Our January.

January is always a bit of a long one. This January was extra difficult. But I’m learning multiple things can be true: I can be devastated and happy, hurt and smile, feel sorrow and hope, and sob and laugh. And often, those things happen at the same time or immediately after each other. So, even though January 2023 was the hardest month of my life, there was good in it, too.

We started the month by celebrating Lola’s birthday! Once she was back in school, I went in for her classroom birthday celebration where I read two books to her class. She spent the month dancing, playing dress-up and doing great at basketball! She’s loving the snow (we haven’t had too much of it.) She’s also obsessed with makeup and her new makeup vanity. 🙂

Eva spent her month learning and growing! Her speech is becoming a bit clearer and she’s working really hard to be understood. This month, she qualified for an IEP through the public school so she’ll soon start even more services for speech therapy. She’s been doing dance once a week, on Saturday mornings. She spends her weekdays with a variety of adults now that I’m working (Sean, my parents and Barb) and she is exhausted by bedtime! She loves to help with laundry and cooking and she’s always ready for anything.

Javi had a BIG month! He’s busy with school, Cub Scouts and basketball. He started the year off by going to a hockey game with Sean. I’m not sure if he enjoyed the game or the snow cone more! Then he continued with a bang when he lost his first tooth AT SCHOOL. He made $5 off the Tooth Fairy. He was one of two boys to be invited to a paint party from a sweet girl he went to kindergarten with — he was very excited about this! He built a pinewood derby car but was a little disappointed to come in 4th place (but there’s always next year!) He also had a playdate with a good friend!

We also played in the snow and visited the library and celebrated my dad’s birthday! We got new winter gear, and got ready for Valentine’s Day, and got back their basketball headshots! Sean went to a concert, and brewed beer with a friend. We had a couple of snow storms and the kids had their first snow day of the year — but, my school didn’t cancel! I read five books, we finished Yellowstone, and I started a rewatch of Dawson’s Creek… because, why not. I also had to cut off social media for my own sanity (except for fascinating videos of people cleaning carpets…) + really only sat on my phone to play tetris (but the free version which isn’t as good.)

January also marks the anniversary of Sean’s dad’s death and now our miscarriage and my D&C. So most of this stuff happened in between tears, work, daytime naps, nighttime insomnia, surgery, physical and emotional pain, mourning the past and grieving the future. All while the two of us figured out how to tag team between our emotional states to successfully manage our three children; making sure they were fed and happy and thriving. It was not easy and I’m sure glad January is over, to be honest.

Let’s see how February goes. <3