I swear, I’m not normally this cranky of a person but this week is kicking my ass. I thought I’d feel better after my Holiday Hangover rant the other day, but each day keeps bringing more stress.

To wit:

— Remember how I left the sunroof open on Sunday and then it rained into the car? Well, guess what it’s done every day since Sunday? Rained. My car smells like a Amazonian rainforest right now. It’s not pretty in there.

— My husband is still pretty sick. Yes, he’s legitimately sick, even if I thought he may have been exaggerating it at first. While I do feel bad for him, I also feel bad for me — single parenting is hard!

— As I may have mentioned, E. and I are flying up to Pennsylvania on Sunday. Since her school is closed next week, my dad flies her and I up as our Christmas gift every year and then we fly back on Dec. 23 to be home for Christmas. I’m going to be working from Pa. next week but I’m also trying to get as much as I can done this week. Plus, that means I have to be 100 percent done with Christmas shopping before we go. PLUS, I have to pack for us, for winter weather. PLUS PLUS I haven’t even come to grips with the fact that once again I have to fly alone with E. The flights themselves are never that bad but the airports are brutal. Security with a toddler is no picnic, especially when flying alone. (And yes, that was a very first-world paragraph. I get that. But it doesn’t make me any less stressed.)

— Why do simple tasks somehow take on painful lives of their own? My dad and stepmom are notoriously difficult to shop for. DadJovi and I start talking about their gifts months in advance and never come up with anything good. The surprising gift that my dad has loved in the past is a pair of Syracuse sweatpants that I picked up at the bookstore in a moment of desperation my senior year of college. I thought he hated Syracuse but for whatever reason, he loves those sweatpants.

So now, about every three years, I get him a new pair. This year was going to be that year. I ordered them by Thanksgiving (and cockily patted myself on the back for my advance planning. Stupid Jackie).

When they arrived early last week, they were enormous. I’d ordered larges but there’s no way they’ll fit my 5’10” father. They barely fit my 6’01” husband. To expedite things, DadJovi got a new pair of Syracuse sweats and I immediately ordered a medium pair. When I ordered the first pair, they shipped the next morning. With the second pair, it’s been five days and I’ve heard nothing. So I did what any self-respecting social media addict would do — I started whining on Twitter. But I heard Katy’s warnings in my head, so I was sure to also send them a direct email first alerting them that they were in danger of ruining Christmas I hadn’t heard anything about my order.

Even if “the man” was letting me down, my Tweeps were picking me up. The Syracuse Nation rallied and I quickly heard from someone who lives in Syracuse who offered to run down to the bookstore today, pick up a pair of sweats and overnight them to me. How awesome is that?!? But thankfully, SU came through, too. By the time I woke up today, I had an email explaining that there’d been a “backorder” but that they would second-day them to me today, at no additional charge. I’m not sure I’m buying their story but I like their response.

But now the anxious wait is on. Will they arrive by Sunday? I sure as hell hope so!

— My house is a disaster. Seriously. How can one child be so destructive? When I went into E’s room to check on her before I went to bed last night, I found her in bed with six books, a gourd she’d brought home from school, her comforter was on the ground and she was wearing sparkly glitter shoes. Plus, she’d taken all the pictures off her walls (they are lightweight canvas prints of bugs that have been there since she was born. Perhaps she’s ready to redecorate?).  Around the house, I’m still finding piles of glitter from her Christmas crafts and I’ve had two loads of laundry waiting to be folded and put away since Sunday. Sigh.

— And I think my washer broke tonight. I washed a load of towels and when I opened the washer, they were still sopping wet and I couldn’t get the spin cycle to run again. I’m going to just not think about it until tomorrow, mmmkay?

But whenever I start to feel too stressed, I just play this gem and feel so much better.

Ahhhhh, that’s more like it. That song alone was directly responsible for us going to see “The Muppets” for a second time. The Sheldon cameo just may have been my very favorite part of the movie, which is a tough call because I’m obsessed with the entire film.

But all hope is not lost. Tomorrow is my Friday, so I’ve got big plans of kicking Friday’s ass and knocking my non-work to-do lists out of the park.

Glad I got all that off my chest. Thank you for listening to my rant … again.

How are you handling the holidays? What songs help you relax or decompress during stressful times? And who’s the toughest person on your shopping list?