An homage to 2012...

Okay, okay... so I know I was pretty dang negative in my last post due to my less-than-happy week. But guess what? It's a new week and just about the start of a new year! I'm happy to report that I am in a much better place and ready to kick off 2013 on the right foot.

But first, I must pay my respects to 2012. I know I've said that it wasn't my year. After all, 2012 had some HUGE shoes to fill after 2008-2011...

2008 made the love of my life my husband.
2009 made me a mommy.
2010 made me a homeowner.
2011 made me the mommy of two.
and 2012?
I guess 2012 made me just a little bit wiser.

I'd like to pay my respects to 2012 while she's still here. After all, maybe nothing notably super exciting happened in my life, but it was still a year full of memories and happiness.

My year in pics...

Leila, Jan. 2012. She's grown up so much this year!


Not to mention my little Lando...






The project (Instagram Wall Initial) that brought my blog to Pinterest... :)


Easter 2012...


We ventured into cloth diapering in 2012 & still love it!


Landon went through helmet therapy this year...


Our garden was out of control beautiful thanks to my hubby's hard work!


We attempted a family self-portrait. Ha!


I "unplugged" a few times this past summer which felt SO good!


We enjoyed many family fun outdoor activities in the summer sun...


My baby girl turned THREE!


We took a family vacay to Priest Lake...


Enjoyed some fall fair fun...


Family time at the pumpkin patch...


My boy turned ONE!


Enjoyed a weekend getaway to Seattle...


Made the most of a wonderful winter & happy holiday season!



Gosh, maybe 2012 wasn't as pathetic as I thought! Reflecting back has really opened my eyes to how blessed I've been. I really couldn't ask for more. In fact, I'm actually rather proud of myself for how much I did accomplish. Not only did I implement my monthly DIY projects which have gotten my creative juices a-flowing, but I also started exercising regularly (I can cross this off my Dreams To Do list! Yeah!) via The Bar Method, which I love! Two big things that I really wanted to focus on this past year and I DID. So, maybe 2012 wasn't such a dud after all. :-)

Wishing you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2013 bring us all joy beyond our wildest dreams.

2013 can't get here fast enough!

To say I've had a terrible week would be an understatement. And considering it's the week of Christmas, I'm sure I am one of few who is complaining. Let me just summarize the last few days for you - this should explain my lack of blogging and motivation...

• I get the stomach flu on Christmas day, so Christmas for me is pretty much non-existent.
• I have to go to work the day after Christmas, still feeling like crap.
• Recovering from sickness, I've been going to bed early which is resulting in our house STILL looking like a disaster zone from the 15 people we hosted for Christmas Eve dinner. I'm serious!
• Last night everything that could go wrong, did... Landon pooped in the bath and tried to eat it, I stubbed my toe, Leila peed a puddle on the living room floor for no reason, the toilet overflowed a TON in our bathroom which then leaked through the floor down onto a basket of freshly cleaned laundry. Oh, and then Andy spilled a glass of water on me in bed. It's so bad it's almost humorous. Almost.

Seems a little surreal, huh? No lie, when it rains it pours.

So, instead of my usual happy-end-of-the-year New Years resolutions post, I am just wanting 2013 to hurry up and get here already. Not gonna lie, I was less-than-impressed with 2012. I pretty much failed in the resolutions department and nothing spectacular happened.

Ok, end negativity.


Yes, I am crazy. Never claimed that I wasn't! :)

2013! My year for change and challenge! I plan on embracing 2013 with open arms and excitement. I love a new year because I really view it as a clean slate - a chance to start over fresh and make things happen. This year in lieu of resolutions (since I suck at them), I am planning on focusing on HAPPINESS. What makes me happy? What makes my family happy? What makes those around me happy? And hopefully I will accomplish a whole lotta dream doing, too. :-)

Wishing you all a most wonderful and joyous New Year! Let's party!

A very un-merry Christmas?

At this point, all I can do is laugh about my Christmas day. Woke up bright and early Christmas morning to a tummy ache and some nausea. I chose to ignore it and my little family and I had a wonderful morning of "Santa came!" joy and present unwrapping. The excitement in my kiddos eyes (yes, even little Lando's!) was all that I hoped it would be and more and worth every second of work that went into making this Christmas magical for them.





By 9am I wasn't feeling too hot. Ended up puking and spending Christmas day curled up in a ball, clutching my stomach and drifting in and out of sleep. I was so sad that I didn't get to spend the day with all of my family back home - it was the first Christmas in my life that I didn't see my parents! But ya know what? This was a very humbling experience for me. As I moaned and groaned in pain I kept thinking of the more gut-wrenching pain that the families of those affected by the Newtown shooting were experiencing on this Christmas day. And I thought about people all around our planet who are missing loved ones and those people who don't even know what the joy of Christmas is all about. So, while I was miserable, I know that there were people out there suffering much greater than I was. My heart hurt for them, too.



Today I am counting my blessings. I am feeling much better (just very weak from not eating for 24 hours). I am so grateful for a hubby who stepped it up an extra notch to take care of me and our children yesterday. I'm grateful that my kiddos still had a wonderful Christmas and spent the day feeling happy and healthy. I am grateful that I got to enjoy Christmas morning and the days leading up to it. And most of all, I am grateful for getting to spend Christmas surrounded by my three favorite people in the whole wide world. Really, that's all that matters.

And we were blessed with a very beautiful white Christmas!


I truly hope that your Christmas was extra magical and special to make up for mine!

Santa, baby...

Um, if you didn't know this yet, Christmas is in 4 days!!! $%&*#%$!!!! Craziness, I say! That combined with the fact that the world is ending today is just a little too much for my frazzled brain to handle. ;-)

So, who wants to see our Santa pic from this year? Gotta love the annual Santa pic. Waiting in a line of fussy, fidgety kids for a $20 crappy photo and a candy cane. But ya know what? It is totally worth it. I love looking back at all of the pics. Here is ours from this year...

Per the unintentional tradition in our family, Andy & I are also in the pic. Otherwise, Leila would not get anywhere near the bearded man. Poor thing told me that she really doesn't like Santa Claus after taking this pic. Landon is just like, "WTF is going on?"

For fun, let's take a look at last year's Santa pic for a little comparison...

Same Santa. Andy & I look just about the same. Leila is actually looking at the camera which is nice. Landon is just as cute and clueless as ever. Ha!

Well, one more day of work and then I'm off for four days of Christmas bliss. We will be baking and eating and singing and light-looking and loving. Oh, and I should probably start wrapping gifts, too. If I don't get back on the blog before the 25th, I wish you and your family a holiday full of as much love and happiness as you can possibly handle!

 

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S !

Reset.

When a tragedy shakes you to the core, it opens your eyes. It forces you to step outside your normal way of thinking and refocus on life - on what truly matters.

Life isn't about stuff.
It isn't about wants and it isn't about what you do.
It's about feelings and people and LOVE.
It's about never taking a single moment for granted.

I've spent the last few days oozing sadness & empathy for Newtown and our nation, gratefulness for my life, and love for my family and friends. Minuscule things that drove me crazy just the other week are now meaningless nothings. Right now I'm not worrying about the future, my dreams, little stressers. Instead I'm worrying about NOW, about my children, about my husband, and I'm focusing on love and all that I have in this moment.









It's unfortunate, but sometimes it takes a tragedy to reset our lives - to put us back on course - to help us focus on what really matters.

Silence

2012 Christmas Card

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to send out holiday cards this year, but I just couldn't help myself once I started receiving them in the mail. So, I grabbed the camera, my family, and a dollar store Santa hat and we snapped some pics of each other. Then I had a little fun in photoshop and TA DA! I just love how it turned out. :-)



I must say a special thanks to MailPix.com for offering to replace my order (including shipping) for FREE after I originally ordered them with "Holidays" spelled "Holiays." I'm a smart one! I mean seriously, who doesn't proof their holiday cards before ordering? I guess I don't. Ha!

Participating in The Paper Mama's Holiday Photo Challenge! Check it out - there are some GREAT entries (I don't stand a chance). :-)

Heartbroken.

These two. My heart. My soul. My everything.

Right now I am scared for their future. Scared for the things they will grow up knowing. The things I cannot shield their eyes from. I'm scared for who they will meet and for the chance that they could ever end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Today I am utterly heartbroken. Heartbroken for the families who lost their heart and their soul in today's shooting.

And I'm angry. Angry that there is so much evil in our world and that it seems to multiply as the years go on. Tragedies like this force me to question everything. Why? Why? Why?

I don't even know what to think or what to feel right now. I'm just trying to focus on prayer and on the fact that there really is more good in this world than evil.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Want, Need, Wear, Read

Now that I'm all grown up with children of my own, Christmas is a whole lot more about the giving of gifts than the receiving. In fact, the hubby and I don't even exchange gifts any more. For us it's just nice to not have the added pressure of trying to impress one another. And if there is something one of us really wants, we'll just talk about it and decide whether or not we can get it for ourselves.

However, thanks to Rhonda at Hepburn & Houndstooth, I thought it would be fun to come up with my WANT, NEED, WEAR, READ Christmas wish list... just for fun. I have many memories of crafting up the perfect Christmas list for Santa when I was a wee one. And I figure that if the hubby just happens to stumble upon this post and decides he wants to get me a gift after all, he can have at it. :-)



WANT: Clarisonic Mia Sonic Skin Cleaning System
I had a facial once and the aesthetician used this thing on my face. She said she highly recommends it to her clients. I've read a bunch of reviews and it sounds pretty magical. My skin could use all the help it can get. Do any of you own one of these? If so, is it worth the price???

NEED: New Underwear
You ever just wanna throw away all of your underwear and start over? I'm at that point right now. And BFing Landon really took a toll on my girls (if ya know what I mean) and I don't own any bras that fit me properly at the moment. Sigh.

WEAR: Lululemon Athletic Attire
I'm still doing the Bar Method and loving it! Everyone in class wears the cutest workout clothes and I've noticed a lot of Lululemon stuff. As for me, I'm stuck in ghetto sports bras (that I've had since high school probably) and t-shirts and leggings. I'd love to step it up in the workout wear department! However, I would personally never spend $85 on a pair of pants I'm going to sweat my ass off in.

READ: Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community
I've seen a few other bloggers mention this book and I'd love to get a copy. But the truth is, I'm in a reading rut right now and I need some good fiction suggestions! Help! Anyone?

So, who wants to fulfill my Christmas wish list? ;-) Do you have anything that you're hoping to score this holiday season?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An another note... Happy 12/12/12!!! Today has been pretty special in an un-extraordinary way. Enjoyed a nice lunch with some of my gal pals, listened to some Christmas tunes while the snow fell outside, and ventured off to Trader Joes for some holiday goodies and an extra dose of Christmas cheer. When asked, "How are you today?" the checker at Trader Joe's replied, "Happy!" He proceeded to gift my friend and I with free reusable totes. His smile and enthusiasm at work was contagious and I've felt extra-happy ever since coming in contact with him. Proof that tiny gestures and a smile can go a long way in making even a stranger's day brighter. :-)

Hope your 12/12/12 was special! (& every other day for that matter)

Sick day.

Slow down. That's what my body is telling me to do. I thought I was getting better over the weekend, but two hours into work this morning and I just could not function. I could hear my bed calling my name from miles away. So I left.

Being sick can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. Sure, it sucks. But it forces us to take it easy whether we like it or not. It forces us to just be still for once. Today, I spent a good 2+ hours today drifting in and out of sleep alone in our king size bed while HGTV played in the background. Despite the dizziness and pounding headache, it was heavenly. I don't even remember when the last time I was able to do that was.

After dozing for a while I was able to join my family downstairs for some extra bonding time. It doesn't hurt to get sick on a day when your hubby is off and home with the kids. We ate popsicles, watched lots of TV, colored, and then lounged around some more. Heavenly I'm telling ya.

Now, I'm feeling a little bit better. The cold is still killing me, but my mind is clear and well rested. Today I am grateful for time with my family, a warm home, a flexible work environment, kleenex, chicken noodle soup, and a husband who takes care of me. Life is so good sometimes it hurts.

Billy dog was my lil caretaker in bed this afternoon. Grateful for alone time with him, too.

The Anti-Winter + Kickboard USA Review

With the exception of one measly snow a few weeks back, winter has been pretty much non-existent here. We've been stuck in a never-ending fall with leaves covering the ground and temperatures hovering just above puffy-coat levels. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda liking it. (Edit: Funny thing - I started this post last night and it has since started snowing. Ha!)

This weekend I found myself at home alone with the kiddos while the hubby worked. Blue skies and crisp air were calling our names, so we decided to take Leila's new favorite thing in the whole wide world, a Kickboard USA mini micro scooter, out for a spin. You guys, this thing is amazing and my three year old is like a pro on it already.



Side Note: Leila dresses herself. She loves all things rainbow (like mother, like daughter) and insisted on wearing her rainbow dress with rainbow leggings with rainbow socks with rainbow underwear with a rainbow jacket. Oh, and a rainbow star hat. Plus blue leopard print TOMS. Ha!



But seriously, how cute is she?

It never crossed my mind to get my kiddo a scooter, but when the awesome folks at Kickboard USA offered to send one my way I totally jumped on it. They make scooters for all ages and I love, love, love that the mini micro is just Leila's size. It is ridiculously light weight (3 lbs) and is the smoothest ride ever. My girl was gliding over the uneven sidewalks in our old neighborhood like they were nothing. (Next time she will totally be wearing a helmet, though. I don't know what I was thinking leaving the house without it!)





So, if you still need a last minute Christmas gift for your little one (or yourself!) I totally recommend the Kickboard USA kick scooters. They come in lots of great colors, too!

This little walk really was the highlight of my weekend at home. Between this nasty cold that my whole family now has and a never-ending list of things to get done before Christmas, the fresh air and smiles on my kiddos faces was exactly what I needed. I never did get any pics of little Landon snuggled up in the ergo with me, but he sure was cute!

I hope your weekend was wonderful and full of little happy moments!

Yep, she's obsessed. Brings this thing to bed with her and even to the bathroom! HA!


Disclosure: I received the mini micro from Kickboard USA in exchange for this review. All of the opinions are 100% my own (& my daughters). We love this product! :-)

Tissue Monster + Happy Chaos

Ready for some random? I hope you said 'Yes' because that's about all I have in me right now.

I got an extra special birthday present this year - a really nasty head cold. I think I've had more head colds this year than the past 10 years combined. I feel like I've been getting sick at least once/month. The joys of having little ones in daycare + an extra weak immune system, I guess.

Last night I turned this negative into a positive. I couldn't contain the snot so I shoved some tissue up each nostril as I was getting Leila ready for bed. She looked at me and started laughing and I said, "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... I'm the tissue monster!"  She proceeded to scream and run around the house. I had zero energy and felt like I was dying, but I pushed through it - her contagious laughter gave me the boost I needed to chase her down. A super silly-fun moment made possible by Kleenex. No, this is not a sponsored post. Ha!

All in all, I've had a crazy, hectic, dreary, snotty, fun, happy week.  Here's some random goodness from my extraordinary week...

• A day off work with my fam for my birthday on Monday.
• Landon has started walking. He still prefers to crawl the majority of the time, but can walk across the room now.
• This head cold has given me a valid excuse to take it easy. I went to bed early last night and it felt SO good.
• We stripped Landon down to his diaper and let him go to town on Spaghetti night. Messy fun.
• We received a super huge package in the mail from my brother who lives in Colorado. It included one birthday present for each of us since he had failed to send anything for Andy, Leila, or Landon's birthday. It felt like a mini Christmas all opening presents together. :-)
• Christmas tree + Holiday music + Wine = the perfect end to a stressful day at work.
• I received my spiky gold bracelet that I ordered from GroopDealz in the mail. Stella & Dot has the same bracelet for like 5x $ and I've wanted it forever. Got this one for like $12 from GroopDealz. I have a little bit of an addiction to that site. Just ordered it in silver today. :-/

Hope your week was as good as mine (minus the snot)! :-)

Wise Words Wednesday: Room for Everyone

"Do what you love. Do what makes your heart sing. And never do it for the money. Don't go to work to make money; go to work to spread joy." ~ Marianne Williamson, A Return To Love

Image via Volume Twenty Five

One thing that we all have in common is the desire to be happy. A big factor in our happiness is spending our precious time doing things that we love to do and surrounding ourselves with people we love to be around. This is powerful information. This is an easy formula for happiness. Then why is it SO hard for us to do?

For me, I have a super hard time truly believing that if I just focus on doing what I love I will be able to make enough money to be happy. But I keep reading and hearing inspirational stories of people following their hearts and going for their dreams and becoming successful. So, obviously it is doable. But like me, I think so many people just can't grasp this concept. We let the days pass in jobs that we're just content in because we feel stuck - we don't believe in our full potential. Sad stuff.

With a new year just around the corner I plan on working towards just doing what I love - whatever that may be. I want it ingrained in my soul. I want to believe in myself enough to know that doing what makes me happy (& figuring out exactly what that is) will allow everything else in my life to fall into place. I won't be driven by money. I will be driven by passion. Life is too dang short.

Have any of you started thinking about New Years resolutions yet? Personally, I'm over them. I just want to focus on being the best I can be. Does my cheesiness make you sick? I swear I'm not really as mushy gushy as a lot of my writing makes me seem. :-) Ha!

29

I woke up this morning feeling no different than 10 years ago, only worlds wiser. The sound of a babbling baby down the hall woke me from my deep sleep. Instead of stumbling out of bed and racing to my smiley little man, my normal reaction to his calls, I looked up at the ceiling for a minute. I stretched my arms above my head and reached my toes to the foot of the bed while taking a deep breath.

Wow, I'm 29.

One more year of being in my 20s.

One more year before I consider myself a full-fledged adult.

I have a decision to make...

How will I embrace this day? This year? 

And I smiled. 

To be honest, I've always dreaded turning 30 for some reason. I feel like when you're in your 20s the world is your oyster - your opportunities are endless and the rest of your life is ahead of you. But in the last few months I've come to realize that life doesn't stop when you turn 30. It is only just beginning. And I'm not even 30 yet! I have one last year to savor my 20s, to appreciate all that I've learned, and all that I've become in this crucial decade of life. 

I am SO excited to be 29. I truly have a feeling that 29 is going to be a year of change for me. I'm not entirely sure in what ways, but I know that I will be going out of my 20s with a BANG! I hope you all join me for the ride. :-)

Okay, I'm off to enjoy the last hour of a most-perfect birthday present - some alone time at Starbucks with a good book and my computer. I'm a happy girl today.

Side Note: I remember spending hours and hours in college at Starbucks studying and envying the people who could actually come and sit at Starbucks "just for fun." So nice to actually be at that point in my life. Ha! :-)

Give to Get

In my last post I mentioned that I was going to start a new Christmas tradition of having my kiddos fill up at least one garbage bag full of toys to give to children in need before they can get any new toys from Santa. They've gotta give a little to get a little. Well, I actually followed through on my words (I know, shocker!) - we did it and it was quite the success! Went over much better than I ever could have imagined. :-)






"Whoa Mom, this is getting heavy!"

To get Leila excited about this venture, I first sat her down and I told her about all of the children like her and her brother who don't have any toys to play with. She was very confused by this fact. I'm sure in her mind toys are just a way of life and something every child has. She asked me (& still asks me), "but why do they not have any toys to play with momma?" I just explained that sometimes their parents don't have enough money to buy them toys. I told her that she is a very lucky little girl to have so many fun toys to play with. And then I asked her if she thought we should share some of her toys with the kids who don't have any. After a minute of hesitation she said, "okay!"

I assumed that it would be a struggle to get her to part with anything. In the past I have always just snuck toys that she doesn't play with into bags to get rid of.  This time I let her make ALL The decisions. I would pick up a toy and say, "can we give this one away?" And she would tell me yes or no. She probably only said "no" like 4 or 5 times! We kept going until we had a garbage bag full of toys and even after that, Leila kept bringing me toys "for the little kids who don't have none." My proudest accomplishment to date is knowing I am raising such a sweet, kind-hearted girl.



Besides kicking our December off with a little life lesson, we spent our weekend celebrating the holiday season in full force. I baked snowflake sugar cookies with icing, we listened to hours of holiday music, we brought out the decorations, we bought a tree, we decorated said tree (which ended up being WAY too big for our living room, but oh well), I participated in a jingle bell run (dressed like an elf!), and Andy & I even managed to do some late night Christmas shopping while my mom stayed with the kids. I'm happy to announce that I am 100% possessed with the Christmas spirit now. Bring it on! :-)



Oh, and did I forget to mention that Santa paid us a little visit. ;-)



I hope your December is off to a wondrous start! Have you busted out the Christmas decor yet?