First Blog of the Year!

I fear I have neglected this blog over the holidays because, well obviously, I HAVE neglected this blog. With the December craziness, followed by the Christmas and New Year's travelling and, best of all, a wee hard drive crash to start off 2009, it's been a bit hard to keep up.

I'll start with Christmas...which was wonderful. It's a refreshing change not have to think about work AT ALL over the holidays. Usually, thanks to the World Junior Hockey Championships which always start on Boxing Day, my Christmas is almost always tinged with cranky emails from Russian (or Swedish, or Finnish or Czech) broadcasters.  Even if I chose to ignore the emails, it does not change the fact that the messages are there polluting my inbox and may or may not explode into TV armageddon like it did in 2004. But, although rife with drawbacks, maternity leave does at least give me my actual holidays back, which is quite nice. 

We spent the holidays at the Galvin All-Inclusive Resort in picturesque North Andover Massachussets. It is truly a wonderful place, where meals are planned and often prepared in front of your very eyes using the finest ingredients. The resort is all-you-can-eat, open bar (with bartender). There is a pool table and hot tub. In the backyard is a large outdoor pool, which although seasonal, usually includes frozen margaritas poolside.  With onsite babysitting, plenty of parking, and a tax-free Target nearby you cannot go wrong at this resort. If required, you can also request a crib and age appropriate child gear to be waiting and assembled for when you arrive. The resort keeps its own subscription to People magazine. And, perhaps best of all, there is also a fairy-being who lives in the house who will clean, do your laundry,  change your child's diapers and sometimes even change your sheets ALL without being asked. All that is missing is a mint on the pillow and couples massage and, I'll bet if you asked nicely, you may get that. 

Sadly vacation must end and we must return to the real world, which does not include anyone doing our laundry, but does include lugging all our stuff back into our wee bungalow in the suburbs. Our house, which is small at the best of times, is even smaller when we have a Christmas tree straddling our living room/dining room and a whole raft of new children's toys that must be put somewhere. But I think we did a pretty good job. The toys have all been tucked away and the kids are back in their respective rooms where, at least, they do not wake each other up. (A small, but important blessing). 

Still, I'm sad the holidays are over. I would call 2008 a very good year - after all it did bring my beloved baby Papaya who is getting more adorable by the minute.

2009 will bring my return to work and with it, the added burden of two kids in daycare and all the rigamarole that goes with that (I'm dreading the thought of getting myself and two kids -three if you include Eric- up, fed and ready to leave the house.) Eric's band is doing extremely well and is steadily moving onto to bigger and better things, which means the pay is better (yay!), but I see him less (boo!). Still, I'm quite sure we will manage. Our lives may be a tad hectic, but it all seems to work out. 

So, for the first blog of 2009...I'm feeling optimistic. 

Cheers!