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

January was a pretty wild month! I'm (finally) home and ready to settle into a new year. It already feels like this is a year for taking everything that we've built and to expand on it. Our life finally feels grounded and I'm ready to start adding more extras that will bring us joy. This will be a year of getting us to where we want to be. PANDEMIC! I'm excited because it seems as if the 5th wave is coming to an end. The numbers are starting to fall and I think that our world is about to be very different soon. Maybe even normal. Sooo many people that I know ended up catching Covid this time around - but no one seemed to get very sick at all. By some miracle, I still haven't caught it and neither has Tim or Archie (or at least not that we've been aware of). Our tests have always been negative. It's not like we've been hiding away, either. If anything, we've continued to live our lives quite normally. Archie still attends preschool (and swimming lessons and gymnastics) and he's never even been considered a "close contact." I know that some of the kids in his class have had Covid (which they've caught from other family members), but they've all just stayed home and none of them brought it to the class. It has also now been over 14 days since our return from Barbados which means that I can officially declare that the trip was a Covid-free success. Archie also joined the Pfizer club and got his first dose of vaccine as soon as he was eligible (when he turned 5). He said that getting vaccinated makes him feel more safe. (Although he HATED the actual needle part.)

All in all, I'm over it. I'm done with living in fear and I'm done with putting my life on hold. Of course I will continue to follow all public health restrictions, but otherwise, I have moved on.

At the beginning of the month we were still in Regina. We then returned home and I had four full days at home before leaving again. It was just enough time to unpack, take down Christmas, repack, and get my parents situated in our house. THEN TIM AND I LEFT FOR BARBADOS!!! International TRAVEL, guys!!! Part of me still can't believe that it all worked out. We had a wonderful, relaxing, romantic time. We loved sleeping in and we loved not having any responsibilities. We spent the majority of our time lazing on the beach. The resort was gorgeous and felt very luxurious. (I'm a huge fan of the Sandals brand and feel challenged when it comes to branching out in terms of all-inclusives.) It was so nice to JUST BE US for a solid week. All of the pictures from the trip are HERE but here are some of my favourites.

And of course the whole point of the vacation was to celebrate my 40th birthday! It's pretty surreal to imagine that I have already lived 40 years of my life. I'm very excited for what this next decade will bring. It felt like my 30s were all about setting my life up the way that I wanted it. And now my 40s feel like a time to reap the rewards of what I have created. Turning 40 in paradise was exactly the birthday that I dreamed of... Complete with a birthday dinner on the beach, under the stars.

My favourite thing that I ate in Barbados was jerk chicken!!! It was spicy, authentic, and delicious! (Although, I will say that the jerk chicken in Toronto can easily play in this game.)

We returned home on the same day as Archie's 5th birthday and quickly shifted gears in order to celebrate his day! We were definitely anxious to see him after being away for a week, our longest time apart from him. (Although, I can safely say that I did not miss him while I was gone. I appreciated the break and knew that he was in great hands!) We had a little party at home with my parents that included presents and balloons and nachos and cake. He still has a birthday party with his friends coming up!

The rest of the month has really just been about acclimatizing back into real life and getting everything back on the rails for the new year. Heather came to Edmonton from Winnipeg and it was wonderful to get to see her!

Tim and I also went out for a double date with our friends Mary & Jonny (hooray for babysitters!!) and that was a lot of fun. Archie's best friend from preschool is named Jonah. Jonah's mom Mary and I have become actual friends. We hang out without our kids, so that's when you can tell that you actually like each other, ha ha! She's the first new friend that I have made in a very, very long time. I'm usually pretty resistant to new people, but she and I just clicked. Unfortunately they are going to be moving back to England in May (they're British) but that just means that I'll have someone to visit in the UK!

Another exciting thing that I just found out about today is that I won the Yelp Photographer of the Year award for 2021!!! I'm pretty sure that this is specific to Edmonton but it's still pretty cool! Apparently I'm even going to be getting some type of physical award! There was supposed to be some type of awards ceremony event but they can't do it because of the current Covid restrictions. In other news, remember how a few months ago I was complaining about how my period had disappeared for months but then it finally came back? I think I've figured out what is going on. Every time I receive a Covid vaccine it messes up my cycle. The first time that my period disappeared lined up perfectly to when I received my first and second doses of vaccine. It eventually returned. Then I got a third dose and guess what? My period is gone again. I assume that it will return after a few months like it did the last time. Has anyone else experienced this?!? Life with Archie: Archie had a great week with his grandparents while we were away! He still talks about the things that they did and their jokes and songs. Things honestly couldn't have gone any better!

ARCHIE TURNED FIVE!!! I love the age that he is now. Our relationship is so special to me and I love that we can have real conversations. I love who he is as a person and how smart and interesting he is. He's my little best friend and it's amazing.

Archie was happy to get back into the swing of things after the holidays and has been loving his time back at preschool. They had a WHITE DAY and also a Crazy Hair Day! He also had a PD Day and we started a new tradition of going out for breakfast on PD Days!

FEBRUARY! Here's what I've got going on this month! We're going to be holding Archie's 5th birthday party with his friends this weekend! It's going to be a CABANE À SUCRE party outdoors. We wanted to do this party last year but ended up cancelling it because of the pandemic. It should be really cute and fun! For Valentine's Day Tim and I are going to be getting Biera's Valentine’s Fondue Kit so that we can eat it in bed. I'm really looking forward to that! February 19th is me and Tim's fourteen year anniversary of the day that we met! We're planning to have dinner at The Melting Pot to celebrate. We're also planning to bring Archie too because we think that he'll get a kick out of the whole experience. No big plans for Family Day long weekend. And then at the end of the month we're finally going to celebrate Rachelle's birthday (which happened in October) by having a sleepover at her house! I'm looking forward to a fun but also easy-going month ahead. I saw this and it REALLY resonated with me:

THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:

February 9th is Laura Young’s 36th birthday!

I am so glad that I got to spend time with you this past summer (on multiple occasions!). It was wonderful to have the opportunity to reconnect! You're such an amazing woman who deserves nothing but the very best on her birthday! You crush it at life on all levels and I feel constantly inspired by you. Love you very much! <3 February 18th is Candice Weingartner's 10th wedding anniversary!

10 years, 2 kids, same husband. I'm pretty sure that's a feat in itself! ;) I hope that you and Ryan have a chance to celebrate! HAPPY DECADE OF MARRIAGE!