HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     We spent our New Years Eve in. We watched some old movies like TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze. After the kiddos were in bed we played some of this silly shooter on the Xbox called Shoot Many Robots. Loving it. It's really easy and amusing. It's ever so slightly crude. Nothing complicated. At least, if you find swarms of psycho robots and redneck humor amusing you'll likely enjoy it. We do. So, yeah. Doesn't hurt that it was free on the Xbox live thingy. Oh, and I made more pumpkin bread and banana nut bread* because we NEEDED it. Hubster also introduced me to Sangria Señorial. YUM!

      We shared our smooch at 12 on the dot and tried to remember what happened this past year. Ha! Kids wipe your memory out like nothing else. Obviously, the best part of our year was the arrival of our sweet Pumpkin. We had a lot of ups and downs with job changes, job loss, school, and what have you. Thankfully we have each other and a wonderful, supportive family to help us push through. We're looking forward to all the prospects on the horizon of the new year. We'll be moving, working through school, and continuing to adapt to being a family of five.

My hopes for the new year:
- A bigger place with a safe yard for the kids to play in
- Getting another year closer to being debt free
- Being healthier all around
- An awesome new job
- Finishing my degree (we'll see about that)
- Making something more of my photography and this blog
- A puppy (not likely but a girl can hope!!)
- Starting some "homeschool preschool" with my girls in the Fall
- Health and happiness for my family, of course

2013 in Summary
     Enrolled in school. New couch. New TV. Debt paid. Pink dinosaur birthday. Wonderful News! Mini golf. Softball games. AT. Lost my cat :( 4th anniversary. Elmo birthday. Big girl beds. Continuing school. Grant came through! Job lost. Becoming a family of five. 3 kids 3 and under. One is potty trained!! Job found. Thanksgiving trip. Snow storm. A's and B's. 5th married Christmas.

    Also, I must admit that I was a terrible southern lady today. No black eyed peas, greens, or cornbread here. Calm down. It'll be all right. I did make bread. ;)

Here's to a new year!

*I stared for five minutes trying to decide whether to write "pumpkin and banana nut breads" or "pumpkin bread and banana nut bread" or just "breads".

Feeling Humbuggerish

      I was so gung-ho to get our tree up soon after Thanksgiving. It was our 5th married Christmas! We kept things laid back. No rushing or traveling or overwhelming ourselves.

      Here it is still a few days from the New Year and all but my snowman cookie jar is packed away. We have a lot going on in our lives this coming year. I'm not sure if it will be more or less than 2013 but I'm guessing it will fly by just as fast! I feel like I have so much to get done. We'll be moving soon. I'm thisfar away from being done with my associate's degree. We'll have birthdays and holidays and lots of other plans and events. We're working towards getting debt free and we'll make some big leaps this year, I hope, after taking two steps back. By the fall, I intend to start home-pre-schooling Bitty Bug. Sweet Pea will hopefully potty train.

      2013 was a crazy, exhausting year for us. It was a joy with the addition of our little Pumpkin. It was a challenge with balancing family and jobs and school without a network of friends or family nearby. Miracles happened: Bitty Bug potty trained. It was hard with job loss and new jobs and unexpected things. 75% of it is a total blur. I have so many things I want to do this next year. I think I made some resolutions last year. I need to figure out if I actually did and where that list is so I can look over it!


     Christmas may be over but here's to a New Year! I have ~360 days to prepare for all the things I found on Pinterest for Christmas 2014.  hahaha!