I missed two whole days of school this week because of snow and cold! I didn’t like that at all. Daddy said he didn’t understand, that snow days are awesome. The only part I liked was two more days with Mommy and the daycare kids.

He said

So, we have settled nicely into 2014. We are all – knock on wood – finally virus free. And while for the most part that was true in last week’s update, we’re all feeling one hundred percent. The best part of that is feeling back up to our collective exercise routines which I dug back into this week. It is amazing how quickly the muscles fall out of the comfort zone and painfully remind you the next day how you hadn’t used them in that way in a week and a half.

While the weather this week was any thing but summer, Danielle and I started some more finite and serious planning for Wolfie the trailer this summer. And it was amidst all this talk that it occurred to me that this is our first full season with her. While we did do a lot with her in the brief months of the season we had with her last year, It seems like there is so much more with her on our horizon this year! Mostly cause there is. But starting to map out those spring, summer and fall excursions really took the nip out of the air this week. Especially since we broke a 70 year all time low this week when the thermometer dipped to -42º celsius with the windchill on Tuesday!

Non-negotiables to our planning are of course the week around Wolfe Island Music Festival in Kingston, as well as our year-end Thanksgiving weekend trip at Fanshawe before we put her away for the winter. But, with a full three seasons on our hands, we’re looking into locations and any sort of weekend get away we can squeeze in. You can pretty much guarantee we’re going to try and parlay any long weekend into a Wolfie trip. But one of the most exciting trips we’re looking into is perhaps spending some days in Ottawa visiting friends and seeing our Nation’s capital dressed up for the occasion.

This week being Emelia’s first week back at school after the Christmas break turned up as a huge disappointment for her because both Monday and Tuesday were snow days. She was devastated that she didn’t get to see her friends and teacher for the two whole days. This emotion she had was completely lost on me — I can’t even remember a time where the prospect of a day off school because of snow wasn’t the most amazing thing ever. I guess I can glean some happiness from her enjoyment of school, and just fake understanding when she shares her disappointment about school cancellation should this ever come up again?

After having some weekend days off last weekend as well as all the days off over the holidays, this was my first full week back at work in a few. My reward was a seven day stretch that ended tonight at 4:30pm. By this morning, as much as I love this job, I was chomping at the bit for a couple days off. It didn’t help that I was up at 6:00pm and in at work for 7:30pm for a big meeting we had.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are my ‘weekend’ this week, and I have a lot of plans that are centralized around the notion of doing a whole of nothing. And naps. Those two combined, will probably get me recharged in just the right way.

We did have some exciting news this week, but I am going to leave that to Danielle as it’s really hers to share. I’m going to go see if I can’t get Emelia off to Slumbersville post haste so that we can enjoy an hour or two of couch surfing with non toddler TV, and maybe an adult beverage.

Until next week…

She said

I will start right off the bat with the most amazing of news. While my sister Charlie and I were texting back and forth this week in the middle , there was a gap and then a text from Chantelle saying “I think Todd just asked me to marry him“. To say I was over the moon was the understatement of the century! We could not be happier for them, and even more so her choice for her husband. To say Charlie has been through toads to find her prince is the understatement. So to see my sister for the first time truly happy, truly treated the way she should be and to be loved by the most amazing man could not make us happier.

The planning has started for the wedding and we hope to have a date soon for the summer so we can make sure John has all the time off he needs. So excited!

This might seem like a strange place to transition to my next topic of the week but knowing my sister is happy and knowing she has found someone my mother would love more than anything gives me so much peace and happiness I cannot describe.

And why do I mention this? Well today is the 20th anniversary of the day our mother left us forever. It was the day that changed my life, changed my relationships with so many people, changed my perspective on so many things in life and defined me in a negative way for too many years.

After years of healing I am coming on the other side a strong person, a healthy person and hopefully a person and mother that my mom would be proud of. I cannot tell you how much happier I am at this point in my life then I was 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, heck ever 5 years ago. I made a decision that I was not going to let the biggest tragedy of my life define me anymore. But it will forever have changed me.

I wish my mom knew me now, I wish more than anything she knew my daughter. I know she would have been the most amazing grandmother, she would have loved Emelia with all her heart. My mom could not wait to become a grandmother. I know she would have done everything for her and that thought still hurts my heart but knowing we are raising Emelia knowing stories of my mother and the stories of my young childhood allows me to keep her memory alive.

So this part of the post is dedicated to my mother, she would have been so happy this week. Her granddaughter is turning 7 in two weeks and her baby doll is getting married. She would have been so happy, she would have driving Charlie nuts helping plan the wedding but she would have loved Todd like her own just like she did with John 25 years ago.

To my mama, I miss you every single day, I wish you were here to celebrate all that our lives have become.