Update to my previous post: I responded to Harriet. In hindsight, I should have just ignored it, but I think if I’d done that, she would have found another way to reach out. I simply told her what Emilie’s feelings on the matter were. I thought I was pretty polite considering, and I know it wouldn’t have gone well if I’d said what I really wanted to, so I did make an real effort to be polite. She responded immediately by trying to gaslight me, and she went on about how she’s trying to “be an adult” and they’ll “respect Emilie’s wishes” and blah blah blah word vomit bullshit. Because she immediately tried to gaslight and be patronizing, I’ve made the decision to just leave it alone. I said what I said, I meant what I said, and I have nothing more to say on the matter. It wouldn’t surprise me, really, if she reports back to Emilie’s birth father or if he put her up to this to begin with. I archived the conversation and I’m not giving her anymore of my emotional labour.

Things have been a bit up and down lately. Norovirus is currently tearing its way through my house, and thankfully I am now mostly over it. I don’t know where I picked it up from, because I’ve been by myself at work and haven’t really gone anywhere else, but I came into contact with it somewhere and it got me. It got me really, really good, starting last Friday morning. It came on so suddenly that I was confused as to why “that” was happening.

Thankfully I’m now mostly over it. I just feel terrible because both Emilie and Charlie have it now. Emilie vomited in the truck on the way home yesterday, so we had to pull into a gas station so I could clean her up. Poor little dear was so grey, she looked like a lump of clay. Wasn’t too hard to get her to stay home and rest, but I’m going to try and get some Pedialyte into her later on. That might be a bit of a fight.

Autumn has transitioned from sleeping in mine and Charlie’s room to sleeping in her crib in her own room. It’s been an adjustment for me, because I’m so used to her being within an arm’s reach at all times, and I’m right there when she needs anything. Charlie invested in a pretty sophisticated baby monitoring system to ease my mind, and it’s been quite fun to peak in on Autumn and talk to her through the camera. I will never get enough of this:

This weekend, I need to put her curtains up and do some more decorating in her room, but the transition has gone really well so far. The bassinet that she was sleeping in was a pretty snug space, so I thought that not having that snug feeling would make it hard for her to sleep, but it doesn’t seem to phase her at all. I went in to check on her early this morning, and she was completely sideways with her limbs thrown every which way. Takes after Charlie in that way, I guess, LOL.

Going to be working more on the yard this weekend, as well. I might take some pictures of my progress if things go well. I have to get the lawn mower out of the garage and get it functional for a quick mow, too. As long as the deer cooperate and let me work, I should get a lot done this weekend. My next big project is to get my hands on a small chainsaw, so I can get the fallen trees cut up into more manageable pieces and get them all picked up. With fire season already here (thanks global warming), the faster it gets done, the better. And then once the fallen trees are done, I can start taking measurements and planning for the new fence and (maybe – possibly) my chicken coop.

Here is my latest earworm to share:

Happy 2024!

If you’re reading this, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

Mine turned out to be nice and quiet. On Christmas Eve, Charlie, the girls and myself went visiting with family and dropping off gifts. Poor Autumn was so tuckered out by the end of it, but we had a good time and it was nice to see everyone. It feels weird to me still to have other family in town outside my immediate family, but Charlie’s relatives have been very welcoming to me.

On Christmas day, with Charlie’s help, we made the big turkey dinner. The turkey turned out really well, so it was a pat on the back to myself, because cooking meat is really not my specialty and I had to wing it without a meat thermometer. Charlie’s mom, my sister and my brother-in-law came over, and it felt like a real “family dinner.” I’ve missed the feeling. It’s been so difficult since my mom passed away… things always feel off, and this was the first time since her passing that it didn’t.

For some reason or another, my brother decided not to come, which made me both sad and a little angry. We had a big talk when my mom passed that we would try our best to keep the family traditions going, and he was in agreement with that. I still haven’t sussed out what his reasoning is for bailing, but I’m leaving it alone for right now. I’m hoping he’ll tell me when he’s ready whatever it is going on with him.

I had the week between Christmas and New Years off, so I got to spend that time with Charlie and the girls, doing a bunch of nothing. I had planned to do a bunch of work around the house, but I rarely ever get downtime with my little family, so I decided to say “fuck it” and I put it off instead. Laundry will be there later, you know? New Years Eve was spent doing a bunch of nothing, and New Years day, I made a big chuck roast and we celebrated. (The leftovers made excellent beef dips, too.) Here’s a little photo dump:

Things have been going well for me. Despite the sleep deprivation, I’m in a good headspace. I’m taking advantage of the residual energy from the Capricorn New Moon and now the Leo Full Moon, and setting some health goals. I finally got clearance from my obesity doctor to start on a diet plan called Optifast, now I’m just waiting for my product to arrive from back east. Going to start the year off with a bang, and see if I can’t make a decent dent into my journey to 175 lbs this year. I’ve already lost my baby weight, so it’s just the rest I need to work on. I renewed my membership to Body Groove (if you’re interested in the program – use my link for 10% off your first payment), so I’m going to utilize that. Charlie wants us to get a pass to the rec centre, so that’s another thing we’re going to do. I’m excited to go swimming again. I haven’t been since early in my pregnancy, and Autumn is going to love it.

Here is my latest earworm to share:

Have a wonderful day. 🙂