just a little something...

the year 2009 - let's wrap it up

This has been quite the year for us, and, for the most part, the good parts have outweighed the bad. Our jobs keep us busy during the day - and sometimes at night or on weekends - but we’ve had lots of time for fun, and we’ve made the most of it. If I was creative, I’d have a video highlight reel of the events of 2009. Instead, I’ll give you a list. Because I like lists.

1. We started the year in Miami for the BCS National Championship game where we watched Florida beat Oklahoma.

2. Somewhere during the year, Oliver gave up Froggy and More Froggy, and he adopted Baby as his lovey du jour.

3. Sam and I escaped to Las Vegas for a long Valentine’s Day weekend. Dinner at Michael Mina left us with a large bill and something to talk about (tuna tartare with raw quail egg on top, anyone?). Sam fell in love with Tom Colicchio after eating at Craftsteak.

4. Madeline continued her swim lessons and became an amazing little swimmer. Oliver started swim lessons later in the year, and he’s still trying to warm up to the idea that he has no choice but to swim.

5. We made two beach trips - Crescent Beach for a cold, rainy spring break, and Rosemary Beach for a last fling before summer’s end.

6. The mountains of Dillard, Georgia, were the site of our big family reunion in the middle of the summer. It was great to catch up with everyone and to watch Maddie and Oliver meet and play with their second cousins.

7. Madeline started kindergarten in public school after months of agonizing over the decision between public versus private school. Needless to say, we’re VERY happy with our decision.

8. Oliver turned three in October, and Madeline turned six in December.

9. Sam and I escaped again in October, but this time to New York City for our first real trip there. The 24 hours we spent in New York back when we won a trip to the Dave Letterman Show in the late 1990s hardly counted for much, so we knew we had to go back. We walked a lot, mastered the subway [that may be a bit of an exaggeration], saw our first Broadway show [Wicked], were treated like VIPs at a very hip bar [Little Branch - way too hip for us], and ate our way through the city. My favorite restaurant experience was our dinner at Le Bernardin - the most perfect meal I’ve ever had.

10. Fritz, our fifteen year old Maine Coon, was diagnosed with gastric lymphoblastic lymphoma in the fall. It was the first time we had to face the fact that we’re going to lose our cats eventually. That they will die. He’s done great on chemotherapy, and he’s hanging in there, but we know that the inevitable is right around the corner. And, while we’re enjoying each day we have with Fritz and Mitzi, we’re getting prepared.

11. Because of a promise I made Madeline when she turned five, we made our first family trip to Disney World to celebrate her sixth birthday. We had so much fun that we bought our first set of annual passes. Disney takes your money, but they do it so well that you almost don’t mind. Besides, watching Madeline meet her beloved princesses was worth every cent.

12. And if I may brag a bit, I’m proud of the new foods (or foods I once hated) that I’ve tried and enjoyed over the past year -- rabbit, duck, fois gras, pate, brussels sprouts, and tuna tartare. Okay, I didn’t like the last one very much, but I tried. And I’ll try it again, just to be sure.

13. Somehow I almost forgot! We made our first trip to Napa in 2009. We had an amazing experience with our travel partners - a couple of real wine pros - and made new friends along the way. As a real bonus, Sam caught the wine bug in a really big way.

christmas 2009

This year was Oliver's third and Madeline's sixth Christmas. Oliver finally is at the age where he understands the big deal about Santa, so it was a really great holiday for both kids. As usual, Santa did entirely too much for the kids, but sometimes Santa can't help but get carried away when trying to make the kids happy.

As we get on with this week after Christmas, the clean up continues. The tree will come down sometime later in the week, hopefully by January 1st. Maddie is sad about the decorations coming down, and I can vividly remember feeling that way, too, when I was a kid. She just doesn't want it to end. I, on the other hand, am ready for a clean house with no Christmas clutter - just in time to ring in the new  year.

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On another note, I'm not sure what's happening with this blog. My creativity (if you can call it that) is being channeled elsewhere. I find that I'd rather spend my time doing other things than updating this  blog. I'm trying to decide whether to call it quits or take an extended leave of absence (like Urban Meyer, maybe?). Or maybe I'll even reinvent this blog as something else entirely. We'll see what happens.

a couple of disney photos

One of the highlights of our Disney trip for Madeline was getting to meet Cinderella during our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. Madeline was in awe from the moment we walked into the restaurant within the castle in the center of Disney until the princesses said their goodbyes.

 

The other thing that she adored was riding roller coasters. At her request, Sam and I took turns taking Madeline on Space Mountain. You can see her reaction in the candid photo below. And you can see mine, too. Can you tell who is having a blast and  who is regretting the decision to get on the deathtrap of a ride?

my princess

my princess, originally uploaded by merryjennifer.

Happy sixth birthday to my sweet princess Madeline. Six years ago today my life was changed so dramatically and completely. I learned exactly how deeply it was possible to love someone. Thank you for that, sweet Maddie bug.

some updates

1. Fritz is doing much better and is continuing on his chemotherapy every week. He's gaining weight every week - a full pound over the last 6 weeks or so. Just to prepare the kids for the inevitable, we have been reading Cat Heaven by  Cynthia Rylant at bedtime. It's such a good story, and I find myself getting emotional whenever I read it to Maddie and Oliver. I think I'm trying to prepare myself as much as the kids for Fritz's death.

2. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We did our usual potluck style meal at my parents, and it was a success, as always. I took my camera and promptly sat it down and forgot to take photos. Madeline got really into it and wore a shirt with a turkey on it that she colored at school as a project. 

3. Maddie turns six next week, and one year ago we promised her a Disney trip to celebrate. So, we're keeping our promise and heading to Disney this weekend. Maddie will have a blast, and Oliver probably will too. Given that he's still into napping, I'm prepared for the worst since he'll miss naps all weekend. We thought about leaving him with his grandparents for the weekend, but Maddie doesn't want to go without her little brother. We plan to make the best of it. And probably have wine with dinner.

4. The house is decorated for Christmas, and it feels SO GOOD to have the decorating out of the way. I've even done a bit of holiday shopping -- all online, of course. Sam shopped a bit on Black Friday, a day I typically avoid any building with a cash register. 

5. Swim lessons are over for the winter, and it feels wonderful to have our Tuesdays and Thursdays open again. Of course, they are filling up with other crap, but at least we're not committed to being at the swimming pool twice  a week. 

6. My dad celebrates a birthday on Friday, and we're taking him out to dinner to celebrate early next week. I'm posting this here so that he can't back out. I have a feeling he'd rather fall asleep in his recliner instead of going out to dinner with us, but we're not taking no for an answer. Plus, it's a really fabulous restaurant.