A Change Is Gonna Come...

I know I've been absent. A lot.

I know I've been whining. A lot.

I know I've been on the sad side of moody. Understandably, as far as I'm concerned.

But I'm here to tell you - and putting it in writing so it will force me to make it true - a change, my friends, is gonna come.

I'm going to be silent here until the New Year. (Truth be told - I am happy to kick 2011 out of my life) But by next week, expect some change from me. Hopefully my bruises will be gone. But I don't mean that kind of change. Hopefully I'll have a new look on my blog. But I really don't mean that either. I am planning, by Monday, to be BACK. Back to myself. Back to writing daily. Back to making corny jokes. Back with a capital BACK. Question is - are you ready? *wink*

Curious about what's been going on in our house? Well...

There's been a little of this...

A little bit of that...

And so much to make this Mommy grateful and happy for her beautiful children.

Our new helper, Miss Sara, has been working out great. She graduated from Penn State (on Brian's birthday!) and will soon be going to West Chester University for her Masters. Clearly she's unmotivated, this one. The boys just love her. Since she started, Brian has been consistently napping for close to 2 (sometimes more!) hours a day from all their fun!

And she's great with Gavin - who can be hard to wrangle for even one minute of playtime.

She's really a sweet girl. It's been nice, too, that Ed has been home all this week so she can get to know both of us at the same time. (And see how goofy we are together!)

Gavin will be back in therapy by Monday after a week off for the holidays. He's becoming more independent lately and has definite opinions that he's not afraid to express!! But he's also super sweet. Look at what he did just the other day - donning raccoon eyes to make me feel less alone.

Isn't the resemblance uncanny???

Brian is communicating more and more. He will officially start school on Monday, January 9th and is so excited. I chatted with his teacher and she is all ready for him. He originally was starting on the 2nd, but I wanted to wait until after his cardiology appointment which is this coming week. His teacher, Miss Laura, also made my LIFE by telling me that I can walk him to the classroom the first day and take pictures. (I was seriously losing sleep over this - not being able to document his first day of school. The other option was to take his picture in the parking lot!)

As for us - Ed and I just embarked on our second IVF cycle. It's such a long process. I need to be on a birth control pill (just like last time) until January 19. Then, on January 20th I go back in for blood work and ultrasound. That's when I start my injections to stimulate ovulation. We're looking at the beginning of February for egg retrieval. Thankfully all of this will take place in the New Year. I'm convinced that 2012 is the "Year of the Leong." Mark my words.

Hope all of you have a wonderful, fun and safe New Year weekend!!