Here’s what’s on my mind this week.

10 Things: What’s On My Mind This Week, 12.15.21

1. Thank you to everyone who donated to our Lurie Children’s fundraiser!

We reached our goal, and I matched another $2500! Between our fundraisers for Alex Lemonade Stand and our hospital’s oncology department, we’re exactly $8,024 away from raising a total of $250,000. Can you help me get there by the end of the year? Every dollar goes toward research or resources to help families and children going through treatment for childhood cancers. 

Help us get to $250,000 for childhood cancers!

2. I can’t believe Christmas is next week!

I wrapped gifts the other night while drinking wine and watching The Holiday. And it felt so cheery and special to know that I’m making magic for the girls. I read something about the magic of Christmas being a mom who loves you so damn much, and it’s so true. My husband is a wonderful dad, but the decorations and plans and toys – that was me. 

It was then that I realized I got decent amount of stocking gifts, but wanted another fun toy or two, so I placed a few final orders. We rebuilt our broken Duplo sets last weekend (just looked up the instructions online) and now have a lot less to build with, so I ordered this set. Margot has been very into Duplo lately and loves the carousel at the zoo, so I ordered this, too. Ok, this, too. She loves Simone Biles.

3. Have you ever gotten your days completely mixed up and missed something because you didn’t realize what day it was?

That was me yesterday and I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. This happened to me once before with an event years ago and it wasn’t great.

I’ve found that when I’m multitasking more than usual, things slip. I’m always a little thrown off on clinic weeks, or when triggers come up. We’re trying to figure out safety protocol to see family for the holidays. They’re all willing to do what they need to do to keep Margot safe, but after almost 580 days of this, it can feel scary taking risks, even when they’re as safe as possible. It’s ok to be anxious, and right now, I am actively working on feeling my feelings. 

4. I had a really interesting session with my therapist last week and wanted to share something with all of you.

We’re working on me letting myself process and feel grief. For those who remember, about two months ago, I thought I had a panic attack and felt like I was going to pass out going into Margot’s spinal tap. What we think happened is that during the first eight months or so of treatment, I was in survival mode, holding it together as best I could for Margot and Kate. I couldn’t really process what was happening and once we got through that, it all hit pretty hard.

Skip ahead a few months, I finally started feeling what happened after not letting myself feel it (because I couldn’t at the time) and it was all too much. During last week’s session, I talked about what frontline was like, really diving into past trauma. When it felt like too much, I switched gears, saying something like “but it’s so treatable” which caused me to snap out of it. I’m sharing this in case anyone has been through trauma and has had some feelings resurface. I wouldn’t recommend diving into this on your own, but if you’re struggling, please talk to someone. 

5. On a much more positive note, I planned a staycation with Margot this week.

We’re staying at a hotel downtown, watching movies, walking around and looking at decorations, and having breakfast in bed. It’ll be so sweet, and I can’t wait to do this with both girls next year. 

6. The Tonies bundle at Target is on sale for $99.99 (normally $129.99) and with $20 Target Circle, you’ll get another $20 off.

My girls use it every single day. It’s a screen-free audio player that plays stories and songs (featuring a lot of our favorite characters!) – it’s truly the best toy. I get messages from parents weekly telling me how much their kids love it. If you haven’t finished all your holiday shopping I have you covered. 

7. A few people have asked about photo organization.

I shared how I organize my photos in this reel. In terms of backing up, I was storing way too many photos on my old computer on top of backing them up. Thats not something I’m doing any longer, so I’m going to try the cloud (via apple) and have everything on a hard drive, in Amazon Photos, and Dropbox, too. I have some major catching up (and editing) to do. Planning on tackling that in the next week or two.

8. And a computer transfer/storage follow-up:

I did not transfer everything over, and it was the best, easiest way to set my computer up with a clean slate. Once I signed into my apple account, all my notes and calendars synced, I had access to the cloud, and the same happened when I signed into google and adobe. I really just needed to download Photoshop and Lightroom again. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to go through my old computer, finish organizing, editing, and backing up photos.  

9. I shared a peek on social media, but the coach house demo started the day after we closed.

We’ve begun restoring windows, and redoing stucco, too. And the kitchen in the main house started being torn apart this week! Appliances have been ordered, we met with a kitchen designer, and we’ve narrowed down kitchen flooring and are close to choosing a cabinet finish. 

10. For someone who had so much to say I’m out of ideas.

What’s everyone wearing for Christmas this year and how are you celebrating? We’ll be seeing family Christmas Eve and then doing Christmas Day on our own. It should be pretty casual, but a new top could be fun? Will likely just wear a sweater and jeans.