Just because it's Wednesday.

Well hello there, welcome to The Laundry Room! If you haven't caught my blog as of yet, please feel free to browse through...I'm kind of interesting if I do say so myself! For those of you who already follow my blog, I do realize I'm a little bit lagging on my updates and I apologize. The truth is, life has been a bit nuts around here and we all know how that can be so I get some slack right? Anyways, I've finally felt a little bit of clarity through all our chaos and have the urge to write again and to share with you whatever it is that rolls off my tongue...or my fingers, since I'm typing and all. So here goes nothing...

As of late there have been a handful of circumstances surrounding me that have given me the opportunity to sort of re-evaluate my priorities. Not so much that my priorities were very out of whack to begin with, just kind of like putting life in perspective I suppose. I'm sure that many of you, if not all, can probably relate to what I'm trying to describe here because it's such a familiar feeling that comes and goes. You kind of sit back and think to yourself, "Wow, life is short....like, really short." And there starts the beginning of seeing things in that new light. People become more important to you, petty arguments or annoyances slowly drift away, and that new found appreciation for your life and everyone in it comes about. It's an amazing thing and if you ask me, it's good for the soul. We all need those times to plant our feet back on the ground if you will, like a reality check. So, now that I've gone on and on I'm sure you have to know what I mean by now. Well, that's kind of where I'm at anyways. Loving life.

I spent some time talking with a good friend of mine today about this very concept and we were placing it in terms of our kids. She says to me, "It's like you want to go rent a bounce house and let your kids stay home from school...just because it's Wednesday." It kind of stuck with me and I think she's absolutely right. Why can't we do anything we want, just because it's Wednesday. Or Thursday, or Friday, or any other day of the week for that matter! We deserve to enjoy life and should allow ourselves and the people we love those free passes to just sort of do what you want, have fun! It reminds me of the whole saying/song, "Live like you were dying." And every now and then we should remind ourselves that you really do only live once, and life is short.

While talking with her I started to think about my husband and how he's "the fun one" in our family. Now it's ok, I know my role and I kinda like being the boss...the responsible one with all the rules. But, I started to think and realized how grateful I am for Eric and the balance that he brings to our family. He IS the fun one, and he always tries to remind me to lighten up now and then and I'm really appreciative of that. Just last week he got up in the morning and gave the kids fruit snacks for breakfast, followed by peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. What?!? I almost fell off the couch when I realized what was going on. Why would he not have given him the standard fruit and yogurt or cereal I usually serve up? But today while talking with my friend I explained it to her and said, "what was the big deal?" I should have embraced Eric's easygoing demeanor and enjoyed making those memories together.

I guess you probably get what I'm trying to say here, appreciate life and the people you love.

Life. Is. Short.  

I'll wrap things up for tonight but hopefully I gave you all a little food for thought. And just in case anyone is wondering, tomorrow I will be serving peanut butter and fluff for breakfast...just because it's Tuesday.

Home is where the heart is...

Home is where the heart is...

Could this be any truer? For me I think it is pretty much dead on. I could be anywhere in the world and be just fine I'm sure, but there's always that one place where you will call home no matter where you are or what you're doing in life. Mine is Massachusetts. It is where I grew up, where my friends are, and most importantly it's where my family is. Eric would agree as well since all of those statements would be just as true for him. It's  like when everything in the world is changing and you're looking for that sense of stability and reassurance, you know you'll find it back home. As most of you already know Eric and I decided to move our family to Northern Virginia last summer after Eric was offered a great job opportunity in Washington, DC. For us it was a hard decision and yet not so hard all at the same time. The funny that about having that one place that feels so secure and normal is that you always wonder what you're missing way out in this great big world of ours. With so many different countries, states and cities to choose from why the heck would we want to be in the same 'ol little place that seems so normal for us? I bet I am echoing the words that so many of you play in yours heads every day. When the opportunity came for Eric's job it was almost as if we would be passing up a once in a lifetime chance to take off and start fresh in a whole new place and at that time in our lives, it was just what we were looking for. And that's just how we ended up leaving our "home" and looking for a new one.

After being here for almost a year now it's been quite an adjustment for our family. Being a stay at home Mom to two little boys and having Eric work long hours with a less than perfect commute has made things kind of exhausting to be quite honest. We have had a lot of fun while here and got to experience some really amazing things, meet some wonderful people and learn some extremely valuable life lessons. I am truly grateful that we were able to have the opportunity to take such a leap of faith and that things worked out well. 

With that being said, being away from everything you've ever known also puts things in perspective. How else would one ever really know what it is that they're looking for unless you tried it right? I guess it's probably like me saying that I hate every single kind of seafood and gag when I even think about being near that slimy, disgusting sea creature type cuisine...ugh, gag me. But, if you want to know the truth I have never eaten seafood. I think I might have eaten fried clam strips doused in sauce as a kid once and had tuna from a can a time or two...that was enough for me. I hate seafood. Now all of you are probably yelling at your computers saying I'm crazy because I could never know unless I try it. Well, you're right I'm sure...but I'll take my chances with this one since I can tell you I will lay to rest without ever tasting a lobster, shrimp, clam or any other disgusting thing crawling on the ocean floor. Yuck. So, if we can just take that really long and drawn out example of what I'm trying to explain here and put it back into the context of this post then that would be helpful huh? Sorry. I told you in my first post that I ramble so to be fair, I warned you. Anyways, it's pretty much the same thing. I was kind of a dreamer and don't think I would have ever really known where I was meant to be unless I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried it. I needed this experience to show me what is important to me and it did just that. 

My family is important to me. My friends are important to me. My "home" is important to me. As I said in the beginning, I'm sure we could be just fine anywhere. We would adjust and our children would grow up knowing nothing else but is that really what we want for our family? We've come to realize it's not. Eric and I have done a lot of soul searching, growing, talking, a whole lot of everything since we moved and what it comes down to is this. We want to go home. Home is where the heart is. It's where our nieces and nephews are growing up without us. It's where our children's grandparents are sitting while they look at each other through a computer screen from time to time, and it's where our friends are sitting around laughing over a box of cheap wine while they reminisce about old memories and plan for new ones. I don't want to miss that and our boys shouldn't have to either. So, now starts the beginning of our journey "home".

We are moving back to Massachusetts!  

They came bearing gifts...

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have family fly in for a visit and we couldn't have been more excited! My in-laws Steve and Laurie, aka Gramma and Grampa flew in for a short trip and brought along our nephew Tyler with them. Tyler is Eric's sisters oldest son whose 8 years old and one of Owen's favorite people so needless to say we were all pretty excited about the visit. Eric and Owen went off to the airport on Saturday to pick them up while Mason and I waited at home for their arrival. When I got the call they were on their way I could hear Owen in the background talking a mile a minute and it was obvious he was bursting with excitement. Once we all met up, Gramma and Grampa had some surprises to share with us. They came bearing gifts! The boys had asked for some new books recently so that's just what they got! Daddy was thrilled with a few new additions to his wardrobe and we got our very first baby gift for our newest little guy, the traditional Red Sox onesie that every true New Englander gets for their child. I'm saving the best for last because that's just the way it should be...I got two of them most amazing gifts ever. First, a new pair of Coach sneakers! Woohoo! Boy, am I glad I have a mother in law with good taste! And the all time favorite thing they brought...Dynamite Sticks from Wholly Cannoli Bakery in Worcester, Ma. If you don't already know I have been craving these for months and to have them shipped hundreds of miles away costs a pretty penny. Luckily, Laurie picked some up the day before and packed them in a cooler in a suitcase after calling airlines and researching to make sure she wouldn't get arrested or kicked off the plane for smuggling Italian pastries into the airport! After going to all that trouble I think it's safe to say it was WELL worth it because they were AMAZING!!! I had four of them all to myself and it took everything in me to hold back from eating them all at once. SO GOOD!

Now on to the rest of the weekend activities! We spent some time going out to eat and to the playground so we could show off some of our favorite spots. Then it was home for a quiet night with some pizza and ice cream while we the boys wrestled and sat by the fire. We spent Sunday exploring the Museum of Natural History in DC and riding the rails of the metro. Of course we forgot the stroller, but luckily we had enough people to pass around the kids when they got too tired to walk. The boys all loved seeing the huge dinosaurs skeletons and got pretty grossed out by the section devoted to bugs. Tyler especially got into this part where he seemed to like looking at everything but not so much as to participate when the scientist decided to pull giant live bugs out of jars for people to hold. He got close enough to see while staying behind some of the more hands on viewers...I can't say I blame him! Then we headed home just in time to beat the rain walking through the city and back to settle everyone in before it was on to one of my favorite parts of the weekend!

My in-laws were also kind enough to surprise Eric and I by sending us off to a hotel on Sunday night so that Mama and Daddy could transform into Lynden and Eric for the night. Gramma and Grampa held down the fort with the three boys and the dog while we went off to the Sheraton for a little getaway. We were so excited to have the opportunity to get some down time for ourselves and have a date night...and SLEEP! We started out by going to dinner at a local steakhouse where we took our time enjoying appetizers and great meals and some drinks for Eric, non-alcoholic for myself of course! Then we were off to a movie where we saw Hall Pass and were able to get back to the hotel by 10pm to call it a night. I think we were both tired from our busy weekend while also exhausted from life in general. Things get so crazy in everyday life when we're working and parenting and raising a family and I think it's important to rejuvenate yourself once in a while. This was the first time we've gone away for the night like this but I'm hoping it won't be our last! The next morning we were surprisingly up by 8am or so and headed down to the hotel breakfast before meeting up with the family. We hung around and did some shopping and playing before having to wrap up our mini-vacation. Steve, Laurie and Tyler headed back to Ma on Monday afternoon and we were definitely sad to say goodbye. We're so lucky to have such great family and appreciate them always. We're looking forward to seeing them again when we make our next trip up to New England! Here's some pictures we took throughout our visit!

Wrestling!!

Ty with his favorite dog, Rocco!

Dynamite Stick!!!! 

Cousins in front of the Washington Monument

Tyler by the Capital Building

Grampa and Mason at the Museum of Natural History

Owen posing with a...bison?

My big boy Masie

The Laundry Family

When life gets too hard to stand...

Tonight I am feeling extremely thankful for my children. I think too often I take for granted just how lucky I really am to have healthy thriving children. I have been so grateful when I have given birth to my beautiful baby boys who were so perfectly healthy and continue to feel that sense of appreciation and relief when going through ultrasounds, doctors visits, viruses that come and go, etc. How can you not? It's natural to think about it when we go through these type of things. I pray daily and thank god for my family and for our health but it's not usually until we're faced with trials in our lives that we truly stop and think of how lucky we are to have our health. Can you imagine what it must be like for those parents who have children that aren't well? I don't think I know anyone personally who is struggling with serious issues with their little one but can imagine it must be an extremely difficult situation. It absolutely breaks my heart at the thought of an innocent little child having to go through any pain or discomfort while they muster every ounce of strength in them to keep fighting. Can you EVEN imagine?

I have come across a family who is in this very situation right now and wanted to share their story with you. I don't actually know these people, which probably sound strange that I'd be sharing their story with you right? Well, here's how I came across them.....I occasionally visit a website that is dedicated to pregnancy, parenting and children. Often times when I visit this website I have seen people writing things about "Baby Scarlett" and how she's fighting, or please donate, or we need to pray. Whatever the case may be, this little girl has that whole stinkin website fighting for her and if you ask me she deserves it. The reason I am writing this tonight is because Baby Scarlett is a four month old little girl who her parents thought was perfectly healthy and then at her two month well checkup she was diagnosed with  a brain tumor. Since then she has battled brain surgery, hospital stays, and chemotherapy among many, many other difficult experiences. This little girl is fighting for her life and she needs all the prayers she can get. Her parents have a blog in which they update regularly on what is going on in their lives and the battle that Scarlett is facing right now. I happened to read through their blog tonight and feel that the very least I can do is to share her story and continue the prayer chain for this little girl. Please pray for Scarlett and help this little girl win this battle. A friend has a sign in her home which says, "When life gets too hard to stand, kneel" and it's time like this that remind us to be faithful and God will come through for us. Jesus said, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22. Please have faith for this baby and PRAY! 

Here is the link to baby Scarlett's parents blog. Read through and see what a truly special family they are and the extremely difficult journey they are facing. God bless that baby girl!

http://brandiandchris.blogspot.com/p/about-scarlett.html

Peanuts

Today I had my 18 week ultrasound! Mama and Baby are still healthy and thriving! My peanut was extremely active and gave the technician tons of trouble getting pictures of all the little parts because they wouldn't stop jumping around in there. It ended up taking almost two hours to get all of the pictures taken which left me lying on a hard flat hospital bed that they had tilted the head down on so they could get a better angle...talk about a head rush! Although, I didn't mind too much because how often do you really get to actually watch your baby rolling around inside your belly for two hours?? Not often! Our baby was so cute and spent lots of time curling up in a ball and stretching out to touch their toes. Here is a picture of our little one...so grown up since the last photo shoot! 

Now is that not the cutest little thing you've ever seen? Well, along with my other two children of course! Well, that's all for today...Until next time!

OH.....I almost forgot, our peanut has a peanut! 

IT'S A BOY!!!

Give a little.

Nothing like watching a baby sleep huh? As I sit here in bed typing, all snuggled up and nudged into my side is the sweetest little three year old boy that I have ever seen. He insisted on staying up late and since Daddy has to work his mid-month open to close days, I figured I'd give in a little and compromise. I told Owen he could lay in bed with Mama while I did some work on the puter. He settled for it eventually, especially since the alternate choice would have been tucking him into his own bed. So here we sat while Owen laid his little head on my chest and told me he was starting to get tired. He mentioned hearing my heartbeat and how he wondered if the baby was doing okay in there. Within minutes my little boy was very quiet and rolled himself onto the pillow fast asleep. Sometimes giving a little can get you a lot, don't you agree? I could have easily put my foot down and sent the kid to his room but I didn't, and what did we get out of it? About ten minutes of sweet cuddling, a little boy who thinks he got what he wanted, and me with a happy heart watching my little guy dream about astronauts and firemen. All is right in the world :) 

Giving a little and getting a lot can be a pretty big concept if you think about it. It kind of reminds me of one of my earlier posts, "Be thoughtful." You really never know how much what you do for others really means. It can be big things, small things, or really not doing anything at all. Some of the most meaningful things that I have encountered in life are not things at all, but in fact words and the pure thoughtfulness of others. Deep down in our heart of hearts we all want to be good people, right? Isn't it only natural to want to help others or at the very least wish well upon them? I'd like to hope so anyways. 

Imagine what a world we would live in if each of us decided to give back a little each day. Like the whole "Pay it forward" phenomenon. We should do this. All of us, and yes this means you too!! I have taken it upon myself to volunteer each and every one of you to pledge to do one nice thing for someone every single day. Whether it be your husband, your boss, a neighbor, the lady next to you at the grocery store...I don't care. Go out of your way and do something you wouldn't normally do. I know someone who paid for a womans groceries while she was putting the food in her carriage once. The poor old woman nearly fell over after realizing what had happened and went on her way probably amazed at how good some people can be. Wouldn't it be nice to be the reason that someone out there had a little more hope for the world? Or maybe even to have someone reach out a hand to us so that we might feel so appreciative ourselves? Think about it and I'm sure there is at least one time in your life where you have been taken back and surprised at something good someone has said or done for you...Now it's our turn to return the favor. It doesn't matter what it is, and you don't have to share it with anyone. Sometimes those are the best kind. Just know that you're making a difference in someone else's life and that should be a great reward in itself. 

Now friends, off you'll all go and start making the world a better place...one good deed at a time ;) But first, I've got a cute little boy just waiting to be snuggled so the world will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Until next time...

My lovely baby bump...Check it out!

Hello friends!! Just popping in to say hi and catch up since it's been a while. Just a little baby update for ya this time and a sneak peek at the baby bump! ... Oh and did anyone catch on to the title today? "My lovely baby bump...Check it out!" A little spinoff of my good friend Fergie Ferg ;)

Everything is going great! I had my 16 week checkup today and Mama and Baby are healthy and happy! The babies heartbeat was 160 which the Dr. says means girl if you follow the old wives tales. Hmm....any truth to that? We'll see! I'll be having an ultrasound pretty soon so hopefully we can find out then! I've started to feel the baby for a few weeks now and it's always an exciting experience. I wasn't sure at first but once things keep knocking around in there you can't really deny there's a little person doing flips inside of you. How weird is that?!? Also, lately I've been more preoccupied with other things and haven't noticed much movement which I was mentioning to Eric last night. Being the good Daddy that he is, he ran downstairs for a minute and then hopped back in bed with a flashlight. We recently read how if you shine a flashlight on your belly the baby is likely to move away from the brightness so he thought it might help me to feel something. Well, I don't know how many of you have laid in bed holding a flashlight on your stomach and waited for a reaction but it was fun for us! lol And sure enough...our little peanut started bouncing around which made me happy to know all was well.

 Here is a picture of my baby bump at 16 weeks. Huge right? The funniest part is I didn't even think I was showing yet. I noticed my clothes weren't fitting and that I was getting a little bigger but have been telling people that I don't have a bump yet. I guess I don't really look at myself too often or when I do I haven't noticed how big my belly was getting. Once Eric took a picture and I saw it on the computer, WOW! You'd think I had twins in there! haha I guess that's supposed to happen since it's my third child and all but I still feel like I don't look this big in person. Eric says the picture looks bigger too, but then again he's my husband and I asked him if I was really that huge? What could he possibly respond with other than "Absolutely not." Am I right? Anyways - here I am in all my pregnancy glory! Don't mind the messy hair and no makeup k? It doesn't matter since I'm "glowing" right?? ;)

My Lovely Baby Bump

Listen

I have an announcement to make - I now have music on my blog!!! Aren't you so excited?!? Now when you come visit me you will be serenaded by the likes of Jack Johnson, Frank Sinatra and some other greats. lol I'm pretty excited about this myself because I tend to get into music and sometimes feel like certain songs just get to me, I'm sure many of you can relate. This playlist will probably be changed from time to time and consist of some songs that may be meaningful to me and then some that are just corny little tunes that make me bop my head a bit. You know what I mean, haha ENJOY!

Now on to some food for thought. Just that statement alone makes me hungry...boy I really sound like a pregnant woman now huh? Welp, no denying that I suppose. Anyways, what I really had in mind for this post was more along the lines of listening. My question is - do you think that those times when you feel like the same thing keeps popping up around you that it's a sign you're supposed to be listening to? If that doesn't seem very clear than for example; You see a particular red scarf in a magazine and think how beautiful it would be on you. Then you find yourself at the mall and BAM, there's the red scarf again...next thing you know you're in the mirror wearing the damn thing and can't help but think, "Hm, maybe it's a sign I'm supposed to buy this!" Ok, ok, ok....this is absolutely NOT an example of what I was referring to but wouldn't it be funny if I actually believed that to be true? I think my husband and credit card providers would be a little bit unhappy with me considering I'm a big believer in looking into the signs. 

But back to a more serious note here...I feel like lately I have been having things come up in different areas of my life that are all leading me to the the same thing. Whether it's comments Owen has made or a sign on the street as I drove by, a random thing that popped in my head while rocking Mason back to sleep in the middle of the night or a conversation with a friend, even an article I happened to stumble upon online, it seems like the list is  never ending and it all keeps bringing me back to the same thing. At some point I think I just need to listen to the signs and realize that they're being put there intentionally. I personally believe that things happen for a reason and God has his hand in everything in my life and so I kind of think that I'm being told to listen up in a way, get me?

All that being said I guess I'm going to go along with it and see what happens...we'll see. And for anyone else out there - Listen to the signs! Ya never know, you just might get a new scarf!

My beautiful boys

Brothers

 Mason

Owen

 Oh, hey blue eyes...

Breakin hearts some day

Well, that's it for today folks...nothing more to leave you with other than the sweet faces of my handsome little men! You're welcome!!!

Daddy and Owen

Here's the update on Daddy and Owen's roller skating day...they had a ball! They came home after both exhausted and headed up to our bed to snuggle and watch Dino Dan. Daddy said that the entire time they skated Owen was screaming at the top of his lungs, "I'M ROLLER SKATING!!!"...while everyone in the place stared and laughed at him as usual when Owen hams it up in public-which is pretty much always. Apparently Eric had to lean over behind Owen and hold underneath his arms the whole time time to help him stay up. If you can imagine what that position must be like for a long period of time than you will totally understand when I tell you that since that day my husband can barely stand up straight! He is SO sore!! He was hobbling around the next day and miserable with pain. Poor Daddy!

 BUT...Owen had the best time ever so Eric said it was worth the sore back in the end. Here are some pics from their day...Yes, I made them take the camera so that I didn't completely miss out on all the fun :)

 Owen ready to skate

Breaking for hot dogs and chicken wings!

My silly guys

Just me.

I guess it's about time for me to post again...feeling awfully unmotivated these days! Maybe it's the pregnancy. Or maybe I'm just lazy. hah...maybe a little of both! Anyways, no big news to share at the moment. Nothing life changing and no thought provoking posts today. Just me.

I will tell you that I am very excited to just be sitting here on the couch doing nothing right now. Mason is asleep and Eric decided to have a special day with Owen. They are headed off to the roller skating place down the street that is supposed to have moon bounces and games and all kinds of fun stuff for kids. Owen has never been and let's just say Eric is a little rusty on wheels. He was actually pretty nervous to go lol..he told Owen it's been a long time since Daddy skated and Owen replied with, "It's ok Dad, I will take care of you." I'm sorry is it just me or do I have the sweetest most loving little man on the planet for a child?? Ya, I thought so. So, off they went and Owen told Daddy that after skating they needed to stop at the toy store and then Chuck E Cheese. Hm, I guess we'll see how much of a sucker Daddy is once they get home and I find out what they've been up to.

And a pregnancy update for anyone wondering.....I don't really have any updates. I feel pretty much the same as always, probably just a little more tired. I've actually fallen asleep at like 7pm a few times now which is pretty out of the ordinary for me. I kinda like it. It's a much different experience being pregnant with two little ones as opposed to being pregnant with Owen, where I had no children to tend to and could sleep or go out or do nothing as much or as little as I pleased. And same goes for my pregnancy with Mason. I had Owen who was under two and a truly amazing napper and went to sleep for a few hours everyday so that Mommy could eat lunch, watch Rachel Zoe re-runs and lay down for a bit. Fast forward to my current pregnancy--I have a three year old who recently stopped napping and a one year old who naps once a day, and a short one at that. Needless to say I could use a little rest! lol Oh well, the pregnancy will be over in about 28 weeks and then what's that people always tell you when you're pregnant, you can sleep when they baby sleeps?? HAH! Whoever said that clearly didn't have other children!! I guess most parents go through those sleepless years where you learn to function on just a few hours of rest and a good cup of coffee. I'll sleep when they move out I suppose :) Until then....Dunkin Donuts anyone?!?

New Year, New You?

First of all.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I personally am glad to say goodbye to 2010 and all of the craziness that came along with it. It had its ups and downs just like any other year but this one for me was just neverending so I'm looking forward to what the new year will bring. There's something refreshing about starting a new year isn't there? It has a way about giving people a sense of new beginnings. In reality, you can really choose to make changes at any given point in your life but I suppose we aren't always as self motivating as we'd like to be. Having a new year and sometimes even a new years resolution, will give us the opportunity to feel like we can forget about the past and move forward with the future, and it can all happen in just the blink of an eye. It's like the clock strikes 12:00am on January 1st and BAM, fresh start! "Out with the old, in with the new," if you will. I myself have been a creature of habit and fallen into the whole thing as well. I remember not too long ago when I was feeling a little less than fabulous I actually said, "Ugh...I just want this year to be over with so I can start fresh in 2011!!" I mean c'mon!! What the heck was I thinking...?!? I needed to wait however many months ago it was in order to make myself feel better? How pathetic. I should have gave myself a swift kick in the you know what and got my act together. I mean, I guess I kinda did now that I think about it...so good for me! But to even make a comment like that is the point really...Why do we have to wait until the new year to make changes and improvements in our lives?? Why not today?

And now I guess I have to tell you to scratch that last line...and most of the entire first paragraph because it doesn't really matter right now why we as people are so weird and need to create certain holidays in order to take control of our lives. Because the fact of the matter is...It IS the new year!!! Sooo, lucky for all of you that NOW is the perfect time to step up to the plate and start swinging!! No more excuses, no more waiting for another day, no more I'm working on it....JUST DO IT! Start your diet, find a hobby, join a gym, find your dream job, start your business, have a baby, get married, learn something new, get organized, volunteer...DO SOMETHING! For crying out loud people, haven't you heard?!? IT'S A NEW YEAR! :) Forget about everything that has held you back in the past and see the future for what it is, yours! Your life is what you make of it and it's not going to change unless you make it happen. So, if you don't already have a goal that you'd like to achieve then now is the time to find one. Life is handing you the perfect opportunity to reflect on who you are and what you've got going for you and if it's not all you'd like it to be then figure out what's gonna get you there. It's not gonna happen by sitting on the couch eating leftover christmas cookies so get yourself some motivation!

With all that being said...I suppose it would only be fair for me to share my own personal goal. Up until this very moment I honestly hadn't really thought about this. I started to write this entry and had intended to post about what we've been up to lately but apparently God had some other plans for my blog tonight because clearly my little fingers decided to type something a bit different than cooking and organizing closets don't you think? Or maybe he was just looking out for you guys...cooking and closets may have been a bit boring now that I think about it. Well, this is me stalling............and still.......hm. I'm not usually one to open up too personally in a public forum to be quite honest so I'm going to try. This might sound surprising to many of you but quite honestly...how extremely personal is my stuff? Not so much. It's kind of surfacey and doesn't exactly touch on the very emotional aspect of our lives that sometimes people tend to get into. I suppose I'm a bit more private. Anyways, I'm deciding to put it out there a bit on this one since after much stalling and thinking here, I really do think it should be my goal. I am officially stating my personal goal, or better known as a "New Years Resolution," to stop focusing on what's next and start living in the moment. Now many of you might not think this is really that interesting, however if you're me...it's kind of a big deal. I have ALWAYS done this for as long as I can remember and it's not really that great of a thing to do. I spend so much time over-thinking everything, and what things will lead to, or what might happen, or where I want to be, or how I'm gonna get there, or why I'll never get there, or what made it that way...It becomes quite exhausting! If I could just stop spending all this time worrying about everything and focusing on what is actually in the moment than I might just start enjoying life a little bit more each day don't you think? I guess we'll see in 2011!

I would also like to invite you to to post your own new years resolutions or goals as well! Like I said, something refreshing about starting new so put yourself out there and tell the world...or just me! I hope to hear from all of you...and now I've gotta run because my hubby and little boy are snuggling by the fire watching a movie and I'm supposed to be living in the moment so off I go!! And once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!