Out with the old, in with the new!

I love new beginnings and fresh starts. I know everyone does the whole "new year" resolutions, but I'm always the one saying, "Why wait until January? Start today!"

Welllll, this did not work well for me last year. I feel like I didn't have any goals and I didn't make any during the year. So this year I will try and accomplish some resolutions. I'm not saying I will start tomorrow, buuuut very soon. Frankly, I've come to a place in my life I'm not too happy with. I'm always tired, over analyze everything, and i feel as though I am not truly living and appreciating life. 

So here it goes:

Drink more tea, less coffee.

Tea has natural energy, less calories, and is healthier. No more big macs either! 

Say yes to fun, even when I'm tired.

Being a mom and working full time is VERY tiring, but I missed out on a lot of events this year by saying no. So I will be a "yes" girl this year. 

More date nights.

We had maybe 3 this year? That is cray. We need time to reconnect and communicate, so we definitely need to make time for us. 

Reteach my mind to pray. 

Spend more time with the bible and the lord. Pray more. Read more. 

Less tv and cell.

GET OFF Social media and ride a bike, go for a walk, craft, go to the park. Enjoy the outdoors. 

More "me" time. 

More reading,manis,pedis, and exploring. 

Stay connected with friends. 

No more blame on being a mom. I take my friendships very seriously and will really work on being a better friend.  

CHEERS 2014, kick rocks 2013 :)

 

Christmas // snippets

We are overly blessed with the amount of love and gifts we received from friends and family. The best time is, and will always be, time with family. That's how memories are made and traditions are formed. Here's a peek into our last few days. 

1. Jack's Christmas cookies for Santa. 

2. I spy a bad kitty. 

3. Holiday cups and coca cola. 

4. Joe catching up on my blog. 

5. Christmas Eve- me and the hubs. 

6. Putting out food for the reindeer. 

7. Christmas morning. Before chaos. 

8. Jack opening all his gifts. 

9. A glimpse into the future with Jack and his cousins. Lord help me!

Family Traditions

Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.
- Susan Lieberman

I love family traditions around the holidays. We are starting new traditions with our little family of three, but I still love family traditions with my parents and brothers. Each Christmas morning we would wait impatiently on the steps until our parents said we could come downstairs to open presents. Of course there was always an awesome picture taken by my mom while we were waiting, bed head and all. And we ALWAYS have sausage balls and breakfast casserole for breakfast. mmmmm!

We started a tradition with Jack to go look at this amazing house with Christmas lights EVERYWHERE! I mean this house has been featured on TV and is on the tacky light tour in Richmond. TJ and I have been going every year, even before Jack was born. It's about ten minutes from our house. Jack loves to find all of his favorite characters, drink hot chocolate, and find his favorite Santa Claus. I'm so grateful to have a healthy little family to be able to share remarkable memories with.
 If you don't have family traditions around Christmas time here are some ones we might start next year:

Family Christmas Traditions

• Search out and cut down your own Christmas tree


• Put a new ornament on the tree each year


• Go caroling


• Play secret Santa


• Exchange white elephant gifts


• Act out the nativity on Christmas Eve


• Eat orange rolls for breakfast


• Host a neighborhood party


• Give everyone new pajamas

Here are some pictures from our tradition, past and present!

Four years

Tj and I celebrated 4 years yesterday. Four years already? I can't believe it. We took Jack to his Che Che And papa's house and headed down to carytown with my love. We ate at the daily kitchen where we devoured fish tacos, stir fry, and cocktails. After dinner we headed to a neighborhood restaurant for some extra drinks since we were off mommy and daddy duty for the night. We went to bed at a reasonable hour and felt refreshed since we had to be back at work Friday at 8. I'm so lucky to get to spend the rest of my life with my BFF. 

The day started with Tj making me an appointment for mani,pedi, and massage!

Dinner festivities 

Xoxo,

E

A Delightful Weekend

We were so lucky to get to watch my niece this entire weekend. She is almost 2 so she and Jack have a blast when they get together. Jack is so protective over her and gives her lots of love. As I was making lunch I heard Jack say to her, " Finley, you have beautiful hair just like cinderella."

Isn't he the cutest?

We ventured out to the children's museum and a few other places. The cold weather did not give us a lot of options.

This girl totally makes my heart melt. She gets so attached to me. And the way she says uncle T and aunt Em is delectable! Jack was definitely getting a little jealous, but we were able to find a happy medium for the three of us before the weekend was over :)

A Christmas performance!

Jack and the rest of his daycare had a sweet Christmas performance last night! Jack was right in the middle hitting every note, clapping for himself after each song, and didn't miss a beat when the boy next to him cried for the entire song of "Away in a Manger". You know I was in total stage mom mode getting in the front of everyone telling Jack to smile and doing all the dance moves. Omg- I'm really THAT mom! He was amazing! Sorry the pictures are blurry- it was a full house and not much room to get great pics 

 

Jack is in the middle in the red, next to him is his best friend Luke, and next to him is Leah. Leah is Jack's girlfriend, although last night Jack told us that she's now Chase's girlfriend. Drama in the 3 year old Panda class!

A lazy Sunday

Sunday's are simply needed. A day to rest, catch up with the family, and recharge. A day to unwind,sip slowly, cook something scrumptious, read a book under the covers, and cat naps. the weather has been icky with sleet and rain, but it's so lovely to have the Christmas tree on in a dim room, with candles lit, listening to the rain fall, and not having to go out in this cold, wet weather. 

We spent our Sunday cooking some delicious brownies and some delightful meatball subs(courtesy of the hubs). 

As I was catching up on my etsy site I suddenly noticed the house was quiet. Too quiet. When you have a three year old bouncing off the walls and then suddenly you hear nothing--- it's never a good sign. But something was happening that NEVER happens. Jack fell asleep at a proper nap time hour watching The Grinch. He never naps! This was amazing!!

Sunday's are the finest!

I also put up two more items on my etsy site. A coffee sugar scrub and a lemon honey facial sugar scrub. They are AMAZING! Check them out!

The past 48 hours

When your little man is sick, everything stops, and all of your attention is focused on keeping your babe comfortable and getting him healthy. The last 48 hours have been very draining for the both of us. Sleepless nights, non stop coughing, lots of fluids, lots of tissues and lots of cuddles. 

Day two has been looking up for us. A little less coughing and a lot more smiles and laughs. Here's a glimse of our last two days of cabin fever:

Tried to lift up his spirits by driving around downtown and finding the best houses for Christmas lights. 

A sick child is allowed to eat on the table for a snack, right?!

Lots and lots and lots of stories. 

Lots and lots and lots of coffee. 

Started wrapping presents while jack was having quiet time. 

Lots of messes and no clothes. 

Wrote out a letter to Santa from Jack. 

Hopefully a nap is in our future in the next hour. 

Literally as I was about to post this, this happened:

Score!!!

Signs

I am a firm believer in signs. Not little signs, gigantic ones. I need to know that God is putting something out there, so loud and so bold, that it stops me in my tracks and makes me examine, study and inspect this "sign".

My mind is rapidly moving 24/7. Non stop. like one of those little hamster wheels. I am constantly thinking about my future, my past, my husband, my son, my family, chores, bills, things we need, things I need to change, thing I need to accept, being a friend, being a better mother, being a better wife..... I don't stop. I get migraines, I get tired-- It's never ending and it's exhausting.

T.J. and I have talked a lot about babies. Mainly I've been talking and he's been "listening" watching football. I want another child so badly, but if you really get down to the core, we financially can not make it work. Although we said that before Jack was here and we have made it this far, but we have stretched every penny to make it work. T.J. works two jobs. I work full time. We barely see each other during the week. We are two ships passing in the night (one is screaming for coffee, the other only speaks in grunts and moans).

Can we do it? Can we go through sleepless nights, bottle making, diaper changing, first colds, fist boo boo's, first day at daycare--- first EVERYTHINGS all over again? How do people have more than one child? We are so good with our money, have no credit cards, pay all of our bills ahead of time, yet I don't know if we can manage it financially an extra little nugget.

We have been going back and forth for months, maybe a year, to the big question, " Will Jack get a sibling?" For a long time I almost felt badly for thinking about another baby. Jack is still growing and is still so much a mama's boy, that I almost felt that I would be pushing him aside by bringing in another baby. Crazy, right? I already know I am.

As I was driving to work and thinking about babies for the 1089854986498 time this morning and thinking about how beautiful it would be to see Jack being such an amazing big brother, I got a sign. I literally opened my phone and someone had posted an article that said something about why most families have 2 children. I read this article, I don't usually ready articles that people post, but I opened this one. It was so beautifully written, like God was speaking to me.

Of course Jack has said that he can only have a brother and his name has to be Jordan(?)...he's silly.

Here's my sign:

Giving thanks!

This year we were able to visit both sides of our family for Thanksgiving! It felt like we spent most of the day driving, but we had an amazing breakfast at my moms, followed by lunch with T.J.'s side, and dinner at my aunts. We are totally thank-FULL! 

A "recipe" // So easy, Jack makes it!

I love that Jack LOVES to help cook. It something fun to do together that we both enjoy. He has found a new love of pizza, so the other day we decided to make English Muffin pizzas for dinner. It's super easy, barely a wait time, and delicious! 

Here's what you need:

English muffins(cut in half)

Shredded cheese

Pizza sauce

Whatever toppings you desire(we chose pepperoni)

Set the oven to 375 degrees, place the mini pizzas on a cookie sheet,and cook for 10-12 minutes. So easy!!!  

This is definitely a recipe for moms who work late(me!) and need to get dinner on the table! I'm trying ham and pineapple next week!!!

Snippets // Christmas decorating

 

1. A tiny tree and a bowl that needs candies. 

2. Our front door. 

3. Jack with Santa 2012. 

4. My most memorable ornaments from childhood. 

5. Jack's angel. 

6. Jack with Santa 2011. 

We are far from finished, but it feels good to get started. It's definitely time for homemade soups, hot cocoa, lite 98, and lots of cuddles on chilly nights.