Enjoy a Holiday

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My boys and I getting our tree. I took it from my son's Instagram.
I hadn't even thought to post one. That loses me Mom of the Year, right?

As you can probably tell by the picture, Christmas is coming!!! If the picture wasn't a big enough hint, I'm sure you've noticed the decorations adorning the streets, the homes, the stores...and you don't need me to remind you that you that the clock is ticking...closer and closer to The Day. I know I feel a bit of panic when I start to think of all the things I need to do to make this an amazing holiday for my family. 

The planning and the work and quickly spin out of control. I have had Christmases where I was still putting out decorations on Christmas Eve. 

That's crazy. 

Christmas Eve should be reserved for cooking and last minute shopping and wrapping. 

It was a real downer to look at Christmas and sigh (the bad, tired kind of sigh). I love Christmas. It's a magical time of year. But I was ruining it with stuff. It was then that I invoked the December 12th rule. Whatever I didn't have set out by December 12th stayed in storage. Eventually, by setting a deadline, I was inadvertently sorting stuff out. I was cherry picking the important stuff to make sure it was getting set out in time. After stuff stayed in the boxes for a few years, I decided it was time to donate them. 

This year, I had all of the decorations I planned to use out by December 1st and not a single person has noticed it didn't take me two weeks and twenty-some boxes to get there. 

Minimize work. Maximize fun. 

IRL Tips for Staying Sane

The other day, I was feeling sorry for myself (again? don't worry, this is a more upbeat post!) I was driving home to an empty house for the weekend. No one to cook for, no one to watch TV with, no one to talk to or play games with. It was awful! Wah, wah, wah.

Then, as I changed radio stations, I heard three songs referring to being ALONE!! I thought that only happened in movies. I had to crack up--actually LOL!

As Liz said last week, time has flown. My middle son just graduated high school as well and is joining the Army, but he was a ghost his whole senior year - except when he crashed stuff and needed rides. *eye roll*

With active teens flying the coop (pun on my son, Coop) there will be many lonely days ahead (husband doesn't count, but that's another post) Empty Nest Syndrome is real! Though some of you may not know what I'm talking about yet, I know there are days where you find yourself with unexpected, unplanned extra time on your hands and wonder "What do I do now?"

So here are my... Tips for Making the Most out of Alone Time!

• Reconnect! - And I don't mean get on Facebook and look or even just texting/messaging. In Real Life Face-to-Face time!! Do it! We used to have play dates that were just as fun for the Moms as for the kids. No matter how busy our lives get, we need our friends.
• Do something! - A job or hobby or volunteer work is a great thing to keep us active and social and sharp. Being alone, I can get loads of neglected chores done, but I start to get down if I'm alone doing thankless tasks for too long...
• Go somewhere! - It's tough to find time to reconnect. We can't just sit around and wait. Try doing something by yourself! Shopping and taking a walk are awesome and not so bad to do by yourself. I'm going to try hiking again, something I used to love before kids. I also suggest eating out or going to the movies, worth a shot to get out of the house!
  
• Travel! - Go further than your part of town. Spend some time with relatives or friends you haven't seen in a while. I'm going all by myself, driving 8 hours to visit my parents next week and see a bunch of my friends. I can't wait! So excited!
• Do something for you! - Above I mentioned a few things to keep you busy. But this one is all about you. Writing is for me, but I'm trying to turn it into a job... And I can't do that all the time, so I turn to my Wish List - not for things I want, but of things I've been meaning to do, and it's a mile long. I love to organize, so purging closets and our basement always needs to be done. Scrapping/organizing my boys' sports memorabilia is another item that gets pushed aside. ETC!

It's funny--I've been complaining about not having enough time to do things most of my life with kids. Now, I can see the readjustment coming when the kids will be gone--thank goodness they're never really gone and they still need us sometimes!

Have a pleasant week!

It's Football Time

As a mom of four boys, I do a lot of football watching. From August to January, football is what's happening in the Seckman house.

Whether it's live football at the stadium, fantasy football online, or games on TV and the subsequent moderator chit chat of what they just watched...football is a 24/7 sort of habit.

I wasn't always a fan of football, but I decided I wasn't ever going to beat them, so I may as well join them. So after years of the football life, I have a few survival tips.

*Sleeping bags for cold winter nights in the stadium. Yup, just your standard sleeping bag. It's so much better than a blanket. You can stand up, cheer, sit down...all within the confines of your toasty warm cocoon.

*Cheap/clear rain ponchos from the discount stores deflect rain and still allow you to show off your team pride.

*Cheap and easy noise maker? Drop pennies in a milk jug and use it as a shaker. Be sure to duct tape the lid on. I once blew my cap in my excitement...pennies everywhere.

*When it's cold, rainy, or snowy- forget fashion. Go hoods up, hats on and add as many layers as you need. One of the great things about football season is that men are too distracted by the action on the field to care about anything else.

*Invest in a water proof bag. My football purse is water resistant and big enough to hold the camera.

*Water proof shoes. No matter how dry your body is, if the tootsies get cold, you're cold.

*Warm boots. When the season goes from rainy to snowy, it's time to switch footwear.

*Learn the game. Here's a football for Dummies website. It's a complicated game. Knowing the rules makes it more fun.

But if you can't, or don't want to learn it...there's other interesting ways to enjoy football. You don't have to know anything about the game to participate. There is more than one way to pick a winning team!

Next thing you know, it will be Superbowl Season...and we'll have the snacks and commercials to look forward to.