I AM - BECAUSE YOU ARE

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

The other day someone saw me leaving work at 4pm and commented that I was lucky because I get to "check out" early and go home to relax. I couldn't help but laugh a little as I smiled. I'm a mom. I rarely, if ever, get to check out early and just relax! My days generally start at 6am with a toddler wake-up call and end just before 8pm with a sometimes unpredictable, but usually smooth, bedtime routine for the LO. Between those hours are a mix of errands, laundry, cooking, cleaning, activities and a full time job involving about 2hrs of travel a day. What about the hours between 8pm and 6am? Well, 8-10pm is the little bit of me time that I usually share with DH. From 10-11pm I am usually wrestling with my thoughts while tossing and turning in bed. And, if I'm lucky, I get to sleep from 11pm through 6am without interruptions. Why interruptions? Because a mom is on call 24/7! So, yes, I take a half hour for lunch instead of an hour just so that I can "...

Yesterday was a snow day for most, but it was more than that for me. A friend recently posted that 2019 was time to end the stigma round calling in to work "sick" due to mental health, and that is what yesterday's snow day was for me, a mental health day. For a couple of weeks now, I have felt a strong need for some real down time. Just a chance to be alone; quiet, mindless, unplanned… a disconnect to reconnect sort of thing. I had even considered taking a day off to just sit around and do nothing, but that never turns out as planned because I have time to “plan” it which is counterproductive. But, an unanticipated snow day did the trick! A lazy morning followed by a chance to put on some snow pants, shovel our way out of the house and play in the snow. We ran some errands while stores were pretty empty. I had lunch with my little girl and follow it up with a 2hr nap on a Wednesday! I baked a cake simply because she asked for one and, lastly, threw in a movie to en...

I have never been a fan of Valentine’s Day and all the marketing gimmicks that go with it. I would play along, because... chocolate, but I always found it nauseating. The lucky ones find love surrounding them yearlong, even if it is not romantic love; they don’t need a Hallmark date. This morning a friend posted something on Facebook about romantic love that resonated with me. The article states that “We Only Fall in Love with Three People in Our Lifetime – Each One for a Specific Reason”. You can read the full article on Curious Mind Magazine , but the main points are summarized below: The first love happens early in life. This is the love you would die for. The love that is romantic, even dramatic at times. You think this is the love that would last forever, no matter how many people are against it or what comes on your way. You would do anything to save it. In this relationship, even your own principles become unimportant because you are certain that this is it, until you grow ...

We are 4 days post-op and, physically, everything has gone well so far! But, emotionally, this round has been very different – for mom and the LO alike. It started once she put the hospital gown on. She didn’t like that it was yellow because the bigger kids had blue, her favorite color. She didn’t make much of a fuss about it, thankfully, but I believe having a gown on at all made her begin to understand that this wasn’t a regular doctor’s appointment. Once they called us in to the holding area, she was absorbed in her Paw Patrol videos so she wasn’t too concerned with what was happening. We spoke with her doctor as well as the anesthesia team and then it was time for her to go with everybody. Last time they bribed her with Paw Patrol on a big screen and she hopped right into their arms, this time she resisted. Not too much, but you could tell that she was not happy to be leaving mom and dad. In fact, after surgery the anesthesiologist suggested that if we need to do this a 4th time, w...