Hello New Year

I like this time of year like most people do because it gives us a chance to start all over. Such a great time to reflect and make goals to be better and do better and ohmiword…I’ve got a few! I thought I’d go ahead and share those with y’all to maybe hold myself a little more accountable this year :)

*Be a better mom.  This is something we all always strive for, right?  To help me achieve this, I am going to do better at walking out of my classroom doors at the moment I can leave, despite the piles of things that need to be done.  I may not reach 100% right away, but I'm hopeful that I can make strides to getting there soon.  I'm going to doubt my parenting abilities less and have faith in that I am doing the best I can and that's enough.  I want to do more projects with my littles- and not have them end up like the shoemaker's children without good shoes.  Sometimes, since I spend all day with other people's kids doing projects and teaching them, I just want to enjoy and play with my own kids at the end of the day without defined structure.  Now that they are getting more and more able to do projects, I want to capitalize on that.  I want to do more things with Sam and Anna; go on more outings/adventures because we tend to be more homebodies around here and I want them to experience all the wonderful things available to us.

* Be a better wife.   It's time that this part of my life takes a bigger portion on the front stage.  As part of this goal, I resolve to follow through with planning one trip overnight with my husband (while starting to plan our trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 10 anniversary in 2013), leaving Sam and Anna overnight somewhere without us for the first time. 

*Commenting more. I have so many blogs that I read every day. I catch up on my ipad mostly…while I’m sitting on the couch doing other things at the same time. The not so good thing about an ipad is that they are cumbersome to type using that little touch keypad, so I’ve been slacking in the comment department. But I’m changing that in 2012. I’m always so appreciative and grateful when you all comment on my blog and I definitely want you to know that I love to reading what you are posting, too.  So I'm going to get better at that starting now.

*Find better balance.  I need to shortchange myself less.  Make it okay to take mommy time to do something for me- NOT kid or job related.  Waste less time on the internet and make the time that I am here count.  And goodness gracious, get more sleep.  Staying up later to be on the internet is not a good choice, no matter what I want to accomplish.  I need to live by the saying, "a well rested mama is a happy mama" and "if mama's not happy then nobody's happy"  this year.


Notice that be a better teacher did not make my goals this year.  I will of course be the best I can be every day while working, but I need to find better balance by being a better mom, and a better wife first this year... while slicing out a better portion of time for me too.

The Year My Babies Grew Up

Wow, what a year it has been.  In 2011, my babies grew into amazing toddlers who can do so much.

 In 2011, they learned to talk- from 1 word to sentences; they learned to walk- from tentative first steps to full on running, galloping and jumping; they developed their own distinct personalities to turn into the most entertaining, lovable children. 

In 2011, I got comfortable doing this twin parenting thing on my own during daddy's work trips.  We said goodbye to bottles and acid reflux and hello to over 30 teeth.  We discovered our local children's museum and bought a yearly membership- we experienced the zoo, state fair swimming in a lake, going for boat rides and camping all for the first time.  We celebrated the one year milestone of Sam and Anna's birth. 

We got through 6 ear infections in 5 months, and tubes being placed in August.  Besides that, it was a relatively doctor free year (for Sam and Anna- although Daddy had his wisdom teeth removed and Mama had issues with her cornea resulting in a MRI at the end of the year), with no ER visits, no flu, no pink eye, no cardiologist visits for heart murmur checkups, no physical therapy, no chiropractor, no GI specialist appointments, nor issues with bulging fontanelles requiring CT scans- and for all that, I am VERY thankful!  I'm very hopeful that 2012 can be as healthy or even more than the last year has been!

2011 will be one of those years I that will always stick out in my memory- the year my babies grew up.  The year we weren't always just trying to figure things out (although, we still sometimes do and probably always will).  The year that we really got to know the two newest additions to our family.

Snapshots of 2011 by month

January reading books inside while it was cold outside

February in the snow

March celebrating first birthdays

April laundry basket rides

May at the zoo for the first time

June days at home with mom with lots of time for walks and playing

July swimming in the pool and lake

August at the fair

September enjoying fall colors

October trick or treating in the rain

November feeding chickens at Grandma's

December celebrating Christmas

With just minutes to go until 2012, here's to a wonderful new year filled with more phenomenal memories to make!