Here comes 2011

Things I learned in 2010:

1. Everything is more worth everything when you have a child/children.
2. The human body is ridiculously and miraculously resilient.
3. No matter how much you think you're convinced about something you've never experienced, once you experience it, your mind can change in a heartbeat.
4. Doesn't matter who you are, your moustache looks funny.
5. I could watch the Food Network and shows about interior design ALL DAY LONG.
6. There is a such thing as elevator etiquette. Most people don't really know that.
7. Organization is very important.
8. I thought I was forgetful. And then I became a mother. THEN, I became forgetful.
9. Some people show other sides when they're overly excited.
10. The rewards of parenting outweigh the challenges a million times to one. And I've only been a parent for less than a year.

2011 Resolutions

1. Use the phone more. I text and email too much.
2. Stop swearing.
3. Entertain more.
4. Go back to being anal about being clean and neat and organized.
5. Spend my time more wisely.

I hope 2011 is wonderful to you!

We're ONLINE.

FINALLY.

When Mr.S and I got married, our web-savvy friends designed a wedsite for us as our wedding gift. We came to them asking for some information about web design and they decided to do it for us. What great friends, eh? So anyway, when we first had the idea of a wedsite, we wanted to make sure that we could eventually turn it into our family website.

2.5 years later, and here we are.

It only took me 1.5 years to get it done. Holy cow. I had been working on the site for a while and only in recent months did I finally sit down and finish it. It only took so long in the past few months because the site had been a little glitchy...and I wanted to overload it with pictures (and when you check it out, you'll think I did, but just think, I wanted MORE!)

So yes, it's finally done. That URL on your Christmas card DOES go somewhere now.

D-nut's first Christmas

I can write now that I'm officially recovering from Christmas. Sorry, that sounds horrible. What I mean is, this year, Christmas was a whirlwind. It came and passed so quickly and while it did that, it sorta felt like it picked us up, span us around a bit, made us dizzy and then slowly let us down onto our feet to continue (what feels like) running through life. Don't get me wrong though; I loved it. While Christmas is so much more crazy with a child, it's also a million times better. And that feels like an understatement.

Read more »

Merry Christmas to all!!

How awesome...

...is this?

Is it vain of me to say...

...that he is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute?

The Holidays, as a mother

2010 has totally changed my perspective of holidays. As a mother now, I've been finding that my thoughts are a quite bit different than they've been every other year. It's kinda strange, but interesting, because it's a whole new take on things, almost like I've been given a completely new set of eyes.

For example, Mother's Day, the easiest to explain. Up until this year, I've been celebrating my mothers (biological, step, grand, in-law, god, you name it), my sisters, my aunts, and all the mothers I know and love. This year, we celebrated, well, me! Hallowe'en was so much more about how we're gonna get our child from house to house instead of accompanying our nephews and nieces on their trick-or-treating adventures.

But the holy days holidays are the ones where I find myself really thinking about things. Easter, well, Easter was really emotional. Good Friday was a doozy. I found myself thinking about the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, but from the perspective of his mother, Mary. I'm just gonna stop there before I turn into a huge mess again.

And now, Christmas is coming. Not only am I not as concerned with Christmas shopping and getting stuck in the tornado that this time of year can bring, but I'm taking more time to prepare and stepping back to just enjoy the season. And, again, I've been thinking about Mary and what this time was like for her. I'm brought back to the days before D-nut was born and remember what it was like to feel the need to prepare for my son's arrival. Imagine that, but at the same time, preparing for your son, the Saviour, and his arrival. Talk about pressure! And the people at the inn don't even have any room for you. How dare they! And here I was getting ticked at the people on the subway who wouldn't give up their seat. Suddenly things don't seem as crazy or as petty as they first appeared to be.

I hope this season is bringing you much hope and joy and that your preparations are going well.

Thankful

I've filled up my iPod with Christmas songs. It's the most diverse compilation of artists, many of them singing the same song as the next. It's great. I especially love the original ones. Not everyone can sing along with them, but sometimes it's nice to just listen. I've been hooking up my iPod in the car and at home. I haven't listened to the radio for days. Yesterday we didn't even turn on the TV. We just listened to Christmas music, finished "decking the halls" and went about our business at home. It was so nice.

A few days ago, I took a quick drive to a store to pick up a Christmas gift. Brother watched D-nut while I went out and I heard one new Christmas song just as I was driving home. This one was from Josh Grobin's Christmas album. Since I was only two minutes (literally) from home, I ended up sitting in the car in the garage to finish the song. I think it's my favourite this year. It's called, "Thankful".

Read more »

We miss you/Welcome, Sophie!

Sophie is my son's giraffe. You may have heard of her. She's a rubber, squeaky giraffe for babies to chew on, slobber on, suck on... She sells for a pretty penny too. D-nut got her as a gift and has since developed a huge love of giraffes. You should see his eyes when he sees them at toy stores and such. I don't know what we're gonna do when he makes his first trip to the zoo and sees a real one. Hopefully he doesn't try to run up to it and eat it.

Anyway, Sophie.

Sophie is D-nut's security blanket when he's in his car seat and when we're out. Sometimes even at home too. She's really done a number on him. And he's really done a number on her. She's a very loved toy and you can tell it too just by looking at her...

...if you can find her.

:(

Read more »

So I had my first latte...

...ever.

I know.

I'm not a huge coffee drinker. When I do have coffee, it's decaf. Yes, I'm one of those people who gets a large decaf, double-double. I drink coffee because sometimes I crave how it tastes. I don't drink it to stay awake. I'd say I'm more of a tea drinker but even then I don't drink a lot of tea and even with tea I only drink decaffeinated teas.

Read more »

Got books?

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt.

Read more »