2013 in review.

This list is from the blog All and Sundry.  

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?

We took a wonderful road trip with the kids to Colorado.  In almost ten years of marriage, Nate has never taken that much time off of work.  We had a blast.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year my main goal was to get more sleep.  I think I did pretty well, except for the weeks leading up to Christmas when we got all kinds of sick and I kept pushing myself to get all of the things done.  

I'll make some goals.  I might not keep them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not really.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.  But a sister of a close friend died and she has a kid Everett's age, so that sort of broke my heart.

5. What countries did you visit?

None.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?

Girls' nights, one on one dates with my kids, cheesecake.

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Summer.  We just had a wondrous summer.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Keeping three kids alive.  Having regular date nights with Nater.  

9. What was your biggest failure?

Well, I starved a hamster to death, that sucked.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope.  Still fighting insomnia.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Amazon Prime membership.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Private school, food, babysitters.

13. What did you get really excited about?

I was thrilled to take the kids on our roadtrip. I saw several great concerts.  Started a monthly dinner group with some ladies.  Pretty-ing up our house.

14. What songs will always remind you of 2013?

The music of the concerts that I went to this year- the Avett Brothers, Lumineers, Ben Harper, JJ Heller & The National.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? About the same.  Slightly sadder?

– thinner or fatter? Fatter, could be why I'm sadder?

– richer or poorer? Financially better off -although nervous after paying our new insurance premiums.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Run.  Nap.  

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Zone out online.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas morning was at home and then we went to Oma and Papa's for the day.  Dessert with the cousins after that.  Whew!

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Parenthood, Parks and Rec.  Also, Nate and I watched five seasons of Fringe this year, so that was basically it for TV.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I read a lot.  Where did you go, Bernadette, Allegient, Attachments, and Bread & Wine all come to mind.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

Thanks to my husband, this will always be the year of The Lumineers and Avett Brothers on vinyl.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

I can't remember any.  But taking Claire to see Frozen was fun because she is a great date.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 36, and I have no idea what we did.  I seem to remember Nate and Claire making a cheesecake.  If they really did make one, I'm sure it was tasty.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? 

A closer to commute to see my dear friend.

25.  How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?

Clean?

26.  What kept you sane?

Phone calls, coffee, date nights, Jesus.

27. Share a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

Waking up 15 minutes before the kids makes all the difference, also if someone offers you a breath mint, take it.

some things i forgot to mention.

*Not pictured, Mister Baby.

During the week that sucked beyond compare, we took our kids to The Oregon Garden to see Santa and the lights.  We lasted less than an hour.  It was like 9 degrees that Sunday night up there.  Everett forgot his gloves, kids were crying (not ours, thankfully) because it was so darn cold and we Oregonians are not used to that kind of weather.  We had planned to meet friends, but it was too cold for community.

In the rush to load our frigid kids into the car, one of us ran over my well-loved jogging stroller.  Oops.

That night, my very sweet 2 1/2 year old asked me to lay with her in her bed.

"No, honey.  I can't lay with you."  I answered.

"No, Mommy.  Can you pway with me?"  She asked.

"No, honey, I can't play with you right now."  I answered.

"Mommy, can you please PWAY with me?"  She asked again.

And because we both knew that this was the answer to our horrible week, I sat beside her and we prayed.  And somehow there was gratitude after all of this nonsense.

a series of unfortunate events.

Maybe your week was bad like mine.

Excuse me for a moment while I channel my inner-Debbie downer.  Because in all of my life, I've never had a week like this one.

Maybe your weekend in the city with a friend (and no kids!) was cancelled due to snow.  Perhaps you and your friend ended up determined to get a night away and walked the slippery streets of your own town, despite everything being closed, queasy after questionable meatballs and checking your watches for the time at 6:30 PM.

I wonder if frozen pipes closed your kids' school for two days? And two of your kids ended up sick.

Did a pyrex pan fall from a top shelf, shattering massive amounts of glass all over your kitchen and ruining 3 meals that you were preparing?

Wait a minute, did someone eat your sandwich?

I wouldn't believe you if you told me you managed to give yourself a black eye this afternoon while doing laundry.

Sadly, it's all true.  I have the black eye, the weary face and the pint of ice cream on my lap to prove it.