Nov
2013

Settling back into the routines…

IMG_5272Tomorrow it is Choir. I am going  to sing 2 songs in front of the whole school. And yesterday, I went to the Santa Claus parade and saw Santa! I told him I wanted a karaoke machine for Christmas. Today I made my letter to Santa and mailed it.

IMG_5244He said

As much as sunny, 72º F and blue skies every single day for 21 days was nice it was very nice to get back to the cold, windy and much darker Ontario fall. While I have been battling shivers all week, and I think I may have become even softer in my ability to endure the turn towards winter climate, there is a certain warmth in being the place that means the most to you.

This week at the store was really great. There’s no more reassuring feeling than returning to the sincerest hugs you have ever felt from co-workers. If I ever had any doubts about what this job gives me that no other ever has, they would have certainly been squashed this week with a steady flow of colleagues happy to have me back. And with my three weeks of Genius training under my belt, I feel charged and ready to start leaving my thumbprint with the Genius team as we look to take their successes of the last year and a half and build and grow to new heights.

IMG_5249As for Emelia, as though it wasn’t evident enough while I was away that she missed me and didn’t want to share me anymore, getting back into a groove with her this week was nothing short of a pleasure. The biggest thing I miss when I am away is our nightly routine. I don’t always read her story and snuggle with her for a song or two before she drifts off, but I do sneak into her room every single night after she is long asleep – just before I am headed there myself – and give her a kiss goodnight and tell her I love her unbeknownst to her, as she slumbers away.

That is the part I miss I always miss the most. Thankfully a couple of nights, without even knowing that was just what I needed, during my time away, Danielle sent me photos of our little girl deep asleep. And this week, I got that back into my regular routine. It’s the most perfect of moments, and one I will try to hold onto for as long as I can.

We got Emelia’s first progress report for Grade One, this week, and it was funny as Danielle read it to me, how it bore an uncanny resemblance to ones I got at the same age. Emelia’s strongest skills lie in anything that involves creativity. And her strongest subject area is art. And while I have absolutely no expectations or hopes that she follows in anything I loved or did well at, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some level of pride in the connection we had in that report card.

IMG_5269It is not like we needed that progress report to know her keen penchants as of late for art — pretty much any activity she wants to engage in these days involves some sort of craft based on creating a masterpiece of art. And the drawings she has been bringing home from school show a great deal of advancement in her skill — surprisingly so. Regardless of my own interests aligning with her, I am just so darn proud of her progress and joy in it.

The rest of the week was mostly focused around settling back into the routines I missed while being away. It’s funny how something deemed routine has the knock of being taken for granted and losing its meaning. But for me, it is anything but. One of the things I looked forward to most, being back home was the evening routines that Danielle and I have down to a perfect science – we pilot the couch together recounting the day, hanging out on our iPads, while catching up on our favourite shows and sometimes having a glass of wine or two… And this week we dove right back into that, like we never missed a beat. And it was perfect.

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Tomorrow I luckily have the day off work, which affords me the ability to go see Emelia perform in the Remembrance Day assembly at school in the Primary Choir. Singing is the one thing she cares about even more than creating new crafts. In fact she still insists to us, when she grows up, she is going to be a singer. I can’t wait to see her sing.

But until then, I think I will go sink myself back onto the couch with Danielle and absorb those routines I so missed.

 

She said

A week back in the routine of a family of three has been heaven. Balancing life here on my own was quite tiring and Emelia was really missing her daddy more than she could express. So a week back and we had lots of dinners together, time as a family and our routine back. Exactly what we needed.

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This week in daycare was a bit quieter with one of my wee ones away on vacation with his family so we enjoyed things at a quieter pace and enjoyed the outdoors as much as the weather would allow. It was crisp and windy but with winter looming around the corner I want to make the most of the limited outside time we have left. So this meant visits to the school park after picking up Emelia at school, lots of walks and some time in our wee yard. One day earlier in the week was seasonably warmer so we made a picnic snack and met up with my friend Susan (the twin’s mom) and we had a park visit with her two youngest daughters. It was great having adult conversation and the daycare kids just adore their 2 year old daughter Lydia.

We finally came to the weekend after some long hours for John and we got to enjoy a quieter night at home. Emelia dove head deep into another craft and we spent time as a family. By the time Saturday rolled around it was an early start for us all. John had to be at work at 7:00 which means Emelia and I had to be up before the sun with him so we could have the car. After dropping John off at work Emelia went to the grocery store at 7:00 which meant we had the store to ourselves. Foggy headed we came home and I finally got my big first coffee of the day. We had a few more errands to do before heading to her weekly swim class. After class she played in the Tree House room and then we were off to spend some time at home. I plugged through my normal chores at home with Emelia’s help and then Emelia wanted to head to the mall to spend a bit of her tooth fairy money and allowance. I can say other than when she was saving for her boutique visit at Disney Emelia is incapable of saving. She wants to buy the second that child has some money in her hands. So off we went.

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Quickly realizing that her $7 was not going to buy much she dragged me from store to store in a very busy mall to find the sought after treasure. After what seemed like an eternity she FINALLY decided on a necklace and our mission was complete. John was still tied up at work but we headed over to the store and waited for him to finish up. And just in time, we had enough time to get to the LCBO to get some wine, home for dinner and then bundle up for the main event of the day. The Santa Claus parade.

Emelia was busting at the seams waiting for 6:00 so we could head down for the annual celebration with her friends. We have started attending the parade with the Carter family (the twins family) along with a few of their long-term friends. Between 4 families there are 9 girls ages 6 and under. It is a lot of energy, a lot of excitement and a lot of fun. Emelia is over the moon to see the parade with her friends and John and I love just seeing her reaction and dancing to the music. After a long wait the big event started and then the big guy himself. Emelia was yelling hi to Santa and yelling even louder she wanted a karaoke machine for Christmas. She was smiling from ear to ear, we made our way home with a very tired little girl and she was asleep as soon as her excited head hit the pillow.

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This morning she thankfully kept her promise and gave us a bit of a sleep in, after a few later nights she slept in until 8:00, that might not seem like much but that is heaven for parents of an early rising child. We were all rested and ready to have a quiet start of the day. I got up with Emelia so John could get a bit more sleep. We had a slow perfect pace of the day until we had to get Emelia ready for her Christmas pictures.

Once again we had my friend Laura who owns Every Little Photography do Emelia’s annual Christmas pictures. Laura has such an incredible eye for capturing Emelia’s personality. It takes a LOT of coaching to get our very shy girl to come out of her shell but with a bit of goofy actions by mommy and daddy behind Laura we manage to get the biggest smiles from our beautiful girl. I cannot wait to see the results.

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After we finished up with Laura we made one more stop before heading home to gather some things to move over to Helen and Doug’s basement. Thank heavens for their cold cellar for storage because with the limited storage in our house we need some extra space. Emelia was not just going over for a visit, she had supplies in hand, the official letter to Santa had to be created and she insisted it had to be done at Poppa and Grandma’s. With a bit of help from everyone Emelia’s letter was complete. She mailed it off with Poppa and Grandma and then off we went for dinner. So as far as Emelia’s concerned the Christmas season has begun.

As I write this Emelia is asleep and I have a few more things to do to prepare for the next week in daycare so I am going to sign off and enjoy a bit more time with John before I crash myself. Tomorrow is a big day, Emelia’s first choir performance, I am planning on going with the kids in tow, hopefully with the help of Poppa and John it will be a smooth one.

3 thoughts on “Settling back into the routines…

  1. Hey. It gets better. Supposed to be 78F here today. A November you can believe in. Grab the girls, get on a plane and get back here!

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