Goals - January Update & February To-Do's

Can you believe January is already over? Me neither. I've had a great and productive month here. I've tackled almost everything on my To Do list that I posted here with the exception of a few things out of my control ( i.e. haven't done my taxes because we annoyingly don't have all of our paperwork yet; spring sports sign up isn't available yet; don't know if the kids' school is even doing Valentine parties, etc.) I have a project that I'm in the middle of for Carter's baptism but I'm planning on wrapping it up this week. Everything else is DONE! Additionally, I've done a bunch of crafting, dejunking/deep cleaning, read 5 books and stayed busy with a million other little things.

I'm calling January, my month of PREPARE, a success!

On to February. I've chosen the word NURTURE as my word of the month. So appropriate as it is the month of having a new baby AND Valentines day. I'm not making any huge promises about what I'm going to accomplish this month though. We will have out-of-town guests for much of the month which I am so happy about.

To Do in February:

• Read parenting book "Why Gender Matters"
• Read parenting book "The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child"
• Spend 15 minutes of QUALITY alone time with each of my kids every day
• Do something special for Allen
• Research the topics of Love, Nurturing and Parenting in the Ensign (I already have found a few great articles that I will post links to at the end of the month)

I am being induced one week from today and CANNOT wait to have this little girl here!

8 is GREAT

Seriously, where does time go? Carter turned 8 this past Saturday and I can hardly believe we have a child who is on the cusp of being baptized. The night before his birthday, we could not get him to go to sleep. I checked on him at about 11 p.m. and he said, "mom, I'm just so excited I don't think I can fall asleep." It was adorable. He did finally go to sleep but was up and ready to open presents at 5 a.m. We made him go back to bed until 7!

Before opening presents:

With his gifts:He got: Scout shirt/neckerchief/book from Allen's mom, new scriptures from G&G Baldwin, Scripture case/markers, hymn book, book about the Holy Ghost, new suit, HP Lego Burrow and HP Lego Wii game from mom and dad. He was absolutely thrilled about his scriptures and scouting stuff. We find him reading his Wolf book almost every night before bed.

After opening presents, we headed off to breakfast at IHOP. Carter LOVES breakfast so his one wish was to go somewhere for breakfast on his birthday.

He ate: 3 pancakes, 3 pieces of sausage, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, hot chocolate and an ice cream sundae. He was thrilled to pieces when they brought out his icecream - nothing like dessert at 9 a.m!

Carter requested to go to Hoots (kind of like pump it up) for his birthday activity but they were booked for private parties for the day. I promised to take them on their next Friday off since we couldn't go that day. Carter decided to go ice skating for his activity that day. Makenna forgot her coat so we had to play musical coats that day but the kids had a great time. Allen was a total trooper and handled all the kiddos since I wasn't about to get on a pair of skates! The girls did great on their own too.

For dinner Carter requested broccoli chicken casserole, fruit salad and chocolate eclair cake

There are so many things to say about Carter and his personality. He is turning out to be such an interesting little person. A few things about Carter at 8

• Insatiable curiosity about just about everything. His interests are wide and varied


• Very competitive - he likes to win at everything and struggles when things don't go his way


• Driven/ambitious - Carter is unafraid to try new things. He believes he can do anything and I think this will take him a long way in life


• Lego obsessed - still his main love and where he spends much of his free time


• Great big brother - he sure likes to tease his sisters but he is the first to defend them when the need arises or be concerned about them if something is wrong


• Teases just like his dad


• Loves his nightly wrestling time with Allen and his nightly reading time


• Rule follower - Carter likes to make sure he is doing things right and is quick to put others in line when they aren't following the rules precisely


• Spiritual - Carter is quick to remove himself from a situation and go into his room to pray. He is quick to show concern for other people and offer up prayers for them too


• Athletic - one of his favorite things is playing football with Allen. They work on passing and plays for a couple hours every weekend. He is dad's buddy when it comes to watching sports too
• Sensitive Soul - Carter is very sensitive to the spirit and to the needs of those around him. Just this week he tried to give his lunch to a homeless man on the side of the street on his way to school.

What he is into right now: Harry Potter (!!!), Legos, playing Wii, playing football, coin collecting - especially foreign money and state quarters, trying to rope us into taking him on exotic vacations, the human body/functionality - makes for some interesting discussions, listening to his iPod (especially Micheal Jackson), making flip books, complaining about homework and piano practicing, playing with friends, reading his new scriptures, obsessing about how soon he can become an Eagle scout, riding bikes and needing very little sleep.

We feel very blessed to be Carter's parents. He was the easiest, most mellow baby and has turned into a very non-mellow child. We are grateful for his boundless energy, inquisitive mind and kind heart. Being parents of older children is sometimes a struggle as we learn and grow with them but we are so grateful for this boy in our lives and that we have been given the sacred responsibility to be his parents!

2010 in Review

Yep, I'm still catching up on last year. I'm hoping to be done with the blog updates this week. I've been doing this same blog review for the past 4 years. It's fun to go back and reread the recaps of previous years! I think I'm a bit redundant with some of my answers but that's just how it goes in years like this one!

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? Went on a cruise with Allen!

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I made A LOT of resolutions and only kept one – to complete project 365 for the year. My blog is up to date and I have finished and ordered my book! YIPPEEE. It’s another resolution for this year and something I think I’ll do every year for the foreseeable future. --------> check it out over there

Did anyone close to you give birth? A few friends, one SIL

Did anyone close to you die? No

What countries did you visit? Haiti

What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? It’s an obvious answer – prebaby body. Owning my own home again.

What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? All things baby related. Deciding to go for #4, getting that big fat positive (BFP) test, finding out she is a she, breaking poor Carter’s heart, being content that this is our forever family.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Coming to terms with having a 4th baby

What was your biggest failure? I’ve been working hard on developing more patience with my kids. It’s an ebb and flow thing for me – sometimes I’m really good and sometimes I struggle. I am improving though so I guess I wouldn’t call it a failure – maybe more of a work in progress!

Did you suffer illness or injury?! Nope –knock on wood!

What was the best thing you bought? Vacations, of course!

Where did most of your money go? Travel

What did you get really, really, really excited about? 10 year anniversary cruise

What song will always remind you of 2010? Taio Cruz – Dynamite (only because my kids listen to it non stop if I let them)

What do you wish you'd done more of? It’s hard to say – I spent a lot of 2010 in survival mode due to a difficult pregnancy. I feel like I’ve done pretty good about staying on top of the things most important to me – family and home. I do wish I had studied the scriptures more seriously though.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Whine about being pregnant

How did you spend Christmas? In Arizona with Allen’s family.

Did you fall in love in 2010? Of course, every day!

What was your favorite TV program? LOST, Modern Family


What was the best book you read this year? Molokai, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Book Thief, Sarah’s Key

What did you want and get? A healthy baby, new dining room set

What were your favorite films of this year? Harry Potter 7, Tangled, Inception

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Unpacked from Thanksgiving, got spoiled by my family and went to dinner. I am 35.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Spending more time with my extended family

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Am I REALLY wearing maternity clothes again?!?

What kept you sane? Naptime, my nightly dose of Benadryl to help me sleep (see a pattern here?), the hubs, a couple close friends

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? The Chilean Miners, Elizabeth Smart

What political issue stirred you the most? Uhhh… I’m getting increasingly apathetic to politics. I guess I’d say energy policy reform.

Who did you miss? My sisters, mom, Mindy

Who was the best new person (people) you met? Some new, fun friends in my ward!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Don’t ever give a two year old free reign with the glitter.

What are you most excited for in 2011? BABY! Vacationing (of course), the possibility of a more permanent situation for us

What are you least excited for in 2011? Childbirth/recovery/weight loss – UGH.

Welcome 2011!

Whew! It feels like forever since I posted on this blog. The week after Christmas we were busy playing, playing, playing and ended up having Allen home quite a bit during the week (hooray!). We also spent time getting Christmas down and the house deep cleaned (yay!). This week I've been knocking things off my LONG and much neglected TO DO list. It's going to be a busy few weeks as we get ready to have this baby!!

I have been thinking a lot about what kind of year I'd like 2011 to be. I am trying to be realistic about my expectations for what I can accomplish this year. I will be returning to the newborn/baby stage and adjusting to having FOUR children. Add to that the fact that we are approaching the 2 year mark here in ABQ, which seems to be the magic formula for a career/location change in our lives (no, nothing in the works at this point, I promise). As I reviewed my 2010 goals last week, I realized that I had accomplished almost nothing on my list. It was a bit (ok, a lot) disheartening but then I remembered that I wasn't planning on moving or getting pregnant in 2010 when I set those goals. I'm trying to cut myself some slack.

I've decided that for 2011 I'd like to focus on ONE word/goal per month. I think this is a more realistic approach for me this year. So for January, my word/goal is PREPARE. I have plenty of preparation to do to be ready for baby girl arriving the first week of February.

Included on my To Do list this month:

• Go to Optometrist/Get new contacts - DONE
• Go to Dermatologist
• Take Carter to Orthodontist consultation - DONE
• Finish preparing for all the kids' birthdays - DONE
• Prepare 2010 Taxes
• Finish Project 365 book/blog updates - DONE!!!!!!!
• Wash all newborn clothes - DONE
• Paint baby's dresser - DONE
• Check 3T bins to see what needs to be purchased for summer for Addie - DONE
• Make at least 10 more freezer meals - DONE
• Organize/File all 2010 paperwork - DONE
• Get kids signed up for spring sports
• Make big kids Valentines
• Get this blog updated
• Finish preparing for Carter's baptism - DONE

I'm basically trying to do anything that will simplify my life for the next couple months while I nurse round-the-clock and adjust to our new reality.

I've already chosen NURTURE as my word/goal for February. I have a couple of parenting books that I'm planning to read (lots of time to read while I nurse!) and I will make a few more goals as we get closer.

As crazy as I'm expecting 2011 to be, I'm really excited for the possibilities that are ahead for us this year!