Sunday, January 29, 2012

Checking in

       So sorry for my absentee blogging. My boys and work have needed some extra attention these past few weeks, so the blog has taken a back seat. I have a day off though and Buzz is down for a nap so I thought I would check in and touch base. Unfortunately I only get half credit for this post though, because I'm not sharing pictures (boring, I know!).
       Jon has started Paramedic school!!! Woo-hoo. It's exciting. It's busy. It's demanding. But hopefully in 10 months it will be a thing of the past (6 months of classroom work + several months of hours on the job). I'm already counting down the weeks! On the upside, he's home most weeknights now and he is at home with Nolan a couple of days a week, and Nolan LOVES that. It's already apparent that the program will require lots of hours studying but it's an exciting change.
       Nolan is 18 months (going on 19 quickly!) and he is as crazy as ever. He is babbling, imitating, and getting in to everything. The past couple of days he has started saying "thank you" and it.is.charming. He regularly asks for Dada, Mama, and Blue and his go to word is "ouside?" To him we aren't at work, we're "ouside". He loves reading books on mamas lap, LOVES playing with Jon, likes to store food in his cheeks and keep it there, loves playing in our cars, and spinning in daddy's office chair. Unfortunately this winter we've already been visited by the flu and a couple of bad cold viruses, which makes babyland a bit more fussy and challenging but we're making it through.
       I'm in the midst of a few busy months at work, so between long work days and weeks I'm just trying to keep it all balanced and together.

I'll be back to share more soon....promise!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Our 2012 Goals

       I'm baaaaaack, with another installment of our annual goals. So grab a cup of coffee and let's see what we're hoping to accomplish in 2012!


1) Survive
        2012 means some changes are taking place in our neck of the words. Jon is setting out on a goal that we outlined on our 2011 list, of going through Paramedic school. After a couple of months of applying, testing, and interviewing, he was accepted and classes start in a few short weeks. Paramedic school has a reputation for being demanding, and it also means Jon will be cutting back his hours at his full time job. So for the first 6 months of 2012, our biggest challenge will be to survive and conquer. Survive and be happy as a family. We're hoping that by taking this risk, and sacrificing some comfort this year, it will lead to bigger and better things!

2) Buy a House
       This. is. HUGE. And, kind of funny given that above I outlined surviving! But hopefully we can survive AND buy a house. I'm dying to own a house. Re-do a house. Decorate a house. Make a house a home. Hopefully (crossing fingers and toes) 2012 will be our year! I'll keep you updated on our house hunting progress (which will certainly be pretty quiet during the beginning of the year)! I dream of celebrating our next Christmas under a roof that we own.


2) Buy Meg a Car
        Apparently we're going to be doing a lot of buying in 2012! This is something that we didn't check off of our list in 2011, and its a more prominent goal for 2012. My cars performance is slowly but surely getting more questionable, and I'm 30 years old for goodness sakes! It's time for an adult vehicle! And I think a more reliable and family appropriate car is necessary because another goal is... to...


3) Grow our Family
        That's right...that means we're hoping to have another bun in the oven at some point in 2012. It won't be this month or next month, but it's high on the list (or my list anyway, as Jon is still completely exhausted by Numero Uno)!


       So it will hopefully be doubly a year of survival and growth for us! What are your goals for 2012 and more importantly, how are you going to tackle them? Do share.
Best wishes from Tahoe!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Christmas 2011

       I spent the New Years weekend taking down our Holiday decorations. It feels good to have them down; it's a fresh and clean start for 2012. Before I talk about resolutions though I wanted to share with you our Christmas. 
       Our Christmas 2011 was simple but sweet. We were showered with more gifts then I ever expected, but it was a big reminder that the gifts are such an unimportant part of the holiday. As we create traditions in the coming years for our family, I hope to keep the emphasis off of the gifts and on the Spirit and meaning of the holiday. Our tree actually ended up quite a bit fuller then I expected.
I loaded up on wrapping paper after Thanksigiving, 
and had fun with the wrapping.

(Ugh....all that wood paneling. Isn't that illegal in 2011?)
One day, I came home for work to see this under the tree, 
and I had not put it there. 
Apparently Jon had been doing some shopping of his own.
I did a little bit of decorating around the house, but mainly just used materials I had
and kept it cheapy-deapy.
I decided that I wanted to continue a tradition that we have in my family.
We received an ornament each year, 
so that when we moved out to start our own families 
we had lots of meaningful ornaments to fill the tree. 
I saw this one in town and I had to get it for Buzz!
Hopefully it lasts a couple of decades until he's on his own.
Jon worked a 48 hour shift on Christmas Eve Eve & Christmas Eve
so we had to tweak our Christmas plans a bit. 
Nolan and I met Jon at the station on Christmas Eve
and we all had dinner with a few of the other fire families. 
We also had to tweak our gift opening. 
Instead of opening our gifts on Christmas morning,
we opened them a few evenings beforehand with champagne instead of coffee!


Jonny had a surprise under the tree. 
He got the power tools that he had been drooling over. 
I tried to fool him by wrapping some of the tools separately in smaller boxes.

After he opened the second tool though,
he was on to me.

I snuck away to bring him one last package,
with the remaining tools inside.
(Despite his expression, he was quite excited).
But he was just as excited to see Nolan open his special gift.

Probably the first of many bikes under our roof over the next few years!
Christmas love is better then any gift love though.
When Jon got off shift on Christmas morning, 
he came home and we packed up (quickly!) and headed to the bay to see my family.
We snapped a family photo before everyone else arrived and it got totally crazy.
It was a day of kiddos and merriment.


The decorations are all put away now
 but I still have a few repairs to make. 
I'm probably not the only mother of a toddler out there with this issue.
I'll be working on getting these glued up, 
and packed away with everything else these next few days.
On Wednesday I'll be sharing our goals for 2012!