tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15479968852681767532024-03-14T02:17:33.908-04:00A Day in the Life of Sonia, Gary and LydiaSoniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-40025375972781313302012-03-29T23:37:00.002-04:002012-03-29T23:37:47.304-04:00A new blog!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't blogged here for a while as I needed a new start. Please come visit </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.shebefierce.blogspot.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't get away from loving my family and wanting to talk about them all the time, but the new blog has a wider lens than just that of a preemie mum. It was time for me to heal. I so appreciate you coming along the journey with me! </span><br />
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<br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-77321803750424067922011-11-25T01:49:00.001-05:002011-11-25T02:28:39.483-05:00And so she is 3<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia turned 3 at the beginning of the month. She's almost 3 feet tall, a few pounds away from 30lbs. How about my little girl being a sassy little thing?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's amazing how much she has grown this year. There are these crazy full sentences that have been coming out of her mouth for the past half year. Frankly, it's amazing considering how worried we were. She has this ridiculous memory which allows her to learn so many different things and different words. Of course, it's the story of a child in development - it's not like she's a genius, but in my eyes she's the most brilliant star in the sky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of September, Gary and I had the most marvelous night with Lydia. It was her first shadow puppet show. We turned off the lights, got our flashlights out and made ourselves giants, made bunnies, dogs, crocodiles. It was so much fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia, Gary and I took 2 weeks at the end of October / beginning of November and went over to England. Lydia got to meet her cousin, Henry, who she calls Hengry. It took her a week and a half, but by the time we left, she was wanting to hold him. She was slightly jealous, but she did fairly well for a 3-year old bratty kid who was being spoiled by family who doesn't see her but once every 18 months or so.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We celebrated her birthday with my family. It was hard to leave at the end of the two weeks because Lydia had obviously made some attachments with my family. When we were talking on our last night, we said that we had to go home on the aeroplane. She said she wanted to go to work with my sister instead! It was quite cute, although sad too. It's difficult because I want to be around so that we all grow up together still. And I know when we go back like this, the time we spend together is precious, intentional and everyone is so present because it's truly special. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's prematurity awareness month too. Here's a quote I love from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>And though she be but little, she is fierce.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That's our Lydia. Our 2lbs 7oz little itty bitty girl is a fighter.</span><br />
<br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-37997683846430178022011-09-04T12:08:00.001-04:002011-09-04T12:08:58.581-04:00New videos!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out the 2 new videos above. One is of Lydia cooking with her Daddy, and the other is her with her binoculars!</span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-43235407027827411352011-08-07T22:38:00.000-04:002011-08-07T22:38:51.567-04:00Lydia-ism<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia loves play-doh. She has been making pretend muffins, pizza, all types of stuff. The play-doh set has 2 pieces of bread. Rather hard, plasticky, inedible bread, but it looks like bread at least! Lydia put some blue play-doh in between the bread and gave it to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me: Yummy, what's this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me: Lydia, what's in the sandwich?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia: Play-doh!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DUH!!</span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-11436013158344998802011-07-25T00:11:00.000-04:002011-07-25T00:11:22.580-04:00Memory Lane<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was just looking through this blog with fondness as I really do intend to either wrap it up or revamp it in some way in a few months. I was reading through those first few blog entries and remembered the day we brought Lydia home. That week, a lady showed us how the oxygen machine worked, and how the heart monitor was going to work. I just remember becoming short of breath, panicking and not hearing much of what she was saying, which was freaking me out even more! I remember being tearful, scared and so worried about not having the safety of the hospital staff around. What would I do if something happened to the machines and I didn't know what the hell to do?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am so past those days, but every now and again I remember something like that and it sneaks up on me a bit. Preemie parents say this all the time, but I really don't remember how small she was to begin with anymore. Or at least I don't remember the look or the feel of it. I remember she felt like nothing, and that her leg was as big and round as my index finger. Every now and again I look at my finger and remember that. Honestly, if I didn't have photos to prove it, I wouldn't believe it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We are one lucky, lucky family.</span><br />
<br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-3341625758895969582011-07-24T23:23:00.002-04:002011-07-24T23:27:31.384-04:00Mother and daughter time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gary spent the weekend helping his Dad with some home improvement projects so I got to spend an entire weekend with Lydia on my own! I always have visions of being productive, organised and efficient with my time. I've come to realise that spending time with Lydia is just that, even when we're just indoors staying away from the heat. In 10 years time, I have a feeling that she won't want to sit on my lap, or hang out with me so much, or even consider me her 'friend'. I'm okay with that, so I relish these moments where there is so much love and laughter between us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">She helped me with some of the household chores today - she helped me do the dishes (put them in the dishwasher haphazardly), she helped me with the laundry (flinging clothes on the bed and laughing really loudly) and when I dozed off and took a nap, she decorated the house with play doh supplies. Nice! We also started a weekend tradition of dancing like Peanut Gang maniacs in the front room. Not that we don't already do this, but it seemed we were doing this all weekend. We put the radio on and made up crazy dance moves. The move of the weekend was JUMPING A LOT! So when I got really tired (because toddlers can just do that FOREVER), we rolled all over the front room instead!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">On Saturday, we had a playdate at the park. This is where these gorgeous pics come from. My friend has a great eye for those special moments - I love these types of photos! They're just so real and capture such emotion. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's Lydia with a face full of banana! On a somewhat related note, here's a memory that came to me the other day. When I was younger, my Mum would peel oranges for us. I hated peeling oranges. To me, it just wasn't worth the work but I still ate them when my Mum peeled them. This memory came to me the other day when I was peeling the umpteenth orange for me and Lydia to share together. I still hate peeling oranges but I do it for Lydia. It helps that the oranges taste good too! Thanks for all of the oranges, Mum!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia has a new fear of noises. It actually started on July 4th. We thought she'd love watching the fireworks this year, which she did from afar. Once the fireworks started up right in front of our faces, we realised it wasn't the best idea we've ever had! It wasn't so much the noises (as she has been next to cannons going off and not batted an eyelid) but the 'colours were too big'. So now she associates the loud noise with that feeling of fear she had. Fireworks, thunder, random cannon going off in Charleston harbour (Yes, really, just the other night when we were having dinner). In this photo, she was scared of the sprinklers and how loud the splashing was at the time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This new awareness of fear means her sleep routine has changed. She's now insisting that we sit in the chair in her room whilst she falls asleep. This process can take anywhere from an hour to two hours, usually involves listening to our lullaby Pandora station and listening to her whispering to herself and her stuffed friends for a while. It's actually not bad other than not having time to do much else in the evenings, but I don't particularly care to do laundry, or unload the dishwasher, or spend time on stuff for work. So when I get irritated about sitting in there and 'wasting' my time, I remember that one day she's going to wish she had locks on her bedroom door to keep me out! Then I relax and cherish the moment.</span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-2328303497806921332011-07-14T22:33:00.000-04:002011-07-14T22:33:44.133-04:00Changes<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gary and I are back in the swing of things after a nice trip to Washington state. We spent a couple of days in Seattle before we headed up to Everson to celebrate Gary's grandma's 90th birthday. We didn't buy a lot whilst we were out there, but I did bring back some rhubarb from Grandma P's garden and made a strawberry rhubarb crumble - delicious! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favourite food in Seattle? We went to Chinatown one night and had a proper Chinese meal. It's so sad that I have to go to the other side of the country to get some good food! We didn't have time to get dim sum, but I am going to NYC at the end of August so maybe I'll get some then! Oh, and I loved the England-like weather in Washington state too. It was a much-needed respite from the 100 degree heat here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We're all 'talk three talk four' here at the Donnelly house. Most of what Lydia is saying these days is so clear, or at least it is to us! She's able to hold mini conversations with us, telling us what she's doing, or what we're doing, or what she wants/needs. It's all quite astonishing. Even the daycare lady said, <em>'You know, she talks the most now - we had a whole conversation the other day! And to think she was the one that we were worried about because she wasn't saying anything!'</em> So that's either an argument that development just takes its own sweet time, or that the speech therapy made all the difference. Believe what you want. All I know is that </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Adrianna taught me and Gary just as much as she did Lydia. We learned how to elicit responses, repeat, rephrase, acknowledge, reassure and just talk talk talk about everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">On August 1, it will be Gary and my 11th wedding anniversary. We are the best of friends and continue to grow together. We are always learning patience, love and living in the moment. Granted, I get on his nerves because I pile all the big bowls on top of the small bowls instead of putting them in order (HA! If you know Gary, aka Mr. Disorganised, you know this is a strange pet peeve). He gets on my nerves when he leaves his dirty clothes all over the place! In the end though, if that's all we have to complain about, we're pretty lucky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope you enjoy this blog post! I am averaging about once a month these days and we're coming to the end of the book. I think I'm finally letting go of preemie parenting fears so it's time for a change. I'll keep you posted on the new blog ideas I have for the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Oh, by the way, look me up on pinterest.com. I don't have too much on there right now, but I do love that site.</span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-70474050066461179722011-06-20T23:18:00.002-04:002011-06-20T23:23:09.276-04:00100 degree heat<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only do I procrastinate in life, I also manage to do so in my online life. And so here is a post, a month after the last one, that really isn't going to tell you anything new.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The searing heat is upon us once more. If there's one thing I detest about living in South Carolina, it's the fact that I can't go outside during the day. I think I should start a siesta movement here. Really, how do we get anything done? It's nice to be in an air conditioned office most of the day but I don't really like living like a vampire. You know, avoiding daylight as much as possible, trying not to make those tan lines worse than they already are. It's not half as fun as being able to step outside and BREATHE. Breathing is quite difficult when it's 100 degrees F out there and 100% humidity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My sinus pressure headaches have been getting worse lately. I managed to look up on the internet (oh trusty fountain of all knowledge) that Charleston, SC has the widest range of pressure fluctuations on the continental US. What? Of all the places, how'd I end up here?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anyway, I don't want you to think that all I do is whine whine, moan moan. I really do love my life. And despite living in hot-as-Hades-Charleston, I love my job, my family, my friends and the pace of life over here. I even have hobbies! I just rediscovered the library as I went to get some large-print books for my mother-in-law. I actually had a $4.40 fine and had to apologise to the librarian for owing them money for 5 years! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm hoping that going to the library and borrowing 'proper' books will deter me from reading on my droid. I can't seem to read any decent books on the droid as I have an addiction to reading free romance novels, mainly because those are usually the only free books you can get on the kindle app. And when I say romance, what I really mean is smut. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I think I know every single storyline of those books. Here you go: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl like each other. Girl was mistreated in the past by some other boy (bf, father, father figure, etc.) therefore girl doesn't believe she deserves boy. Boy is a hero - witty, smart, funny, rich, the best thing since sliced bread. He even gets away with being slightly violent and mean because, you know, he's hot and it's for her own good, stupid ninny girl who doesn't see he's her soulmate. Girl takes a leap of faith and declares her love for boy. Boy says, 'I love you too' which often sounds a lot like, 'For frick's sake, about damn time you stupid woman'. The book usually ends with boy and girl happily ever after.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So reading is one of things I like to do. I'd love to claim I'm an arts and craft, scrapbooking artiste. Now, I'm finally acknowledging that I merely collect craft supplies. Hoards and hoards of them. And I love to buy things to organise these supplies. Whether I'll actually use these supplies...well, that's another blog, don't you think?</span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-57603575851587717562011-05-17T22:28:00.000-04:002011-05-17T22:28:41.341-04:00Update<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that the lack of posts means that I've run out of creative juice as far as this blog in concerned, but I didn't want to leave you in the lurch for too long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are doing well and I am approaching my 32nd birthday this week. We are busy, as usual, working and playing hard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia is growing and changing all the time. She's grown an inch or 2, put on a couple of pounds so she's doing well. She is officially doing well according to MUSC, with a psych eval in her future to be sure she's ready for school when it's time! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also had her last speech therapy appointment last month. I must say her speech has advanced by leaps and bounds since then. She's quite the chatterbox and is picking up new words all the time. Just this week she was correcting my pronunciation of banana. Nice! I'm dying inside, but I keep reminding myself that miracles happen - such as her learning to speak and doing it quite well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We participated in the March for Babies again at the end of last month. It was a reminder of how precious life is and how this time last year, Lydia was in the hospital with a crazy enlarged lymph node!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Potty training is going on right now. I think that our laziness might be contributing to her not being potty trained yet, so we've really got to start paying attention more! Lyd goes through phases where she loves to sit on the toilet, then she doesn't want anything to do with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fairy wings are quite the rage these days too. She spent this weekend running around with fairy wings on and calling herself a butterfly! And, of course, she does this with her favourite toys of the hour - yellow bunny, purple bunny, peep, baby ray and aeroplane. She did take the black tip reef shark to bed tonight which made Gary incredibly happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And what a beautiful morning it was this morning. Lydia woke up early so we brought her to our bed to lie down for a bit. I promise you she almost had an entire conversation with me, stringing 4-5 word sentences together. She can now say things like, "No Mummy, Don't touch the feet!" Or, "Where'd baby ray go?" She's working on those pronouns right now. She often will say, "Hold you" instead of "Hold me" and things like that. But she does say, "I get down" or "I do it" and things like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Alright folks, that's all I've got!</span><br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-88448806617090583132011-05-05T21:05:00.000-04:002011-05-05T21:05:46.396-04:00New Videos<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They're up :) </span><br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-25777775390329644612011-04-18T22:01:00.000-04:002011-04-18T22:01:49.831-04:00Let's Go Abanas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've had quite an eventful month. Apologies for another late post. It seems that this blog has almost run its course. I've been thinking lately about blogging and what it's doing for me and for those who read it. It started as a method to keep people in the loop about Lydia's beginning and it's been quite a cathartic process. I also wonder what it does for Lydia's photos and life to be strewn all over the internet for any stranger to come across. And the fact that one day she'll get older, and I should probably start being careful now rather than later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've got ideas to make the blog into a book - there's a lot of websites out there that can help me do that. Either way, I'll be posting on here until a good closure point - maybe towards the end of the year. I do have some ideas for a different blog in the future so maybe my internet spamming days aren't over just yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I was saying, we've had an eventful month. We had our volunteer appreciation picnic at work, we went to the air show, went to some civil war anniversary events and picked strawberries this past weekend. It's been getting warm too so we've been going out more and more often. It's nice to be out of the house and not stuck indoors all the time. Lydia loves to be outside and being indoors is rather boring. So we'd better take advantage of it before the heat of the summer kicks in!</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1570876440" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia had an appointment at MUSC today. She is doing well and was meeting almost all of her milestones. She had grown about 3/4 of an inch and is now weighing in at 23 1/2 lbs. The doctors were happy with how she's been progressing. She also had her last speech therapy appointment last week. Just today she was talking about Adriana - I guess the lady at the hospital reminded Lydia of her! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Lydia is no longer receiving early intervention services from babynet, speech therapy or really anything! She has a couple of different appointments to go in a few months and then before we know it, she'll be going to SCHOOL. How time flies!!</span> </div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-23212980796227195102011-04-01T23:44:00.000-04:002011-04-01T23:44:31.430-04:00I Love French Ruled Paper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How about my first finished project in about a year and a half? Yahooooo! RIP Winnie the Pooh pencil case that I've had since I was about 15. It's time for a change. I'll have to make one of the smaller crayon holders for Minoo next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Check out the videos up above - I'm uploading new ones as I type so they'll be up there soon for your viewing pleasure ;)</span><br />
<br />Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-86562240618364084072011-03-22T21:47:00.000-04:002011-03-22T21:47:49.858-04:0033<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time flies when you're sick! Gary caught the lurgy from Lydia last week so he was also sick for his birthday yesterday. Poor guy! Luckily, I didn't catch this last round of sickness. Thank goodness! I just had to deal with my allergies, what with the pollen coating everything in sight and turning things green over here. I can't imagine how hot the summer is going to be as it has already been in the mid-20s all of this first Spring week!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Here is a funny Lydia-ism to keep you laughing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia waving her fork around at the dinner table.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me: Lydia, stop waving your fork around!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia looks at her fork, waves at it and says: Hi Fork!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia's decided she's scared of bugs. When she sees little bugs or flies, she starts shaking herself and saying, 'Scared!' The other day, Gary had the mixer out and before he even plugged it in she was freaking out. Apparently the mixer is the most frightening thing in the house right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a dream the other night. I dreamt that I was being attacked by lions. I was walking to some sort of class, and there was an enclosure full of lions. There were people surrounding it, linking arms, trying to keep the lions in. You could say that there is some meaning to this dream. Perhaps I'm trapped, my inner aggression being contained by others. Or maybe my goal in life is to try to contain the scary things of life to protect others. Yeah, that's not it. Gary's bloody SNORING infiltrated my dreams, putting bloody LIONS in my path. I woke up to my cell phone ringing at 3am (it was the phone system at work calling me - it randomly does that from time to time) and I was actually thankful that I was woken and saved from being attacked! When I came back to bed, Gary was snoring very loudly and I thought, 'Hmmm, that sound is very familiar...' LIONS!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I'll try not to leave it so long next time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm thinking about sewing some cool things over the next week. Maybe I'll have something to show you guys next time I post :)</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-24954752405083259052011-03-09T21:58:00.000-05:002011-03-09T21:58:23.421-05:00Stronger, healthier babies<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're walking in the March for Babies to raise money for the March of Dimes again. If you have the heart to donate, please go to </span><a href="http://www.marchforbabies.org/forlydia"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.marchforbabies.org/forlydia</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. If you haven't ever donated, please consider doing so this year. If you've donated before, please consider donating again. It doesn't have to be a lot. You can give me the change in your pocket, or give me your extra spending money for the month. You can give me $2, $20 or $200. Either way, it really isn't the thought that counts, but the action behind it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you don't want to or can't donate to this cause, please consider another. Or volunteer your time and energy to something else you believe in. I obviously can't force anyone to do anything. What I can tell you is that I am passionate about being compassionate. That my life's work and all that I strive for at work and at home is to be kind to myself, to my family and to others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I believe in the power of volunteerism and that groups of everyday people can achieve so much more together. Whether you donate your money, give your time or advocate for something you believe in, do something. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was sick as a dog on Sunday. Let me back up. I was sick for about 3 weeks in February. I was never quite sick enough to be bed bound, but sick enough to be below par. One week was spent looking after a sick minoo-Lydia, the next week was spent feeling rather sniffly, coughy and a full weekend at work where I was feeling like my head was swimming and I was going to keel over and collapse at any minute! The following week I was listening to everyone like I was under water. Apparently the bubble feeling means I had a sinus infection, which I didn't realise until Friday. I went to the doctor's and got prescribed some amoxicillin which seems to be working wonders. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday was such fun. We took Lydia to the Children's Museum and she had a great time. It's such an interactive type of place. Rather staged if you like that sort of thing, and not exactly conducive to natural environment learning but hey, have I mentioned that my house is full of plastic day-glo everything? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last time Lydia was at the Children's Museum, we were there for the family kick off for the March of Dimes walk. We didn't actually get to walk that year because Lydia got sick with the crazy enlarged lymph node and ended up in the hospital! Well this year's kick off is tomorrow so we plan to walk in April this year. It's a great way to celebrate how far Lydia has come. She was climbing and crawling and jumping around everywhere. It brought tears to Gary and my eyes to think how far she'd come in just a year. </span><br />
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<span id="goog_1684619953"></span><span id="goog_1684619954" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Sunday rolls around, I'm feeling a bit under the weather. It's a nice day outside. I think I'm recovering seeing as the day before we went to the museum, the aquarium, walked around quite a bit and ended our day at Barnes and Noble, one of our favourite haunts. Except I'm feeling like death warmed up. First I felt like I had indigestion, then I felt nauseated. Then every time I tried to eat or drink anything, my body reacted rather violently! I spent most of the day in bed, sleeping for a few hours then waking up for half an hour, realising that far too much energy was being used trying to sit up, and promptly returning to bed. It took me until half 8 that night to finally be able to eat something and keep it down! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This made for an exhausting return to work on Monday. Yesterday was the best I had felt for a long time, and made me realise how bloody sick I've been all month! Be gone, sickness! I'm done with you!</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-62413296324231701902011-02-21T23:58:00.001-05:002011-02-21T23:59:30.486-05:00Small Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am grateful that I have a 2 year old preemie that is strong enough to fight RSV and win. That she is old enough not to have to worry about its adverse effects, that it took her down for a week, but she is right back up, jumping, climbing, running and playing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It doesn't mean I don't worry anymore. I just don't worry as much. It doesn't mean I've forgotten she's a preemie. I remember, from time to time to most of the time, that she is a small little wonder. And it's hard to explain to people what that's like. To be thankful for everything she says and does and is able to accomplish. It's not that we watch the milestones to rush her towards them. It's that we're tentatively waiting, worried, then amazed that she achieves them at all. It's that difference that some people don't seem to understand. That there was a time when maybe there weren't going to be milestones to meet, not that we would worry that she might meet them later than others. It's seemingly easy for others to assume that we're just overprotective parents, worrying over nothing. Yet they seem to forget that there really are things that we should worry about, that we have valid reasons - 12 valid missing weeks of gestation reasons as to why we are still sometimes holding our breath. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And it gets easier. Oh, how it gets easier with time. The love that we feel for our feisty, temper tantrum throwing, moon-howling obsessed girl. Today, we went to the grocery store and her excitement over the big letters and numbers everywhere was contagious. Our little, little girl is growing up.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RxXM-W12mc0/TWNBusDzspI/AAAAAAAAH_k/yCID0E_vwnQ/s1600/DSC01285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RxXM-W12mc0/TWNBusDzspI/AAAAAAAAH_k/yCID0E_vwnQ/s320/DSC01285.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-61894822841087776442011-02-04T00:52:00.001-05:002011-02-04T00:59:49.339-05:00Instigator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia bit her little friend at daycare. Apparently she does this to compensate for being so small. She gets pushed around a lot and so, to defend herself, she bit the other kid. I'm not really convinced that that's a very good excuse for her harming another child, and I'm not really sure how to stop her from doing it seeing as I'm not there when it happens. And it always happens when she's not being watched so closely of course. Dana, our daycare provider, said she sat her down for some quiet time after it happened. I did try to talk to her about it today. I said, 'Did you bite Elena? Be kind and nice. Don't bite Elena!' and she looked at me with a rather guilty look. Then she started smiling. Oh, she's a cheeky one! I was just thinking this very week that it had been a while since she'd done it (she's done it a time or two in the past) and how glad I was that it didn't turn into a problem. So I guess we'll see if it happens again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia is turning into a little girl. Every day she does something amazing and I look at her, hoping to bottle up this moment. I know it won't last as long as I think! Most of the time, Lydia's quite gentle and doesn't go around biting her classmates. I was at the daycare one morning and the kids were pushing on her, pulling on her hood...she just ignored them and looked at me as if to say, 'See what I have to put up with?!'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One morning I dropped her off after speech therapy and she was hungry. She said, 'EAT! EAT!' which got all the other kids saying the same thing. The washer stopped and I guess it sounded like the microwave, because they all started saying, 'POPCORN? POPCORN?!' Then Lydia said, 'SIT DOWN!' and all the kids sat at the table. She then started banging on the table going, 'YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY!' which ended with the other 2 year-olds banging and chanting after her. Quite the ringleader we have for a child! She instigated a food sit down at the age of 2!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We whipped out the paints the other day and painted these small plant pots. The one that she painted is the one in the front. I'm using it at work as a pencil pot. The one behind is the one that we both decorated. It's being used to hold her crayons. Her crayons have been the taste du jour for Chili, our dog. Apparently it's her new favourite thing to chomp on so we've got to be a bit more careful with them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been trying to get organised lately. I spend a lot of my time doing things that don't make much of an impact, and so I'm trying to redirect my energy to be more productive at work. I think it will help me to save more energy for home. Isn't that the whole point in the end?</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-86114563267901445962011-01-23T00:00:00.000-05:002011-01-23T00:00:15.784-05:00Trapeziums<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently trapeziums are called trapezoids over here. Who knew? I wish I would've taken American English 101 as it seems that Lydia is being taught all the ways of the land and I am behind on the uptake. Already I've taught her trapezium and, although she's not stringing sentences together, she has a memory that doesn't allow me to unteach her this dastardly English word. Because when I tell her it's a trapezoid now, it's as difficult for her to get her tongue around it as it is for me, so she just looks at me and says, '-PEZIUM!'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I was stubborn, I'd say, 'YEAH, SCREW YOU AMERICA! My child says trapezium, up yours!' Except I'm far too fond of being right for my child to walk around being wrong all the time. Particularly if it's my doing. If *I* want to saunter around Charleston acting all rebellious, shoving TRAPEZIUM in people's faces, then that's my deal. But how could I possibly force that on my poor little girl? She didn't choose to be born into this trap-ezoid!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so I have been pronouncing words like zebra 'zeeeebra'. I can't quite bring myself to say to-may-to. And I still hold onto the slim hope that she will pronounce pin, pen, pan, and pun all very differently. Unfortunately she has edged over to the dark side, saying 'heeeend' for hand and 'baaaaax' for 'box'. Sigh. I wonder how and if this is confusing for Lydia at all? I noticed the other day that she says water slightly differently depending on who she's talking to. If she's talking to me, she'll say, 'war-ta' and if she's talking to Gary, she says, 'waaaa-terrr'. Poor child. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, the thought of her having an American accent when she grows up seems so bizarre to me! I can tell that my accent has an effect on her because I hear the other kids at daycare pronouncing their words slightly differently. Not just because they're all different, but because Lydia has a clear differentiation between a, e and i sounds right now. And she doesn't pronounce those 'r's on the ends of her words either! It won't last long as I already hear it changing, and that's okay. I'll love her however she sounds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thought you would enjoy these photos. Lydia usually looks a lot like Gary. I'm fairly certain that she looks a whole lot like me in the pics up above though!</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-46690241410918494002011-01-17T00:44:00.000-05:002011-01-17T00:44:49.631-05:00Follow the Leader<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow The Leader is a sculpture in downtown Summerville. Spot the figure that's slightly out of place! Gary and I went to Azalea Park this weekend and took a walk. It was nice to be able to go outside without freezing to death. It was quite bearable - slightly chilly in the shade but not too bad at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been rather stressed out lately. Different things, different issues, different areas of my life. What I realise is that it's taking up much more energy and focus than I'd like. Best work on that I think. Either way, Gary is teaching me to focus on us and let other people focus on themselves. </span>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-7861330440308110642011-01-12T23:21:00.000-05:002011-01-12T23:21:04.308-05:00These Moments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy New Year! Here's what I think of 2011 so far:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm writing my new year's resolutions down so that I can stick to them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The main one is to HAVE FUN!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told my Mummy I was going to be well behaved. That's why she's smiling here. I have other ideas. That's why I'm grinning!</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy New Year! </span></strong></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-68434530522518745312010-12-27T23:06:00.000-05:002010-12-27T23:06:06.447-05:00Thank Goodness for Long Weekends!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to work already! At least for a few days before 2011 rolls around. We had a relaxing weekend. Lydia got some pyjamas on Christmas Eve that she wore all day Christmas day. On Christmas morning, she got to see her new tricycle with a Snoopy sitting in its seat. The first thing she saw was Snoopy, and then she saw her tricycle. There was slight excitement but I think she was still tired to really care too much! She hasn't quite figured out the steering or the pedaling so it's something we'll be working on!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breakfast was a lot of fun and a new family tradition for the three of us. We turned the Christmas tree lights on, Christmas music, and we were all in our pyjamas. It was fun as Lydia got to do some mixing of pancake batter, then she got to eat what she had been making! It was a great way to set the tone for the rest of the day too. We're excited as it's really the first time we've thought about family traditions and consciously made a decision to have Mummy, Daddy and Lydia time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After our breakfast we got changed and showered and then Gary's parents came over and we had a Christmas lunch. Lydia opened some more toys and got into a cute little dress that Gary's parents bought for her. She really enjoyed the crayons and markers and has been playing with magnetic letters and numbers on an easel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gary has this cool fandangled orange juice thing. Gary's Mom said that it was Grandma Hazel that first showed him how to use it. It's a plastic juice straw thing that screws into the orange, you squish the orange around to get the juice out, then you eat the orange! How fun! Gary gets very excited when he's able to give Lydia an orange, although I told him to hold off for a few days because, well, too much citrus isn't always the best thing!</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alright, best be off. Have a good week, peeps.</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-60876470273040121582010-12-22T23:05:00.001-05:002010-12-22T23:50:17.331-05:00Sh*t My Kids Ruined<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia figured out how to unscrew the top off my nail varnish. Blue on beige carpet is the new trend. As is blue nail varnish not just on nails, but entire toes. Oh, and on our faces too. I think this belongs on <a href="http://www.shitmykidsruined.com/">sh*tmykidsruined.com</a>. If you've never been to this website, I highly recommend it. I rate it higher than <a href="http://cakewrecks.com/">cakewrecks.com</a> and I laugh a whole lot at those hot messes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last weekend, we had a pre-Christmas warm up weekend. Stephen, Cory, Averie and Monty and Gary's parents came over. Here's Grandma Net with the kids decorating cookies. Notice the big kid sitting in the mix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The behemoth of a cake pictured below is this year's newest fad. Remember the turducken? The chicken wrapped in a duck wrapped in a turkey? Well this is the cherpumpple. Stephen found this recipe online. It's actually 3 different layers. He took 3 different types of pies and baked them in 3 different types of cakes. He then stacked them all on top of each other and covered the entire thing with icing! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder what Lydia will be when she's older? Right now, she fancies herself as a photographer, snapping some great face shots of herself such as this one:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia was pooped out after everyone went home on Sunday. She sat in Daddy's lap and promptly fell asleep. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So dudes. What's the deal with Santa? I mean seriously, this big fat guy who wears a red suit comes into my living room, scaring the crap out of me by eating my cookies and milk? I have issues about pretending this guy exists; I don't particularly like the thought of lying to my child! And you may think, oh what's the harm? I know, most of you believed in Santa when you were younger and you weren't scarred when you found out he wasn't real. Anyway, Gary says I'm not allowed to tell Lydia he's not real unless she specifically asks me about it. That will be YEARS that we'll have to keep up with this ruse...bloody hell! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay okay, I can spin truths. I know Saint Nicholas actually existed. I don't knock the Christ out of Christmas either. I know he existed too. Did I tell you an old boss told me I was going to hell because I didn't accept him as my saviour? I was hoping that if I told him I thought he was a really important guy, a generous, loving, life-changing guy even to this day, I'd be safe. Apparently not. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gary did try to spin me some yarn about me missing the point of Christmas and Santa Claus entirely. Oh ho ho ho, pray tell, I need to hear this one. He said it was about the spirit of giving. Which, of course, was perfect fodder for a great Sonia rant. Who exactly are we giving to? Me, myself and I? I'm not sure that the spirit of giving is just about giving each other ridiculous amounts of presents! Now if he had said, it's about spending time together and giving each other some presents, I admit this to be true. I like the idea of family traditions, being with loved ones, having a special time of year watching silly movies and singing songs. I like the idea of getting Lydia things that will make her incredibly happy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But did we, the Donnellys of Summerville, practice the true spirit of giving this Christmas? Hardly. How about adopting a family for Christmas? Donating some money to a good cause? Dude, you're married to a woman who sold her soul to non-profit community work. If you want to talk about giving, don't forget to walk the walk too. Oh, he opened a can of worms now! </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next year I plan to barter the existence of Santa Claus with teaching the true spirit of giving. Which means Gary will have to give up a present or two and stop using the excuse of, 'I do give. I give them you!' </span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-70881933619348526932010-12-09T21:39:00.000-05:002010-12-09T21:39:35.880-05:00Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia faces the tree: Hi Tree!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Me in a low voice: Hi Lydia!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lydia: Wha-doin'?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Me: I'm a tree. What colour are you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lydia: Ye-yow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Me: I'm a green tree. What's your name?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lydia points at herself: Ee-i-a</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Me: My name's Tree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gary and Me: hahahahahahahahhahahahahaha hehehehehehehe hahahahaha</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547996885268176753.post-48437681153937250952010-11-28T16:29:00.048-05:002010-11-28T21:21:26.467-05:00Giving Thanks<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're on the tail-end of a 4 day weekend over here. Thursday was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving day</a>. Generally known as a day to give thanks for the things we have in our lives, it's also turned into a day we eat far too much food, and a shopping bonanza weekend. Yes, Gary and I live this life full throttle. Gary's parents came over and we baked a big turkey, had all types of potatoes cooked in 4 different ways, stuffing, gravy, some rolls, macaroni and cheese, a pie and a partridge in a pear tree...just a month early. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At midnight I ventured out to Walmart to buy a <a href="http://www.cricut.com/shop/#0/1/123/2/Cricut/Cricut Expression Machine">Cricut Expression.</a> Yes, I braved the crowds and became just another lunatic sucked in by the Black Friday sales. BEHOLD:</span><br />
<img class="rg_hi" data-height="144" data-width="144" height="144" id="rg_hi" src="data:image/jpg;base64,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" style="height: 144px; width: 144px;" width="144" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what I ended up buying. It's an aqua/turquoise coloured scrapbooking contraption. What does it do? It cuts shapes and letters and all types of things. I'm sure I'll be posting some great creations soon. HAPPY CHRISTMAS SONIA!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">During normal waking hours, we checked out a few stores and managed to snag some cheap blu-ray DVDs. I also bought a new coat from Old Navy at 50% off:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday we went to see Stephen, Cory, Monty and Averie. It was good to spend some time with them together. They're moving to Indiana soon and although it's been in the plans for a while, it still doesn't seem quite real. We hope to be able to see them again before they leave though, and they're never really goodbyes, just see you again soons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today we ventured out again. I had to drop by work to film our newest holiday appreciation video. Last year's video was really funny, so we're trying to make another funny video. We'll know soon enough whether we've succeeded. The holiday party is this week, and the last parts of filming are going to be tomorrow evening. It's going to require some speedy editing on my part!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't actually my desk at work, but Lydia decided she wanted to sit at this one and punch some keys on the keyboard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BOO!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got quite a lot accomplished this weekend. I even got my advent calendar painted. It's a wooden one that we bought from a craft store. I found some great ideas for an activity advent calendar for the next month. Not that Lydia will really understand it, but she'll understand it next year for sure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, another week. Be kind!</span></div>Soniahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12475692407191953949noreply@blogger.com0