LX is 3!

Can you believe he is 3??? We simply cannot.  Lucas is the coolest guy.  He loves telling jokes and calls himself "the joke man." He is getting sillier by the day.  He is also learning so much. He now can play board games; memory is his favorite.  He likes to do "workbooks" for fun, lol. He knows all of his letters and he can recognize most of them by sight. He is asking really good questions and is quite the conversationalist. He loves to know why about everything, and his memory is amazing. He is especially good at location memory. He was able to tell Dave's dad how to drive to his day care! 

For his birthday this year, we did a few neat things.  We took him to an airplane museum where you can go in the old war planes. He was in heaven. He is really into all modes of transportation, but especially planes and helicopters. On his birthday, he was invited to a school friend's birthday party so we did that.  Both sets of grandparents came to see him also. His Mickey Mouse party was today at a local park. We had our families and about 6 of his friends there. He picked out the cupcakes, and he was SO excited about eating them. He was so excited about all of his presents too. He said "cupcakes" were his favorite part of the party.

Lucas, you are one in a million. I am so lucky to be your mommy.

We have a daughter!

This post is nearly 4 months late, but we have a daughter!  She is the absolute joy of our day and the perfect addition to our family.  We learned about her, and one week later we brought her home.

We got THE CALL on a Wednesday.  We set up a phone call with her sweet birth mom for Friday.  We met both of her birth parents on Saturday. She was born at 5:55 am on Sunday.  It happened so fast that there was barely time to think or process any of it.  It wasn't until we were home (heck, sometimes I still can't believe that she is here) that it started to set in.

Here is our sweet girl, Cecilia Kate:

Maine Vacation

Sorry I have been so delinquent. I plan to get back here this summer.  We spent almost a week in Maine, and it was great!  We had some beach time, some family time, and some down time.

Here are some photos from our trip.

Lucas at the York Zoo with his favorite animal.

Love this guy

Being silly in the hotel courtyard

Beach time!

This is his "cheese" face.  It is cheesy.

Travel Plans

As you have probably gathered from previous posts, I am a bit of a travel junkie.  I love getting out of town, even though I do love where I live.  We went from having very little travel on the calendar at the beginning of the year to now being quite booked!  In my excitement, here are the plans:

April:

We have been heading south to Pittsboro, NC since 2009.  Wow, I had to look that up.  I can't believe we've been going that long!  This will be our 7th trip, and I am just as excited.  We stay with my in laws, and it is just a relaxing time. We don't do much, but we take lots of walks and enjoy each other's company.

June:

We also make a yearly trek to southern Maine.  I love this trip because I am obsessed with the sea.  I tell Dave constantly that I would be happy to live in a small cottage by the ocean, and that I hope we can do that some day.  While we don't stay on the beach, we get there just about every day.  While the ocean water is too cold to swim, we found a small inlet that is perfect for LX.  We also do TOO much shopping at the outlets.  Another highlight is the lobster mac and cheese.  While it isn't Cape Cod (my one true travel love), it is close enough.

July:

We are heading to Boston in July!  Before LX was born, we would make a yearly pilgrimage there.  It is a city (the only city aside from Paris) that has captured my heart.  I am far from a city girl, but if I HAD to live in a city, Beantown would be it.  The accents, the food, the Sox.  Need I go on?  We are heading in this year to see a game and spend one night.  

August:

We are taking a short trip with another family out to western NY.  Our friends have a cabin on a lake, and they have invited us for the week.  Sadly, I have no idea what it looks like, but I am excited to go!

All summer:

One of the best parts of living where we live is that we have an awesome lake with camping and hiking trails just 10 minutes from our house.  We camp there every summer (and plan to do the same this year), and spend tons of time at the beach with our friends and family. My parents often kayak up there as well.  We love taking a day up there with my parents or sisters.  It is the perfect place for summer relaxation.

November:

I can't believe I am writing this as I am so unexpectedly excited.  We are going to DISNEY!!!! This trip came about as somewhat of a surprise, and it came about quickly.  The idea was mentioned, and 3 days later, it was booked.  It is a family trip with Dave's family for his parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  Each of their children are coming; one from Maine and one from California.  It should be a trip of a lifetime.

The necessity of snow days

Snow.  A four letter word that fills me with excitement and joy.  We have been getting our fair share of snow this winter, and I couldn't be happier.  Snow days are nature's way of telling us to stay in, power down, just be.  I have placed snow days in the no guilt for relaxing category, which is silly because I could take a day off if I wanted to.  There is just something about the decision being made for me that I love.  It feels like a wonderful gift, every time.

On a snow day, I don't feel guilty spending all of nap time reading or napping.  There is no pressure to go anywhere or do anything, and that is amazingly freeing for someone like me who thinks every hour should be scheduled.  It allows me to check out of my business for a bit, and I need that.

It is a time to play with LX, whatever he wants for as long as he wants because we are not in a rush.  I am not trying to hustle us out the door for school, my stress level rising with each passing minute.  We don't even need to get dressed!  As another storm moves in tonight, I anticipate a snow day.  Monday snow days are the supreme best.  It seems greedy, a day off after a weekend?  Our weekends are rarely free and always semi-hectic (totally my fault), so an extra do nothing day is just what the doctor ordered.

2014 in Books

2014: A Year in Books

I really enjoyed just about every book I read this year.  As I am typing this, I feel like I write that every year.  My personal reading year was dominated by three genres: historical fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction.  I did read two non-fiction books, and they are at the bottom of the list.  

I was surprised to see that I read more fantasy books than any other kind because I would not say that fantasy is a genre I enjoy.  The numbers speak for themselves, and I loved each fantasy book I read this year.  

Historical fiction is my absolute favorite genre, and I was swept away in each book.  I love how I am transported to another time and place when I read this genre.  To be honest, I am still working on Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 because it is the type of book that I need to read in larger chunks of time because it has SIX narrators!  One place I found this book and Frog Music was on NPR's Wednesday Book Talks.  I often kick myself for not having a note pad to record each author they interview because the books all sound so interesting.  

In terms of realistic fiction, I mainly lived in the YA world.  John Green is a favorite of mine, and I enjoyed both of his books this year. I thought Looking for Alaska was his second best book (after Will Grayson, Will Grayson, of course).  

Enjoy the list!

Realistic Fiction:

The Husband's Secret, Liane Moriarty

Looking for Alaska, John Green

Paper Towns, John Green

If I Stay, Gayle Forman

A Cold and Lonely Place, Sarah J. Henry

Fantasy:

Everyday, David Leviathan

Insurgent, Veronica Roth

Divergent, Veronica Roth

Unwind, Neal Schusterman

Sabotaged, Margaret Peterson Haddix

Sent, Margaret Peterson Haddix

Historical Fiction:

Frog Music, Emma Donnaghue

The Daring Ladies of Lowell, Kate Alcott

Ripper, Stephan Petrucha

Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose

Non-fiction:

Return from Heaven, Carol Bowman

Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenriech

For School/Contract Work:

Frindle, Andrew Clements

The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan

The Cay, Theodore Taylor

Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls

Total: 21

2014 Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?

While the last two years have been years of immense change, this year has been pretty uneventful.  I can say that I've never washed so much laundry! I also picked up running during the summer, and I am up to two miles without stopping.  While this isn't a huge deal for most people, it is for me.  We also made the decision to add to our family and are actively waiting with our agency!

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

I didn't really make any last year, but I still need to work on my diet and exercise.  I did read a decent amount, but I did not really maintain my blog.

My resolution for 2015 (as in 2013 and 2014) is to live in a state of gratitude for all I have been given, most of which I do not deserve.  And also to not let the decisions of others make me angry.  I also want to add that I need to make quality time for myself more of a priority this year. 

3. What places did you visit? 

North Carolina, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont

4. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

I would really like to have traveled more. The year LX was born, I travelled every month but two. While I know that is not realistic, travel truly feeds my soul and I need it. 

Also, I am hoping our next child will find us in 2015.

5. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory?

1/7: Nani died
8/22: LX turned 2
10/12: Broncos and Jets game
10/17-18: we went away for the night to the Honors Haven Resort (which was a small disaster, but we had fun anyway)
Summer: we camped, went to the lake, boated, and just enjoyed being outside.

6. What were your biggest achievements of the year? 

Personally, that Dave and I are still so happy to be together and we love our little family.  We really spent so much quality time over the summer and during breaks, and I love that we can stay so connected even when our work gets us so busy. Also, LX stayed much healthier this year.

Professionally, I have learned and grown a lot.  My Teacher Leadership Program continues to excite me, and I like learning new techniques.  I have a challenging crew this year, but I am enjoying the changes I have to make.  I am co-teaching this year, and it has been a cool experience. 

  
7. What were your biggest failures?

 My biggest failure actually just hit me in the last few days.  I have failed to take quality time for myself.  I am a person who thrives in a busy environment most of the time, but it also allows me to neglect certain areas of my life that need attention.  For example, myself!  My hope is that I will be able to mindfully carve out some time for myself this year for more reading and writing.  

8. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No :-)

9. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

So much time with LX! Oh, and my sister moved home! I can't believe I just remembered that. The summer was awesome between seeing our friends and family, and spending time just the three of us.  Another small (but not really that small) is seeing LX's name with our last name on paper. It seemed like he would never be one of "us" so I still get giddy seeing that he is. Also, I went to a support group for women with MRKH, and I loved it.  It was very empowering, and I met some inspirational women. 

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

a) happier or sadder?
a bit of both actually
b) thinner or fatter? 
fatter
c) richer or poorer? 

richer

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

Honestly, writing.  I was a major slacker this year, and I could play the "I'm so busy" card, but in reality I just did not make time.  I would like to say that this year will be better, but I can't promise anything.

I mentioned this above, but travel.  I cannot explain how travel excites me.  It makes me happier than just about anything else.  I love trying new places and visiting old favorites.  I hope to go to Montreal with my sisters later this year, and who knows what other adventures will come my way.

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

13.  What were your favorite TV programs?

Game of Thrones
Parenthood
The Good Wife
NFL

  
14.  What did you do for your birthday in 2014?

LX was sick the week of my birthday. We each stayed home with him a few days, and my in laws came to stay the night and help out.  When they were here, we got take out Thai and stayed in.  We didn't actually get out to eat for my birthday, but we did have fun at Naturefest the following weekend.

15.  What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014?

To try to be happy with what you have, where you are and who you are with.  I am someone who is always chasing the next big thing, but there is a lot to be said for accepting where I am, especially since it is pretty great.

16.  My goals for 2015:   

Be present, say thank you, love more!

Happy New Year!