Ringing in the new year

This (to your right) was the best part of our 2005 festivus season.

Hope your holidays were wonderful and that your new year is kicking ass so far (or at least is fair to middling). Things were crazy in the Dee house this season and I've finally been able to come up for air.

While the big event was Juliana's first Christmas, the biggest event for me was leaving her here with my SIL while A and I joined some friends for a long New Year's weekend celebration in Chicago. It was our first time going anywhere without the baby and it wasn't too horrible. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the little gal with all my heart. And while we had a wonderful time in Chi-town (one of my two favorite cities to visit in the U.S.), it was also nice to return to the lass. She seemed to have grown exponentially while we were gone.

I'm now working from home but the wee one is still in daycare. She'll stay there full-time for a few more weeks, until I'm better acclimated to my new job (in a field that's fairly new to me). Once the dust clears, I'll have her in daycare part-time and home with me the rest of the time. I'm looking forward to it.

Another 'first' milestone is coming up--this week, the three of us are flying to see family in Michigan for a 5-day vacation. It'll be Juliana's first plane ride--hope it goes well. I'm all stressed out about all the stuff we'll be hauling (car seat since she has her own ticket/seat, stroller, diaper bag, laptop, etc.) but we'll manage. Yes, we're crazy to label a January trip to Michigan a vacation but being from Florida, cold and snow (crossing my fingers that we get some while there) make for a nice change every so often.

I've been reading my blomey's blogs but haven't had a lot of time to comment over the holidays. Now that things are quieting back down, I hope to have more time to 'chat' going forward. Please don't think I'm not 'all up in your business'--'cause I still am, but just more quietly than usual.

Hope your 2006 is a good one :-)