I AM - BECAUSE YOU ARE

Another year, another 52-week savings challenge complete and $1378 in the vacation fund! Actually, more than that, because I would randomly throw extra money into the account throughout the year that I didn’t need to be wasting! And, that was a good decision, because with a big year ahead of me I am hoping to go away a little bit longer than usual after I recover so every penny counts! I think this is the third year that I have done this, and every time a couple more people get on board so with 2020 around the corner here are the details again: For anyone who decides to join me, I still highly recommend doing it backwards; start with 52$ the first week and by the holidays you will be down to single digit deposits. It is much less stressful this way and, like last year, I finished my Christmas shopping early and simply made donations through the month of December to places like the Montreal Children’s hospital, Easter Seals Kids in support of my BFF and so on as I didn’t have to ...

It's usually just around now when I start craving a summer escape of some sort, but it’s always so complicated to plan! With medical appointments, conflicting work schedules, limited availability, lack of funds, and the sun and stars not lining up perfectly I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. Why didn’t I book sooner? Because… life? Not knowing work/travel schedules ahead of time? Waiting for appointments to be confirmed? Weather? Pick one! And so, with that, wanderlust became July’s theme! In the words of Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all…”, and it’s looking like the latter at the moment, but we will figure something out, I hope, because Mama needs a vacation!   July 2019 July 2019 - Quote (light) July 2019 - Quote (dark)

One week away in our home away from home, Dominican Republic, and we come back to the beginnings of spring and the last days of the month! It’s amazing how quickly March has come and gone, but I am happy to finally see the pavement, the grass and the sun! I keep telling myself that the next time we travel we will try somewhere new, but our usual resort has so little to complain about that I question why we would bother. And, this year, they even had waffles at the breakfast buffet! I mean, come on! Seriously though, we did have some trouble this year, but it was my fault for not rectifying it sooner. Since we had the LO was have been upgrading to the Junior Suites looking out over the ocean. Not for the views, but because those buildings are quite new, modern and well kept. But, of course, there is a price for this so I expect it to be perfect. Which it was not. We arrived late, but early enough to grab a quick bite at the buffet before it would close for the night. Afterwards,...

March could not have come fast enough! You know that break I have been saying I need for quite some time now? Well it is finally happening! We have a little weekend getaway to our countries capital starting tomorrow, but later this month we leave for vacation and I couldn't be more excited! I may not look like I am, because I am too tired for that sort of energy right now, but it's there... deep down. As soon as my feet hit the Caribbean ground I will start dancing! And so, you get some travel themed wallpaper this month. No quote as none inspired me these last few weeks, but maybe next month. Enjoy! March 2019

A couple of few weeks ago I started to go through my collection of images to work on the August wallpaper, but things got busy and I decided to put it aside figuring I had more than enough time to pull something together. Today, over lunch, I looked down at my office phone and noticed that it is already the last day of July! This month has gone by in the blink of an eye! Being work-widowed, pulling together DH's birthday picnic, a few trips to the clinic and hospital for the LO's recurring ear infections, a mini family getaway to our nation's capital and poof! Gone! I will find some time to write more soon, but for now here is August's wallpaper! August 2018 And for a lighter touch, Wallpaper 2.0! August 2018

She called us monsters… This happened 2 years ago, but the memory is still quite raw; like it happened yesterday. There are periods of the year that I am haunted by memories of my past, and this is now one of them. Very few people know about this experience, but it’s time I finally get it off my chest. We took our second, ever, extended family vacation. We were all staying in one wood cabin; our little family of 3 with the, then, 8 month old baby and my in-laws - a family of 4 plus Nonna too. This was their first time at the campground DH and I frequently called home during summer and my first time venturing out, traveling, with postpartum anxiety… only a month and a half after starting treatment. Not great timing although, with or without meds, this trip would have been high on my anxiety scale. Every fiber of my being worried. My mind was scattered and my heart was racing. Not only were we all under one roof, but Nonna was also in the car with us – a total invasion of my pers...

So, we are back for our (seemingly very short) vacation, and we learned a few things while traveling with a 26 month old! Airplane seat belts are the devil. Flying isn't a problem at all, even with all her ear issues. But being strapped in? Hollowing screams as though we were beating her! We were not. Finding “Saving Nemo” on the movie options was our savior; 4hrs on loop, both ways! It rained... a lot! But this vacation truly epitomized the statement that “life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain”; or in our case, more frequently nap through it! Who needs a white noise machine when you have fresh air and the true sounds of nature?  Even with a fever, a visit to the doctor, and yucky penicillin we had a great time! • Toddler hands fit perfectly into Pringles containers.  “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” proved to be a very emotional song for the LO one night at karaoke. Still trying to figure it out, but it was either sp...

I suppose the majority of my CMM readers have always been those close to my journey TTC, personally or following a similar path, but my goal with IABYA is to be a bit more broad in scope and reach a larger audience. I am not looking to take over the world wide web and become an empire, just a little slice! I will continue to keep this as a personal journal of sorts, but I also hope to share guest posts and curated content as well ( in other words - if you have something to say... please message me, I want to hear from you ). There is so much information out there regarding our health, parenting, relationships and anything else you can think of, but sometimes a story jumps out at me and I just feel like it is something I need to share! So, I will try and post a list of interesting reads from time to time alongside my own story. Some may be correlated or intertwined, others may just be an interesting read. I may even dig something up from my old blog! Being a new mom as well as a...