Plans for 2013

So, once again I find myself playing catch up on here... two kids with me solo is my alibi. I know that's not a good enough excuse for only making one post this year, but we've been really busy, with getting ready to move, and with Reid trying to give his mama gray hair some nights.

Allen has been freezing his butt off in North Dakota. With the wind gusts, it has been 30 bellow at night, and I know he is just as much ready to come back home to us as I'm ready for him to as well.

I know he will kill me for this, but it made me
smile the other night when he sent the pics

Allen on the growler- his equipment he runs on the site. 

We will be moving into the new place when he gets back- 1 1/2 weeks from now. I'm ready.. I'm sick of having boxes everywhere, and I'm ready to decorate too! Kind of like Christmas for me, getting to re-purpose or get to decorate things in a different way. I wish that photography came just as easy to me as decorating seems to. I'm just ready to be moved, have Reid over his colic completely, and be settled in, and be able to start a new routine.

Over the New Year, both Allen and I did a lot of reflecting on the past year, where we've been, where we are now, and what we want for this year, and our future. To be honest, I feel old this year. Next month, Reid will be 3 months old on the day I turn 30. Ughhh! I realize 30 is nothing, it's just the fact that 20's flew by so dang fast, and we are done having kids- sob...no more babies. Waiting on the babies seemed like it took FOREVER, and then, just like that we had Hayleigh, then Reid, and now we are here wondering just how we got here soo fast.

I know we are in a lot better place now, than we were last year. Allen was laid off, with no unemployment thanks to his previous employer, he was staying home with Hayleigh, and I was working at UPS, trying to support us all. A year later, we moved over 1200 miles to Colorado, I'm a stay at home mom now to a sassy 2 1/2 year old, and a now 2 month old little boy that proved to us that anything can happen, and Allen's working in North Dakota for Halliburton supporting us... what a 360 we did! Remember this post that started it all? A Glimpse of Hope post  Still gives me goosebumps, and makes me cry watching that video... Funny thing is I never dreamed or wanted to really be a stay at home mom. I miss work.. I miss UPS. I miss being busy in other ways than taking care of a baby and 2 year old by myself for 2 weeks at a time 24/7. At least with working, I got a break for a few hours through the day, and had some adult talk at some point. Now, it's Disney Jr. 90% of my day, then I find myself watching it by myself when Hayleigh is taking a nap or is in bed. The only tv I do manage to catch is when Allen is home, or what I do manage to record on the DVR. With Reid being a completely opposite baby than Hayleigh was, fussy, colicky, etc... it really makes me miss work a lot. But, not for one minute I am not grateful for my time with both kids. I'm getting to experience everything, and I won't miss Reid rolling over for the first time, like I had with Hayleigh, or wondering just what I'm missing out on while at work. It's a trade off... with the stressful parts of the day, come the rewards of sweet moments that make it all worth it.

I know I didn't post a New Year's Resolution last year... it was obvious what we needed, and quite frankly, it was depressing.. This year we have things to look forward to, without the fear of not knowing what Allen was going to do for a job.

My 2013 New Year's resolutions:

1. Lose 30 more pounds. I know this is petty, but after having a surprise of being pregnant on April Fool's last year, without giving me a chance to get into shape BEFORE it actually happened, kind of threw a wrench into my plans. I was planning on losing weight last year, but after finding out I was pregnant, that was out the window. I am starting out this year 18 pounds lighter than I was last year at this time at least. I've already lost 30 pounds since having Reid, and need to lose the last 30, to put me at where I would LOVE to be.. any more than that is just cake! I am waiting for us to get moved to start in though. Our current house has hardwood floors everywhere- I HATE them, and working out on them is a pain in the butt. The new house has carpet in all but the hallways, kitchen, and bathrooms, so Cindy Crawford's workout video will be busting right on out of that box first thing. Other than that, I have to wait for the weather to warm up to start walking with the kids, pulling them in the wagon. I need to get a trailer to hook up to my bike, and get a double jogging stroller also after the weather gets better too. Allen is at least on board with me on this one, so as a family, we will be doing a lot of walking this year!

2. Get Hayleigh potty trained. I should have had this done quite a while back, but being pregnant and sitting in a bathroom all day is not exactly on the top of my list of things I wanted to do. I wish I would have now. So, as soon as we get moved, that is happening!

3. Save more money! I think that one is on every one's list.

4. Go on vacation somewhere as a family besides back to Illinois to visit. I know we are wanting to go to Disney World next year- when both kids are older. This year, we would like to go to either the Grand Canyon, or up to Yellowstone National Park.. somewhere we can drive a few hours and be at.

5. Renew our vows in Vegas in November for our 10th wedding anniversary. Okay, this is wild for us, but something we want to do.

6. Be a better mom. This is always on my list. I want to do more activities with both kids. Get Hayleigh and Reid into swimming lessons- they start at 6 months here, enroll Hayleigh into dance or gymnastics, go to the park more, and just have more activities to do in the house and in the back yard as well. Thank you pinterest!! I want to read a book every night, instead of maybe once a week. HOPEFULLY with Reid's colic easing up this can be a doable thing.

7. Be a better wife to Allen. This one is also always on my list as well. Make more effort to do extra things that are special for him.

8. Get more organized. I firmly believe you cannot be too organized! There is always room for improvement on things I have organized in the past. I would really like to keep to a cleaning schedule, and have a meal plan for the week- grocery shopping according to that instead of the usual things we fix. This includes trying a new meal from pinterest once a week as well. I am also getting my Christmas shopping done throughout the year, instead of the last 30 days until Christmas. Birthday planning and shopping, and other holiday shopping done well in advance as well as far as that one goes too.

9. Eat at the dinning room table EVERY night, and not in the living room. With Reid starting foods next month, I think this will be easier. Being pregnant, I got used to just eating in the living room- comfort was the key in that one!

10. Let things go more. With getting pregnant with Reid, it made me a lot more mellow...So much that Allen thought something was wrong with me- or that I was secretly going to kill him in his sleep for being so mellow about things. Since having Reid, I've gotten a little bit of the old me back, but having 2 kids now, has put a good leash on that one. I want to let some things in the past go, and move forward. Like I have time now to worry about what happened 2 years ago, let alone a day ago??

11. Be more social. I am working on that one. Last year, I depleted my facebook down to 80 people- mainly family. I'm working on being more social now, and adding more people. I can't live under a rock, even though God knows I would love to. With being more social, maybe I can make friends in the new town we are moving to, and actually get out of the house!!