Hello blogland, my old friend….

Yes, yes it’s been forever – I know!  I’m not going to apologise for being such a shocking blogger though – sometimes, life just gets in the way.  I’ve got 14 drafts in the draft folder of posts I started and never finished.  They’re getting trashed and this one *will* get published.

I’ve had a small emotional block on the blog front – where I want to write but then I get myself into a stupid place because the blog reminds me of my dad and then I don’t want to write, but I do, but I don’t.  That kind of cycle.  Know what I mean?  I contemplated starting a whole new blog because then it would be a fresh new canvas with no “miss-my-dad-vibes” but seriously, who am I kidding?  Also I love this blog – it’s funny and has memories and I don’t want it to disappear into dead-blog-land.  So for now, Angel and the Darkness will continue with a small seasonal face lift – although the content may be very different, as my life is now very different…

So for a quick catch-up:

My Mic and I managed to get through and finish grade 2 homeschool.  He did extremely well considering the really hectic year we have had.  I had him assessed by a therapist and she was blown away at how together he is after all he has had to deal with and she assured me that if he was in a mainstream school, he would not have received the extra time and attention he needed and would have likely fallen way behind.  It was a great affirmation to know I am doing the right thing here.  We plan to continue homeschool in Grade 3 and then after another evaluation, mainstream him in Grade 4.

My baby Mason is SIX months old next week.  How did that happen?  I know everyone says it does, but this time has really whizzed by in a blur of happiness, giggles, love and cuddles.  He is the cutest, sweetest little baby in the world.  He’s smiley and chatty and well behaved.  He eats well, sleeps from 7pm until 6am every night, loves bath time and adores his big brother.  I could not have wished for a happier baby.  I could not love him more.

My G is home for Christmas which is awesome!  He has also started his own business which I have every faith will be a great success in the new year.  I love you babe and believe in you with every part of my being.

I also started a little small business almost by accident.  When we were cleaning out my dads house I kept all his shirts in the hopes of cutting them up and using the fabric to make a memory quilt for each of my boys.  That way they would have something special from their Papa to keep forever.  My amazing stepmom gave me one of her sewing machines so i could do this.  As I had never done any form of sewing before, I was very reluctant to start with my dads shirts as I was so scared I would botch it and the shirts are irreplaceable.  So instead, I went and bought a whole bunch of cute fabrics and made some baby stuff like bibs and burp cloths and little tag blankies – it was a great way to start out and practice the whole sewing thing.  My mommy friends saw the stuff I was making and fell in love with them and wanted me to make baby goodies for their babies.  It kind of snowballed after that and MandiMoo was born.  Go have a look!  I’m having a lot of fun making things, at night when my boys are asleep and its just me and my creative side, who knew I was *that* girl?  Who knew a hobby like sewing would give me such a sense of peace and joy?  Who knew I would be any good at it?

Christmas is around the corner and last night I finally finished making an Advent Calendar for Mic and Mason.  It was a HUGE project, which took many hours but I am so happy with the end result.  Mic is so chuffed with it too.  It’s something we will have forever and bring out every Christmas – a special family tradition of our own.

It has been a tough year.  A tough year with many many lows.  But we are nearing the end of 2010 with a stronger marriage, 2 amazing healthy, happy children, high hopes and attainable dreams for our future, a lot of love and a perfect little family.  Even when things are bad, I love my life.

Thanks for listening

M xxx

PS – Been trying to add photo’s but my upload speed is non-existant and WordPress on my Blackberry doesn’t want to load them either.  Sigh.  Will try again tomorrow. xxx