Rockin' out

It's not too often that you get to hear a rockin' ukulele duet. Unless of course you live in this house. There are a lot of perks and extra unanticipated benefits of being a Crozier. 

 Yesterday, Graham attended his last class for the quarter, turned in his last papers, completed his final presentation. So there was much need for stress release in this household. Good friends, Christmas lights and a nice dinner out seemed to the trick. Oh and lets not forget about the aforementioned ukulele duet. 

 I feel like I haven't really sat down since October and it's probably mostly true. Phew. This quarter really kicked our booties! It was by far the most time-intensive school-wise but Graham seemed to come out ok. And I only cried like twice so that's a major improvement. (Ok maybe that's not quite true but I only had 2 major breakdowns which is definitely a step in the right direction). Can I just say that this is HARD? I don't mean to whine or totally restate the obvious but man oh man, this has not been a walk in the park. I think the only "down time" we had together was when we were on vacation, which probably explains why we've traveled as much as we have this year. I guess we like seeing each other or something. And the only way that seems to happen is when we remove ourselves from our day-to-day life (and work and homework!) and fly or drive away somewhere where we can forget all the pressures of this busy time and just enjoy each other's company.

I have been reflecting over the past few weeks, how incredibly grateful I am for our support system of family and friends. We certainly could  not have survived the past 5 quarters without them. The grandparents and my sister have been incredible, watching Isla far more often than we'd ever anticipated would be necessary. And then we've had numerous friends step up and hang out with Isla so that we could either go out on a date or so that Graham could go to class while I attended an evening obligation. I was expressing to my in laws that sometimes I wonder whether we did the wrong thing by choosing to do grad school at the same time we were starting a family (we didn't exactly plan in that way--the option of grad school arose after I was already pregnant), particularly since we are requiring so much help with Isla. But of course they never complain and continually say how glad they are that they can help out. So muchas gracias, Support System (i.e. anyone who has helped or even offered to help)--we greatly appreciate you!

And so now, let the Christmas season begin! I'm so excited to build some more traditions together as a family. Christmas might look a bit different for us this year since our paychecks need to go to car repairs, a new laptop, fixing the dishwasher and tuition but we are looking forward to a possible small family getaway of some sort between Christmas and New Years. But honestly, I think the lack of funds will be really good for me personally. Here's my confession: I like presents. And sometimes (ok, a lot of times), I let them get in the way of focusing on the true reason that we celebrate this season. I'm so excited to begin to share the true story of Christmas with Isla this year. And let's be honest. I'm SO excited to see my husband around the house again too.