Mike Aragona's Storefront

The Savage Knight

• Running Just As Fast As I Can...

  2009 Dec 24

  As is the feeling at the end of every year! :) Wow, I've been trying to get online here to post in what feels like ages! True, every now and again there have been private posts made here but that's due to matters of a private nature :) Can't let the entire world know what's going on in all aspects of my life - even though I can be coerced to share in some cases. Chocolate and Coffee does wonders :)
  
  With all this running around lately, I have no full clue as to what I wanted to blog about! We got our tree up last weekend - finishing with the decorations and everything at 830pm on Sunday night! That's the latest we ever put up a tree! Afterwards, I tossed the kids in the bath and when they were sparkling clean, they went downstairs to write letters to Santa. Kyle, being the sensitive little boy he continues to be, actually asked Santa to also bring Charlize a "dolly and carriage" in his letter :). He's just such a sweet child. The previous Friday, as Chantale was getting him and Charlize ready to go to their guardian, he saw the little gift we had for her and he immediately ran to his very precious Hot Wheels and picked out a few telling Chantale how he had to also give her one of his cars as well as her 2 daughters because he "loves them so much!" and because he wanted "Santa to see that I share" :) She was leaving on vacation for 2 weeks and he was going to miss them so much he wanted them to have a reminder. Blown away I was. Truly.
  
  So, let's see, what's else has been going on? Well, outside of some health-related issues in the family (bad reactions to the H1N flu shot, for example), everything has been great. Chantale was off this week and is also off next week so the kids are home with her. Melyssa came over last Sunday and goes back the night of the 28th. We just love having her around. It sure brings a different energy/ dynamic to the household. It actually "fills" up the house :)
  
  So, today is Xmas Eve and I'm at work. I hope everyone "out there" has themselves a wonderful (and safe!) holiday! We're spending the evening at my in-laws and tomorrow is supposed to be very much a lazy day. Probably filled with staying-in-PJs, watching movies, listening to music, and just lounging around :) At least until the evening when we're having friends come over. I know it's all going to pass in a blur and before I know it, it'll be the 29th and I'll be back in the office. But, still, I also know I'm going to really enjoy it and drink in all the happy ambiance :)
  
  On the creative side, I've got a lot of stuff to complete and send off in January. 2010 has definitely got to be the year I settle things into a more structured routine (even if for a few months) which will allow me a bit more time to devote to these projects. They're exciting to work on and give me a huge sense of accomplishment. The book plan is a re-issue of one and release of a new one plus the completion of a third. It's all do-able, of course, when time's not an enemy :)
  
  Okay, that's it, that's all! I'll probably be online one more time next week but until then, I wish you all the happiest of holidays! Where there's breath, there's life. And where there's Life, there's Hope. And where there's hope, there's a Better Tomorrow waiting!
  
  Peace!

• Running after time...

  2009 Dec 11

  Ah, the crazy cycle of chasing after time. You'd think we'd have it all figured out by now... but, no. I wanted to post a little something recently. But, I blinked, and now it's friday. C'est la vie.
  
  Life has just been full. Way full with too much to do. Taking care of the family, dealing with my lawyer to ensure I can exercise my rights, getting ready for the Holidays, keeping the creative flames going, and always work, work, work. I accept that we can't do everything we want, so it's a matter of priority. What's really important to me/ life vs what would be "nice".
  
  Last weekend was filled with my in-laws moving to their new house and the kid's Xmas party. Melyssa enjoyed herself as much as I had hoped she would have and was involved in a number of activities that day (face painting, jewelry making, supervising the blow-up rides, etc). I'm glad she had as much fun as she did and agreed to do it again next year. She was well taken care of by the events manager and even got a gift of thanks :). That weekend we also got to watch a Father-Daughter movie (just the two of us while Chantale was helping her parents move in). I can definitely say that the Hannah Montana movie has better acting than TeaLight ;)
  
  Strange coincidence that Monday morning all four of us woke up feeling various stages of ill. I had a sore throat, Kyle a runny nose, Charlize coughing, and Chantale sinus headache. On Tuesday night, we decided to go watch The Olympic Torch as it was making its way through our neighborhood. I picked everyone up and we headed out to get a quick bite before making our way there (it was for 6pm). We were all excited, except that while we were eating, Chantale and I both started getting really worried with Charlize's cough. It wasn't a "cold" cough. It was sounding very much like an Asthma cough. Kyle was about that same age when he had his first attack so we checked on it but within 20 minutes we knew we couldn't wait any longer. She was wheezing and unable to catch her breath.
  
  We went home (Kyle was very sad that we couldn't go see the Flame but he perked up a bit as it was being shown on the news) and got her changed. We knew we had to do something so we gave her a dose of Kyle's pump and after dropping him off at the in-laws, Chantale and I drove to the hospital. 3+ hours later we were given an all-clear. The Doc could see that she was having trouble breathing, but there was nothing causing it (no longer wheezing, xrays clear, etc) so it was felt that our giving her the pump helped. One funny moment came after we left triage to wait in the general area. We waited quite a while before being seen and then again after we were called in. But, after we were sent for xrays, we were called back almost immediately. The Doc comes to us and goes, "You didn't tell me she had heart surgery!" Chantale says, "we didn't see that as being relevant to her coughing". Basically, she was just taken aback when the xrays came back and she saw the metal tie clips that are still wrapped around her ribs from the original surgery :)
  
  Anyhow, the rest of the night went well and Wednesday morning we woke up to the news of a big storm coming. The kids and I had a very early haircut scheduled and afterwards, I left to go to another appointment (had to drop the car off for maintenace and winter tires!). The roads were so horrible I could not make it. I was sliding way too much on the highway and it just got too close for comfort. So, I turned around and went to the dealership closer to home. What a harrowing experience. Funny thing was that a similar thing happened last year except that time the storm hit while I was on my way home. Took me 6 hours to get home that night which meant we were almost 4 hours late in picking up the kids from daycare! That was the moment I decided to get Blackberries for Chantale and I. A decision I definitely don't regret.
  
  With all that going on, you'd think we'd try to take it easy this weekend? Nope. Planning on painting the kitchen on Saturday and getting a Christmas tree in the afternoon!! Sunday will probably be spent driving around in the morning and more work in the afternoon. So, basically, when Monday comes around, we'll be spent once more. LOL! :)
  
  Of course, all this summarizing doesn't do justice to the amount of things we actually did/ had to go through, but I just had to write down SOME of it for posterity!! :)
  
  Edited to add: and I totally forgot the fact that Chantale and I also took the moment to go get our H1N1 shots on Wednesday!! My arm still hurts but it's not as bad as Chantale who actually suffered some flu symptoms (aches, pains, fever) yesterday. I think we're very much looking forward to relaxing at the holidays... :)

• Things I'll Miss.

  2009 Nov 30

  Sometimes, when you're living through things, you're just trying to get by. It's only after the fact when you realize, "hey, that's definitely one for the books!". That's what this post is to remind me of. 2 very important memories for me. Good ones, not the ones that have been causing me grief.
  
  1- Kyle's loving reassurance. As many might remember, Kyle has had a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and coming to my bed for a "hug and a kiss". He has done this up to 4 times a night on occasion. As sweet as it was, it also (obviously) interrupted my sleep schedule as I would scoop him up and bring him back to his bed. It was/is a sweet thing. Just a little boy wanting reassurance that Daddy's there and still loves him :)
  
  In the last few months, this has changed/ evolved in that he no longer gets up that often or that regularly. Nowadays, he'll come to the bed to get his hug and kiss (always snuggling his puppy and blankie, of course) but will then go back to his bed on his own. :) When he does this (perhaps 3 times a week) it'll only be once, not multiple times.
  
  Even more recently, there has been another modification to this behaviour. As I get up before 5:30am, I'm usually preparing to leave/ warm up the car/ etc by 6am. At around that time, I'll usually be in the kitchen pouring my coffee, and I'll hear footsteps on the stairs. Lo and behold, Kyle will walk into the kitchen for a hug and kiss and I'll walk him back to the stairs, telling him I love him and to go snuggle back to bed :)
  
  Wonderful moments, truly. :)
  
  2- Charlize's camping out. Now, as much as Charlize has gotten into the habit of waking up in the middle of the night, she won't come into the bedroom. Instead, she sits right outside the bedroom door, against the wall that connects to Kyle's bedroom. She'll sit there, in the dark except for the nightlight in the hallway, and wait. Although she makes no real noise (sometimes shuffling) I'll become aware of her and wake up. I walk out of the bedroom, pick her up, and carry her back to bed to cover her up and have her snuggle with her blankets/ stuffed animals.
  
  :)
  
  Nightime, a time for sleep?? Not so much. But a time for Daddy to slay dragons and protect the castle? Definitely :)