Settling In

It's been almost three weeks now since we've moved, and I am starting to like the new house (although I really don't have a choice). I do miss my old house still, and already Erik and I have had a couple of fights over silly, stupid things that got blown out of proportion. I suppose we are both still under stress, and I just keep hoping our lives will get back to a normal schedule. Maybe it never will, maybe we need to develop a new schedule. Today, Erik got the office straightened out and my desk put up so at least I can start unpacking that room and getting my calendar in order. I feel so lost without a calendar on my fridge like we had in the old house. Of course, now that we have a stainless steel fridge, the first thing everyone tells me is that you can't put anything on it. I suppose I'm old fashioned like that where I loved to put pictures on my fridge, quotes, relevant information, etc. Now, I'm living in a different world, it seems.

Both the kids woke up all night last night, sick, completely sick. Of course, Owen just got off antibiotics, I got him his flu shot, and sure enough, by the time we got him home his nose was running. And Tess, poor girl, she was so sick that she had a fever last night, although I'm not sure if the fever was because her front tooth finally broke through and it was on top of the cold. Today her nose was running completely green junk, and Owen's too. I just can't believe how fast these nasty bugs take hold of innocent children. If I could see them and they were something I could hunt down and kill, I would spend every last breath I had finding those germs and killing them.

Other than that, I am kind of glad to see the holidays end. They are always so much more work than I have energy for, and then there is always the let down when it is over. I know that I should be getting into it more because I have kids, but for me, Christmas has always been a disappointment. Except last Christmas, when I was pregnant with Tess. All I wanted to do was bake cookies, and make new dishes, and I was so happy to be pregnant. Owen was just young enough not to understand the whole Christmas thing, but old enough not to mess with the decorations. And my house, my beautiful little house in the Hollywood Hills. It was so charming when we decorated for Christmas, and it just had that magical feel. I wonder if our new house will ever have that magical feel? Maybe once we get the living room done and we can actually have a fire in the fireplace, and maybe when we have a backyard so the kids can go out and play. I know it will happen. I have to remember that my house in the hills was not complete either when we moved in. It was exactly the way I wanted it when we left, but it was a long road to get there, too.

I always get so sentimental as the year closes, and the New Year approaches. I feel as if there is so much promise with a new year, as if there is a clean slate waiting for me to begin again with. I have such high hopes for this next year, for a new direction in our lives with a new house and neighborhood. I hope my kids stay healthy, and alive, and that we are there to see them through to the end of 2007.

May your new year be safe and happy...