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

I'm here! I'm here! Slightly delayed but the holidays made things fly off the rails! I hope that everyone had wonderfully amazing holiday times with their family and friends. I am so grateful that I got to spend time with a bunch of you. <3 Proper winter has finally arrived in Edmonton! It took until January to happen, which is wild. We now have snow on the ground and temperatures around -20°, which is pretty typical for us. It had to happen eventually and at least the new winter coat that I bought is finally serving a purpose. (It's Fjällräven and I love it!)

December was obviously FULL OF HOLIDAY STUFF! Looking back on it now, it feels like such a whirlwind! We had BioWare's Whimsical Winterfest (which was their family holiday party) and that was a lot of fun. These parties are always full of amazing activities (and I always find new and interesting ways to embarrass Tim in front of his co-workers, HA HA!).

We went to the Edmonton Christmas Market, which is one of our favourite annual traditions.

We had our annual Christmas Girls Night celebration which included attending a Holiday Centerpiece workshop and then going out for dinner at Chartier. It's always one of the best days of the year! (Although we all learned that making a centerpiece is HARD!)

We also had BioWare's Forever Young 80s Prom Night (which was their adult holiday party) which is always our biggest party of the year. Everyone always goes all out with the theme and I think that we nailed it! It took me one full hour to crimp my hair. I even had a real wrist corsage! As usual, the party was a total blast with an open bar. My favourite part was dancing the night away on the 80s-music-only dancefloor.

We celebrated Christmas early at home like we always do and this is when Santa visited our house. This allows us to enjoy our own family traditions in our own home before all of the crazy holiday travel comes into play. We normally go to Swiss Chalet for our Christmas Eve dinner but this year we decided to switch it up because we wanted to go to Wilfred's instead. Wilfred's is our new favourite restaurant and we think that it's "our place." It's family-friendly, the menu is very tailored to our tastes, and they had the best Christmas vibes going on. We had so much fun there!

Christmas at home was great and Archie was very excited about Santa and to get presents. Plus we had fancy cheese. What more could I want!?

And then we were off for the holidays! I am so happy to report that all of our Christmas travel went perfectly this year, which is a far cry from what happened last year. We took a total of three flights and all were on time and without any issues. All of the airports were surprisingly calm and chill as well! We have totally adopted a "travel uniform" and I love it. It solves the problem of not knowing what to wear on the plane, it's warm and cozy (planes are cold), we can always spot each other, and it's clear that we are a group together. Plus it's FUN, which is maybe the most important thing. It works on every level!

Regina was first and it was wonderful to get to spend actual Christmas with my family (with the usual bits of family drama peppered in). My brother's girlfriend Tricia was a lot more involved this year and it seems like things are pretty serious with them. Archie is the only kid, so he gets to enjoy the dynamic of everyone spoiling him and giving him all of the attention. I love my family. <3

We also celebrated the January birthdays like we usually do (my dad's, mine, and Archie's). And this year we took a little mini trip to Moose Jaw to stay at Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa for one night. They have a geothermal mineral pool that is fun to visit. It was actually very relaxing. Tim and Archie had never been to Moose Jaw before! You will be happy to know that they do have a big moose there.

And of course I saw friends in Regina too! I was SO HAPPY to get to connect with you all! <3

Sarah and I had dinner at Homestead and it's my new favourite restaurant in Regina!! The food was excellent! We ordered the "Large" set menu and every dish was great. I can't wait to eat there again!

London was next and it was amazing to get to spend New Year's with the Golems (also with bits of challenges in dealing with Tim's parents). On this side of the family Archie has six cousins (soon to be seven!), so he gets to enjoy the dynamic of tons of kids to run around and play with. <3 We stayed with Angela and Greg, who just built a brand new house (they moved in in November). It's 6,300sqft and HUGE!

New Year's Eve was low-key but still nice. I burned my 2024 intentions at midnight, which is an annual tradition of mine.

Tim's sister Emily is about to have a baby any day now (her due date is January 14) so her family didn't come to London to have Christmas with us. They live in Kitchener so we drove to see them instead! I'm excited to have either a 7th niece or my FIRST nephew very soon!! (It's gotta be a boy right?! It seems mathematically impossible that Archie is the only boy.)

We spent one night in Toronto on the way home and I used that opportunity to eat good food and hang with friends! I was so glad that I was able to see Sarah and her family! <3

And that was our Christmas holidays!! Everything was wonderful and went according to plan. I feel so grateful to be able to spend time with both of our families like this. We don't take it for granted. It was also nice to return home and get back to our own life and space. I got some truly wonderful Christmas gifts this year!!

The other thing that continued to develop for me in December was my journey to figuring out my irregular menstrual cycles. After having bloodwork done and seeing my family doctor, naturopath, and my private gynecologist Dr. Enobong, the verdict seems to be conclusive: I am in perimenopause. Perimenopause most often starts between the ages of 40 to 44... And that's me. My hormones are acting menopausal and my ovaries aren't ovulating regularly. I started paying closer attention to the other signs and noticed that I've also been experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, breast tenderness, racing heartbeat, waking up more often during the night, brain fog, and weight gain. These are all symptoms of perimenopause. I feel totally okay about this! If anything, I'm happy to know that this is something natural happening to my body and not anything dangerous or scary. I am not going to be having any more kids so... Have at 'er perimenopause. The only issue is that if my uterine lining keeps building up without emptying out, that can lead to problems. So right now I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing to best support my health at this time. My naturopath has me taking N-Acetyl-Cysteine, which is a powerful antioxidant that is protective of the ovaries. I had a pelvic ultrasound done so that the doctor can see what is going on in there. I'm waiting to get in with a female gynecologist in Edmonton and I'm hoping that when I do, armed with completed bloodwork and a pelvic ultrasound, that the best course of action will be clear. It sounds like I may need to go back onto a form of birth control so that my cycles will be regulated. This is annoying to me since the whole point of Tim getting a vasectomy was so that I could STOP being on birth control. Enobong recommended that I get a hormonal IUD and I've always been resistant to the idea of an IUD. But if getting one would be of great benefit to my health I think that I may go that route. We'll see what happens after I see the gynecologist in Edmonton. SO THAT'S THAT WHOLE STORY!!!

Life with Archie: Archie enjoyed all of the fun festive activities leading up to Christmas! He built a wooden gingerbread house at the latest Kids Workshop at Home Depot, had a blast at the Christmas market, and hung out with various Santas, ha ha.

Archie completed his fall round of swimming lessons and gymnastics and we are gearing up for some new winter activities. In the winter he'll be doing more swimming lessons, rock climbing, and snowboarding lessons.

Archie had his first sleepover EVER at his friend Brendan's house and it went really well! He didn't have any issues with it and didn't ask to leave to come home.

The last week of school before the holidays was a spirit week where each day had a different theme. There was Holiday Headwear Day, Cozy Socks Day, Red White and Green Day, Holiday Sweater Day, and Pajama Day. It was fun getting Archie dressed up for all of those days!

His school had their Winter Concert and this was the first time that I've ever attended one of these in person! Archie's class performed two songs, one in French and one in English, and it was very cute. You can watch the video of it here! The school also held a drawing contest to design the cover of the program for the concert and Archie was one of the winners! He worked really hard on his drawing and it was so cool to see it on the program!

And of course on the last day of school there was an appropriately themed snack!

Archie loved our early Christmas at home and was very excited about Santa and presents!

Archie flew his 45th, 46th, and 47th flights!

He got even more presents in Regina and had a great time at the mineral pool in Moose Jaw!

In London and Kitchener Archie LOVED spending tons of time with his cousins! It's so amazing how he just disappears with them for the entire day and we barely see the kids! His relationship with his cousins is so special. <3

Archie lost a tooth on New Year's Eve! The one next to it is about to fall out any second as well.

And finally, Archie was happy to see his old Toronto pal Brayden once again!

PHEW!!! December is always such a big and busy month!! I enjoyed it a lot but I'm definitely ready for some chill time at home back in our normal routines. January is a seriously fun and exciting month for us! It's my birthday this week!! I'm turning 42 (hence the perimenopause, ha ha). My birthday plans include going for lunch on my birthday at Brew+Bloom because I want their Confetti Cupcake Iced Drink. On the weekend Tim and I are going out for dinner at Fu's Repair Shop, which is a restaurant that I've really wanted to try (Archie will be home with a babysitter). And then next week will be my Birthday Girls Night dinner at Uccellino with the ladies. So lots of good eating with my people - I wouldn't have it any other way! Archie's birthday is next week so we'll be going straight into kid birthday mode! He's having a pretty epic pirate-themed birthday party this year. It's being held on the ship at West Edmonton Mall, we're all going to dress like pirates, and there's going to be a puppeteer/magician doing a pirate-themed show for the kids. Plus Korean corn dogs to eat! We're also going to spend the night at Fantasyland Hotel (in the mall) in the Pirate theme room. And remember, we will all be in costume so the photos are going to be amazing, ha ha. Near the end of the month I have tickets to see Hotel Mira, a band that I'm kinda obsessed with. And then we leave for TURKS AND CAICOS!!! I am so, so, so excited. We are flying to Toronto first and spending the night there. Then we're off to Providenciales! We're staying at Beaches Turks & Caicos which is an all-inclusive family resort for seven nights. The resort has a waterpark with waterslides and a partnership with Sesame Street (so there are characters walking around, kinda like Disney or Great Wolf Lodge). Archie has watched Sesame Street since he was little and still does, so he'll know the characters and be excited about it. We've never taken Archie on a beach vacation before and I'm just so excited to lay on a tropical beach!! CAN'T WAIT. I hope that everyone's year is off to a great start!!! I hope that I'll get to see ALL OF YOU in person this year! Make 2024 everything that you want it to be! <3 THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!: January 30th is Enobong Antsey’s 42nd birthday!

My favourite birthday month friend!! I hope that your day is extra special and that your family spoils you with all of your steak and lobster favourites! I have loved being more in touch with you lately and appreciate your gynecological help so much!! I feel very fancy having my own private doctor, ha ha! (Even though you always threaten to charge me $200.) I can't wait for you to visit in the summer and for us to have some fun adventures together. Love you so much, my friend! <3