A December Give-Away (with a bonus coping mechanism thrown in at the end)
Every now and then, my freelance work with Netflix means that a little treat shows up on my doorstep. I love that! This month, they sent me a goodie box for New Year’s Eve (more on that in a week or so), and two complimentary gift cards for a year’s subscription to their service. I’m going to give one to a family member, but the other one is just for you!
(That’s 365 day’s worth of streaming, by the way. A $100.00 value! A very good deal!)
SO. What I’m asking you to do is this: Leave a comment on this post, telling me how you’re coping these days, and I’ll announce the winner of the gift card on Monday morning.
I’ll tell you how I’m coping. I’m not, but I pretend.
Also? I mentioned, oh, about three weeks ago, that I was deleting the Netflix app from my phone. That lasted exactly one week ’til I cracked because you know what? I’m a stressed-out mom with too much to do before Christmas. Yes, the spiritual books DO help. They help TREMENDOUSLY when I have a mind. But when I’ve spend the past fifteen hours dealing with…stuff, when I’ve cooked & cleaned & chauffeured the masses; when I’ve sorted & washed & folded & refolded…
…because I really despise putting folded clothes away…
When I’ve gone hours and hours without a single uninterrupted thought…
And oh! How about breaking up fights all the time? That one really ranks high on my just-kill-me-now-it-would-be-more-pleasant list.
Anyway. ALL THAT TO SAY THAT I NEED MY MOVIES. Just one or two a month week hour, s’il vous plaȋt, and like that I remain in control of my sanity. (Right now I’m watching Breaking Bad–again–because those addictions are worse than my addictions, plus it’s some of the best directing I’ve ever seen.)
I watch after the kids are in bed.
I watch with (sh!) my glass of wine.
So leave a comment, please! Fingers crossed that you win.
Can I still comment even if I'm NOT coping? Sigh. I swear I actually Googled to see if we were having a full moon, my kids were so unbelievably crazy today. I guess my coping was leaving them home with their dad while I went to the store alone… Oh yes, and I do the late night Netflix coping, too. We re-watch episodes of the Office a lot, and have been watching Reign (which is very PG-13 or higher, but has Megan Follows from Anne of Green Gables as Catherine de Medici… so..) I also cope with lots of hot tea during the day. And with daily office/morning prayer in the AM. Even if I get interrupted 100 times, I figure a little praying is better than none, and it does put the day off to a good start if I pray and read scripture before turning on the computer 🙂 I'll be praying for you, Margaret! It is a tough gig being a mom, any time of the year, and there are so many extra responsibilities just before Christmas.
I've been coping with Trader Joe's peppermint Joe Joe's and am down to my last two… Yikes! Just had baby #5 (oldest is 5.5) and everyone has been making life interesting… Netflix is kind of a coping mechanism too, since every afternoon at 4:30 I send them to the basement to watch something while I make dinner!
I've been doing a lot of hiding out in the nursery with the baby and my tablet (often streaming Netflix), while banishing my other two (4 and almost 2) to the den downstairs. Maybe not the most mature option, but it (sometimes) keeps me from screaming at the little stinkers.
I cut off all my hair…well almost all of it. How's that for coping! It is really really short.
With my 8 week old and 2.5 year old coping is as coping does. Honestly? I watch a show while cleaning the living room and playroom. I KNOW they'll just be disaster areas the next time my toddler tornado is awake but somehow looking at a clean room helps me breathe easier. It also makes me feel better about the, um, lived in quality of the rest of the rooms.
Cookies are not baked. Still have some shopping to do. Decorating not finished. Yep, coping just fine!
Not really coping either, LOL. Been playing Crossy Road on my iphone like a Boss, though. 🙂 It seems to help. If by "help" I mean totally distracting.
I am a full time student, but I have till Jan. 12 off. I have been so sad that I have neglected my hobbies for so long (piano, guitar, and sketching). So one day I play piano every spare second, then the next day guitar every spare second, the next day sketch, then rotate again. Have I finished Christmas shopping? No. Cleaned that closet? No. Sent out cards? No. But hey, we all look pretty much the same as last year, so I'll skip it. And I am HAPPY! And when mom's happy, so is everyone else. And if they're not and it's just my imagination that they are more happy, I don't give a Christmas fig. Cheers! (glad to have ran across your blog, Margaret!)
I like your idea of Breaking Bad, might have to try it. Coping with decaf. coffee and extra sleep!
I think my comment just gotten eaten up but I wanted to make sure I comment so let's try again. We don't school from Thanksgiving to the New year. That's the best coping strategy I came up with years again to give me some sanity during this season.
My older three kids are the big Netflix watchers. Jon and I don't watch any shows…he's a movie guy. And I find myself stressed if I have to commit to a show (except Downton Abbey). I cope, as I said, with running, wine, and prayer. But, you said well in the post that you have to have a mind to read. I feel the same way with prayer. However, I feel like God wants me to sit in the silence anyway..even if my mind is like a hamster in a hamster wheel (it usually is). Silence also is how I regroup. On Wednesdays, after dropping five of the six kids off for school, I clean and do laundry, and then when the 20 month old goes to bed, I sit in the quiet. It's very restorative. Especially if the baby naps. I look forward to that time a lot, and I find I am much more receptive to the craziness of after school if I've had it.
What a great giveaway! When things get crazy I cope by making sure we get outside. I dread the work of bundling everyone up for the cold weather, but we're all so much happier after some sun and (cold) fresh air. The kids are always in better moods after I've let them out of the house, too. When things get crazy I also try to calm them down by looking at our routine and figuring what can get switched around. I do so many things out of habit when they're really not the most efficient way I could do them. For example, when my husband has a work week where I know he'll be gone before the kids are up every day and home after their in bed, I know I can expect the afternoons and evenings to be crazy as all the little children fall apart at once. I switched things up to feed the toddlers their dinner at lunchtime (unfamiliar and more grown up foods that require more introduction and coaxing) and save their familiar favorite "lunchy" foods (cheese, bread, fruit, raw veggies) for supper time to reduce tension in the evening. I also moved their time consuming skincare routines to the morning – otherwise the evenings take forever solo as the kids get increasingly wound up and the baby becomes increasingly irate. Early bedtimes for small kids also help me cope 🙂
Hmm…coping. I'm letting a little bit of schoolwork slide because we're all ready for a break or a change of curricula or change of something, I don't know what. I'm also letting the little girls watch Curious George Christmas at least once or twice every.single.day. I'm pretending that some family members aren't really annoying me with their unsettled, loose Christmas plans. I'm also pretending that my haircolor is lasting longer than 2 weeks and I don't need a color AGAIN before Christmas. But then within that coping are precious moments where I actually sit down with the kids and watch a movie, I read a book, we take in Christmas lights and the live nativity, and today we'll have friends over for cocoa and cookies. My intentional Advent isn't amounting to what I thought it would, but there are glimmers of peace and joy and for now, that's good enough.
Oh, and large amounts of coffee and perhaps a glass of wine thrown in occasionally.
I'm not coping very well, either. All good intentions, but even kids who are grown constantly distract me because they need something. I'm not being paid by Netflix, but they are helping me cope. Right now I have streaming and DVDs. There are so many movies that are unavailable instantly that during the winter I take the opportunity to catch some. I've been locking myself in the bedroom to wrap presents (and watch a movie!).
In the evenings, though, I have to switch to amazon prime because Netflix doesn't have Downton and it's the only thing I can watch that doesn't make me anxious (I hope that's not a reason for committal — watching the same program over and over. I feel like a toddler who wants to read the same book — now I know why.) Downton and knitting are my pre-bedtime activities and I'm like a baseball player on a streak — don't mess with any of it and I'll be fine. I sound like a real nutjob!
This is a really nice giveaway! As far as coping is concerned…I always have a really hard time during this time of year. The days are shorter and darker. We're cooped inside all the time and the kids always claim to be so bored. I also experience constant guilt that I am not enjoying my time with the enough. And on top of everything else, I am 20 weeks pregnant and feeling like a slug. I just want to hibernate the winter away. Since I can't do that, we've been playing a lot of music, trying to plan a new, fun activity every day (simple things like making paper snowflakes), and I've been trying not to eat too many sweets since I'm pretty sure that contributes to my being in the doldrums.
If you love Breaking Bad, have you seen the first season of Fargo? I will warn you, the body count is high but well worth the adventure! I am originally from East Grand Forks / Grand Forks but I migrated south to Arizona 24 years ago.
My coping involves a lot of coffee and maybe a few Trader Joe's extravaganza bars. Have you tried it? Dark chocolate, almonds, ginger, and cranberries. Trust me, it will help.
Kristen Jennings
Prayer, prayer, and more prayer! And chocolate.
What a nice giveaway! I have been say Hail Mary's in my head almost constantly this week (it has been a bad week). She is helping me cope along with the cups and cups of coffee. I also have been going to bed shockingly early and reading in bed.
I am not a blogger myself but I love reading your blog! Prayer and wine help me cope! 🙂
I've been coping by knitting and listening to audiobooks during my lunch breaks at work and before I go to bed.
I am coping by counting the days down until I have almost two weeks off of work. I have one work day left and then finally a break!
Prayer.. wine..Prayer (and sometimes a lil more wine, shh!) ;0)
I cry a lot!
Coping decently, but in all honesty I should qualify it by admitting that I have no little kids living here anymore and the grown-ups who do live here are pretty good at picking up after themselves. 🙂
I am coping very well. It has been a most pleasant advent, because I decided that prayer would be our focus, and just doing that one thing well. We downsized gift giving years ago, and I am so thankful! We have a lot of fun planned for the 12 days of Christmas….I may be stressed out then!
I'm not coping well, that's for sure!!! However, my morning Starbucks Frappuccino (the glass bottle kind, not the real stuff) gets me through the day. Sugar and caffeine, yes please!
Barely hanging on, it seems. Praying the St. Andrew Christmas Novena, and distracting myself by spending more time than I should on the computer. You're not alone, Margaret.
When I get overwhelmed I journal. Helps me to get out my frustrations and organize my thoughts.
Carolyn
For some reason, focusing on "peace" and never EVER giving up my morning prayer time, no matter what, is really helping me cope this year. This, even in the midst of two major Advent trials. I really cannot believe I am not freaking out. It is all grace. I pray some your way …
Just rolling with it…all our plans are in flux b/c of my bro. in California being in ICU all week, following complications from cancer surg (3rd recurrence), and my sister & hubby going out there to be with him (she was hosting Christmas). I will be manning the fort back here in the Midwest. Not sure what we are doing, or how we will do it, but we will get thru it and it will be a Blessed Christmas, no matter what happens in our little world. Please pray for Marty.
I'm coping through prayer, trying to stay focused on the important things, and letting go of some of the rest. Merry Christmas!
I'm coping by holding my newborn and not really worrying about getting *everything* done this year. Holding a fussy baby makes it hard to get things done, but it does call me to prayer more often, which is precisely the best way for me to prepare for Christmas. Maybe we'll do Valentine's cards this year instead of Christmas cards, but I'm not going to worry about it. I won't always have a baby to hold at Christmastime.
Our church has a service called Advent by Candlelight that is just for the ladies of the congregation to help set the tone for the Advent season. It's a candlelight service early in the season of advent usually in the late afternoon/early evening. We follow the service with spiced cider, fancy cookies, and time to visit. In years past I've been involved with the planning and production of the service. I enjoy it very much. This year for a variety of reasons I wasn't part of all the behind the scenes work. I attended with a friend and it was lovely. It was nice to simply attend and soak up the message. The title this year was "Mary Christmas" and three Marys from the Bible "taught" us lessons, Mary of Bethany (sister to Martha), Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The point is to start the season the way you intend it to go, focused on Jesus.
I'm coping through prayers… my own and all those offered for us… and by the grace of God, especially as it comes from the sacraments.