For the last 3 weeks on Monday and Wednesday evenings Maddie has been taking swim lessons. Not only are these during the week but they are without a parent. It's two kids (Maddie and a little boy) with an instructor for 25 minutes. They are super adorable and I love watching her learn new things. She follows the instructions most of the time which for her age is pretty good. I feel a little bad for the little boy as he is 5 years old and better able to listen to the instructor. I have her signed up for the same session again for the month of February so we will see where she is when that finishes as to whether she will do the session again or move on to the second level. If I had to guess probably another session of level 1 but as long as it keeps her in the water and gets her more comfortable I'm ok with that.
Going back to the title of this post these last few weeks I feel are giving me a peak at what life is going to be like for the next 13 plus years. Me driving Maddie to lessons, events, practices, etc and waiting and watching. I know some nights will be crazy like Monday of this week where we were home long enough to bring Daphne out, have a quick dinner and then we had to rush back out and head up to the community center for lessons. I know eventually it will be just dropping her off and not watching although I'm hoping that will be later rather than sooner. And I know eventually she will be driving herself places with her friends but I'm glad I have this time to enjoy it. To have her be in the pool and wave at me every five minutes so proud of what she is learning. I hope that she will find as much delight in the water as I did and do.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
2014 Resolutions
Now that there has been a recap of 2013 I am moving away from 2013 and on to 2014. I'm sure if I went back to my resolution post from 2013 it would be similar to the one I'm about to write but I'm not going to worry so much about that one and just start fresh.
1. Keep on top of housework
2. Exercise more
3. Try to be more organized
So those are my top resolutions and I'm hoping by keeping it simple that it will be a bit easier to keep up with. With each of the above resolutions they tie into one overall theme which is to keep me sane. I find I am typically wound pretty tight when I feel like things are out of my control and then I start to stress more. I find that I feel more at peace when the house is clean (relatively) and I know where things are and I'm prepared for the day. I have found that exercising multiple times per week over the last 5 months has made me a lot happier and that when I'm not doing it I can tell that I'm a bit more stressed/wound up.
So with those big resolutions there are lots of small steps. I know it will take a bit to get the house to the level where maintaining the cleanliness is simple but I'm hoping to find a spot for everything by the end of January and than the rest of the year will just be maintenance. I'm also hoping to find a schedule that will work well with the gym so that I can get those 3 workouts in a week. I'm hoping 2 during lunch and 1 at night and I just need to find a night to do that. I'm thinking Friday night might be good for the most part as Jym typically picks up Maddie and then meets me in Sterling for dinner and I can just make them come a bit after 6 so I can hit the gym Friday night before dinner.
I figure if I can work on these things along with picking out clothes and making lunches the night before over the next few weeks they should become habits that I won't have to think about doing. I will hopefully have good news the next time I check in. I can't say that I will blog more this year than last year but I am hoping to at least write once a month to recap.
Till the next time!
1. Keep on top of housework
2. Exercise more
3. Try to be more organized
So those are my top resolutions and I'm hoping by keeping it simple that it will be a bit easier to keep up with. With each of the above resolutions they tie into one overall theme which is to keep me sane. I find I am typically wound pretty tight when I feel like things are out of my control and then I start to stress more. I find that I feel more at peace when the house is clean (relatively) and I know where things are and I'm prepared for the day. I have found that exercising multiple times per week over the last 5 months has made me a lot happier and that when I'm not doing it I can tell that I'm a bit more stressed/wound up.
So with those big resolutions there are lots of small steps. I know it will take a bit to get the house to the level where maintaining the cleanliness is simple but I'm hoping to find a spot for everything by the end of January and than the rest of the year will just be maintenance. I'm also hoping to find a schedule that will work well with the gym so that I can get those 3 workouts in a week. I'm hoping 2 during lunch and 1 at night and I just need to find a night to do that. I'm thinking Friday night might be good for the most part as Jym typically picks up Maddie and then meets me in Sterling for dinner and I can just make them come a bit after 6 so I can hit the gym Friday night before dinner.
I figure if I can work on these things along with picking out clothes and making lunches the night before over the next few weeks they should become habits that I won't have to think about doing. I will hopefully have good news the next time I check in. I can't say that I will blog more this year than last year but I am hoping to at least write once a month to recap.
Till the next time!
Friday, January 3, 2014
Goodbye 2013 Hello 2014 - A Year in Review
Well 2013 has gone by way too quickly and I have to say I didn't do a great job of blogging as you can see there was a big stretch of no blogs from August to December. Onward and upward and perhaps this year will be better. So 2013 seemed to go by too fast and I'm hoping that 2014 isn't the same way. So a few quick highlights from the year.
January - Maddie's first trip to Disney. It was awesome and I can't wait to go back again (hopefully 2015). She is still into the Disney characters and remembers things about it although I'm sure looking at pictures helps. Had a great trip to see Risa in Jersey to help celebrate her birthday. It was my first night away from Maddie since she had been born that I wasn't in the same state.
February - a tough month as my grandfather passed away. We took the trip to NY to pay our respect and it was good to see family although the circumstances were less than ideal.
March - A great trip to Philly for Taryn's wedding and an awesome visit with my mother-in-law were some highlights of the month. Jym would say the Monk's Madness Monday in Philly topped his list so I'll put it here. And to imagine it was all in the same weekend. :) We took Maddie up so she could celebrate Easter in NH for the first time. Most of the Ferrier clan came down so it was great to see everyone at the same time in the same place!
April - I'm going to leave this blank for now because I really can't remember anything overly exciting however I'm sure as it is april there was lots of time spent outside playing.
May - Jym and I celebrated being married for 4 years. We even managed to get out for a nice dinner. Maddie and I had a lovely tea party at a tea house with our friends Rebecca and Norah. We were lunching ladies! This was the month that Maddie got her first pedicure and Auntie Tara taught her to say if Daddy got beer she got a pedicure. Sadly we have not really been able to make this one stick much.
June - took a trip to see Sally and Amelia for a weekend in PA. The girls had a great time. The rest of the month was normal playing outside and enjoying the summer weather.
July - our annual trip to New England for 4th of July. Busy as normal but always good to see everyone. We left Maddie in NH for 3 days which is the longest that I had been away from Maddie since she was born. She loved her time and did great. We also took a quick trip to the outerbanks which was a good time with great weather!
August - in August Maddie and I spent a week by ourselves while Jym was in Vegas for a conference. We also welcomed the newest member of our family Daphne (a 2.5 year old blue Great Dane). During this time we took a few trips to the farm for some playtime and veggie/fruit picking.
September - A 2 week trip to India for Jym so it was girl time at the house. Maddie's first haircut and she was a champ! My very first color run with my friend Rebecca. I can see this becoming a habit. :)
October - Both a happy and sad month. Took a great trip to Tennessee to an indoor waterpark with Maddie which she loved. The weather was even nice enough that they opened the outdoor park one of the days and I got to go on the waterslide where the floor opens beneath you. The sad part is that I lost another grandfather after a 9 week struggle after heart surgery. He never made it out of the hospital although he gave it a good fight.
November - My darling little girl turned 3. How it has happened so quickly is beyond me. I feel like it wasn't that long ago that we brought her home. It truly has been a privilege to watch her these past 3 years. The things she says, the way she acts, that cherubic little face, from that tiny infant to the little girl she has become. I look forward to seeing the person she will become and hope it all doesn't go too quickly. Along with Maddie's birthday we hosted Thanksgiving at our house with new and old friends and it truly was a great day. Maddie helped me with almost everything and I love how much she loves to be involved. Maddie also got to see her first movie in the theater (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)
December - The first snow fall of the year and of course Christmas and New Years. Christmas was spent visiting family (NY, ME, and NH) and while we were gone over a week it was nice to get to see everyone. New Years was spent similar to how it was spent last year. We went to our friend the Jessie's house for a few hours and then home much before midnight.
If you made it this far into the post congratulations. I know it was a long one. I think for 2014 even if i don't blog more I need to do at least a monthly recap. Happy New Year!
January - Maddie's first trip to Disney. It was awesome and I can't wait to go back again (hopefully 2015). She is still into the Disney characters and remembers things about it although I'm sure looking at pictures helps. Had a great trip to see Risa in Jersey to help celebrate her birthday. It was my first night away from Maddie since she had been born that I wasn't in the same state.
February - a tough month as my grandfather passed away. We took the trip to NY to pay our respect and it was good to see family although the circumstances were less than ideal.
March - A great trip to Philly for Taryn's wedding and an awesome visit with my mother-in-law were some highlights of the month. Jym would say the Monk's Madness Monday in Philly topped his list so I'll put it here. And to imagine it was all in the same weekend. :) We took Maddie up so she could celebrate Easter in NH for the first time. Most of the Ferrier clan came down so it was great to see everyone at the same time in the same place!
April - I'm going to leave this blank for now because I really can't remember anything overly exciting however I'm sure as it is april there was lots of time spent outside playing.
May - Jym and I celebrated being married for 4 years. We even managed to get out for a nice dinner. Maddie and I had a lovely tea party at a tea house with our friends Rebecca and Norah. We were lunching ladies! This was the month that Maddie got her first pedicure and Auntie Tara taught her to say if Daddy got beer she got a pedicure. Sadly we have not really been able to make this one stick much.
June - took a trip to see Sally and Amelia for a weekend in PA. The girls had a great time. The rest of the month was normal playing outside and enjoying the summer weather.
July - our annual trip to New England for 4th of July. Busy as normal but always good to see everyone. We left Maddie in NH for 3 days which is the longest that I had been away from Maddie since she was born. She loved her time and did great. We also took a quick trip to the outerbanks which was a good time with great weather!
August - in August Maddie and I spent a week by ourselves while Jym was in Vegas for a conference. We also welcomed the newest member of our family Daphne (a 2.5 year old blue Great Dane). During this time we took a few trips to the farm for some playtime and veggie/fruit picking.
September - A 2 week trip to India for Jym so it was girl time at the house. Maddie's first haircut and she was a champ! My very first color run with my friend Rebecca. I can see this becoming a habit. :)
October - Both a happy and sad month. Took a great trip to Tennessee to an indoor waterpark with Maddie which she loved. The weather was even nice enough that they opened the outdoor park one of the days and I got to go on the waterslide where the floor opens beneath you. The sad part is that I lost another grandfather after a 9 week struggle after heart surgery. He never made it out of the hospital although he gave it a good fight.
November - My darling little girl turned 3. How it has happened so quickly is beyond me. I feel like it wasn't that long ago that we brought her home. It truly has been a privilege to watch her these past 3 years. The things she says, the way she acts, that cherubic little face, from that tiny infant to the little girl she has become. I look forward to seeing the person she will become and hope it all doesn't go too quickly. Along with Maddie's birthday we hosted Thanksgiving at our house with new and old friends and it truly was a great day. Maddie helped me with almost everything and I love how much she loves to be involved. Maddie also got to see her first movie in the theater (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)
December - The first snow fall of the year and of course Christmas and New Years. Christmas was spent visiting family (NY, ME, and NH) and while we were gone over a week it was nice to get to see everyone. New Years was spent similar to how it was spent last year. We went to our friend the Jessie's house for a few hours and then home much before midnight.
If you made it this far into the post congratulations. I know it was a long one. I think for 2014 even if i don't blog more I need to do at least a monthly recap. Happy New Year!
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