THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - December Edition

I’m running late this month!! It’s because everything is holiday-crazy right now. I feel like I haven’t had a moment for anything lately! I leave for Regina in exactly two weeks and so I’ve been trying to accomplish a million things as early as possible. At this point I am 95% done my Christmas shopping and focusing on crushing various to-do lists each day. I will be so relieved when it’s all done!!

More on Christmas plans later on. Right now let’s reflect on November (which flew by and blasted us straight into holiday season).

First of all, my parents were in Toronto for one night only. Of course we went out to eat!! Archie loves his grandparents and talks about Grandma and Grandpa in Regina all the time. He also talks about going on a “big huge airplane” to see them.

My friend Rick moved to Toronto! You probably remember him as the MC from our wedding. We were co-workers at SONiC and now he has started a new job with 102.1 The Edge/Q 107 in Toronto. So it’ll be awesome to see him again! (Plus... Now I’ll have some cool radio hook-ups again!! Ha ha.)

I took Archie to see a giant poppy on Remembrance Day and we observed a moment of silence at 11am. I tried to explain what it was all about to him.

The weather went from fall to winter quite abruptly!! We are now full of snow!

One day it was this...

...And the next day it was this!

I took Archie to The Dr. Seuss Experience! It’s a very cool Dr. Seuss exhibit that is currently happening and Melanie and I wanted to take our kids. It was REALLY GOOD and so much fun! There was a bunch of different rooms and each room represented a different book. It was very well done.

We put up our Christmas tree! It’s one of my favourite weekends of the year because I have a whole lot of traditions established around putting up the tree and celebrating the “kick-off” of the holidays. Our Christmas was pretty weird last year because we had just arrived in Toronto and were in a temporary apartment without any of our stuff. So it feels really nice and special to be all settled in our own home again for Christmas.

Also, Archie really “gets” Christmas this year. It’s so much fun and so amazing to experience it with him!!

We had a Girls Night and did an escape room! Before Archie was born Tim and I were obsessed with escape rooms. I probably did like 30 or 40 of them (I don’t even think that’s exaggerating). But after Archie was born we’ve barely done any. So it was fun to do one again! We totally beat it.

We went to the Toronto Santa Claus Parade! In real life! This parade has been happening for 115 years and it was always a part of my childhood. It was really special to take my own son to see it. We had such a fun time!

We took a little weekend road trip to Montreal! Like I’d mentioned before, Tim has been going there a lot on business trips. So we decided to make a little family thing out of one of his trips! It’s always so nice to return to one of our “cities.” It’s so easy and so comfortable. It’s nice not to feel pressured as tourists but instead to just feel at home.

And yes. Basically all we did was EAT.

I mean, he was born here. He knows how to fit right in.

Domanski family initiation!!! Archie's first Bar B Barn ribs! My parents have been eating these ribs since 1967.

And on November 27th...

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

I'm an AUNT (again)!

I have a NIECE!

My fifth niece or nephew!

Her name is Mackenzie Grace Golem and she was born at 11:11pm!

Baby and Mya are doing great and I can’t wait to meet our newest family member later this month!

I also got to have dinner with Enobong because she was in Toronto for a work conference!

We attended Ubisoft’s Kids Holiday Party and had SUCH a blast!! The parties that these companies throw are just beyond. This one had just about everything that you could imagine a kid loving. Archie had the best time and I loved getting all done up in a “kid party” look!

Life with Archie:

He’s doing great! I’m amazed all the time at what a little “person” he is. I really do enjoy him so much better now than I did when he was a baby. I like being able to talk to him and the fact that he’s my little sidekick every day.

Archie is quite pleased about the snow situation.

He crushed his first radio gig.

He absolutely LOVED seeing the Cat in the Hat (one of his favourite books).

Archie had his very first Optometrist appointment! He did great. I was so impressed at how well he sat in the chair and answered all of the optometrist’s questions. She was asking him what different pictures were appearing on the wall and he was telling her everything. It was super cute! His vision is perfectly good!

And lastly, Archie has been enrolled in a Yoga with Caregiver class and it’s been... Mostly good? Sometimes when we go he listens to the teacher and participates amazingly well. Other times... He just runs around like a tornado. In any case, I think that it’s helping him to get used to listening, which is important.

Some days being a stay at home mom makes me feel like I am going to absolutely lose my mind and murder us all. But most of the time I feel incredibly grateful that I get to do this. I love all of the little inside jokes and secrets that only Archie and I share. I’m really starting to appreciate the special bond that we have been growing over the past three years.

And now we roll into the full-on festivities of December!!! Can you believe it?!

As for what we have in store... Tonight we’re seeing the band Stars. They’re putting on a play. Yes, a play. It opened in Toronto and is happening for a few weeks. It’s called “Together” and they describe it as a “concert/play hybrid: part rock-doc, part tragicomic fantasia, all Stars concert.” Like, the members of the band are acting. I am so curious and have no idea what to expect!!!

This coming weekend I am treating myself to my pre-holiday spa day. I do this every year around the holidays and I find that it does wonders to chill me out. The holidays bring so much stress and chaos! Plus it’s nice to feel like I’m pampering and preparing myself for the upcoming events. I’m getting a facial and a pedicure.

I’m also very excited to visit the Toronto Christmas Market! It’s a really, really beautiful Christmas Market - even nicer than the one in Vancouver.

We have Ubisoft’s Christmas Party (for adults) and it’s happening at Eglinton West Gallery. I am always sooo excited for this party each year. I cannot wait to see what craziness they cram into this one!! This year’s theme is Alice in Wonderland!

Then we’re having our Friends Christmas Party with my Toronto friends!

Then we’re having our early Golem Christmas at our house (with Santa making a special early trip to our house)! I am literally so excited to experience the whole thing with Archie this year.

AND THEN Archie and I are flying to Regina on the 17th!! (Regina friends, check your email for all of the details. I really want to see you!) The two of us are flying a few days earlier than Tim is because it is substantially cheaper to do it this way. Once in Regina, Nadine and I are taking a mini road trip up to Tisdale to visit Sarah! I have never been to Tisdale and have never seen Sarah’s house, so I’m really looking forward to finally doing these things.

We’re having our usual Regina Friends Christmas Party (see the FB event) and new this year is a Regina Friends KIDS BASH! (again, see the FB event). Plenty of opportunities for us all to get together - so no excuses!! Ha ha. But jokes aside, I really do just want to get to see whoever is going to be in town. I miss you all.

After that we pretty much roll into hardcore Christmastime, where I expect to be hanging out with my family as much as possible. ♥

We all fly back to Toronto on the 28th. Then we’re driving to London on the 29th where we’re going to do Christmas all over again! Plus we’ll be celebrating New Years there.

So THAT is my December!!!

PLEASE READ!

As always, this time of year really encourages me to reflect on all of the things that I’m appreciative of and grateful for. This includes every one of you guys reading this - in a big way. Living this mom life, I often find it challenging to focus on the other (important!) aspects of my life. I really need you to know that you’re incredibly special to me and that you’ve supported me and helped to get me to where I am today. I miss the carefree days when we could hang out with far less responsibilities than what we deal with today. But on the other hand, I am so ridiculously proud of each of you and the powerful women that you have become. Just knowing that I have you all in my corner makes me so strong. Here’s to another year of lifting each other up and crushing it. I love you guys. ♥