polkadotglasses

Whew! 2008 is drawing to a close - and what a year it has been! Here’s a look back at the action of 2008…

Seems like January and February were filled with stresses from various sources - and Conner had a lot of asthma issues due to the cold, windy air of Oklahoma.

March was crazy. Our house was on the market. I started a wonderful part-time job at LIFE Senior Services - I adore those people and the job was very fulfulling. At the end of the month, I also flew out to Arizona for my brother’s amazing wedding. It was so much fun to be pampered at the spa before the wedding and just hang out and enjoy the festivities.

April brought more mayhem as we received an acceptable offer on our house. Tim and I gathered up all our gumption and made the decision to relocated our family to Florida. It was extremely hard to put in my notice at work as everyone there was fabulous and I enjoyed the work so much.

May was super crazy as we frantically packed up and vacated the house. The actual day of closing could have filled up several sitcom episodes - huge tubs of Legos spilling on a slanted driveway, numerous runs to storage, a closing where the people’s funds from the sale of their house hadn’t shown up yet, but they were waiting on the keys to my house… I will never forget the generosity of my friend Megan and her family - allowing us to stay with them for 2 weeks. My entire family enjoyed the experience so much - they had fun stuff to play with and constant playmates. I can’t describe how wonderful it was to get to spend loads of time with my best friend. After our stay there, I took the kids to stay at my mom’s. Again, we had a fabulous time being there with her. It was hard to be away from Tim while he finished out his work in Tulsa. At the end of the month, it was time to load up in the van and head to Sarasota.

Moving — I will never forget the day Tim left out for Florida. It was so stressful to not be with him on his journey. I kept calling him on his cell phone. I couldn’t sleep and late that night, he confessed that the “check engine” light had been on in the truck for hours. I was so petrified that he was going to break down on a dark highway in the middle of nowhere - all by himself. I can’t describe the relief I felt when he arrived safely. Then Mom and I loaded up the munchkins and headed out. That was such a crazy adventure. I am used to being the copilot/navigator while Tim drives. Mom and I didn’t quite match up with our travel skills - so it was comical at times. I was also so anxious to see Tim and our house - so the 21 hour drive seemed to last for a month. I won’t forget walking in the house for the first time - the view of the lake was fabulous.

Summer - Going to the beaches; watching lizards, turtles, birds and otters in my backyard; going to the Farmer’s Market; watching gorgeous sunsets; watching Ian learn to paddle around the neighborhood pool; enjoying a wonderful visit from my mother-in-law and another visit from the Hoey girls that was action packed and full of fun! (trips to museums, aquariums, and a huge water park were fabulous)

Fall - The frustrations of being so far away from family and friends started to set in as the kids started school and Tim settled into his job. Then, mother-in-law had quadruple bypass surgery and it was so difficult to be so far away. We did do our best to keep busy and to take advantage of the area attractions and amenities. Boy, that trip to the pumpkin patch event just about killed Tim and me - but the kids had a ball! My mom came back for a brief visit and it was so nice to have her here. Tim and I got to have a few evenings out for the first time in four months. I started writing some web content and have actually gotten paid for my work - granted it’s not huge dollars - but it has been nice - and a lift to my ego too.

Holidays - The holidays were very difficult - I was not mentally prepared for being so far away from everything familiar to me. Plus, my mom was literally leaving the country for Christmas. Then Tim got really sick with pneumonia and was down for the count for almost 3 weeks. That made it even more difficult to face our first Christmas in Florida. The holiday event at the Ringling Museum was a highlight and something that I will never forget. The instructors at the kids’ Taekwondo school have also been very wonderful and comforting during this difficult transition.

Looking Ahead — I am trying to focus on why we moved here and to keep finding ways to enjoy the stuff here. I will continue to try to make connections here. I am also planning a lengthy trip at the end of the school year to Arkansas and Oklahoma - and that has lifted my spirits immensely. Life is an adventure - and we have definitely stepped things up to a new level by our relocation to Florida. Can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store!

Today I face a literal mountain of boxes. And, I’m not happy about it.

Shopping in bulk at Sam’s and ordering most of the kids’ Christmas gifts online has piled up quite an amount of boxes in the garage that must now be broken down and flattened for the recycle truck to pick up on Saturday. We can barely get out the door to the vehicles due to all the boxes. The kids usually help me quite a bit with this as they love stomping and jumping on the boxes - but that has not generated any additional enthusiasm for me today.

Also, Tim and I decided that today is the day for the Christmas tree and holiday decorations to come down. Another one of those tasks that I am not giddy about. I’m ready for them to be put away - I just don’t want to have to put forth the effort to get the job done.

And, my kids are hollering for homemade brownies too - and my gray hairs are really showing and need to be “washed right out of my hair” at some point today.

I’m still feeling a bit weak and run down - probably because those super strong antibiotic tablets have made it difficult for me to go to sleep - I was tossing and turning until 1 a.m. last night…

I guess I’ll stop whining now and will go get busy. I’m trying to focus on making 2009 truly divine.

Yesterday morning we loaded up the family and went to a little park on the shores of Sarasota Bay. The tide was very low and there were a number of tidal pools along the shore.

We had amazing encounters with various wildlife. We saw numerous crabs crawling in the pools. Some of their shells were completely covered with algae (or green slime). Tim picked one up and let the kids get a close up view.

Conner spotted a little needle nose fish in one small pool. It was about 8 inches long and really skinny. Conner and Sofie both touched it numerous times as it did not seem to mind. Then sometimes it would swim away quickly as they stooped down to look at it.

We also came across a small fish that had seen better days. Tim held it for the kids to look at before tossing it into the bay for a bird or fish or crab to have a nice Sunday brunch on it.

The craziest things we saw were gigantic sea slugs. They were the size of bananas and were purple with yellowish spots on them. It was gross to see them expanding and moving along. Really, really disgusting - but fascinating too.

We had a huge pelican land in the water near us and he just bobbed in the water, enjoying the morning like us.

It was a marvelous morning and we all had a great time. It was nice to get out as a family since we have been trying to get Tim over his horrible bout with pneumonia.

The day after Christmas I took my munchkins to the pool for a swim - that’s right it was warm enough to swim outside as it was 83 degrees. The kids were thrilled beyond belief to jump in gleefully on December 26th. While we were there, a couple showed up with their two daughters.

It only took a couple of minutes for Sofie to paddle up to the oldest daughter and start chatting away. Before long we were all visiting. Turns out they were Canadians visiting their inlaws who are snowbirds currently living in the neighborhood. That’s the funny thing about Sarasota - there are actually very few people who live here year-round. Most are “snow birds” who just come to escape the harsh winters of their hometowns. John Ringling and his circus were snowbirds who spent their winters in Sarasota too.

The couple was very friendly and their youngest daughter was quite enchanted with Ian’s swimming stunts. She was trying to imitate him which thrilled her parents as she had been pretty fearful of the water before. I got the
phone number of their inlaws and plan to call them to set some more swim playdates before they leave in early January.

It was fun to compare notes about Canada and the U.S. and the cold climate they are used to. They also asked for ideas for places to take their girls while visiting Sarasota. It was a very nice afternoon at the pool and I hope I did the USA proud as an ambassador.

A few extra tidbits…

The 6 foot long alligator has made appearances the past 2 days on the lake shore. He is definitely enjoying the sunshine and warm temps.

The kids have enjoyed their Christmas haul immensely, which is a huge relief considering the financial constraints we were under this year. The Club Penguin Puffles, crayons and notebooks and Play-doh (which I still hate the mess of Play-Doh) have been adored by all 3 munchkins.

Tim and I have really enjoyed the Omaha Steaks gift pack that my brother’s kids and ex sent us. Yummy, yummy eating!

I’m starting to get a bit antsy about getting my Christmas tree down - not sure if it will make it too many more days - or even hours. So much for new traditions…

The first was the grown-ups’… stress about if the kids would like their gifts, a teary phone call from England from Mom, not feeling very good, and an email saying that mother-in-law was hospitalized with pneumonia.

The second was the kids’… finding the prized requested toys under the tree along with numerous suprises, gleefully eating candy first thing in the morning, playing non-stop with new toys and repeatedly saying that “Christmas is the best day ever.”

It’s hard to believe that such different “celebrations” can unfold under the same roof - and with the same family.

I hope that next Christmas is comprised of one exudingly joyful version.

Well, since I’m away from everything/everyone familiar this holiday season, I have decided to establish some new traditions to top off my Christmas. Here are a couple of the major ones:

1. On Christmas Eve morning, we will enjoy donuts. This was my daughter’s idea because my oldest son got a coupon for free Dunkin’ Donuts at school. She insisted that we use the coupon on Christmas Eve. (We’ll be heading out in a few minutes to get this tradition started.)

2. I will leave my tree up until New Year’s Day. This one is WWWAAAAYYYYY different for me. I usually tear it down at 6 a.m. the day after Christmas. I plan to bask in the twinkling lights and reflect on 2008 and plan ahead for 2009.

I hope that all of you have a blessed Christmas —

I was relaxing in bed watching some nonsense on TV since tiniest munchkin was napping and I’m not feeling up to par. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and then there were three quick knocks. It could only mean one thing - UPS man!

Little Sofie ran to my room and said, “Mom, someone is at the door!” As we approached the front door, she suddenly realized that this could mean presents for Christmas. Well, they were presents, but ones that meant much more to me than to her…

As I reached the front door, I immediately saw a giant white styrofoam cooler. I instantly knew that I would be dining on fine foods from Omaha Steaks! What a nice gift from my brother’s kids and his ex. I am truly touched by their generosity.

The other package was a big brown box. Then I saw my friend Megan’s name on the return address. I spontaneously burst into tears. (see post below from earlier today about how much I’m missing family and friends) Inside the box were cute little puzzles and a great Christmas movie for my munchkins. For me there was a personalized note pad and photos - photos from when Megan brought her precious girls to visit us. Some were in an album and some were in a collage frame. The pictures are beautiful and mean the world to me.

I miss her so much! I miss everyone so much!

This holiday season has been difficult and a bit depressing. I guess many factors have led to these feelings and emotions…

1. It’s our first Christmas in Florida - meaning we’re 1100+ miles away from family and friends

2. Tim has been very sick with pneumonia

3. Some family and friends are dealing with major crisis situations

4. Financial strains make this holiday “lean and mean” on the gift giving front

5. My mom is spending the holiday in England - and I won’t see her for 2 more months (and I last saw her in October)

6. I’ve had trouble making strong connections in Florida - which has made it difficult to adjust to being away from family and friends

7. The difference in climate here in Florida has made the holiday season seem quite odd - temps in the 80’s some days and lights on palm trees — very, very, very weird

I guess I basically feel far and away from all that is familiar.

Fear. What a powerful influence it is in all of our lives.

Research has shown that on average 95 percent of decisions that we make are based on fear. We make our choices based on what we DON’T want to happen.

Isn’t that a bit backwards? We should be making our decisions based on what we DO want to happen.

I can think of tons of examples from my own life where I let fear take over. One time was in high school when I didn’t try out for cheerleader - I mean what if I didn’t make the squad. By not trying out, I avoided that possibility — but I also eliminated any chance of making the squad too. How sad.

I am resolved to really put forth an effort to make my future decisions based on what I DO want to happen.

Fear - go away!!

17 years ago today my husband and I got married. In many ways it’s hard to think back vividly to that day - and yet there are some details that feel extremely fresh in my mind. So many things have happened and/or changed since our wedding day - but I am proud to say that we’re still together and working together to make a happy life for us and our kids.

In the years since our wedding, many things have happened.

Tim and I have mourned the deaths of both of our fathers. The losses still resonate in many ways, and both men are missed immensely.

Since getting married we have lived in 9 different homes - and in 3 different states. We have endured job stresses and changes galore.

We have watched siblings get married and have children.

We have enjoyed tons of fun trips - destinations including Las Vegas, Seattle, Cancun, Kansas City, Ski Country in Colorado, Big Cedar Lodge and the beaches of Florida. We have learned how to cook gourmet meals together including sushi, Cuban food, and of course our favorite steak dinners.

We have firmly established inside jokes that only we get.

While I sometimes get frustrated at him, and I know that he gets frustrated at me too - he definitely knows when to come to my rescue and what to do in those moments.

We have supported each other through a devastating miscarriage and joyfully celebrated the birth of three magnificent children.

The past two years have been especially difficult for so many different reasons. Most couples would have been torn apart. Some how, we’re still together and I’m thankful for that.

I’m feeling very nostalgiac as I reflect on our wedding day — my permed hair and poufy bangs, my Princess Diana-esque poofy over the top dress, the way Tim said his vows, that magical kiss at the end of the ceremony and our first experience dining at the Warren Duck Club.

Yeah, us!!!