Let's Try this Again

i haven't blogged in almost a year!  i've logged on, i've looked at my blog, and i've had great ideas for blog posts....but i haven't actually blogged anything!  so i'm going to try again.  we'll see how it goes.

i've been taking a course about technology use in the classroom.  i used to be a teacher (it seems like a lifetime ago) and i'm thinking seriously about returning to work in the classroom.  taking this course (which i need to maintain my teaching certificate) has inspired me a little bit.  as part of the class, we had to create a classroom blog (mine is imaginary, ha!) but it reminded me of my poor neglected little blog about my actual life.  so until i have my own classroom, i will blog about my real life!

since there's no way i'd be able to catch up on everything from the past year, i'll just pretend that 11 months hasn't passed since i last posted and do a thanksgiving post : )

as we do every year, we spent thanksgiving in vermont with my sister's family.  this year, we all drove up together (including my dad) on tuesday and had all day wednesday to prepare for the big day.  my sister loves thanksgiving and has hosted it every year since she moved to vermont 11 years ago.  my kids don't know anything different.

our visit was full of relaxation, laughter, good food, and a nice little dusting of snow to really get us in the holiday spirit.  i've never been a black friday shopper....i'm not up for the crowds, the chaos, and the stress of it, nevermind leaving my warm cozy bed in the wee hours to try and save a few bucks.

i usually try and take our christmas card photos in vermont (especially if there's snow) but since katie wasn't with us this year, i decided to wait.  i'm one of those people who has to take a picture of everyone together and not just use one i already had (even if it's a great picture)!  this causes me a lot of stress and should be a post all it's own.  but i do take some shots of the kids as well as my niece and nephew for their christmas card.  here are a few snapshots of our time in vermont.

my magpie

this is maggie.  my baby, my daughter, a joy to parent.  she is 9 years old but seems much older.  she has a heart of gold, a smile that dazzles, and big brown eyes that sparkle.  she came into this world quietly, making her appearance one day after her due date.  her full name is margaret after my mother.  we've always called her maggie.  

she was a sweet, happy baby who loved to eat but not sleep!  actually, she was a great sleeper for the first few months of her life but at around 4 or 5 months, she stopped sleeping through the night (for 3 and 1/2 years).  she napped like a champ but the nights were rough.  her middle name is lacey and for a time, we called her margaret lucifer because she was such a little devil at night!  luckily, those were the tough years with her (so far) and now, she's a breeze.

my magpie (one of her many nicknames) is one of those kids who makes you think you're doing everything right as a parent.  she's helpful, kind, gracious, loving, sensitive, and confident.  i was such a shy kid, lacking confidence, afraid to try new things.  she may look more like me but she doesn't have any of my insecurities. she's more like her dad in the confidence department.  i think she got the best qualities of both of us ; )

she loves soccer, drawing, singing, laughing and pleasing others.  her teachers love her, she is a friend to many, and she makes our family complete.  as much as i miss being a mom to a toddler or a preschooler, i'm really loving being a mom to a 9 year old girl.  she likes to help me, is a great shopper, and always makes things fun. 

she and her dad have this (somewhat disgusting) game they play when they walk the dog.  it's called "pass the poop" and it is exactly what it sounds like.  they toss the plastic poop bag (which has hopefully been tied nice and tight and doesn't have any holes) back and forth, the object of which is to catch it by the handle and not the "contents".  like i said, disgusting, but she finds it endless fun! 

i'm so thankful for you maggie!  you bring such sunshine and happiness to our family and we all love you very much!

so long 2012

so it's 2013 
2012 just flew by. i'm sorry 2012, but i'm happy to put you behind me.  
i began the year in the icu of a boston hospital watching my mom slip away.  never a good way to start the year.  i let 2012 beat me.  i got sad, i got angry, maybe even a little depressed.  and i excused myself for not loving myself properly because i was grieving.
now that 2012 has gone, i need to start living again.  mom would want me to.  
so here i am, ready to embrace the new year and find my happy again.

don't get me wrong.  2012 was tough but there were moments of awesome.  one of the best things to come of last year was my rediscovery of jesus.  out of the darkness that was my mom's death, i found a new church, a new pastor, and a renewed faith that has sustained me through the last year.  thank you central congregational church, pastor bruce, and the rest of the wonderful congregation for helping me find a home.

we celebrated our first christmas without my mom.  i missed her snickerdoodles, her beautifully wrapped packages, and her shopping companionship but i felt her presence and hopefully honored her by putting a lot more time into wrapping my own packages than i normally do.  i went with red and white paper and white or green bows.  i loved the way the presents looked under the tree and was truly sad to see them ripped open in less than 30 minutes (at 6:00 am on christmas morning!).
here's how everything looked before the madness

this year, i tried to really simplify things and focus on the true meaning of the season.  the kids and i had fun surprising others with small tokens of our appreciation for them.  we left donuts and oj for the garbage collectors, a box of chocolates for the milkman, and delivered cookies to the police and fire station on christmas eve.  i got these ideas here.  though we didn't do all the things we planned, we sure enjoyed thinking of others and surprising them with kindness.  it doesn't have to end at christmas either. many of the ideas can be incorporated throughout the year.

here are some more snapshots from our holiday season this year:

maggie's annual holiday recital. she sang and played piano beautifully.  so proud of my magpie!

making our gingerbread house, aka as consuming large amounts of candy and frosting : )

this year we broke from tradition and i bought a package of sugar cookie mix from trader joe's .  normally, i make my own but time and my love of all things tj's warranted the switch.  i wasn't thrilled with the taste but it definitely made things easier.  next year, we'll go back to cookies from scratch (sorry tj's - i love you but not your cookie dough!

christmas morning. did i mention we were up at 6am?  the teenager here does not look happy - my step-daughter katie who spends every christmas eve/morning with us.  i think she secretly likes the chaos : )

tabletop air hockey - it worked much better on the floor with wooden spoons than on the table

i hope you had a blessed christmas and wish you all much peace and joy in 2013!