Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, after yet another (unplanned) hiatus from this little piece of Blog-land, I am going to close the year with a running update of the past year and a better plan for the next.

Let's start from the youngest and move our way up...


The Tater grows! At almost-two-and-a-half, she smiles for some people now. She has a deep affection for the people she knows but it still takes her a very long time to warm up to anyone. Once she knows you, trusts you and loves you - watch out! - there is no bottom to this love. She picks up language skills faster now although it is still quite frustrating to work out a lot of the things she says. At the same age, Girl-chick was running circles around us with her extensive vocabulary and impressive enunciation (but we're not comparing our children!). She will get it when she gets it. She has other priorities in mind. Stay little my Tater and play all day!


Girl-chick too is shooting up like a weed. Once I got around to finally installing the growth charts on their doors and measuring them, we discovered that she attained 3 whole inches in the space of a summer! Seriously! Things I made calf length are now hovering above the knee. My little itty-bitty who came to us a mere 16 or so inches now stands a good 3 feet and 3 inches! She will most likely be starting school next September but we are petitioning the school board to have her placed in Grade 1 and skip Kindergarten altogether. She can already read at a first grade level which is kinda cool for a four-year-old!


Da Man has enjoyed yet another year at the Government office he has been contracted out to. This means he drives into town almost every day. He continues to be smoke-free and one year after he butted out, he has now started on Phase II of the Da Man Improvement Strategy - he is working out! And has developed an impressive set of pipes I may add.... Of course, things don't fit as well anymore and we will have to figure out a way for him to have a shopping spree for better fitting clothes but it is something I am happy to pay for!


As for me, work has been busy. Things pile up. I try to keep a sort of balance in check between work and family. The priority is still the family but I have pulled many a ten-hour day starting in the wee hours and dragging myself along right up to 4PM! I am considering asking for a modified work-week, perhaps dropping down to part-time for a brief period. There is so much more to life than work that I want to explore. Sunfish Creations needs a leg up and it needs a huge investment of time! Of course, I gave a lot away as birthday, baptism, shower, Christmas and just-because gifts in some sort of desperate hope that someone else may see it and want another of it and pay me for it. Don't get me wrong - all the ones I gave away, I gave freely of my heart and soul into because I love the people I was giving it to. I enjoy sewing, making, creating - I want it to be more than just a hobby - just to see how far I can take it. I did have grand plans to sell some through a small shop nearby but when it came crunch-time, work was too swamped and something else had to give.

It has never been my intention to abandon this blog. It is a means of chronicling for myself, my family and my friends what we have been up to. We have done lots! Things I mean to post about, things I have fodder for, things I alas have no time to document. As I told a visitor the other day, my wedding album (and we are coming up on ten years folks!) is still only a quarter-done.

This is a rough outline for the upcoming year:
Monday: Girl-chick retains her spot as first-born
Tuesday: Tater keeps this day too
Wednesday: Da Man - this may be the one most left off!
Thursday: Craft - I have already commited to the Embroidery Companion sew-along at A Simple Breath
Friday: {this moment} a la Amanda Blake Soule
Saturday: Weekend around the shack
Sunday: *no posts*

Ambitious? A tad bit. We'll see how the momentum builds up. I have to commit this as me time. This is admittedly, for me. For me to remember when my littles were little. For me to glimpse into their future. For me to showcase what I am capable of doing, craft-wise. For me to show my faraway family what we are doing.

We want to wish all our friends and family who took the time to read these ramblings a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We already did the mass-mailing of the cards and pictures and most of you should already have received it. I do it every year because it is expected of me. I try to green things up most of the time but children are only young for such a brief period and there is magic in ripping off Christmas paper on Christmas morning. There is joy in being able to decorate our tree with cards from loving family and friends.

I won't let practicality get in the way of wonderment. Everybody needs magic in their lives.

Have a magical season!!