Resolutions for 2012 (besides avoiding the end of the world)

These photos have nothing to do with this post, but gosh, I love them.

So, 2012, huh? That is just crazy to me, because I remember 1995 like it was last week. And that makes me feel genuinely old, since the 9th graders I teach weren't even born then. That spectacularly blows my mind every time I think about it. And speaking of my students, they like to remind me constantly that 2012 is going to mark the end of time. I guess that is exciting to them, but damn, I hope they are wrong.

So assuming that they are in fact wrong, I've put together a few resolutions for the next year. Some may think new year's resolutions are stupid, but I just see them as a few goals to use as motivation. I'm always trying to make improvements to my life, and the start of a new year is a great time for that.

So here ya go:

1. Be more present with my family. I honestly have a tendency to get overcome by social media, my iPhone, and all that internet-y crap that can be fun, but can also take me out of the moment. Hannah is growing up faster than I can handle, and I don't want to miss it because it was my move on Words with Friends.

2. Start saving money for Hannah's future. This is something that I have been putting off for awhile and it just needs to get done. I'm kind of interested in the Gerber Grow Up Plan. Anyone have any experience with it?

3. Lose weight. Yeah, I'm a cliche. But I've been waiting two years for this damn baby weight to melt off  and it just ain't happening. I used to like the way I looked. That was fun. I want that back.

4. Read more books. I love reading, but it is hard to find time when you work full time and are raising a toddler. But part of being a parent is setting good examples. If I want my daughter to be a lifetime reader, then I should show her what that looks like.

5. Take more videos of Hannah. I love the videos that I have of Hannah as a little baby, and I wish I had more. I want to try to bust out the flip camera at least once a month this year.

I think that will be it for now, because if I make think of too many I will just forget them all. If you have a list of resolutions for 2012 I would love to read it, so link it up in the comments!

XOXO

Lately

Isn't that first photo just pitiful? Hannah has spent the last couple days with a yucky little cold. She has a low-grade fever, runny nose, cough, and an upset tummy. It's never fun to see your baby sick, but she's handling it well. She's a lot better than she was yesterday, so hopefully it will clear up fast. She tends to keep runny noses for a long time, and she is already sick of me wiping her nose ever five minutes. At least it came after Christmas.

Besides taking caring for my sicky, I've been cleaning and doing laundry like a mad woman. I'm a little anal about keeping a tidy home, and Christmas just about set me off my rocker. I loved it, but wow, what a mess! I'm looking forward to this weekend when we will take down the tree and put away all the decorations. Also, I've been thinking about making a few new year's resolutions, and cleaning up my diet is at the top of the list. I'm thinking of doing a blog post about my resolutions like I did last year, so be on the look out for that in the near future. I always love the freshness of a new year and the possibilities of setting and reaching goals.

And now I'm off to fold and put away more laundry before Hannah wakes up from her nap and wants to be held for the rest of the day (which I secretly love).

XOXO

A Christmas Recap

Christmas this year was a complete success! Wytmer's mom came over Christmas Eve so she could spend the night and wake up with us for presents in the morning. Before Hannah went to bed we exchanged out pajamas. And I totally won...

He totally loved the penguin feet.

Hideous, yes. Also, I had to crop out my face because I was a hot mess.

Right? I'm claiming this round. Better luck next year, Wytmer!

After our embarrassing fashion show Hannah took a bath and went to bed. Then Wytmer and I snuck out to his dad's house for a little Christmas Eve get together. But we didn't stay out too long because we were both eager to wake up in the morning with Hannah to see what Santa brought us.

Wytmer was the first to get up in the morning, claiming that he heard Hannah making noises. Total lie, because she was still sound asleep when I opened her door. But she woke up pretty fast when she started unwrapping her presents and finding new toys. Her baby doll was a hit, as well as the play kitchen that her great-aunt Tonja sent. Wytmer got a lot of new clothes and he gave me the nook that I wanted.

After presents we ate our traditional Christmas breakfast of monkey bread and bacon (diets go out the window for Christmas). Then we cleaned up, got dressed, and headed out to make the rounds. Usually we just spend Christmas Eve with Wytmer's dad, but his cousin flew in that day so we stopped by again before heading to my parents where we opened more presents and ate a late dinner. My parents went crazy with Christmas this year, and we went home with our trunk and back seat full of presents. Hannah got more toys, books, and clothes. Wytmer got a bunch of Laker gear, and I got the nook cover I wanted, some accessories, and a Barnes and Noble gift card. We really appreciated all the thoughtful gifts we received, and enjoyed the time spent together. And at the end of the day we were all so exhausted that we went straight to bed as soon as we got home.

And now I'm kind of looking forward to putting away the decorations and starting fresh in the new year. I see a pretty massive de-cluttering/Goodwill donation in the near future. Christmas was amazing, but I'm ready for a clean slate.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas this year!

XOXO 

Christmas Magic

Well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We've been keeping quite busy around these parts with baking, gift wrapping, and last minute shopping. Everything is coming together nicely and I am just looking forward to spending time with family and squeezing every ounce of magic out of Christmas and serving it up generously to my very enthusiastic little girl.

That is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Christmas Magic. Honestly, I hadn't cared for the holiday season much before having Hannah. Sure, I loved it as a kid, but I grew up and it lost it's appeal. But now I'm more excited than ever. Last night after Hannah went to bed I had Elf on in the background while I wrapped presents. That scene at the end where Santa's sleigh gets off the ground because of everyone's Christmas spirit?  It made me bawl like a baby. While wiping my eyes I muttered to myself, "why the heck am I crying?" But as the credits rolled and I scribbled Santa's name on one of Hannah's gifts, I figured it out. I was crying because of the magic of Christmas.

Often I feel like it is my job to show Hannah the best of the world. One day she is going to grow up and find out that this world can suck sometimes. There will be lots of disappointments that she will have to face. But now? Now she is my innocent baby girl. And that means that she can believe in magic, miracles, happily ever after, and that Santa Claus is coming down our chimney to bring her presents. Sure, she doesn't understand all that now. But her face lights up when she sees Santa on a commercial, and she shrieks with delight "Sa-ta!" There is magic in that.

Childhood is supposed to be magical. It is supposed to be filled with inexplicable wonder. It is her job to one day stay up at night listening for sleigh bells on the roof, and dash out of bed before the sun comes up. Sure, I believe that Christmas is about family, and giving, and traditions. And we spend lots of time celebrating each of those elements as well. But it is my hope that one day Hannah will look back at Christmases from her childhood and remember the awe and excitement of being a little girl who believed in magic.

XOXO

A Christmas Tradition/Challenge

Keeping and making traditions is one of my most favorite parts of having a family. Christmastime is so awesome because there is so much opportunity for family traditions. For us, Christmas is a two day event, starting Christmas Eve when we spend the evening with Wytmer's dad's side of the family. Wytmer's grandma always cooks a lot of food, the kids run around together, and there is a lot of laughter everywhere. Last year when we got home we all opened one present before we went to bed, which we want to do again this year.

Except this time we are making it more interesting. Wytmer and I decided we would exchange Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve that we would have to wear Christmas morning. But instead of getting any old Christmas pjs, we decided to try and find the most embarrassing pajamas possible. Wytmer's mom will be joining us for Christmas morning so she is in on it, too. And you guys? I need to go all out on this. Because Wytmer is kind of a jerk about competitions. And he is making this into a competition. If he picks out more embarrassing pajamas for me he will gloat about it for the next five years. I already bought some pajamas for him, but now that I'm looking at them I'm realizing they just will not do.

So my question for you dear readers, is where can I find the most ridiculous adult pajamas? Online shopping is out because I don't want to pay 25 dollars for 2 day shipping. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. And of course, I will post pictures.

UPDATE: Okay, we just laid down some ground rules...

1. They have to cover everything and not be inappropriate to wear in front of his mom.
2. They have to be pajamas.
3. They have to fit...as in not too small. They can be too big.
4. They can be from either men's or women's departments.

Here's what I found so far, but they are out of stock:

found them here

This is going to be awesome.

XOXO

Hannah+Santa=BFFs

This past Sunday we finally took Hannah to meet Santa and get her picture taken. We had been putting it off for awhile because the idea of standing in a 3 hour line with a very active toddler just didn't sound like all that much fun. But we got our act together this weekend. We decided to skip the mall this year because Bass Pro was giving out free Santa pictures. And I heard they had a fast pass that let you get a ticket and come back later when it was your time. Genius, am I right? Plus they had all kinds of neat crafts and activities for the kids so we didn't even have to go far to find entertainment. The only downside was that it was Bass Pro. Think racism isn't common anymore? Try taking your biracial daughter to a hunting store in Texas. I've never seen so many grown adults glare hatefully at a child. But that isn't what this post is about (but good lord, my blood was boiling).

Where was I? Oh, Santa! When it was finally our turn Hannah walked right up to Santa and hopped into his lap. She started babbling to him about something and gave the photographer a big smile. 

Then she gave Santa a big hug, got down and yelled "bye!" while blowing him a kiss. Seriously. It was perfection.

Did you get your Santa pictures done? I'm linking up with Harper's Happenings and you should, too!

XOXO

I'm not dead.

Hey there, Stranger.

It's been quite a few days since my last post. I've been scrambling to keep up with this very hectic life but I think I'm through the thick of the madness now. School is out for the next couple weeks, my Christmas shopping is done, and I've got nothing but exciting Christmas festivities to look forward to.

Our little family has been running around all weekend trying to get all our shopping finished. Also, we finally took Hannah to meet Santa and get her picture taken today. She did amazingly well, but I'll save the details for another post tomorrow when I can upload the file from the company's website. But seriously, Hannah acted like Santa was her BFF, even after a skipped nap.

All this hustle and bustle has left me desperately craving a quiet day at home with my little lady. So tomorrow's plans are to stay in our pjs as long as possible, eat every meal at home, and tackle all the chores that didn't happen this weekend.

I hope you are all doing well and the Christmas rush hasn't driven anyone crazy yet!

XOXO

As promised...

One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.

XOXO

Some Randomness

I haven't really blogged in awhile. Whenever that happens I tend to get the urge to word vomit random things all of my site. And I suppose that's what this is going to turn into...

Things have been going pretty well around here lately. I've been killer busy with work stuff, especially since today was my appraisal. It all went pretty well, and I am so glad to have that over and done with. I still have tons of grading and lessons to get through, but Christmas break is less than two weeks away! Hallelujah! These last few days of school are just flying by because we are reading Romeo and Juliet, and that's always pretty fun. You'd be surprised how excited 14 year old kids can get to read a 400 year old play.

Besides working, I've been keeping busy marking gifts off my Christmas shopping list. I've started much earlier this year which has been awesome so far because it's given me time to shop online. I've found some really awesome things to give my friends and family, but that is top secret until the big day, just in case they peek into my blog. But I can say that Mod Cloth, Etsy, and Mini Social have been my top favorite places to shop. I'm planning a blog post about Hannah's gift list that I'll post in the next few days, you know, since she can't read. All this gift planning is so exciting to me! There is nothing like giving a loved one a gift that they will truly enjoy. I get all dance-y just thinking about it.

And I guess a little shopping for myself goes along with all the gift shopping I've done. I just got my new glasses from Coastal Contacts this weekend and I'm pretty obsessed with them. Have you guys heard of Coastal Contacts? You get your first pair free when you enter a coupon code firstpairfree. I paid around 14 bucks for shipping and that was it. Seriously. I tell people so much that I feel like they should be paying me. But seriously...free glasses? I just can't keep that to myself.

Besides all that awesomeness, I've basically just been loving up a pretty little toddler that is growing way too fast and is currently obsessed with wearing her winter coat and boots all. the. time. We're both eagerly waiting for the cold weather to really set in. Lots of Christmas movies, couch cuddles and hot cocoa sipping going on lately. I am so in love with this time of year.

Hope you all are having an awesome week so far!

XOXO