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2014

Our Christmas

December 29, 2014

This year, the days leading up to Christmas were a little crazy. I had basically all of my shopping left to do at the last minute and I got the tree and decorations up just a few days ago. But Christmas Eve and Christmas day were great! Cullen had them best time and as a result, so did Corey and I.

Christmas Eve, Cullen got to meet Santa. I wish I had captured the look on his face when Santa walked through the door; it was priceless! He kept blinking his eyes in disbelief, frozen in wonder at how such a thing was really happening! He wouldn’t sit in Santa’s lap, but he did give him a big hug before leaving.

Christmas morning was absolutely wonderful! Cullen ran downstairs and immediately started playing with his toys. He wanted to open everyone’s gifts and wanted to play with each present immediately after it was opened. There is almost nothing more joyful than a child on Christmas morning!

We saw the rest of our family for lunch and dinner gatherings. It was great getting to spend time with everyone, and Cullen had a wonderful time playing with his cousins. I can’t wait to enjoy this holiday with two little ones next year!

2014 Goals Update: January/February

February 28, 2014

Remember the goals I set for 2014? I thought I would share with you how I’m doing two months into the year.

1. Organize/Decorate/Clean. Thanks to having Cullen’s birthday party at our house, I did a lot of organizing the first few weeks of the year. When you come into our house you step into one big room that we use as a living room and dining room. Since this is the biggest/most party friendly room in our house, it has gotten a lot of attention lately. In just this one area we have:

Put away all of the Christmas decor/gifts and other stuff from around the house that was cluttering up this room. I wish I had a ‘before’ picture to show you just how bad it was. Then again, maybe not. Someone would have called Hoarders on me. But it is much better now. Everything has been boxed up and put away. And by put away I mean stacked in our guest room until I have time to find it a proper home. Don’t judge. One step at a time.

Installed a shelf/clothes rod in the coat closet. When we moved in, this closet had one of those white wire shelves. We took it down when we first moved in so we could scrape and paint the closet ceiling, with every intention of putting it back up (the shelf and hardware have been hanging out in our garage for three and a half years). But we I decided a wood shelf and rod would look so much nicer. So thanks to the hard work of my Dad, this closet looks pretty good and is actually functional now!

Rearranged the furniture in this front room. We moved around the love seats, chair, rug, and coffee table. It flows so much better now! And it makes me smile every time I walk into that room. I also moved a shelf in from the kitchen. With the low furniture and taller ceilings, everything was looking squat-y. This room definitely needed some more height. I wasn’t loving this shelf in the kitchen anymore, but I think it is perfect in here. I edited down the serving pieces displayed on it, but still need to add something to the bottom two shelves. Maybe baskets; definitely something Cullen can’t break.

We also got a new chandelier for the dining room and a new entry rug for the front door. The rug we had at the front door came from our first apartment. It did not go with anything in our house. So in a rush to get this room ready for the party, I was lucky enough to find this super cute rug at Target. Bonus, it is super soft…I could stand on it all day! The new chandelier came from Lowe’s and for only $79, I love it! I really liked the previously chandelier (we had just installed it when we moved in), but when it came time to replace the light bulbs recently I could not find the right bulbs anywhere. I would have had to order the bulbs online and would have spend $33 on just three bulbs. That is crazy, especially for a light that was less than $150! Anyone want a light fixture that needs some new, rather expensive light bulbs?

There is still a lot more I would like to add to this room, but I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done so far!

2. Simplify. We haven’t really made much progress here, but we still have plenty of time. And I have some ideas.

3. Quality family time. I think we have made some pretty good steps forward in this area. Instead of eating dinner in front of the TV, we are all sitting at the kitchen table almost every night now. I loved that we did this when I was growing up, and really want to keep family dinners a part of our family. I think it is important for the family to spend this time together to talk about our day; things that wouldn’t get said if we were sitting in front of the TV.

4. Blogging. I’m feeling pretty good about this goal. I’ve caught up on everything I wanted to share so far. And I’m planning ahead. So be sure to follow along, as I plan to share a lot more with you this year!

Did you set any goals for this year? How are you doing so far?

2014 Goals New Year

Hello 2014

January 4, 2014

I intended to have this post up on January 1st. But our whole house has been sick and not much as been accomplished over the last few days. There are dishes piled in the sink, laundry still needs to be done, and I should be back at work. Instead we have been breaking Kleenex use records, getting in lots of snuggles, and trying to get better.

Despite starting the year off not feeling so great, I plan on making 2014 a great year for our family. In a few short weeks we will have a one year old to keep up with, Corey is working on growing his new business, and I am determined to focus on being a better mom and wife than ever before.

I don’t usually make resolutions because I know I won’t keep them. But I am writing down my goals for the year in my planner so they are always there for me to see and I am putting them out here for you to see. So feel free to help keep me accountable. Maybe if all of the internet (or the few people that check my blog on occasion) can see what my goals are, I’ll be a little more motivated to work hard to achieve them. So…without further ado, here are my goals for 2014.

1. Organize/Decorate/Clean. We moved into our house in July of 2010. We have lived here for 3 1/2 years, and every room still needs some kind of organizing. Drawers and cabinets need to be gone through, things need to be trashed and donated, and just about everything needs a permanent home. There are also curtains that need to be hung, art to put on walls, and rooms that need to be pulled together. This seems like a pretty daunting task, and I don’t expect that our house will be ‘done’ by the end of the year (is a home ever really ‘done’?), but I do plan on making this a priority. I also need to streamline my cleaning routine. Fewer and simpler cleaning products and a weekly schedule should help making house cleaning a little easier so the house stays relatively clean at all times and we have more time together (#3.)

2. Simplify. Everything from products we buy, to the things set out on counters and shelves, to my to-do list. Buying less at the grocery store and fewer clothes and accessories should help us save a little money and eat a little better. Displaying less will help keep things tidy and relaxing to look at. Simplifying my to-do list will help with #3.

3. Quality family time. Corey has been working a lot lately (at least over 70 hours a week) and will continue to work a lot for a while, so the time we have together as a family is more valuable than ever. I want to spend less time in front of the TV or on our phones and computers and more time unplugged. (We are strongly considering cutting off the cable. One less bill would be a plus!) Cullen will only be this little for so long. I want to spend more time playing and reading with him and soak up every minute of that little boy’s life. Corey and I also want to make time for more date nights. Even if it’s renting a movie to watch after Cullen is in bed.

4. Be more consistent with blogging. Even if I don’t have a ton of readers, I love having this blog as a way to document our family. I love bloggers who get more personal and really let you get to know them. I want to be open and honest. I am going to share things I would want to read; this blog is for me after all. (But I hope you enjoy it too!)

Looking back at that list, it seems like a lot to expect out of one year. And I know I am not going to be perfect at any of these, but I am going to do my best. I will try to update you on how I’m doing throughout the year. And I welcome accountability; please ask me about these at any time!

What are your goals for 2014? Any resolutions this year?