Why not to plan so hard for Christmas!

This is the first Christmas I have had off in the last 4 years, mainly because I am on Maternity leave. This is also the first Christmas with the first great-grand baby on my fathers side, so my little man was going to be the center of attention. The weeks leading up to Christmas we forwent visiting with friends that we knew were sick just because we wanted to limit my son from getting sick over the holidays. About a week and a half before Christmas he got sick, but was over it before the holidays even started. Breathing a sigh of relief that, hey at least he got it out of his system before the holidays. I should have known that all the work I put into him not getting sick, that the inevitable was coming.

Sure enough the morning of the 23^rd started the projectile vomiting. Thinking that he just started his medication again that it hadn't kicked in yet that is all it was. Boy was I wrong! This was the start of almost a week long virus that is super contagious.

On the 24^th, he was still vomiting and was starting to refuse to eat. The little that he did would just come right back up. Tradition, on Christmas Eve on my fathers side is we all go to my grandparents and snack on meats and cheese from the Italian supermarket, until midnight when everyone gets to open gifts, then off to bed and we get Santas gifts in the morning. Now that my uncle has three young kids and I now have Logan we opened gifts much earlier so we didn't have screaming children underfoot. Not knowing what Logan had yet we went over, warning everyone that he had been sick all day so not to hang around him so they didn't catch it. Once everyone was ready to and all packing up, my uncles smallest girl kissed Logan goodbye. Of course we all thought it was so cute so we got her to do it again so we could all take pictures. Oops, big mistake!

Next day still vomiting and now the lovely watery diarrhea. Starting to get a little worried because I am now having to force liquids on my son just so he doesn't get dehydrated, I call the Health Link. I explain what has been going on and what should/ shouldn't I be doing. I was then informed that he has Norwalk virus and it is super contagious, and there is nothing to do for him other than make sure he keeps hydrated, and oh ya STAY home and start cleaning everything with bleach. As the words stay home are ringing in my head all I can think of is that cute little kiss goodbye. As soon as I got off the phone I had to call everyone that was at my grandparents last night and warn them!

The 26^th, this is when the whole family was supposed to get together for the family supper. My father and I usually cook all the family supper get togethers, and that was the plan for this day. Now my dad has caught this virus and my uncles little girl and it was passed to my uncles, wife's mother. Our Supper of 13 is now 6(more family members couldn't make it because of being sick). I went over just to help cook and once we were done I came right back home.

The endless watery diapers and following Logan around cleaning up vomit has now gone till the 28^th. He was still getting sick on the 29^th but is now starting to eat again. However I now have it. Christmas did not go as planned this year. Hopefully next year we will get it right.

The positive side to all of this is all the cuddling time I got out of it!

Making a SMART New Year's Resolution

             It's 2 days until New Year's Eve, and the dreaded task of coming up with a New Year's Resolution has overcome me. Most people never achieve their New Year's Resolutions, mostly because they're such cliche things as "lose weight", "quit smoking", or I've even heard "win the lottery". I feel the need to make one, even if I don't achieve it, because it means I haven't given up on bettering myself...I make goals all year too, but the ringing in of a new year seems as good a time as any for a new start.

          So this year, I decided to come  up with a goal that I will actually achieve. As some of you know, I'm finishing a degree, and this past semester I took an Education course that taught us how to make goals that were SMART-that we could achieve. So I'm going to make a New Year's Resolution using this process. I encourage anyone else who is setting a goal this New Year to use this too :).

Basically, a good goal is:

Specific - Generally if you make a goal that is broad, doesn't actually specify what exactly it is that you're going to do or how you're going to get there, it is not measurable. See below.

Measurable - You must be able to measure whether you actually achieve this goal or not. This rules out "lose weight" or "get in shape"...How much weight? Per month? Per week? Define "in shape".

Attainable - don't make a goal so out there that it's highly unlikely you'll be able/have the motivation to follow through on.

Realistic - this is solely based on you. What is realistic for YOU based on time constraints, money, kids keeping you running, etc.

Timely - Make it something you can actually achieve in a reasonable amount of time. This will keep you motivated to follow through. If you think about it, how many of us will really follow through on a goal that we don't succeed or fail at for an entire year? You forget, get busy, a lot changes in a year.

                 My goal, considering my destination wedding is coming up,  has to do with looking great. But I wanted something better than "look wonderful in my wedding dress". I've also always wanted to be a disciplined enough person to run, but that always fails. Discipline is my arch enemy.

                 I think I've decided on my goal to run the "Spring Thaw" 10K Run on April 29th, and then proceed to run "Melissa's Road Race" , the half marathon, on September 22nd. Hmmm...let's see how this holds up.

Specific - that's pretty specific, two specific dates by which I have to be able to run 10 and 22 kilometres.

Measurable - I guess when April 29th and September 22nd come, I'll be able to measure whether I hit my goal based on whether I can breathe halfway through these runs ;).

Attainable - hmmm....well my plan is to do (and actually complete) the Couch 2 5K, a plan that gets you from the couch to running 5 kilometres in 12 weeks, so if I accomplish that these goals are both doable.

Realistic.....yes.

Timely.....With two separate timelines, I think I have this covered.

               Two things missing with my elaborate plan? A running buddy/person I'd be standing up if I don't get out of bed, and a gym membership. On the hunt!

What are YOUR New Year's Resolutions? Or do you make them at all?

Bringing Smiles to our Seniors

I have always had a huge soft spot for the elderly. I choke up when they have to run to a bus because the driver is to impatient to wait, and I offer my arm when they walk across the street and I always ask if they need help finding something in stores.

Because of this love for seniors, it felt natural for me to work in seniors home. I am completely comfortable there and the things I have learned are incredible. Just to hear someones life story is amazing and makes me realize how good we got it. As much as I love working at the seniors home it also breaks my heart. Many not having family or have family but they do not visit. I have seen many residents that I have grown to love pass away. Christmas is one of the worst times of the year for resideI have always had a huge soft spot for the elderly. I choke up when they have to run to a bus because nts passing away.

While on maternity leave I was introduced to momstown. I instantly loved it, it got me out of the house and connected me with other women who were going through the same things I was as a mother. Then I got a wonderful opportunity to co-own the Edmonton North chapter. While planning events for our calendar the seniors home always pops into my mind and I think about how lonely some of the residents are. I knew that the residents love having children around, it brings a sparkle to their eyes! We started with Knit Night last month, and this month we thought it would be a great idea to do Christmas carolling with the kids.

We didn't end up singing as much as I thought we would, however it was a great event and it almost made me cry at how well it went!A bunch of balls were pulled out and the children played toss with the residents. We made such a huge impact on the residents day, for most of them it was probably the happiest part of their day. The smiles it brought to their faces and the absolute enjoyment they got from tossing a ball was amazing. And the seniors weren’t the only ones who had fun, the children did too. I could tell by their laughter and rosy red cheeks!

I know we were able to lift many spirits today, and I thank everyone that were able to make it. We were treated to cookies and punch and were asked to come back again every month, actually every week, but they would be happy to see us a least once a month!

Your momstown mama, Kandice

Your momstown mama, Kandice