...although I've never really considered myself "wicked". Pixies are mischievous, not wicked. So I should get some rest, no??? *sigh*
It's been fun-filled chaos for the last several days. I sneakily set the Christmas traditions to post for me, but I really haven't had the chance to be online much in the last week. Let's see...
Christmas Eve was spent doing some last minute grocery shopping and then celebrating with my family. My aunt is a true matriarch and had about 40 of us over for a traditional feast. I absolutely adore her pecan tartlets, and I don't think I will ever have the patience to make them myself.
Christmas Day was probably our last Christmas of sleeping past 7am...I don't think Boy entirely understood what "Santa is coming" meant. We got up and opened a few presents, had some breakfast, and did stockings with Beloved's mother. Then RedVulpes arrived with his tribe and we opened more presents. I managed to cook up our feast amid the chaos that is only possible when you have five children on Christmas Day. We ate, opened the last of the presents, had some cookies, saw Grandma off for the night and SUCCESSFULLY had all five children asleep by 8:30 pm!!! Woot! Go us! Of course, we were stupidly up until 11pm playing cards...
Boxing Day we had breakfast and packed the entire crew up and off we went to a family reunion. I have to say that Fox River Resort was a pretty impressive stay! I cooked for the fifteen of us, which kept me pretty occupied, but I would have loved to stay for a little longer. RedVulpes, Beloved, and I were up late again playing cribbage (hehe, I won!). It was a rough night with the girls (my neices, Girl, and I shared a cabin), but we muddled through.
Newt day was a little edgy. We got a bunch of family photos, which was really awesome, and then Uncle D and I braved the wilderness with the four kids for a sledding adventure. We managed to get back and have some hot cocoa and lunch before the uncles took the kids BACK out for more sledding. We played a couple of hands of Shanghai before the kids came back...this time we popped them into the jacuzzi to warm up. Then it was a pick up, pack up, and hugs goodbye...back to our house for a speedy fast dinner and super-speedy fast pack up of all RedVulpes' kids stuff...then they headed home.
Beloved and I got our two kids to bed by 8:15pm and were in bed ourselves by 8:45!
Of course, the break is temporary. I'm hosting a kids' party at 11am on New Year's Eve, followed by an adult party at 7pm. Even if it IS pot-luck-ish, it's hosting. *wry smile* Yes, I love it...but...well...yeaaaaaah. Three major gigs in less than four weeks is a little stupid. My bad.
Here's the TMI bit...Don't read if you don't like gross-out details.....
Though all of that, I've had a super-heavy moontime. Since I use a Keeper I happen to KNOW how heavy...try 17 ounces heavy. A normal flow is less than 3 oz. I know it's only the second cycle since having Girl, but this is a little insane. I'll talk to the doctor at my next appointment. Lucky me, I am due for a regular gyine examine in January....
So, yeah, I'm a little exhausted, moody, and achy.
Am I wrong or is the normal blood donation a pint, i.e. 16 oz? A friend of mine was quite out of sorts after the combination of blood donation + period + holiday stress.
ReplyDeleteIf you are feeling shortness of breath or are often/frequently anemic, make sure you're getting plenty of iron! Esp. if you're getting SOB, you need to not let the stomach upset you're probably also feeling get in the way of iron supplementation.
Sleep deprivation is bad (duh) but people don't realize how bad it is until they get normal sleep again. Make sure you're getting enough -- time spent "awake" but dazed and nonproductive would have been better spent sleeping.
(no, SOB doesn't refer to anyone's ancestry in this context...)