2011 Year in Review

Happy 2012! This year really flew by. This is my FIFTH year doing this year-end review so I guess I can officially call it a tradition.

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? Became a mom to 4 amazing kids and learned how to manage a home with a lot of people!

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Eh. I did ok this year. Lots of survival mode at the beginning of the year where I nursed a ton and learned how to juggle the needs of 4 kids. I was in a serious funk until about October. Interestingly, deciding to get serious about my “spiritual health” seemed to pull me out of said funk. I have a few in mind for 2012 and am planning to set quarterly goals to keep it manageable and focused.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Obviously myself. Three of my sister’s-in-law had babies this year and my bestie Mindy had a new baby this fall. A couple friends had sweet baby girls after having a slew of boys. Lots of my NM friends had new babies too. It’s been a good year for babies!

Did anyone close to you die? Kind of. A childhood friend died very unexpectedly in his sleep this spring. It kind of rocked my world and took me a long time to get over. He had a young family and it make me stop and appreciate the fleeting moments we have together in this life.

What countries did you visit? None

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? Getting back in shape after I’m done nursing. I should say a more permanent situation for our family but I feel really at peace with where we are right now even though it’s still a state of limbo.

What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The day Emery was born. The day Carter was baptized. Several things from our fun vacations

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting organized. I used to be organized but I’m learning that it’s an ongoing, changing process depending on the current stage in life. Carter is in 3rd grade this year and I just figured out a good system for handling all the paper that comes into my home due to school and activities. I also feel like I’ve become more of a “tiger mother” with my kids (read “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” if you want to know what I’m talking about – great book) and have learned how to expect more from them and help them along the way (much more gently than the mom in the book!!) I’ve also come a long way spiritually this year. I was kind of scared of where I was for the first half of the year (and last half of 2010). Getting really, really serious about scripture study, going to the temple and putting that first in my life has brought me a long way.

What was your biggest failure? Losing baby weight. Bleh.

Did you suffer illness or injury?! Nothing major!

What was the best thing you bought? Vacations, new camera lens

Where did most of your money go? Oh boy, it has been a doozie of a year financially (not in a good way). TONS of money to medical bills, TONS of money in car repairs (I’m still so angry about this one) and purchasing a new car for Allen. I feel very, very blessed that we were able to handle all that came our way this year but hope for a much calmer, less expensive 2012.

What did you get really, really excited about? Emery’s birth and finalizing our family, our vacations, our family pictures this year, how organized I got

What songs will always remind you of 2011? It will rain by Bruno Mars, Stereo Hearts – Gym Class Heroes (feat. Adam Levine), The entire Adele 21 album

What do you wish you'd done more of? I feel pretty good about my year. I know it wouldn’t go down as my most productive but I feel so good about where I am in my life right now. I feel like I’m getting way better about appreciating the little moments than I have been in past. I love being a mom to my kiddos and just love spending my days with them. I am very content. I do wish I had kept up better with my 365 blog. The pictures are taken but I haven’t made it as much of a priority this year. I wish I’d had more time to read. And I should have exercised more.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Stressed about the future.

How did you spend Christmas? Right here with my little family, parents and brother

Did you fall in love in 2011? Of course, every day!

What was your favorite TV programs? Modern Family, Project Runway, Downton Abbey

What was the best book you read this year? Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Unbroken, Cutting for Stone, Room, The Giver/Gathering Blue/Messenger (did you know it’s a trilogy?!?!)

What did you want and get? A healthy baby, vacations

What were your favorite films of this year? Harry Potter 7 Part 2, The Help, Sherlock Holmes, 17 Miracles

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I had such a nice birthday this year. The night before I went out to dessert and a movie with a close friend. On my birthday another friend watched my kids so I could go to the temple and to lunch with Allen. Going to the temple on my birthday is my new plan! We went to dinner as a family and then a few nights later had a GNO with a bunch of my friends. Allen and I tried a fancy French restaurant later in the week on date night. It stretched the entire week which was fab. I’m 36.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having a house with more bedrooms. Making everyone/everything fit in this house has been tricky and stresses me out. Hence the great organization and dejunking of 2011.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Does this fit yet?

What kept you sane? My morning diet Coke run!

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Mitt

What political issue stirred you the most? Just the upcoming election. It’s been so interesting to watch the political field this year.

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 2011. Being married to the right person continues to be the biggest blessing my life.

What are you most excited for in 2012? We have a pretty low-key year planned and I’m really relieved/excited. I know anything can happen though! I have a lot of fun projects that I’m looking forward to completing. Oh, and getting a new computer. Ours is ancient and slow but we have a BIG upgrade on it’s way. I also have a fun girls trip planned for the spring that I’m so excited about.

What are you least excited for in 2012? A Major diet (half dreading, half excited)

Santa Baby (10 Months!)

I got a few good pictures of my SUPER wiggly baby this month! I can't believe that we're just a few weeks away from her first birthday. I'm trying VERY hard to be ok with her growing up but in reality I want to cry anytime I think about it. Ems has had another big month. She is very mobile and can crawl like a champ. She is also pulling up and taking a few very tentative steps holding onto the furniture. Based on her current mobility she might be our earliest walker yet.

Another big milestone this month is that she will eat almost anything we give her. She is doing great with table food which has simplified my life. Her favorite foods as of right now: PB&J, Pasta of all kind but she prefers marinara sauce, quesadillas, grapes, oranges, peas, corn, green beans, meats of all kind, yogurt. She still loves her salty snacks - pretzels, rice cakes, goldfish & veggie straws are her favorite and she really doesn't care for sweets (other than ice cream, which she loves).

She has the funniest laugh and it cracks people up whenever they hear it. She has uncanny timing and will begin her deep, throaty belly laugh at the most inopportune times (almost always in the middle of the sacrament on Sundays). It's so cute and unique to her.


She is still nursing twice a day and I've been hoping she would start getting less interested but I think the opposite is true. I'm starting my hard-core diet the second she is one so I need to have weaned by then. It could be a rough few weeks!

She is still very, very attached to me (and I still love it) and she can be heard calling mama all over the house until she finds me. It's adorable.

She is increasingly difficult to photograph. To get one good picture of her, I have about 20 shots that look something like this:

Of course our love for her has only increased over these last 10 months. The kids still fight over her every single day and even beg to wake her up in the morning. Emery is a joy to us all!

Dashing Through December

Are you guys surviving? This has easily been the busiest December on record for us! I feel like I’ve barely had a second to sit down the entire month. I knew I had to make time to blog early this week or I would never document what we’ve been up to this month and would feel sad about it. My mom and dad are arriving on Thursday and my brother on Friday to spend Christmas with us and we are all so excited (seriously, we don't need a Santa countdown, we need a grandma/grandpa countdown). We are saving some of our big traditions for when they get here so we will be busy the rest of this week!

I’ve had to simplify some of our traditions this year just due to time constraints. We’ve still had lots of fun but a lot of it has revolved around reading our Christmas books each night, watching holiday specials, running holiday-related errands and listening to music all day long. I don’t think the kids have minded one bit!

We have a ton of traditions that start December 1. The kids get their chocolate advent calendars for the month. They also get to open a new pair of Christmas pjs to be enjoyed all month long (daddy picked these out this year and the kids love them. Sadly Carter is getting too old to have jammies that match his sisters but he still gets a new pair!) Finally, we start our Christmas book tradition. I wrap up all our Christmas books and we unwrap and read 1-2 every night all month long. I am up to 45 books so pretty soon we will be able to do two every night. Last year I raided my mom’s collection and got to bring a few books from my childhood home for my kids (quite a few out of print!)

A few days later we had a snowstorm and the kids had a snow day. I took full advantage of being at home all day and had a fun time with my kids. We started the day with snowman pancakes:

For dinner we made a couple snowmen pizzas and made snowmen cookies afterward.

We watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional and had oreo peppermint milkshakes as a treat. I really loved the devotional the year. For the first time ever my kids were really reverent and attentive. We loved the movie clip they showed from the new video series on the life of Jesus Christ and really felt the spirit (can’t wait to see more).

We attended and helped at our ward party. This year we had a traditional Hawaiian luau that was AMAZING. We had yummy authentic food (way better than the food at the luau at the PCC!), great entertainment and a visit from Santa. Allen was the MC this year and did a great job (do you love his outfit or what?) and the youth performed several traditional Polynesian musical numbers and dances. It was one of the most fun and memorable ward Christmas parties ever! I got to help make a lot of the food and learned a lot about Hawaiian cooking!

For teacher gifts this year I found this cute idea. This was the outside packaging and inside we placed gift cards to Pei Wei along with a few fortune cookies. Easy, original and adorable

I took the kids to the local tree farm where they have a bunch of fun activities. There is an entire village set up for the kids to play in. They can write a letter to Santa, make an ornament, play house or play in the corn feed pit (always a favorite for my kiddos). There was also a petting zoo and a few games to play. It was a bit chilly so next year I will make sure we go on a warmer day but we still had so much fun!

That afternoon we also made it to the mall to see Santa. I was totally dreading this because I waited so long this year. We got to the mall (which was packed), found a super close parking spot and when we walked in there was NO LINE to see Santa (really not a single person in line). Emery was NOT impressed and started bawling immediately. And can I just say that you know you have a lot of kids when they can’t squeeze everyone into the picture!!!



Makenna and I went to see the Nutcracker with some friends this year. We had such a fun time. We went to lunch beforehand and then went to local ballet company’s production this year. She loved it as much as she always does and remembered so many of the specific performances. It was fun to get dressed up and spend most of the day together. Addison was really sad that she wasn’t able to come but I knew she would never make it through a 2 hour performance after the 50 minute Aladdin show at Disneyland could not keep her attention. Next year will be her first year!

In the midst of all this busyness I have also hosted book club and a busy bag swap at my house this month (more on those later), attended class parties and a few other parties, got packages and cards mailed AND I was called to serve as the 1st counselor in the primary presidency in my ward! I am so excited to serve with an amazing group of women but this is the busiest time of year for Primary since we have to get everything ready for the new year. It has just added to the general craziness of the month! It has been nice to slow down a bit this week and enjoy having my kiddos home!

Holiday Home

If I had to choose a theme for my holiday decorating this year it would be “Make the old new.” I didn’t want to dedicate any budget to updating my Christmas décor this year and honestly, I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted to add anyway so it worked out perfectly. I did make one purchase, which you will see in my porch pictures and did buy 2 rolls of ribbon but that is it! And I’m really happy with how festive and pretty the house looks this year! Allen is forever bugging me to weed out the home décor stuff I’m not using on a regular basis but I have held onto some of my Christmas things for years. This year that hoarding mentality has really paid off. I used a bunch of my décor that hasn’t seen the light of day in a few years in new ways, making them seem totally new. I’ve loved the challenge this year.

First up, the front porch. My one purchase was the trees on either side of the door. I’ve wanted a set for years and found a great deal on the pair early in the season! Close up (still LOVING my sign stand and how it gives some height to the area).

Living/Dining Rooms:

Same tree/theme but I did my ribbon and topper differently and I like it more this year than ever.

Tree at night:

Family Room:

Tree at Night:

I did add a stocking for Emery this year that my sister sent for my birthday. Love seeing them all lined up! (And I love the holders this year that I scored for 90 cents each last year after Christmas).

Jars:
Funny story this year. I keep my candy from year to year and replenish when I need to. I have had this Christmas candy for the past 3 years. Carter begged me for a Hershey kiss the other day and I warned him that the candy was old but he still wanted it. He popped a kiss in his mouth and got the funniest expression on his face and then went and spit it in the trash. I tried one afterwards and it was horrible! Chocolate definitely does NOT keep. At least it looks cute, right?

I love to add little holiday touches everywhere and this is in our half bath:

Kitchen:
Old ornaments but love them hanging in the window this year

Pantry Door:

Have had these wreaths for years but haven't used them for the past few Christmases but I love them hanging together

One really fun thing I made this year are beach ornaments. We collect a bit of sand from all of our beach vacations and I have been looking for a way to display our sand for years. I saw this idea to use clear ornaments and put the sand inside them with a tag of the beach it is from. BRILLIANT! Since our family room tree is our “travel” tree it goes perfectly with the theme. I have a few more to make but I love I have a place to show off our beloved beach vacations over the years. We also added three new travel ornaments this year: a new Disneyland ornament, a fluer de lis from New Orleans and a pink flamingo from our Florida trip.

The only thing I am sad about this year is that I don’t have a place to display all my nativities. Not only do we buy an ornament from our trips, but we try to get a nativity from them as well. I have some fun and beautiful nativities stored away for someday when we get into a bigger house. I’ve missed them the last couple of Christmases (I do have my main nativity out in my kitchen).

I have a bit more throughout the house but this is the main stuff. I'm happy have the house pretty and cozy and ready for the season!

35 things I did this year

It's my birthday today! I'm 36 and slowly creeping closer to the big (and scary) 4-0! This has been a good year and I feel like I've grown a lot.

A few things that I did this year:

1. Visited both coasts – Florida and California
2. Read 37 books (so far)
3. Gave birth to and nursed 4th child
4. Finally learned to chill out about post-child weight loss. It’s such a short time in the grand scheme of things.
5. Taught 6 Relief Society Lessons before being released
6. Learned how to make cinnamon rolls
7. Joined Pinterest (and promptly became inspired and overwhelmed by ideas)
8. Washed/folded approximately 520 loads of laundry
9. Started a scripture journal
10. Enjoyed date night almost every week with Allen
11. Read “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” and it changed my life
12. Spent countless hours sitting at the piano practicing with my kids
13. Bought almost NO seasonal home décor (1 thing for fall, 1 for summer and 1 for Christmas)
14. Crossed 3 more states off my “To Visit” list : Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
15. Loved my weekly lunch dates with my girlfriends
16. Decided that a table saw is the next thing on my “must have” list. I have a lot of projects on my list
17. Worked very hard to cut processed foods out of our diets
18. Joined a local organic produce co-op that we love. Love how it has expanded our taste buds and made our kids ADVENTUROUS eaters. We have eaten fresh fig, kale, eggplant, various squash’s, turnips, pluots and beets and have loved it all
19. Was so sad to see the Harry Potter saga come to an end through the movies. I cried at the end of the last movie – just because it is over.
20. Made at least one batch of homemade cookies every week
21. Favorite TV shows included: Project Runway, Modern Family and Harry’s Law
22. Drove Approximately 200 miles per week to my kids school/activities (yes, I calculated this)
23. Best purchases were my new camera lens and my first pair of Frye boots – both totally worth every cent!
24. Thoroughly enjoyed every sip of my morning diet Coke runs
25. Started a list of things I’d like to accomplish before I turned 40 and had a mini midlife crisis in the process
26. Nearly completed my third year of Project 365 and still going strong and loving it
27. Spent a good portion of the fall reorganizing and dejunking my life. I still have a long way to go but I’m drastically improved.
28. Wonder how I ever nursed a baby without the convenience of my iPhone
29. Had my first ever mammogram and full-body skin check
30. Felt so much gratitude for the abundant blessings in my life – family, friends, health, the gospel, etc.
31. Fell even MORE in love with living in NM and hoping I can squeeze in one more year of living here
32. Almost bought a new van, bought Allen a new car instead, almost bought a new van AGAIN and then decided to hold out until the car blows up or I’m no longer commuting a million miles to school so I can get an SUV instead
33. Fell in love with watching my older kids fall in love with their baby sister
34. Felt totally heartbroken that Emery is my last baby and have savored every second of her babyhood. I feel pretty at peace with our family size now and am excited to move on to the next stage in life.
35. Learned to stop and enjoy the moment a little more this year. I've had some stark reminders this fall about how fragile and temporary this life can be and I'm determined to make the most of every second of mine!

I'm hoping 36 is another great year!

Thanksgiving Recap

We had such a nice Thanksgiving weekend. It was very relaxing and fun to spend time with friends and family. I haven’t posted in forever (I have about 3 half written posts in my drafts folder – someday I will finish them!). First up a few Thanksgiving projects.

I saw this wreath post idea on Pinterest and I had Allen build me one a couple months ago. We made a few design tweaks and I LOVE it. This is actually my Halloween wreath on it and I had a cute Harvest sign on there for Thanksgiving. I loved my porch this fall!

I also made a Thankful tree with my kids at the beginning of the month that we decorated with leaves that we wrote the things we are thankful for on. The kids thought it was great and we really enjoyed discussing our abundant blessings. For the record, most of Addison’s leaves had to do with Disneyland!

Addison has been attending a once-a-week holiday preschool that a friend in my ward put together (separate from her regular PS class). She is running it October-December and has done some DARLING projects with the kids. One week they made pilgrim hats, Mayflower art and a turkey advent countdown to Thanksgiving (we pulled off a feather every day until turkey day). The next week they made these cute scarecrows and homemade pumpkin butter. Addison is having a ball with it!

The kids made these cute turkeys that we used as centerpieces for the kids table. I gave them the supplies, briefly explained the project and they did all of the work themselves. I was so impressed!

On to the main event! Adam, Laurie and Hyrum came from AZ to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was so fun to have them here. On Thanksgiving morning, the boys got up and played football for a couple hours and had a grand time. Carter loves that he is old enough to play now too! The girls stayed home to work on food preparation and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. My kids were such good helpers all day and really loved getting involved this year.

Makenna peeling sweet potatoes:

Addison scooping stuffing into muffin tins (my favorite way to make stuffing – bake in muffin tins for slightly crispy, non-soggy individual portions – yum!)

Carter helping with pies:

Laurie made SIX pies in the morning (apple, sweet potato, lemon meringue, chocolate pudding, pear and almond joy):Carter loved taking care of the babies while we worked:
I had fun setting tables this year. Adult table:


Kids table place setting:

I covered the table in brown craft paper so the kids could draw on it. The sugar cone/cornucopia was filled with some yummy trail mix that I made. This was a perfect addition because it kept the kids full and busy until we were ready to eat dinner.

Laurie, Adam & Hyrum (my only regret of the day was that I did not take a picture of my own family :(

Adult Guests:

We had 18 people at our house this year. Our family, Laurie & Adam, and two families from our ward. It was a fun group and we had an AMAZING meal. Afterwards we played games while the kids ran amok and had a grand time.

I am so grateful for this time of year to reflect upon my many blessings and express gratitude to the Lord and my family. In no particular order, I am feeling especially grateful for: Allen, Eternal marriage, my children, motherhood, my extended family, good health for my family, forgiveness/repentance/mercy, humor, friends, good books, reliable cars, the scriptures, latter-day prophets, the temple, vacations, a comfortable home, modern conveniences (iPhone, pinterest & DVR), getting to stay at home with my kids, the Atonement, book club, cute clothes, General Conference, healthy food, Allen’s good job, my kids amazing school, modern medicine, my camera.