A Year Later...

Wow. Where do I continue? Without committing myself to hours and hours of posting I will try to reduce this to just the main highlights.

Last summer I started cycling and quickly realized I absolutely LOVE it. I am able to deal with the boys so much better on the days I take that hour or so ride by myself. It all started when I buggered up my knees trying to run so cycling was my fall-back. Little did I know...

Now, nearly a year later, I just completed my second 72km Tour. I've purchased myself an entry-level road bike with the intention of upgrading at some point down the road (no pun intended). LOL Never in my wildest, wildest dreams would I have seen myself riding my bike over these kinds of distances for pleasure and actually enjoying it and looking forward to each ride. My goal for the end of the summer is to ride from home to my parents' house -- around 112km. I felt completely able to go another 25 or so on Sunday when I did the 72km Tour so with a little more training, I should be able to conquer 112km no problem. It's an addiction, now!

In other news, Craig and I ditched the boys on my parents back at Easter and escaped to Jamaica for the 4 day weekend. It was a getaway that we really needed together and it gave us an opportunity to recharge and reconnect. To mark our Tenth Wedding Anniversary coming up in February, we're heading down to Las Vegas in October (it's too cold there in February so we're celebrating a little early) for almost a week. We have a couple of day trips planned for while we're there and we'll take in a show or two and the rest of the time will be sitting poolside at Bellagio. Should be fun!

The Circus is all doing well. We had a bout of what we think may have been mono back a couple of months ago. It affected all three boys in turn and they were sleeping nearly 24 hours a day for days in a row. Shaun was sleeping and lethargic for 5 days. It was getting to the point that I was starting to get a little concerned near the end because he just didn't seem to be snapping out as quickly as his brothers did. We never got any blood tests to confirm/deny it was mono simply because there's no cure for mono - just to let it run it's course; so knowing it was, indeed, mono wouldn't have made a difference in treating it. Two of Shaun's close buddies at school both had similar mono-like symptoms to Shaun during the same week as Shaun so it must have been something going around the school. A couple of my daycare kids ended up having some really sleepy days, too. Thankfully we're all past that and back to normal.

Ian starts Junior Kindergarten in September. He's so ready for school. Socially I think he's ready for more meaningful friendships and to be a part of a team within a classroom. Academically he's pretty much where Shaun was at this age, which is amazing considering I spent so much one-on-one time with Shaun since he was my only at the time. Ian still has periods where he's truly miserable and it seems like his M.O. is to ruin everyone's day from the moment he wakes up in the morning. I can only hope he grows out of this Terrible Three's before he turns four at the beginning of August. And here I thought his Terrible Two's were bad...

Kyle completely potty trained back in the winter when he turned 2. It was interesting potty training during the winter with all the clothes one has to wear. It took a little longer with Kyle than with the other 2, I think, solely because of the clothing issues. It's a lot harder to be proactive about bringing him to the potty when he's in a snowsuit and is sitting in a sled on a walk to school, than in his underwear playing in the sandbox in the backyard. But we got through all that and now he's a, generally, delightful 2 1/2 year old. His personality is so different from his brothers'. He's cuddly and loveable. Always saying, "I Love You" spontaneously and offering a big hug. He's shy and loves to bury his head in my legs when anyone talks to him. Kyle still has 2 years before starting Junior Kindergarten and will be 4 3/4 when he finally gets there, as opposed to just turned 4 like Shaun and Ian. It will be interesting to see how much 'more' ready Kyle is to start school. I have a feeling we'll have to increase the number of days he is in preschool once Ian's in school full-time for Senior Kindergarten in 2013.

So that's about it in a very condensed version of My Life in a Year. Basically, waking up at 5 for an hour bike ride, a-day-in-the-life-of-a-mom-and-home-childcare-operator, goodnight kisses and stories, then rinse and repeat. Yadda Yadda Yadda. :)