.  For days he’d have to lay there naked and have patches over his eyes so they wouldn’t get damaged. 

And now, 4 years and 2 days later he’s an active little boy that has a smiling personality.  What a big boy he is now!!!

Are you the type of person that goes crazy when something is wrong with your car? This weekend, our minivan had a little hiccup. The driver’s side passenger door would not shut! It’s the kind that you can automatically shut with a touch of a button. Well on Friday night after we ran errands, the kids hopped out of the car, but I had to manually shut the door. Those babies are not easy since there’s resistence within the doors. I made a conscious effort not to really stress over it. Usually I agonize on how much repairs are going to be, or not having a car while it’s at the shop, or how I’m going to drop/pick the kids up from school.

The next morning while my husband was out running errands, I was determined to figure things out. I went out to the car in the freezing cold morning and checked the related fuses to the door. Just getting the fuse extractor from the fuse box under the hood isn’t fun, then the actual sliding door fuse is in the inside on the front passenger side. The manual didn’t help me one bit so I got into a Honda Odyssey Forum and there was a post that had the same problem as me on an earlier version of the Oddysey. So after reading some replies to the post I found the Golden Ticket. It’s fuse #13. This was noted in the manual as the "Clock, Backup"..hmmm. No where was it ever noted that this could help the sliding door. You take Fuse #13 out for 30 seconds, pop it back in, and the door is back in business. Can you believe that?? Just a simple little thing made my day and saved me from unwanted trips to the dealer for diagnostics. I felt so mechanically savvy!!!

The new year is quickly approaching and that usually means that people are getting ready to start their New Year’s Resolution as well.  Now let’s be honest.  How many of us actually stick to their new goals?  One of the most popular goals made for the upcoming year is to lose weight.  Whether it’s the average 7 pounds gained between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or the extra baby weight mom’s like me want to lose, it’s always tough to keep going.  Another popular goal for the new year is to stop drinking.  Let’s face it, the end of the year is full of holiday parties and more reasons to keep the bubbly coming.  Here are some tips to keep that goal alive!

1. Keep your list handy like in your planner or posted on the wall.  Writing your goals down and displaying it where it’s always visible will be a constant reminder.
2. Have support.  It’s a great thing when people are around to help you.  They are friends, family members, and loved ones to guide you away from the fridge or the cupboard.  You need the support to walk away from your vicious "demons" that magnetize you back to old habits.
3. Your Reward.  What’s your reward going to be for losing the extra pounds, or not craving a smoke?  Is it a new dress?  A healthy lifestyle?  Once you reach your goal, you need to reward yourself with something that’s exciting and worth every minute of your blood, sweat, and tears. 
   

Hopefully these 3 tips will be the beginning of a great new year.