Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

Goodness, 2014 flew by! It's hard to believe that 2015 begins tomorrow!

Highlights from 2014:

Kid turned one! It's hard to believe that he will be two in just a couple of months. He has grown so much over the course of the year. I can't believe his little sister will be joining us so soon!

Big Fat Positive! Click here and here to read all about our newest addition. And to see the cute pregnancy announcement! Naturally, we are beyond thrilled to have our little miss join the family, and finding out about the pregnancy while on a family vacation was the best.

Looking ahead to 2015:

We are most excited about our daughter. She's set to arrive in April (just a few days after Kid's birthday). I do have a history of preterm delivery, though, so it could be earlier. Kid was six weeks early, and if this one follows suit she will be here in no time! We are sending up all of the positive thoughts and prayers for a full-term baby though. If you have any extra positive vibes, send 'em up for us, too!

We are also looking forward to a trip to New Mexico. I have never been, but my husband lived there for a few years as a youngster. We both have some family there that we hope to visit (and hopefully an old coworker, if they're still there). Silly enough, we may have 2 New Mexico trips this summer. The first would be in June, to Santa Fe, for my cousin's wedding. The second would be in August with my husband's family to ABQ (Jane, I'm not even going to try to spell it!).

And of course, the ever-popular New Year's Resolutions.

First things first, let's talk about life.

1. To stay on top of laundry. Oh, man. If I had the money to hire out my laundry, I would. My goal is to keep our laundry piles (both clean and dirty!) to a minimum!

2. To be thankful. I need to remember to be thankful for all that we have. I strive to be thankful often, but I can always improve.

And, now, the blog.

1. To network. This blog has been around for awhile, but I still feel a little lost. I'd like to work on my network and networking skills to improve the life of this blog.

2. To keep up with social media. It's all so fast! I'd like to do a better job of interacting with others via social media, while keeping a balance between blog and life.

I'm keeping myself to two resolutions in each category because I am awful at resolutions (sadly). I'm thinking that 4 is a good number to start with.

Here's to 2015!

Check In

I once wrote a post about New Month Resolutions, and how I would never write New Year's Resolutions.

And then, 2013 came to an end and I came up with New Year's Resolutions for three different parts of my life. What was I thinking? Was I thinking that my motivation would miraculously change and I would be one of those people that follows through on things?

Well. It's March 5th (Happy Birthday, Bestie K!) and it's time for me do a little check in.

So. How am I doing?

1. An image in every post. This one, surprisingly, is going well. While there has been a post here and there without an image, the majority have had something. Something created in PicMonkey, or a simple picture. It definitely makes the blog more fun. And using PicMonkey is a favorite thing of mine (I just created Kid's birthday invites using PicMonkey).

Current Status: Winning!

2. Post twice a week. Well, I didn't go through and look at each and every week. I did however notice that I've done pretty awesome at posting (especially since mid- to late-February).

Current Status: Winning!

3. Plan ahead. This one. THIS ONE! This one has probably been the best for the blog resolutions. Scheduling posts!? How awesome is that!? I can get a few posts done on Sunday and have them ready to go. It. Is. Awesome.

Current Status: Winning!

1. I am awesome at laundry now. Three months strong, woo hoo! It's getting finished. It's getting put away. Our clothes are clean and our mornings are so much easier. So, so nice. 

Current Status: Winning!

2. Shed a few pounds. Guys. I am not doing well with this one. Not even a little bit. In fact, I've probably gained weight over the last couple of weeks. I really need to get on top of it. Exercise more. Eat less. Just get motivated.

Current Status: Failing.

3. Have a camera ready to go. Well. I always have my phone. But my camera is so much better. I haven't done so well with this one. I've taken a BUNCH of pictures with my phone. And I've take a few with my camera. But my camera is mostly used on the weekend. When I'm home. And Kid is home. And Hubs is home. I'm going to keep working on this one...

Current Status: Barely Scraping By.

1. To maintain a clean desk. Not happening. It's cleaner that usual. But not as clean as I would like. There's good reason behind that, but this is not a place to really talk about my other job.

Current Status: Failing.

2. To include positive parent communication on Fridays. This has been a fun one. But I"m not just doing it on Fridays. Nope, nope, nope. I have been making phone calls and sending quick anecdotal email to parents throughout the entire week. And their responses are so delightful.

Current Status: Winning!

2012

It is hard to believe that 2012 is here. Christmas and New Year's Eve flew right on by, and here I am at the end of winter break. Work starts again tomorrow. The alarm clock is set, and will it ever be a rude awakening. The perks of being a teacher: just over a week off in the middle of winter. It sure is wonderful. Heading back to school, though, is dreadful. The kiddos are SO excited to be back, but had plenty of time to "forget" how to be at school (hey, that happens when you're five or six). They're giddy little buggers, they've gotten used to hearing Englush all day instead of Spanish. Needless to say, it is an adjustment for them.

It is also an adjustment for me, the kindergarten teacher. Those twenty kiddos will come bounding into the classroom at a time in the morning I have not seen all week. Obviously a smile will be upon my face and coffee a necessity.

But, let's get to he point. I didn't sit down with my iPad tonight to write about my transition back into the real world. My intent was to put my resolutions for the year out for everyone to read on the world wide web, in hopes that the motivation will be there to stick with them this year. Actually following through with a New Year's resolution is not something I can say I've done. At least I dint remember. Truthfully, though, I've never really had New Year's resolutions. But this year is different.

Last Tuesday, the gang of girls and I headed up to the outlet shops at Albertville. With the new year on the horizon, a friend was telling us about how resolutions are done in her family. Each person comes up with three resolutions: one that pertains to their relationships, one that pertains to their physical health and one that has to do with their spiritual health. After some thinking, we each shared our three resolutions for the year.

Here are mine:

Relationships: to be more social. I see my parents and siblings every Monday. I see my girls every Tuesday. I don't remember the last social gathering I attended on a weekend. I would like for this to change!

Physical: I am going to run a half marathon in May. Mr. Husband is joining me, along with my friend B. I'm nervous, because I'm overweight. I'm nervous because I'm not a great runner. But, it is okay to be nervous. I can run a half marathon.

Spiritual: attend church more often. Now, I'm nowhere near pregnant, but it is important to both Mr. Husband and I to bring our kids up in the church. Before we can do that, we need to be in the habit of going to church ourselves. One of the girls with me while discussing our resolutions came up with a great one: to volunteer more. I think I'm going to make that one of my resolutions as well.

So, there they are. My four resolutions for 2012. And now I have got to get to bed. 5:30am will be here WAY before I know it.