Doubt....Breakdown...Success!

Ok...so that about sums up how our weekend went. I won't go into all the gorry details of how our basement clean-up went, but you can tell there were some small "issues" (on my part) along the way. Most of you know that I can be as pessimistic as they come and when it comes to clutter and "mounds of crap" I can get pretty stressed out and even brought to tears. Well, that all happened....first of all I must just begin by saying I was/am exhausted...completely worn out by a week of craftiness at VBX and a fun, but busy Fri. night at the closing VBX program and the carnival after (all of which was a great success and so, so fun).....so.....that being said...while I know I can't make excuses for myself I was VERY worn out to begin with and then to have 2 days of hard core basement cleaning to "look forward to" (plus, I admit...I missed my kids...going from a family of 5 back to 2 kind of depressed me momentarily)....well, I just kind of lost it on Saturday morning. I looked at all the HUGE piles of boxes and junk in the basement and I just broke down....I had to come upstairs and sit on the deck and just sob...pathetic I know, but there is just something about being faced with your life that is put in boxes and having to sort through that all and throw some of it away...it's just overwhelming to me. Maybe I'm just hormonal, which is a common occurance for all women, I think...but at the same time I just was so frustrated by the task at hand and was definitely a "doubting Thomas" at that point. I felt so badly for my dear hubby who is the ever wonderful optimist and who just wanted to plug away at each box. I was just completely overwhelmed. But, I picked myself up that afternoon after Kev rebuilt my spirit and I just went at it........and guess what people.........we did it!!!! We cleared out almost our entire main area of our basement! It's a little miracle in itself (and I know those few of you who have have seen our dungeon of a basement will agree when you see the new look). We worked our little hineys off for 2 whole days after having very little relaxation...but we did it...we actually have a little play area/open space down there. Granted...it is mostly "kitty space" since the basement is their home...but Syd and Sam deserved a little redecorated haven too, right?! Anyway...I didn't take a before picture because honestly I was embarrassed by the before sight and in all honesty I didn't think we'd have anything to show for our efforts by today. I was wrong and I admit it (gasp!)...and I thank my dear, sweet, patient and wonderful hubby for putting up with my meltdowns and putting so much heart and sweat into everything. I love you, Kev! Anyway...I will try to take an "after" picture of the basement later today so you can see our new little make-shift playroom. For now I'm still wallowing in my quietness of "no kids" for the third day in a row. I will say it's been eerily quiet as I knew it would be. It definetely was weird having all three of our babies gone all weekend. And although it wasn't a relaxing weekend it was a very productive one. We did take a few moments of time for ourselves for dinner and rented movies...and today we are even make a trek to the movie theater (gasp!)...we haven't done that in maybe a year?? I can't even remember. It's been wonderful sleeping in a bit too and not having to awaken during the night to cries and pee/poo issues. But, I'm ready for my babies to be home tonight and for the chaos to resume :) Anyway...so that's all I have for now...I need to clean the main part of my house before the rascals come home later. But, I'll end with some tidbits of info and some things I learned about myself and about my hubby this weekend:

• I am very emotionally attached to my things...I know there are worse packrats than me, but I am definitely up there with the best of them. But I am proud to say I detached myself a bit and got rid of some stuff that I've been hanging onto for too long .


• My hubby has me beat in the packrat department :) I was thrilled to learn this cuz it actually made me feel better about myself...he had waaaaaay more boxes of crap than I did! What's up with keeping ALL your toys from your childhood? He had boxes and boxes of legos, transformers, GI-Joes, matchbox car stuff...yikes! Good thing we have a boy to use them (or maybe that's bad cuz now we're keeping them even longer??)


• I am thankful for my mom who hopefully got rid of a lot of my old stuff from home...cuz it would overwhelm me to go through all my old toys and school papers like Kev had to do :)


• Luckily Kev does not get overwhelmed by stuff so he actually enjoyed going through his old stuff...and I had fun making fun of him and his old stuff :)


• Kev and I both agreed...it'd be awesome if our moms just came and cleared out our stuff for us....I've been told Kev's mom is great at that and I know my mom is too. Wouldn't that be fun, mom?!


• Kev and I both got some good laughs out of some old pics of ourselves (i.e....Kev as a young boy with buck teeth in an ugly plaid shirt and a tie...no wonder he never wears ties anymore...that memory must have scared him...it was hilarious! And Kev wearing a purple shirt and aqua plaid pants...he still loves those 80's colors :)) If I learn how to scan stuff I will have to copy some of these old pics of Kev and me and post them....you guys will totally crack up!


• Kev and I both agreed that we probably would not have been attracted to each other if we'd known each other in high school! :)


• We both agree...Dylan does NOT at all look like Kev as a child (you were right, Mom Stegs)...and I came across some old pics of me that I think completely resemble Dylan...so I guess he does have lots of my good ol' genes :)
• There were so, so many wonderful/emotional pics of me and all of my grandparents...one in particular that was so cute...my grandpa G pretending (or maybe really?) sleeping on the floor in our house in FL covered in my favorite sesame street blankie...and so, so many of me laughing and smiling with G&G F :) All great memories...but emotional to find and look through...


• I did not remember how large I was in my early college years. There are many pics of me in my first and second year of college and I had more than gained the freshman 15...I think I gained 30 (or more)...I remembered being slightly big (thank you, Calvin food), but had blocked most of that from my memory....and Kev was actually fairly skinny (which I remember also)...I think I need to post those pics....I'll work on that....


• I also came across some hilarious photos and notes from many of my old buds...Sulu, Stef, Wen, Cil, Hol, Lein, Laura V, Buffy oh my...some were hilarious! I have to admit...I've forgotten many of those old high school/college memories...but all the pictures brought the memories back
  
• I actually dumped old wedding stuff...that was a tough one to do....I even had old candy from 9 years ago from our wedding showers??!! What was I thinking?? Ewwww! But, I must say...I was a VERY organized bride...I was proud to learn that cuz I don't remember that.


• I have too many: Candles, frames, photo albums, vases, and crystal things (that must have been the "in thing" to give at weddings...or maybe it still is...but who really has room for crystal stuff (especially when they have kids)???) I guess it's a good "basement filler" for now :)
• In accordance with the last point...I've vowed to now burn a candle every day for the next 20 years cuz I think I have that much wax to burn! :)


• The number one thing I learned is to trust my husband and not get overwhelmed and just chill out...ok, so that's three things...the number one is to trust my hubby (which I do)...he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and I just could not. I basically told him Sat. morning that we were never gonna get that basement cleared out and I was just not going to even try (yes, I can be psycho sometimes as I you all know :))....so I need to learn to chill out....I guess that's why God gave me such a "chilled out" hubby :) I'm blessed! :)

Ok, so I know there is more stuff I learned about myself and my hubby, but I really do need to get my rear off this chair and get cleaning so I can be ready for an early viewing of the Pirate movie this afternoon. Hope you all had a great weekend.

P.S. How could I forget to thank Kev's awesome parents for taking ALL THREE of our kiddos for 3 whole days....wow, we are forever in debt to you and we sincerely hope you survived without too many "P" issues (aka pee/poo/puke :)). We actually only called Nina and Poppy once to check up on everything...and all seemed to be going well....I don't have many details...just they all seemed to sleep well and had fun at a water park yesterday. I'm sure I'll get more in dept info tonight from our chatty Hailey :) But, really, we can't thank you guys enough for letting us have this "alone time" to get stuff done (even though we didn't relax much I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders...and that is a big thing for me!). So, thanks for taking on the task of corralling our 3 crazy kiddos all weekend. We love you guys!