2009: the year in review

February was for…
A little lass turning 2, and on the very same day finding out we were expecting another babe! It was family weddings and unemployment and plenty of time for me to get anxious and worry about a job that never seemed to be coming. That is until…

March was for…
Starting a new job! And at the same time starting a wave of pregnancy wooze that lasted for some time. It was about trying to look interested in a new job whilst in between running to the bathroom to throw up. It was about new routines, and travel and did I mention feeling sick?

April was for…
An Easter trip away to the farm, to concerts with cousins and Easter shows and chocolate that eased the pain of the wooze (that was still there!). It was also the month that Rob’s TV show finally got the green light and things started to get into place for production later in the year.

May was for…
Birthdays for Rob and the start of the dreaded Night terrors. And bad dreams and sleeps for us all. A terrible month of stress for all of us which eventually seemed to get a little better by the end.

June was for…
Staying in. For relaxing in front of the fire and resting after a hard week at work. It was long weekend trips away to Pearl Beach and family lunches around the fire pit.

July was for…
The start of pre-production craziness and a new kind of work/life and routine for us all. It was the month we got our new car and when I got to spend a special weekend with my Mum’s family (aunts and cousins) in the mountains.

August was for…
A birthday (mine) weekend away to Melbourne for Daise and myself, the start of shooting for Rob’s show and moving rooms for Daisy.

September was for…
Work & life juggling almost driving me to the brink of despair. For overhormonal breakdowns from me, and the world’s worst Fathers Day for Rob. For Rob’s show wrapping up filming and me finishing up work and waiting. It was a time for getting bigger and dust storms and waiting (and did I mention getting bigger?)

The arrival of our beautiful little lady Harper Lucy and all the joy that she bought all of us.

Adjustment. For all of us to get to know each other and get into routines. To life as a family of 4.

Families. And time reuniting with loved ones. For Christmas catch ups with friends, for Rob finishing work, and for some time (at long last) on a holiday up at the farm. Bliss.

It’s been a big year for all of us Macdonalds. A time of adjustment – from not working to working to not working again, for Rob being FLAT out all year and for Daisy having to adjust in between to all the changes that we have thrown at her. A time where the very nature of our family of 3 changed to 4. It seems funny to me that we started the year as a family of 3 with no idea where the year would take us to suddenly being here, being 4, sort of knowing where the year will go. It’s amazing what can happen in just 12 months!

It’s been such an exciting time for Rob professionally – achieving all he has with his TV show and doing a bloody fabulous job of it – all while keeping his own business up and running – I am beyond proud of what we has done and I CANNOT wait until we see the finished product in the new year. I know that the show will be fabulous and I can’t wait to have other people reinforce this. I know it will make all the long hours and hard work he has put in totally worth it. His support for me with all I have done has been so appreciated, and just completely reinforced to me why I married this man. He is kindness and love and support personified.

It’s been a big year for our little lady Daisy. She has weathered being pulled from pillar to post with us both working SO hard. She has shed (many) tears (as have Rob and I) at the daycare drop offs and had to cope with the awful night terrors that she had. And THEN, well then she had to suck it all up and become a big sister. To look after me, and help me out, and be kind to a baby that just seems to take up all our time AND cry. Well, she has done amazingly well and I am so proud of the big girl that she is now. She is going to be such a good big sister. This process has given me such an appreciation for the first born in a family – the pressure they have on them and the enormous job they have. She is living up to all of his and doing it with a smile and a laugh along the way. I love this lady I tell you. Just plain love her.

It’s been a big year for me – physically and mentally. I have worried about not working, to being exhausted from work and then not working again. I have been pushed to my limits with worry about Daisy, Harper and Rob and keeping everything together for the family while Rob was working SO hard – all while being pregnant. I have carried a babe and gotten it out and then managed to keep her alive! I have been amazed at what I can do and been proud of what I have done. I have had my heart bursting with love for little Harper and amazed that I can actually love 2 children and be a mother of two children – and a semi-capable one at that – all my fears have been pushed away! I have spent some special time with our families on both sides – I am beyond thrilled to have my little sis here, being able to share Harper with her and just have her a call and car trip away if needed. Family is so special to me and I am one lucky lady to have mine filled with truly special, amazing and fun people. I feel very blessed.

Most of all, upon reflection of the year I feel lucky. Grateful that I have such a great family and so many friends supporting me (and all of us) and loving us the way that they do. I am lucky to have found such great work and had a ball doing that for the months that I did and I look forward to going back there in the new year. I am grateful for my health and the health of my family. For Harper being born happy and healthy and grateful that we have been blessed with a new member of our family. I know how very lucky we are to be able to want to have another child and then just be able to go and do that. I know the pain and heart ache that this road can be for friends and family and I am truly grateful for the easy road we have had. I am excited about the year ahead and all it will bring for each of us: For Rob a chance for all his hard work to be seen and recognised, for Daisy to learn more and be more confident at school and grow even more into the fabulous little person that she is. For Harper so many things – her first taste of food, of crawling of walking even, and for me, work again and being an even better mother and wife and friend and family member. There is much for me to improve on (least of all my pavlova skills) and a new year is the perfect chance to start all that again.

And then, well, there’s you. The people that come on here and read my daily ramblings about my life. My complaints, despair, utter & complete joy and even photos taken in disabled toilets. I have written almost 220 posts this year…that’s a WHOLE lot of silliness…but it’s my silliness and I love to do it. I LOVE reading your comments, I love knowing that there is advice/humour/reflections/observations for me at the end of a PUBLISH button, and I love the friendships that have formed in the process. Thanks for listening and reading – you KNOW there will be plenty more where that came from in 2010.

So, what I guess I am saying to me and to you is…Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2010 brings much good health, happiness and good times for us all!