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

I'm feeling really good about this fresh new year so far. I'm at a point currently where I'm only allowing myself to feel optimistic and positive about the future. At this time last year everything was still completely normal and we really had no idea what was about to happen. I'm choosing to believe that this year is the same, except that things are going to get better. Covid has improved a whole lot in Alberta compared to the last few months. We are even beginning to see a relaxing of the "lockdown" measures that we had been living under. (Restaurants re-opening for dine-in in a week!) As things currently stand, in Edmonton there is 0.16% of the population with known active cases. The active cases in Edmonton have gone down to 2,439 which is way less compared to this time last month. Hospitalizations have also been steadily dropping. Thankfully, another month has gone by and the elementary school that Archie’s preschool is in has still not recorded any cases at all. I am choosing to believe that the cases will drop significantly in the spring/summer just like they did last year and with vaccinations in the mix, I think that things are going to be much, much better. This is what I am putting out into the universe. I see no real benefit (especially to my own metal health) to have any other belief. At the beginning of January we were still in Regina! We had such an amazing long visit. (We have now been back home for well over two weeks and no one in my family has gotten sick. It's safe to say that none of us caught the virus and none of us gave it to each other.) I loved spending so much time with my family! We were in Regina for a total of 17 days.

The OG Domanskis.

As usual, we celebrated all of the January birthdays in my family!

I even got to have some wonderful, outdoor, socially distant visits with some of you. It was incredibly wonderful to still get to see you ladies, even under these less-than-ideal circumstances. <3

All in all, we had a wonderful and relaxing time away in Regina and I am so grateful that it all worked out as perfectly as it did. I certainly hope that we'll see my family again MUCH SOONER than an entire YEAR from now. Once returned to Edmonton, it was really nice to get settled back into our real life. It was also my birthday and I turned 39! How am I in my last year of my 30s already?! I've really loved my 30s a lot. The first half was incredible and free, with lots of adventure and travel. The second half was amazing in a different way because I got to experience bringing a life into the world. What a significant decade!

39 and feelin' fine!

My usual birthday celebrations had to be postponed because of the current restrictions. My birthday gift from Tim is going to be dinner at a fancy restaurant (Bündok) and a night in a hotel (Fairmont Hotel Macdonald). Without Archie, of course!! This is pretty much what I get every year for my birthday now because it's the best and it's all that I actually really want. We'll book this event once the restrictions allow for everything to work out. I'm looking forward to it!! I'm also looking forward to being able to have a Birthday Girls Night dinner with my friends once we're allowed to. My actual birthday was still very special though. Tim filled my day with wonderful treats and I felt incredibly special. We ordered in dinner from my favourite Edmonton restaurant, Biera. And Tim even baked a cake!

When I turned 30 Tim and I took a romantic vacation to Jamaica and stayed at a wonderful adult-only Sandals resort. Next year when I turn 40? It's happening again! (Provided that the world has sorted itself out by then, FFS.) Tim and I are (tentatively, early stages) planning to go to Barbados for a week and to stay at a Sandals resort again. We'll leave Archie with my parents. So next year's birthday is gonna be REAL GOOD. Then it was Archie's birthday next and he turned 4!

Similarly, we had a whole birthday party planned for him, an outdoor cabane à sucre party. But we had to postpone it because of the outdoor gathering restrictions. We are hoping to be able to hold it this month instead, but depending on the restrictions we may need to postpone it again for another month. We'll see! Regardless, we still made sure that Archie had an extra special day filled with presents and treats! And birthday nachos, of course.

I have finally started my "winter project" which is to SELL ALL OF THE BABY STUFF! There's a big pile in our basement (AKA Baby Mountain) and I have begun to pick away at the mountain and have started selling the items on Facebook Marketplace. I've made a bunch of sales so far! I was worried that I might feel hesitant about selling this stuff... BUT NO! It feels AMAZING and I feel FREE!!! We have clearly made the correct decision for us. Last month I mentioned that we were hoping to do a snowboarding trip to Jasper in January or February. We decided to do it in January because there's a two-week event called "Jasper in January" and lift tickets are cheaper during this time. We figured that it made sense to take advantage. So we ran off to the mountains yet again and it was a winter wonderland!

We spent a great day as a family snowboarding at Marmot Basin! It felt great to be back!

It was a really great month. I got a lot of what I needed in terms of rest, relaxation, and also shaking up the usual routine. I feel deeply appreciative of my family and I am always grateful when I receive a renewed sense of that. Life with Archie: Archie is FOUR!

Archie is starting to get more and more independent and he seems to need less and less from me all the time. I'm beginning to have days where I actually don't know what to do with myself because Archie is off and doing his own thing. I don't hate this at all. It's just a whole new era that I'm not used to! On the other hand, Archie still loves to sleep in our bed quite a lot. It's a habit that we want to break... Except for the fact that Tim and I enjoy him sleeping in our bed which is part of the problem!! Archie was VERY happy to return to preschool after the four week winter break that he took. He's back to learning and crafts and outdoor fun, which he loves.

When we went to Jasper we put Archie in an hour-long private snowboarding lesson and I think that it was really beneficial. He learned how to ride (and get off of) the magic carpet by himself and he has a much better understanding of his heel and toe edges. I can't wait to put him in real lessons next winter!

As usual, we tried to get outside as much as possible. It's gotten quite a lot colder though, so it's been more challenging.

It's February! Not a whole lot going on this month at all. There's Valentine's Day. No major plans except we did order the Valentine's Biera Box, so that should be awesome. Something for Tim and I to look forward to once Archie is in bed. Maybe I'll even shave my legs. HA HA! The Family Day long weekend is that same weekend and I'm sure we'll just be enjoying the extra time all together at home. I think it'll be a pretty quiet month with a few little surprises here and there. THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:

February 9th is Laura Young’s 35th birthday!

Wishing you an extra special day where you feel truly celebrated! I hope that Matt and the kids spoil you a whole lot! I can't wait until we can do things again because I assume that you'll visit Edmonton at some point and I really want to see you finally!! Miss you lots. Love you! <3 February 18th is Candice Weingartner’s 9th wedding anniversary!

I hope that you and Ryan can ditch the kids and do something special!