1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?
Managing the life change of having two kids instead of one. It's more than twice the work, but I've enjoyed experiencing the joys of having a baby in the house again. I missed those little snuggles so much and so to experience it all over again with my baby girl has been such a blessing! I also started being a mom of a preschooler this year! It has been a change to have somewhere to go twice a week and a transition for Jack to have to get up and be somewhere regularly. He absolutely loves going to school and sulks when we leave each time!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Last year my new year's resolution was to work on the kids' baby photo books. Sadly, I didn't accomplish this. I did however keep up on their notebooks I keep of their accomplishments and milestones as well as keeping their baby books up to date. So I guess I made a little progress!
This year my goal is to get back on my workout routine. I tried to begin working out when Luciana was 4 months old. My body was still sore and my joints still loose from being pregnant so I wasn't able to do much that didn't hurt my joints. I tried again when she was 7-8 months old and did great for about 6 weeks but then we all seemed to get sick, over and over again and I lost my motivation. As we speak we are still trying to recover from the last round of colds! So next year I'm planning on sticking to my workout routine to get my body back after having Luciana!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I had Luciana Marie on Feb. 17th, and my dear friend Pam had Harper Grace Keon on July 2nd. Then our friend Amy had Violet Grace on August 2nd. This was the year of the girl because not only did everyone I knew who was pregnant had a girl this year, but I know of two other girls who will be born next year!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Unfortunately, we lost our dear Kathleen Tesdal. She was my mom's second cousin. She was more like a grandmother to me growing up and she will be dearly missed by our whole family! Her joy and excitement for all things girlie will forever stay in my heart and I hope to pass on her love of hats and jewels to my own daughter one day!
5. What countries did you visit?
I did not do much in terms of travel this year. We did however have lots of visitors after the arrival of Luciana! Joe's mom was able to stay with us for a few weeks off and on to help take care of Jack after Luci's arrival. Both her and Virgilio came to stay the week while Joe and I were in the hospital and I had to recover from my C-Section. Then in April, my Dad and Sandy came to visit for a week to meet their newest granddaughter. In June we took a long weekend to celebrate Brian and Lindsey's wedding on June 20th, and even though we only went an hour away, it felt like a huge trip with an infant and a 3 yr old all staying together in one hotel room for the first time. The last week of July we took our annual trip to Martha's Vineyard with the Sauciers. We were missing the Keon's this year because they had a newborn at home, so we stayed in a different house. It was an upside down house where the bedrooms were on the bottom floor and the kitchen was on the top. It suited our needs for this summer, but we are looking forward to not only being back with the Keon's next year, but also being back in the house we stayed in for the summer of 2013. My sister Corey came and visited with my nephew Thomas (who just turned 1) in September. Sadly, she had to leave Makena home this time. But it was great to finally meet my little nephew and to spend some time with my sister. She also got to meet Luci which was special. Then on October 26th my cousin Austin Barnes got married in St. Louis, MO. It was my first weekend away from my kids since Jack was born in 2011. Even though I was away from Jack while in the hospital, Joe's parents brought him every night to have dinner with us. So I saw him everyday. The hardest part of the entire trip for me was being away from Luci who was so tiny and still nursing. But she did fine and I had a great time seeing family I don't get to see very often. And the best part was seeing Austin get married to Sam, who seems like a perfect match for him! Since they are both in the Air Force and stationed overseas, we don't get to see him that much so it was extra special to be able to spend that time with him and celebrate his new chapter of life.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
I would like to have more patience. Having two children to manage all day long is tough! I try to remind myself that they are only little this once and to try and celebrate the little moments and not stress too much about laundry, dishes, cleaning etc. It really is a balance and I'm still trying to figure it all out! There's always something waiting to be done!
7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
On February 17, at 8:04am I gave birth to my sweet, precious Luciana Marie. She is by far the best thing I did in 2014! Jack adores her and loves to have a sister. The best part is watching them interact now that she's a little older. Even though she doesn't talk, they still play and blow raspberries back and forth at dinner time. And she wants to do everything that Jack is doing. And vice versa. The biggest joy is knowing that they have each other for life!
2-24-14 Jack turned 3. It was a hectic time for us, being newly home from the hospital with a newborn, but Joe's aunts and uncles came out to the house to meet Luci and celebrate Jack's birthday. He had a huge Oreo cake and couldn't wait to dig in!
The first week of March Jack got croup and had to be quarantined downstairs with Joe while I locked myself in my bedroom with Luci. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I wanted to be there for my little boy and take care of him, but with Luciana only being two weeks old and me being her sole food supply I had to keep my distance so I didn't pass anything on to the baby. Thankfully Joe was still home on leave from work so he was able to take care of Jack. And in terms of croup, it was a mild case so he didn't need to be on antibiotics!
At the end of July we headed to Martha's Vineyard for our annual vacation with the Saucier's. We missed the Keon's dearly this year, but are looking forward to the summer of 2015 because we will have all three families back together again and we will also have Luciana and Harper with us too!
9-9-14 Jack started preschool. I was so proud of my little man. He didn't have any trouble transitioning to preschool, he LOVED it! For the entire month of September he would pout as we left because he didn't want to leave! I was a little sad the first day when I dropped him off and went home with Luci, but I quickly realized how nice it is to have at least an hour of quiet time while Luci naps and he's at school. It's not a lot of time, but I enjoy it none the less!
9-25-14 Met my nephew Thomas for the first time. He's such a cutie and my sister came to visit and it's always fun to stay up late and catch up with her in person.
10-26-14 My cousin Austin got married in St. Louis, and my first weekend away from my kids!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
My biggest achievement was giving birth to my precious baby girl. I recovered much quicker from my C-Section this time around. I'm also proud of being able to juggle the two kids pretty successfully taking Jack to school and finding a routine and schedule that will work for everyone. Not easy when you have two kids that have drastically different needs!
9. What was your biggest failure?
My biggest failure was not getting any photo books done for Jack or Luciana. I did finish Luciana's Belly Blog and get it published into a book. And I did try and start a photo book for Luci. It's a work in progress. I'm not giving up on this goal just yet!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The only injury I really had was my C-Section to recover from. Joe hurt his back right before our Martha's Vineyard vacation but thankfully it was feeling ok enough so we could get packed up for the trip. Once Jack started school, we all seemed to get sick more. (Jack has been sick more in the past few months than he's ever been in his entire life!) Seemed like every week Jack had a new cold symptom and he shared his germs with everyone in the house. November/December were the worst months so far with illness. Jack got it first, then passed to Luci and me, and now Joe has it too. We are crossing our fingers and praying we will all be healthy and germ free for the end of the year and into 2015!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The best thing I bought this year was my iPhone 6. I upgraded from a 4S and it was not working well at all when I upgraded. It's amazing to be able to have a device with me at all times to capture photos and videos of Jack and Luci and then be able to quickly share them with family via email or text. The best part is my dad FINALLY got a device so we can FaceTime together. And it's great for the kids too, so they can keep up with family far away!
12. Who's behavior merited celebration?
I want to celebrate my friends again this year. I couldn't have made it through the year without their love and support. I feel so blessed to have friends that are more like family here in CT that I can lean on for support. I also couldn't have made it through this life transition without Joe! He works so hard everyday so that I get to be home taking care of our precious little ones, and that means the world to me. I am also proud of Jack for getting potty trained this year. It was a tough go, but he now goes unassisted to the potty whenever he has to go and hasn't had a nighttime accident in over two months, maybe more!
13. Who's behavior made you appalled or depressed?
I like what I had to say last year, so I will just re post it. " I don't want to go into much detail here, but I will say that after this year, I value people in my life that are honest, selfless and care for others. My time is much more limited now, and I want to fill it with people who truly matter to me!"
14. Where did most of your money go?
This year, we spent most of our money on Jack and Luciana. In November we had to purchase a new washer and dryer set. We had a good run with the set that was in the house when we got it (11 years!) but it was time to upgrade.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
We were really, really excited to welcome Luciana Marie! She's such a joy and has been smiling everyday since the day she was born. She's happy and brings a sweet joy to our family that is priceless! I'm also very excited for the sewing machine I got for christmas and can't wait to create things and learn how to sew!
16. What songs will always remind you of 2014?
All About that Bass by Meghan Trainor, Shake it Off by Taylor Swift, All of Me by John Legend, Let it Go from Frozen, Best Day of my Life by American Authors (Came out in 2013 but reminds me of Brian and Lindsey's wedding!) and Happy by Pharrell Williams.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter--still trying to get off the last 7 pounds left after pregnancy
c) richer or poorer? poorer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had done more photo organizing to get the kids' baby photo albums up and going. This seems to be the hardest thing to do since it requires attention to detail and these days, with two kids running around, it's hard to find a minute to myself let alone an hour or two to catch up on these types of projects! There's still hope!!!
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I would worry less. In the end, it doesn't change anything and it only makes today more difficult but doesn't change tomorrow.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
We spent Christmas with Joe's parents in MA. Jack was super excited this year for santa. He knew all about the traditions and couldn't wait for him to visit! We left some cookies and milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph. We put him to bed, but he was up a handful of times starting at 3am! He woke up Joe's parents because he was so excited for Santa's arrival. Luci was more into the paper this year, but got excited for the toys that Jack got excited about. Santa brought Jack a grill to Joe's parents and delivered a kitchen set to our house since the kitchen was too large to travel back and forth concealed! Santa also filled the stockings at home so we had something to look forward to when we got home. Santa brought Luci a Little People Farm set that Jack loves as well.
21. Did you fall in love in 2014?
I fell head over heels in love with my daughter this year and also with Jack. What a blessing it is to be able to be home with these two little ones and watch them learn and grow everyday. It's not an easy task, but I have never loved two people more than I love my babies. They are my heart and soul!
22. What was your favorite TV program?
Parenthood, So You Think You Can Dance, Modern Family, Nashville and Bachelor/Bachelorette and Scandal. (I also watch lots of other shows too, but these are my favorite!)
23. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn’t dislike this time last year?
No.
24. What was the best book you read?
I still don't have much time when it comes to reading. I try really hard! I did finish I, Alex Cross by James Patterson in January before Luciana's arrival. Then on my St. Louis trip I was able to read 1/2 of Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult on the airplane. It was so nice to have uninterrupted time to just read without distractions!
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I've continued to listen to all types of music this year, as in past years. I'm never listening to one genre of music all the time. No one album comes to mind, just enjoyed all types of music from Rock to Contemporary Christian!
26. What did you want and get?
This year I wanted to be able to balance being a mommy of two. It's still a work in progress and it's challenging most of the time, but equally rewarding!
27. What did you want and not get?
Well, my guest bathroom is still not done. Joe says we will hopefully get to it this year. Fingers crossed! We did get a new shed. Joe and his Dad built it from scratch this fall and Jack had a ball with Daddy and Virgilio. He would stay out back all day with his "tools" and "build with them". It was so sweet. I was amazed at his attention span and didn't get bored watching them and "working with them".
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Wow, this is really sad. I can't think of any movie/film that I watched that was worth anything. I guess I will go with Disney's Frozen, since it took everything by storm this year. I did watch the second season of Orange is the New Black and started and watched the TV show Scandal. But in the film category, I can't even recall one that I even watched that wasn't a cartoon.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
This year I turned 36. My birthday was right before our Martha's Vineyard vacation so I was busy packing and getting everything ready to go for our trip. It was tough packing everything up for two kiddos and my sweet friend Shannon came over and helped me out. She played with Jack so I could get some laundry and packing done. She also brought over an ice cream cake to help me celebrate!
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Nothing really. I seem to be pretty satisfied with life and the ups and downs of it all!
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
This year has been a transitional year for me. I went from being extremely pregnant in large maternity clothing, to transitioning back to regular clothing that I can nurse in and not care if I get spit up, etc all over. My fashion will come back eventually!
32. What kept you sane?
Play dates with my mommy friends, texting and getting together with my neighbor and my conversations with my sister.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
These days, I don't really pay much attention to celebrities. I do however get addicted to the Bachelor, and rest assured that if there is a story in People magazine about the Bachelor and or Bachelorette, it will be sitting on my coffee table! And a new season is starting on Monday, so rest assured I will be watching!
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Not sure if this is considered political or not, but I'm not a fan of the new Common Core adopted nationally in Education. Because I am not teaching in the classroom right now I mainly have the perspective as to what it is like from my teacher friends, but it doesn't sound like it's in the best interest for the kids. And way more paperwork and documentation for our students. I feel that when people make decisions for our classrooms without consulting the teachers who are in the classroom full time living it day in and day out, we get further and further from what our students actually need. The more documentation and assessing we have to do, the less time we have for actually teaching the concepts needed. It's sad really. Because the kiddos miss out, and it will burn out our teachers. I'm hoping that by the time I decide to go back to work things will be swinging the other way again.
35. Who did you miss?
Hands down, my Mommy. Having Jack has made me so much more appreciative of everything my mom did for me as a child and I wish I could have talked with her to tell her that. I also wish I could ask her the million questions I have each day, knowing that she would have the perfect answer. It's so hard not being able to share these moments with her and I hope she is watching from above and is proud. I will miss her forever!
36. Who was the best new person you met?
While I didn't meet anyone new, I did get lots closer to my neighbor Brenda. We text during the day and also at night, take walks around the neighborhood and support each other with whatever we need. It's nice knowing someone is across the street who can help if needed. Her daughter is in High School now, so she is also a potential babysitter if we ever need one!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
What I wrote last year rings true today so I will repost it: "When all else fails, your family is always there for you, no matter what!"
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