Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hopeful and Sneaky

Happy new year and all that stuff. I am really happy to see 2011 go. It was a hard year for many reasons. The good news though is that we finally moved to our new house the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's a better house for us in so many ways and the kids are very happy there so we're excited about organizing and decorating our new home.

Christmastime was a bit stressful. The entire family got sick for 3 weeks - so much so that Ricky even missed the school Christmas pageant! He wasn't upset about it but it was too bad - you're only in 1st grade once. It would have been a good video to watch years in the future!

We celebrated Teddy's 3rd birthday the first week of January. I can't believe my baby boy is 3 already! His Early Intervention stuff ended and we had his IEP meeting last week. He qualified for a blended program in a preschool and now we're waiting to see what kind of a placement he receives. I hope the school is good, the kids are nice to him, and the school is nearby. We'll see. I am nervous every time I check the mailbox! In the meantime, I am going to start potty training him tomorrow - wish me luck!

Last weekend I pulled off 2 surprise parties for my husband's 40th. The first was a surprise dinner with our friends at an Italian restaurant. He thought he was just going to eat dinner with me (which is more than enough) but the hostess blew it when she said our name and "Party for 11" when we came in. I didn't warn her it was a surprise so I don't fault her. Mark was excited nonetheless.

Then after dinner, I had about 15 more friends waiting at our house to surprise him. He wanted to go out to a bar with our friends but I told him I had a cake and a party ball waiting for him at our house. So he agreed. He was shocked to walk in our house and see more friends. It was nice. It was tricky doing the guest list - I limited it to *his* friends - not mine. My sister and BIL did a great job being my secret helpers. I am a horrible liar and bad at sneaking around. I would never have an affair but if I did I would be busted in a heartbeat. I had to have all the party supplies and decorations ready and hidden for them. It was hard because Mark walks around every corner of the house. It was so incredibly busy the day of the party that when I picked up the balloons, I failed to notice that the $9.99 balloon that was a big 40 that I had ordered was actually a big 50!!! Our friends thought it was funny. I was kicking myself for not checking. Oh well.

My mom then surprised him a few days later with a surprise party with our family. She taught us all how to play mah jong and now I am hooked! Will need to look for a set at some point.

Anyways, I am very hopeful for a good year. Despite the forecast of the apocalypse, let it be a good one. I have decided to take my bucket list by the horns and try to do the things I want to do "some day." My husband agrees. Thank god we have good health insurance! Ice skates (and other things) here I come!!

1 comment:

The Captain's Wife said...

I love mah jong! although have never played with real tiles, just online versions.
how do you feel the EI went? You say he completed, but are you feeling he made strides?
Good luck with potty training. We just did it with K in Sept. She still does dipes when sleeping but in the last month or so has woken up dry more than wet.