Must be the solstice...

I'm feeling a little like things are wildly out of control right now and it's been difficult to figure out why. I think it's most likely that Christmas seems like it snuck up on me this year. Being so sick and stuck in bed for most of the fall has really messed with this last part of 2010. We're planning to head out of town on Christmas Eve to spend the night at my parents' house. Christmas day I want to try to get to my Grandma's farm if the roads and weather will allow for it. We also have tentative plans to attend a family Christmas later in the day in Andover as well as Christmas with my in-laws, sister-in-law, and her husband on the 26th. On top of maintaining some semblance of order for the three kids nap schedules, this will be horribly hectic. I'm not sure how to balance everything since we want to do it all but also be able to enjoy things without feeling rushed. Hooray for the holidays right?

I'm also frustrated that I didn't make as much progress with my cleaning and reorganizing as *I* wanted to yesterday and this weekend while Mike was home. I know that part of the issue with reorganizing is that you have to make a mess before it gets better, but it's become somewhat frustrating. Perhaps I just need to take deep breaths and stand in front of the rooms that are already done to convince myself it will all turn out alright. Or, it could also be that I need to shelve everything else on my resolutions/project list until after the new year and just focus on getting through the holidays.

On top of the rest of it, we had quite the disaster this morning with our car. The husband went out to shovel the driveway and clean off the car in order to leave and all was fine until he put the car in reverse. Even from inside I could hear the loud POP that was one of our new front tires exploding. He thought it was a regular flat and went to put the donut on so he could get a replacement. As it turned out, the tire was actually punctured by the front driver's side strut giving up on life and breaking. Thankfully I'm a big believer in AAA so we were able to call for a tow to the local garage we use. When we got the car in, the quote for repair work was right about $1,500 to replace both struts and the plate they're attached to, three new tires, and various other little things that are apparently wrong. We've been debating for most of the day on whether or not to repair the car or just become a one vehicle household. The car has @ 140,000 miles on it and we've had to make several expensive repairs to it this year alone. It's a 2002 Taurus so this wasn't unexpected but it's becoming more of an issue for me since the trade in on it is no more than $600 at this point (even with all new bionic replacement parts). The husband is leaning toward making the repairs and driving it as long as possible since the body is in good shape and he pretty much just uses it for commuting. I'm of a mind to junk it so that we cut our losses and quit sinking money into a car that seems to be made of fail lately. The argument can be made though that we've replaced so much of it we shouldn't have anything else that comes up but, in a fit of pessimism, I declared that it will be sure to get smashed in a car accident and totaled then. (I know, I know. The Happiness Project doesn't always seem to help.)

Anyway, I'll be happy when this week is done and over with and I can get back to "normal" life. I just feel like there's too much to be done and, since I can't figure out where to start or how to prioritize, I'm just flailing about.

In happy news, I mailed out 25 books for Paperback Swap in the past week so, once they're all received, I can go CRAZY ordering again. I really should just save the credits as I have enough here to read to last me all of next year. I did pick up a couple of home schooling resources from PBS (Paperback Swap not Public Broadcasting) last week and I look forward to their arrival.

And now, a 'to do' list to try and get out of this funk!