Thursday, December 31, 2009

Adios 2009.... HELLO 2010!

The year 2009 has been in many ways a difficult one (at least the last half of it). My father who hasn't been well in the last few years due to complications from a stroke and problems with his circulation, broke his hip. Since then he has been walking with a walker and seems to have aged 20 years in only a few months. Once a vibrant man who was the 'life of the party', now spends his days sitting or sleeping on the couch. My mother has had to become a full time caregiver. It has been difficult to watch them in this transition. I know that they are both struggling each in their own different ways. I wish upon stars that I could make it all better... but part of being a grown-up is learning to accept the things you cannot change, and slowly letting go of the way things used to be.

A few weeks after my father broke his hip, my brother's best friend's parents both died in a car crash coming home from their son's wedding. When I try to imagine the magnitude of that loss. Both of your parents on the same day... it is unimaginable.

On the same day of the accident I started my miscarriage. Another difficult loss.

When we arrived at my parents' house for the holidays this past Sunday their house had just had a major power surge because a hydro line feeding their house broke. The power surge fried all of their electronics (tvs, computer etc). The stress of all that's happened in 2009 seemed to overwhelm a few of my family members... so the holidays this year weren't as joyful or relaxing as previous ones.

Despite all of this though I am grateful. There are many, many things to be grateful for (a loving husband, a gorgeous son, the love of family members, precious friends, I could go on and on).

2010 is a brand new year with loads of possibilities... In 2010 we will hopefully meet a little someone we're expecting on July 26th. As bad as 2009 as sometimes been, it has given us reason to be happy and expectant... since unbelievably I am 10 and a half weeks pregnant.

Happy, happy New Year!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

'Tis the season

The Christmas tree is up. There is several inches of snow on the ground. Most of the Christmas shopping is done and the hubby has finally (FINALLY) finished his work project which has made me a single parent for the last six weeks. It seems that all is coming together for another great holiday. We are looking forward to spending quality time with our families. We're having some friends over in the afternoon on Saturday for an impromptu holiday party... 11 adults, nine kids and one beagle... should be interesting in our small space! But I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long time since we've entertained. It seems like since Ian was born we just haven't had much energy to do so. This should be fun and it is long overdue. Also looking forward to having 10 days off... it will be a much, much needed break. 

We recently transition Ian to a 'big boy bed'. I took the mattress out of his crib and told him it was 'broken'. He didn't seem very bothered by the fact. At first when we moved him to the bed he was staying up until 11:00 p.m. playing in his room. I finally realized we needed to cut out his mid-afternoon nap (at least for now). This seems to have helped. He's now going to bed at a reasonable hour. The problem is he doesn't fall asleep in his bed. I've found him sleeping sitting up at the table in his room, at the foot of our bedroom door, at the foot of the bathroom door (not to mention the few times he's fallen out of bed when he was in fact sleeping in it)... and every night he sneaks into our bed... which I think is very sweet, though the kicks in the face in the middle of the night aren't that cute. Slowly but surely he'll get the hang of it... and once he does we'll start the whole potty training thing. That one should be interesting. Ian is such a joker... I'm sure it won't be without its challenges!

I've been also working on another fun project. I can't tell you about it just yet but I'm excited about it. It's taken up quite a bit of my energy lately but it should all be worth it when it's done. Look forward to sharing the details and some pictures.

Hope your holiday planning is going well.

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