THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - October Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
At this moment I am feeling filled with quite a lot of optimism and positivity. For better or for worse, I feel that things are moving in the right direction and that we’ve been making some smart decisions. My heart feels good.
At the beginning of September we made a small two-night camping trip over to Sandbanks (a 2.5 hour drive away), a beautiful beach in Prince Edward County. I’d wanted to go camping here for a long time, especially staying on a beachfront campsite.
When I say “camping” I mean real camping. We sleep in a tiny tent and we cook our meals outside.
I really loved Sandbanks and would say that it exceeded my expectations! The beach was gorgeous and it didn’t even feel like we were in Canada anymore - let alone a non-coastal province. The whole area really resonated with me a lot and I think that it might be “my place” in Ontario. September was also a great time to visit because it was very quiet and not jam-packed with people like during the more summery months. We had an amazing time hanging out on the beach every day, playing in the waves, watching stunning sunsets at night, and sleeping to the sounds of the water. The three of us slept in our tent cuddled all together and shared one sleeping bag. It was a really special family time!
We stopped at The Big Apple on the way home, as one does.
Melanie had another Baby Shower, this time a more traditional one with only women. It was a great time! Can’t wait for that baby to pop outta her!
Enobong came for a visit with her family from Collingwood!
We celebrated Sarah’s birthday at a restaurant downtown with no kids!
We’ve been having some fairly low-key family hangs around Toronto and I’ve actually been getting in a lot of good yoga classes, which has been great.
Kristen spontaneously came to Toronto from Vancouver! She spent a night at my house and it was lovely! ♥
I hung out with Melanie on her DUE DATE!!! Any time now, baby!!
It was a pretty chill month, which I think we really needed after a busy summer.
Last month I was talking about the steps that I had been taking to overhaul my health and hopefully improve my cholesterol and kidney function situation. This has been going very well and I’ve been finding it pretty easy to stick to my goals. I’m still drinking 2.2L of water a day and I still don’t like it but I’m more used to it.
This month we’ve been overhauling our finances. Tim and I have never been especially great with our money and we currently have quite a lot of debt. We are not naturally frugal people. At all. The main issue is that Tim does make a really great salary, so this tends to make us feel like we should be able to buy/do whatever we want. We knew that it was time for some big changes. Our money issues have been stressing us out and causing a lot of tension. So! We went to the bank and consolidated our debt (two lines of credit and two credit cards) and we have gotten very serious about budgeting (which we’ve never really done at all). While we won’t be able to do as many things (especially while we pay off the debt) I’m finding that I feel a lot more relieved and free. Our finances have been a big burden on our shoulders and the fact that we’re finally being proactive about addressing the issue feels really good. I might even say that I’m excited about it.
The budgeting system that works best for us is basically living the cash life and allocating specific amounts of money to each expense. The fact that we’re actually saving money for a vacation makes me really happy.
I feel that it’s important to share these real and shitty parts of life because it makes me more accountable. I’m proud that we’re taking positive steps to improve our quality of life!
Life with Archie:
He now has all 20 of his teeth! We are done with teeth until they start falling out!
It’s been “back to school” time all up in here! While Archie is obviously not in school, many of his weekly programs have been starting back up for the fall, so it definitely all has a very “back to school” vibe to it.
Archie has started the Parent Relief Program on Fridays and it has been AMAZING. It truly is like FREE half-day daycare and I have been benefiting so much from the extra time to myself. Plus it’s a great experience for Archie to spend time without me. Which by the way, he is completely fine with. He barely blinks an eye when I drop him off and leave - he’s quite independent in that way.
On top of this, we have Yoga with Caregiver on Mondays, Learn and Play Drop In on Wednesdays, Library Toddler Time on Thursdays, and Guardian Swim 2 on Sundays. We usually go for a big long walk on Tuesdays. Melanie said it best; even though I’m a stay at home mom, I’ve basically curated my own version of “daycare,” filling Archie’s week with learning and experiences. It’s a lot of work!!!
Archie is still doing great with all foods, has recently fallen in love with bubble tea, and has begun to learn how to use chopsticks. He’s getting the hang of chopsticks a lot quicker than I expected!
Archie is obsessed with cars and trucks. They’re pretty much all that he cares about.
The women who run the Parent Relief Program have told me that Archie is incredibly sweet and kind. They say that he’s very friendly with all of the other kids, plays well with everyone, and that he’s generally a very sweet boy. He has also gotten way into singing songs lately and sings songs to himself all the time.
Archie has begun sitting on the potty. He has yet to pee or poop in the potty. But we’ll take sitting. It’s gotta start somewhere!
Archie is supposed to have his speech reassessment done in November. I’m very curious as to how that will go! Honestly, I’d be surprised if they think that he’s still behind. I recently saw a speech milestones list for 30 month olds and Archie now hits every target. I’m feeling extremely unconcerned.
October actually has quite a lot going on for us!
We’re having our annual family photography done on the weekend and I’m excited to be getting my hair and makeup done for it. I want to look like a fake glam mom!! Bah ha! (After researching photographers, I chose Captured by Grace Photography. I hope that she does a great job!)
We’re going up to Collingwood to see Enobong and family, and to celebrate their kids’ birthdays.
We’ll be spending the long weekend in London to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Golems. Tim and I are also planning to get a hotel room for one night while we’re in London so that we can have some much-needed alone time (leaving Archie with the grandparents).
Later in the month is Tim’s birthday! He’s turning 36 and he’s planning to take the day off of work (it’s a Monday) so that we can all go apple-picking that day. (We’re going to go to Chudleigh’s, which I’m excited about because I grew up going there.)
Near the end of the month Tim’s parents are coming to visit us in Toronto from London. They still haven’t come to see our house, even though we’ve lived here for nine months and they live relatively close by.
And then there’s Halloween, which Archie is very excited about!
THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:
October 7th is Colen Quinn’s 12th wedding anniversary!
I hope that you and Jeff get to do something special and romantic! Send the kids away! (Send them to my house for a sleepover.) :P
October 7th is Melanie Santiago’s 1st wedding anniversary!
Are we saying Santiago for you? I’m actually not entirely sure, ha ha. ONE YEAR! You’ve crammed a whole lot into your first year of marriage! I hope that you and Ron get to celebrate a little bit - even with a very fresh newborn! ♥
October 13th is Kristen Smith’s 7th wedding anniversary!
Wishing you and Dallas a wonderful anniversary and hopefully you’ll get to celebrate it very soon! It was so great to see you guys yesterday. ♥
October 24th is Rachelle Spence’s 35th birthday!
I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: I am so grateful for the friendship that we share. We met 15 years ago and in some ways it still feels like yesterday (and in other ways it really doesn’t!). I can still picture us cruising down the highway in my car, with endless exciting possibilities ahead of us. It was one of the most special times of my life. I love you so much and I love everything that we’ve shared! I hope that you have the most incredible day!! ♥
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