December GBOMB

Good


Holiday bonus. This could go under bad because the dang government took almost half of my holiday bonus, but I'm grateful I got one at all! I've never had a bonus in my life, and with all the cuts at work I thought it might not happen. I am so grateful it did. 

R&R. Man it's just been so nice to get extra sleep and spend some leisurely time with my son, plus do random tasks I've been putting off. We went to the movies, ran errands, went to the zoo, and spent time playing together. 

Christmas Eve movie


Healthy holidays. Some of my in-laws were sick over the holiday, and one of my closest friends and her whole family had a stomach bug up until Christmas day.  I am so grateful we were healthy over our holidays. AJ did puke up his last three doses of antibiotics, so we did a lot of laundry. But just grateful we weren't feverish, coughing, or flu ridden. 

Warm December. Man, what great weather we've been having. I was sad not to have a white Christmas, but happy to be able to go on a sunny walk on Christmas if I couldn't have snow. I'm worried for Utah as I know how important snow is for us. But seriously it's been so, so mild and nice. 

AJ/Christmas/gifts. This is the first year AJ fully understood asking Santa for a Christmas gift. He was excited to open gifts and go through his stocking. He was kind of sour at points on Christmas day, but overall had a really great day and was awesome at aunt Amy's house too. He makes Christmas way more fun. 




Bad


Spending. I just feel like we bleed money in December. I budgeted for Christmas shopping, but then there's Cornbelly's sales, Aquarium sales, and Zoo sales. I need to plan on these purchases in addition to what I already save for. 

Ears. Poor AJ has had consistent ear issues since the end of August. He's just finishing his third round of antibiotics. He has an ENT appointment on January 2. I suspect he will need tubes. I was really hoping he didn't inherit the bad ears from my side of the family. I feel so bad he's had muffled hearing and pain off and on. I should've had him seen sooner. 

On My Brain


Toddlerhood. I am rereading some parenting books now that the strategies are especially needed. I lose my cool with AJ far more often lately. I struggle to know what to do in the moments he hits, kicks, or pinches me. He is a soft boy. I don't think I need to go hard on him, but my reactivity is real. 

Reading. I read 12 paperbacks in 2024, which was a huge feat for me as I do most of my reading by audiobook. This year it just hasn't felt possible. Between AJ's 8:30 bedtime, trying to connect with my husband, and trying to conceive, I haven't made (page) reading happen this year. 

Deductible. We have almost met our deductible, and I am so excited about it. I'm wanting to look at therapy costs since we will meet the deductible. 

Rest. I believe Rest will be my word of the year and my singular new year's resolution. It is on my brain how I will execute. 

Home/buying. Our lease is up in five months which feels far but actually isn't. As I look at Zestimates for what our mortgage would be on homes I'm looking at, I don't know how we will afford a home without being house poor. But I cannot survive another year in this house either. And moving back to the condo feels so, so unappealing. I am grateful I have these options but man. Sure wish for the 2020 housing market. 

Western medicine. I feel like I complain about doctors a lot. But I'm feeling frustrated as I gear up to fight my sinus issues after a 4.5 year hiatus. I have a "sulfa allergy," which I always specify was just hives as a baby. Sulfa medications are one of the best ways to fight the thing I've had in my sinus for 6 years. But at no point did a doctor say, "Have you considered doing a supervised allergy challenge to see if you're still allergic?" Instead I had to ask Chat GPT if there was any likelihood that I'm no longer allergic. It said there's a good chance I'm not, and told me what to do. The same day, I reached out to an allergist I saw five years ago who is going to do a supervised challenge for me. That way if my new ENT feels like sulfa meds are worth a try, I will have a green light to do so. Why does it have to be me considering possibilities and asking questions? Isn't that a doctor's job? I'm just so frustrated so much time has passed when we could've potentially dealt with this a long time ago. 

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