2011: A Year In Review

Wow. 

What a year this has been.

For our family, 2011 was sort of a roller coaster with some pretty high highs, and one extremely low low.

In January, we welcomed a new member to the family.  My nephew, Baby Jake, is such a sweet baby.  He may be the calmest baby to ever grace the planet, and I've had two super calm, easy babies myself, so I know whereof I speak.

In February, my Little Man turned three, and we moved into a new house. 

March was spent getting settled into our new environment.  The little ones never really had any sleep issues in their new rooms, which was my main concern with the move.  I took the kids to Georgia to celebrate Grandaddy's 70th birthday.

April was a big month for Baby Girl as we started giving her baby food.  Girlfriend still LOVES to eat.  Also in April, I was inspired by my nephew's hate list (which I now have a copy of, by the way) to start my Love List.  I still plan to finish that, I just got distracted along the way.

In May, I spent a very long day in the ER with The Teen ruling out appendicitis.  And I lost my son at the zoo, which is where I'm beginning to think he actually belongs anyway!

June marked The Tween's tenth birthday.  We enjoyed the first of two vacation weeks at the beach, and I took what is still one of my favorite pictures ever.  And the state of Florida was under a thick veil of smoke for most of the month.

July 4th was spent with my family in Georgia, eating my brother's famous ribs, corn my daddy picked that very morning and my mama's potato salad.  The dozen cousins had a blast together, and we all enjoyed family time.  I spent my last day there picking corn and tomatoes with my daddy.  And I got a ticket for having illegal tint on my windows.  We spent our second vacation week at the beach with my husband's family.  The end of July marked the lowest of the lows when Grandaddy passed away.  I think of him every single day and miss him so much sometimes I feel I can barely breathe.

In August, my big girls went back to school.  The Teen started her first year of high school and also turned 14. 

Baby Girl turned one in September.  Just before her birthday, she started walking.  And I learned that a little quiet time with her brother, is usually not a good thing.

October was our first Halloween in this house, and the first one not trick-or-treating with friends in a different part of town.  We decided to stay home and host The Tween's best friend and her parents.  We had a great time until The Tween announced that she didn't feel well and didn't think she could make it all the way around the circle that is our street.  I pushed her home in the stroller, discovered she had a fever, and she ended up missing a whole week of school.

Little Man Buzz, Zombie BFF, Tween Medusa, Baby Girl Butterfly, Teen Princess (aka Baby Wrangler)

In November, I loaded up the little ones and drove to Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  The big girls went to North Carolina with their Nana, and my husband stayed here in Florida to work.  Before we headed off in different directions, we had what I hope was our first annual family Thanksgiving.  Just our little family here at home.  We all enjoyed the meal and eating in the dining room seemed like quite a treat.

In December, Baby Girl experienced her first ER visit, and I lost my son at the mall.  Our first Christmas without Grandaddy was not easy for me.  I'm so thankful for my kids because I knew I needed to stay upbeat for them, and that certainly helped.  We spent Christmas Eve with my in-laws then came home to get ready for Santa.  We spent Christmas morning checking out the kids' new loot, then headed back to the in-laws for breakfast and gifts.  Then we drove to Georgia to spend the rest of Christmas Day and the next day with my family. 

What will 2012 hold?  I have no idea.  But I'm praying for the best year possible for my family and yours.

Merry Christmas!



Not Me! Monday

I haven't done one of these in a while, but the last week and a half has been a doozy, and I feel the need to fess up.

I did not lose my son in the mall while Christmas shopping with my mother.  Not me!  I know he's an escape artist and that he tends to wander away from the group, so I keep an eye on him at all times. 

The Teen did not find him shopping for underwear a minute after we realized he was missing.  I did not assign an older kid the job of watching every move he made in each store we entered after we found him.

I did not leave my sweet Baby Girl outside with her daddy while he was grilling steaks, only to have to rush her to the emergency room minutes later with burns on her hands from touching the grill. 

I did not run a red light, snap at a hospital employee who was less than helpful, or really want to punch a nurse before my baby finally got the attention she needed.  Not me!  I am always calm and cool under pressure.

Check out MckMama's blog to read what other moms did not do this week.