On a side note, 2010 was a bitch of a year for me and my family. I'm glad I gave up resolutions--there was no way I would have been able to stay on task being pregnant for nine months of the year, having a newborn the other three months, losing my father to cancer, and dealing with all the many other issues that cropped up along the way. It's fun to look back and read the ten things I did list--they all came to fruition and they were all my favorite memories in a year where I struggled to stay afloat and sane. Here's hoping this list will also be memories I will carry for a lifetime...
11 things/events I am eagerly anticipating in 2011...
The first few events are trips...I LOVE to take trips. I could plan vacations every week of my life and never get bored, never run out of places to go and people to see. My fondest childhood memories are of our family vacations--camping, going to the beach, and yes, even those trips North (which I would now hate with a fiery passion since I abhor all things cold). 2011 marks the first year in many years where I am completely unencumbered with work, Josh actually HAS decent vacation time, and we have a little bit of spare money to enjoy a vacation. So we are going to go a little crazy with trips this year I think...here are the ones we have already planned:
1. Mardi Gras (Shreveport style) We will be headed to the Port with the BM crew to hit the parade and enjoy some fun shopping. And food. And more shopping. And maybe a few drive through daiquiris. And king cake. And some more daiquiris. Yum.
2. Nashville in the Spring. We haven't been as a family since right after Lucas was born, so I'm really excited about heading out there again. It is such a beautiful drive and area, and so much to do, not to mention family to see. Josh's cousin has children roughly the same ages as our oldest two and we have never even met the youngest, so it's about time!
3. The beach again!! Yippee. We are in the process of deciding on a beach house and booking it now. We are headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama again...I think this makes the sixth or seventh time we have vacationed there since we got married. Lucas has been BEGGING to swim and build sand castles, so he is more than ready. We will be joined by family again for this trip...looking forward to lots of games, crab catching, and lazy afternoons. And again, the fabulous seafood. Original Oyster House, here I come!!
4. Fall football. This doesn't SOUND like a trip, but it is--Josh is determined to go to the opening game for LSU next fall. It's being played in Dallas at Texas Stadium, so I'm pretty excited too (not that I give a crap about Texas Stadium...but Dallas? Can you say IKEA?? Grin!!!)
5. And the biggest and best for last...CALIFORNIA baby! Josh got approved for two weeks in November, so we are going to road trip out to Cali, visit Josh's sister, and take the kids to Disneyland on Luc's birthday. I decided we aren't going to tell Lucas until we leave--and maybe I will do some kind of fun birthday surprise countdown calendar (partially to be fun, but mainly so that he doesn't jump up and down with excitement and drive us crazy for weeks ahead of time!) Neither of us has ever been to California, so we are both pretty hyped. I have been surfing the web and reading travel blogs trying to decide what we can squeeze into this road trip. It will be Alex and Chloe's first Disney experience, too, so it promises to be extra special.
Now on to other things I am awaiting this year...here are a couple of milestones I am HIGHLY eager for my kids to hit...
6. Lucas becoming a reader. I know this is the year. He is already starting to read very basic primer books, so I think this is the year he will just take off running with it and embrace it 100%. I can't wait. It's always exciting to see your kids hit a milestone, but this one is near and dear to my own heart. I LOVE reading. It is my favorite and longest lasting hobby. I could live without a lot of things and possessions, but books I could never be without. In the darkest and saddest times in my life, I could always pick up a book and BE someone else, be transported SOMEWHERE else, and LEARN new and interesting things. One thing I really want to encourage all of my children to do is to keep a "reading journal". I had a friend who did this in high school and I was jealous--she could go back YEARS and see all the books she had read, which ones she had liked, how her preferences had changed over the years. I thought this was such a neat idea and always wished I had embraced it as my own.
7. Alex being potty trained. Yes, I am praying and hoping that this is his year to embrace the toilet! I need a little less shit in my life...here's a good place to start! He has shown more interest in the potty lately and he got a nifty little potty watch for Christmas, so I think it's time we got really motivated and get this job DONE.
8. Chloe walking and talking. I feel a little nostalgia that Chloe's "firsts" (first steps, first tooth, first word) will by my LASTS (since this is my last child...I think), but I am ready for her to hit these milestones. She is already so big and advanced for her age. She is rolling both directions now, sitting up with mild support really well, and she LOVES her new bouncer--in one week she is heavier and longer and can now hit the floor and bounce herself. She pushes to a stand in your lap CONSTANTLY and now that we have been cleared of the hip dysplasia scare, we are free to let her begin practicing her walk. I know it won't be long before she takes off. As for talking...well, she coos and giggles constantly. Her babble includes lots of different tones, and sometimes if you say "hi" she will parrot it back to you with a big old smile. So I imagine she will be another big talker.
Aside from trips and milestones, I have a few other items on my list...
9. My mother retiring and moving to Little Rock. It's been an awful year for her and I am ready to have her near. I don't feel like I am much help to her at all living so far away. Before he died, one of the last conversations I had alone with my father was about my mom. He asked me to do whatever it took to "take care of her." I of course, immediately said that he knew I would, but in retrospect, I don't think I realized what a difficult task that would be. She does not readily accept help--she wants to fight battles on her own and be strong, even when she doesn't think that she has any strength left. I feel completely helpless and useless to ease her pain and help take care of her...I am failing miserably at the last request my father made of me, and I don't know how to make it right. The plan was always that she and dad would move here in their retirement, and I am hoping that she will continue that journey, even though it isn't exactly the way she originally envisioned it. I truly believe that being around her children and grandchildren will help her heal faster. And now more than ever, family is one of the most important things to me. Hopefully we can all come together and do whatever it takes to move my mother here and take care of her.
10. MOVING. I am SOOO ready to move. OMG I am so ready to move. I have no idea if this will actually happen this year...I hope it will for our entire families sake. We are BUSTING out of this house. Josh and I are still trying to decide what we want to do (build or buy) and when we want to do it (he wants to wait, I want to do it six months ago). We are heavily leaning towards buying land and building...we have begun to look at land, but we are finding that we are picky, and picky about DIFFERENT things. So this could be a really loooong process. But crossing my fingers that no matter what we decide, we are not living in this house when I write the 12 things I am anticipating for 2012...
11. Buying new lenses. Not glasses; camera lenses. Crazy to be excited about it, but you don't know how badly I need some new glass. It's like an addiction...I drool over and covet lenses. And my belated Christmas present to myself is going to be a new lens. How else am I supposed to produce fabulous pictures of my 11 moments for 2011 if I don't have the perfect lens? ;)
1 comment:
woo hoo! mardi gras!
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