Farewell 2009

The holidays are just about over. Today is New Years Eve, tomorrow New Years Day, and that’s it for the winter. A long, dreary, cold, dark winter to look forward to.

Christmas was lovely. Three days in a row celebrating with various sections of the family. The celebrations culminated with turkey dinner at our house. My first holiday banquet, and I think I pulled it off pretty well. Maybe the start of a new tradition, holidays at our house? Or at least Christmas :-D

I feel so warm and full of cheer this holiday season. So much time spent with family, and we’ve been able to do lots of wonderful things. We saw the Canadian Pacific Railroad Christmas Train when it came through Oneonta. My sister joined us for Josh’s birthday, and we saw the Toys for Tots train, and donated some gifts that we had received multiples of, while she was here. Later this month, we went to the tree lighting ceremony on Main Street, in Oneonta, and enjoyed music, dance performances, horse drawn wagon rides, and luminaries (the tree & Santa were not at all interesting this year). Aunt Charlee’s birthday gathering at Gama’s was so nice, with people from all the external segments of our families there (Uncle Zach’s Mom, Jack’s son & lady friend, and Ama & Papa). We also helped Ama & Papa decorate their tree, and watched in fascination as a train went round & round beneath Papa Jack’s tree. Christmas Eve at Gamma Rose’s was a bustling & cheerful affair. We still need to catch up with Joey & his family, to celebrate belated Christmas with them – hopefully that will happen soon!

So much coming up for the new year:

We need to figure out finances & plans for improvements, repairs & renovations for the house. A new roof is necessary. Redoing the piers beneath the house is necessary (or putting in a basement?). Painting & replacing siding is necessary, as are repairs to the back porch. The original trailer section of the house (front section) needs to be removed. That will lead to building an addition, because we will at least need space for the electrical items and Josh’s bedroom. *sigh*

We need to figure out what kind of future we want for our family: breadwinner, homemaker, divvying chores, goals, deadlines, retirement, more children? More children, I think (a little bit sadly) must wait. While my goals for Josh have been met (sleeping in his own bed, weaned, potty trained, communicating verbally), my personal goals are sadly lacking (getting into better shape physically & emotionally) and our family/financial goals especially make the idea of having another child seem like a BAD one. There is also the fact that having another child will divert some of my attention from Josh. I very much enjoy watching him grow & learn & change, being right here with him, all the time. How would I balance two children & give them both the loving attention they deserve, while not losing myself as well? But at the same time, I desire another baby. I want to be pregnant again, have a newborn, watch an infant grow to a toddler, etc. A playmate for Josh, another loving soul in our family. In one part of my mind, I’d love to have MANY children. But in the practical part, it’s not an option. *sigh again*

We’re going to keep right on defining and working towards our goals. When we get discouraged, we will put that energy back into positive thoughts & actions, and bring ourselves just that much closer.

Josh's Christmas/Birthday list

Clothes information:
*size 3t tops
*size 2t bottoms (almost grown out of 2t)
*size s/m boys socks (no more baby socks for us)
*wears a WIDE width shoe/boot/slipper: very high arches. hard to fit his feet for them - we prefer to purchase these ourselves.
Overall, we have plenty of clothes, hats, mittens, etc.
*Need long sleeved turtlenecks and thermal underwear.
*size 3t and 4t preferred, as he is growing out of the 2t.

Other information:
Josh is a very busy, energetic, DO something child.  He is not terribly interested in stuffed animals, and toys that have no purpose (for example, a car as compared to a dump truck with moving parts) don't get played with.  He also prefers REAL things (for example, he'd much rather watch a show with real horses than a cartoon). We spend a lot of time outdoors, and a lot of time going places and doing things.  It's not easy to come up with gift ideas to go along with this :)  He is also beginning to learn his letters and numbers and is counting and reciting, memorizing his books, etc.

Josh does NOT eat candy.  He loves fruit and vegetables, and "meat & tatoes" (venison & potatoes). :)

tv series on DVD in widescreen format:
*Nova or Wild America or National Geographic (nature related: animals, plants, weather, earth, space or machines: trains, earth moving/construction equipment)

memberships:
*train that runs from Milford to Cooperstown, which J would ride every day, if he could (J can ride for free until he turns 3, but one or both of us needs to take him)
The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society offers memberships at a fairly reasonable rate, and you can add family members for only $3 apiece!
*Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, where we spent a lot of time this past summer (this is quite expensive - perhaps a group gift?) (J's admission here is free until he is 7, but again, one or both of us needs to take him)
a family membership with the New York State Historical Society is the least expensive Farmer's Museum membership option

*something for a jumping, bouncing, energetic boy - they make mini trampolines with safety handles, or inflatable bouncy things to jump on...

*sling bookshelf (1 or 2 of these would be great)

*toy farm - moving parts, animals, machinery, etc.

*pint size kitchenware & play food

*"train table" - we have a lovely wooden, magnetic train set. we would like a table for it, rather than having it spread all over the floor.

Ginny's Christmas List

tv series on DVD in widescreen format:
*Golden Girls (have seasons 1, 2 and 5) (seasons 1-7 available)
*Discovery Channel Planet Earth (the tv series, already have the 2009 movie narrarated by James Earl Jones)

winter roosting box for chickadees, nuthatches, etc.:
*multiples are wonderful: we have LOTS of chickadees around, in addition to a few nuthatches and small woodpeckers (Josh LOVES chickadees: he helps us feed them every day, and can even say their name, in his own way)
*Info & how to, including diagrams and materials needed
*Another page with information and instructions

draft blockers for windows/doors:
*I was thinking sewn narrow bags filled with something?
-we need these for windows & doors in the following quanities and dimensions
(1) 30" long, to fill a 5" gap
(1) 32" long, to fill a 5" gap
(2) 25" long, to fill a 5" gap
(2) 38" long, to lay inside a door
(20) 23" long, to fill a 3" gap


gift certificates:
*WalMart
*Autumn Cafe (Oneonta)
*Tokyo (Oneonta)
*other local restaurants
*local movie theater

colorful, warm, fuzzy socks
*I have big feet, size 12 in women's

Mike's Christmas/Birthday list

tv series on DVD in widescreen format:
*Chuck (we have season 1, season 2 is now available)
*Big Bang Theory (we have season 1, season 2 is now available)

magazine subscriptions/renewals:
*Maximum PC expires 07/2010
*Smart Computing

memberships:
*ARRL, expires 12/2009. $39 for 12 month membership. go to www.arrl.org/join.  Mike's call sign is kc2icf

gift certificates:
*McDonald's
*WalMart
*Dunkin Donuts
*Best Buy

greetings

I recently requested a referral from my Dr for counseling. I have a lot of things that I need to talk about, a lot of self-improvement to do.

I also need an outlet for my thoughts, and a way to help myself get them organized and see them clearly. This is the perfect way to do so.

I've published this blog, but not made my family or friends aware of it. Perhaps someday I will. Or perhaps someone will stumble upon it and recognize my life... you never know.

For now, I'm going to write when the feeling grabs me (fairly often). Hopefully it helps me, and maybe someone else out there will find my life useful. Or entertaining. or. who knows :)