This Dead Blog

I am no writer. I never took anything other than "Senior English" in high school and "English 102" in college. Let's be honest here people, my yearbook teacher almost kicked me off the editing staff because I couldn't spell. I just like to play pretend writer. With this dead blog. 

So this morning, in pretend writers world, I broke through my writer's block. Which, in mom of two babies world, translates into: I found time between the first viewing of Despicable Me and lunch time for Isaac, Dillon, and myself.

So.

Where have I been?

What have I been doing?

How's the husband, kids, and dog?

What about all those ambitious goals?

How's the weather?

Are you "holding on to the edge of your seat?" I am about to answer those questions for you. Following this post, you can read all about the last three and half months. I'll keep them in order of events and I'll cheat with the dates and make it look like I am on top of blogging like a good writer should be.

So, if you keep reading, I'll slowly catch up on the past events. In the meantime, I'll get back to blogging about the rest of our semi-crazy lives on a semi-regular basis. Who knows maybe I'll finally get around to posting pictures and blogging about projects.

30 Things: May 2012

The Chesca List:

9. Put up a cork bulletin board/wall in the office - So this was an utter disaster. I started apply rolled cork to the wall in my office. I had super cut intentions for this wall. I was sticking the cork up with "U Glu" and seam tape for carpeting. It didn't stick. The cork rolled itself off the wall. Which was annoying. I considered hot glue. But I change things and repaint so often that this idea sounded like too much work to remove in the future. So. I compromised the cute-ness. I painted the wall with magnetic paint then with chalk board paint. It's cute. Again, pictures to come someday.

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month - Brett and I built a garden box. Pictures someday. We used wood pallets so it was low cost. We have been transplanting our veggies from the burlap buckets to the box and a few of the those veggies will move into the in ground garden. We are finally getting somewhere with our gardening skills.

19. Try a new recipe once a month - I used Isaac's birthday party for this goal. I made Elmo cake pops, using this as inspiration. I also pinned some fruity juice and a cake recipe that was used at the party. Check out the links, all were successful.

21. Read four new books - So. I have finished one book. City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Since it is in a series and is the fourth book, I felt obligated to read. I had read the past three, which were decent, and I knew there was a fifth book as well. It was slow. And I was disappointed that it ended with such a huge cliff hanger. When I get into a book I pretty much ignore all other responsibilities. This is bad for any family. Mom gone rouge with a book... So, since it was a cliff hanger I felt the need to immediately get the fifth book. Which I am currently reading, spoiler alert: it is slow. I'm not going to explain the book to you because I am still bitter about the waste of time I felt fly out the window. Feel free to click on the like previously provided.

The Bresca List:

24. Have date night once a month - I love date nights. We went to Chipotle for a meal without beans and rice flying every direction. After which we enjoyed dessert with Alec before she left town indefinitely. Easy.

14. Hold FHE regularly - I never clearly defined this goal. It should have said something like. Have FHE, someday. Well, I find it difficult to have FHE as a young married couple. Every night could be FHE, it is always just you two. And then add in a young child. Well, they can't talk and can barley walk. So, we have come to the conclusion that setting aside the time and planning something was a decent start towards a full on FHE. Sometimes we just read extra for our scriptures. Or plan to eat out somewhere. Or plan to have a movie night. Or plan... something. But I think that is the start of some good habits until Isaac is old enough to sit still for a five minute FHE.

18. Keep the garage clean - Does your garage become a catch all? Ours does. I picked it up this month. Still clean.

A Post on Being Pregnant

So. I realize that I haven't said much, hardly anything, about being pregnant with baby number two. I suppose that it is time I sit down and share a few things.

I am due on the 16th of July. I have something like seven weeks left. I imagine it will be sooner than that though. This pregnancy has kicked my butt, although it just could be that I have a one year old I spend my day chasing around. 

Seriously though. My family is growing so quick. It makes me so happy. I also has me terrified. Two babies... I used to think that I wanted twins. I take back all those thoughts and wishes.

Baby number two is a boy. I'm happy with this. They are going to be best friends being so close in age, fourteen months apart, and both being boys.

I found out that I was pregnant just before Thanksgiving. I was obviously late but didn't think much of it since I had just visited Krista in DC. Big trips seem to through me off a bit. Brett and I had made plans to try to get pregnant starting in January, but we decided to not get back on birth control. It makes me a bit crazy. TMI. Anyways, bam, baby number two. I was at the store and started to feel a bit light headed, which totally gave me a flash back to mornings being pregnant with Isaac. Then I thought about it some more and realized what was really going on. I took two tests. Both were positive. 

I have a great doctor. If anyone is looking for one. I see Dr. Greyson Guzman. I absolutely love him. He is normal and has a great personality, not the doctor kind that seem to not care. He says the funniest and strangest things. But my favorite thing is that he is totally upfront and doesn't beat around the bush about anything. 

Most days I am totally worn out. I was doing really good until about 28 to 30 weeks. I didn't really feel too pregnant until then. Now, at like 33/34 weeks, this baby literally had nowhere else to go. I am not kidding when I say nowhere. Every time he moves it hurts. My bladder, my back, my lungs. My lungs... I can't breathe. Ever. I can't sleep either. I don't like being pregnant. So I am whining a bit. But seriously I don't think I will make it to 37 weeks, but we will see. I know for sure I am not going to make it all 40. I feel like labor is just around the corner.

On that note. I have been trying to get things ready around the house. Get things organized, buy a few things. We plan on keeping the baby in the pack and play for a month or two. Then we are moving Isaac out of the nursery into the toddler room. I have great plans for this room. Stay tuned for that. I have most of the things we need already since Isaac was only just a newborn a year ago.

But that is all I guess. So far it has been a normal pregnancy. Lots of blood work. Lots of trips to the chiropractor. But I am just waiting for this baby to come.

Talk later...

Happy Birthday Isaac

Seriously, already.

Isaac is one.

He is too big.

Tear.

I obviously have to take a few minutes and mention a few things about our little birthday party for Bubba.

On the 16th, we had a little get together with close friends and family. Thanks to everyone for coming. It means so much to me. Yeah, we had a nice little BBQ with fruity drinks, cheesecake, and delicious cakepops (if I don't say so myself). 

I decided that since Isaac was an Elmo fan, we would have a slightly themed party. 

I made Isaac wear matching colors for his party. 

We had red and orange balloons and streamers. 

Red flowery pom poms hanging from the ceiling. 

Our orange/yellow colored fruity drink, pineapple something, had strawberries and oranges floating in it. 

A nice orange and red polka dotted table cloth... 

So cute. 

Can you picture it?

The streamers are actually still hanging, I'm not tall enough to take them down. 

I made Elmo straws and Elmo cake pops. 

Aside from that and the colors, that was what I considered Elmo themed. I wanted to go way more overboard, but in the back of my mind I remembered that I didn't remember a thing about my first birthday. My parents remind me that it was expensive. 

Regardless of how much Isaac remembers. It was a nice to celebrate Isaac's birthday with people we loved. He got wonderful gifts that he absolutely loves. Seriously every single one he plays with every single day. 

I still need to track some photos that were taken by other people but enjoy the few I did have

Twelve Months

Age: 12 Months

Height: 30 1/2 inches (officially)

Weight: 23 lbs 14 ounces (officially)

Oh my goodness. One whole year.

I can't believe that my Isaac is a year old now. He was so little when we brought him home. Now he is this big baby.

Well at twelve months we have six teeth. I don't see any others trying to pop up, but he really doesn't like you looking in his mouth. With those six teeth he eats just about everything. He loves pickles and strawberries. He eats sandwiches, cheese, apples, bananas, lots of chicken. He is a chicken kid for sure. He is also obsessed with french fries (which apparently I am too, with this pregnancy). He loves his sippy. Actually he only loves the cheap Gladware-ish ones. He usually refuses to use one of the real hard plastic leak proof ones. We are working on using utensils. 

He was really sick for a few days. Massive fevers that had me totally stressed out. I took him to the doctor, twice. He got a rash and everything. So in conclusion, it was something viral. I am actually thinking that he might have some issues with Ibuprofen... Hence the rash? 

We had him on whole milk for a bit, slowly working it into his diet by mixing it with his formula. We had a few days where he was on just whole milk. Anyways I noticed him totally change. He was a miserable child. He would scream every time he woke up, even in the middle of the night. He wasn't eating much. He was super clingy. Horrible poopy diapers. It was a very difficult few days dealing with him. I kept trying to think what would be wrong with him, he was totally not himself. Then I decided to try putting him back on formula. His milk was the only that was different since the major attitude change happened. Literally the next day he was back to normal. So we are going to try different forms of dairy and see if he has any sort of reaction to any of it. Kids can be sensitive to milk, lactose intolerant, or have an allergy to milk protein. I've done some looking into it, very little so far, but I don't think he has an allergy. We'll see.

Issac started walking at eleven and half months. That is when he started taking steps. He is getting better at it every day now. He likes walking around with your finger though. He thinks he can walk up and down the stairs. Seeing a baby walk is so strange. They are so little. It's too cute.

And finally to wrap up our twelve month stats, Bubba is talking. He's been saying things like dada and mama for the past two months, but it seams like he started walking and talking all at the same time. He says go away. It totally makes me laugh. Brett and I obviously say this to the dogs, more particularly Emma, too often. He also says that, no, tap tap tap, go, boat, vroom, good, sippy, and dog. Obviously these words aren't crystal clear, but he knows them and we know them.

So big.

30 Things: April 2012

The Chesca List:

19. Try a new recipe once a month - I got around to three this month. Which basically boils down to being an emotional eater. First, Camp Fire Cones which was more of a thing do to do when my cousin came over for a sleep over. Second, Raspberry Lemonade Slushy. This was delicious. It started to warm up so Isaac and I had a yummy drink. And third, Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese which I didn't make in a crock pot. I have been looking for a mac and cheese that resembles a Noodles & Co. recipe. This came pretty close.

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month - I covered five gallon buckets with burlap sacks. Idea found here. I'll get this up on my project blog eventually. It was more involved than I thought it would be. But Brett and I are now doing some patio gardening. We totally can't grow a real garden in the ground.

21. Read four new books -  I haven't finished this but I did start a book. More to come.

The Bresca List:

6. Install a fan in the spare bedroom - After having a people sleep in the spare room in the dark for two years, we finally out a fan up. Check.

24. Have date night once a month - We went out for date night with some friends to Famous Dave's. Simple.

Eleven Months

Age: 11 month

(I have slacked off again on measuring him)

Wow. We are up to five teeth. I won't go into any sort of detail about the crazy poops we had to go through to get to five teeth. And I won't tell you how his poop squished out when he sat down on the floor. Leaving me no choice but to cut off his Onesie and give my child that was covered from head to toe in runny yellow poop a bath.

We still aren't walking, but we do stand on a regular basis. Isaac has started doing all sorts of things now though. He likes to do hand motions to some of the songs we sing. He has learned to climb. On the bed off the bed. He gets up and down the stairs with no problem, the couch, chairs, you name it. Not in and out of the crib though. Let's hope he doesn't figure that one out any time soon.

He loves music, which makes Brett and I so happy. He has amazing rhythm for a baby. He keeps beats and dances to songs. His favorite is Another One Bites the Dust.

Isaac is cruising along everything now. So he is always trying to see what you are doing. He will steal the remote from you. Or take your phone. Pencil, food... 

He is eating so much now. We are in a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner schedule. I have been on Pinterest stealing people's snack time ideas hoping to expand Isaac's pallet. I packed up all the bottles. He wasn't drinking more than three bottles a day and I decided that it was time to move on to a sippy cup. So far everything has been good. I am hoping when we finally make the switch to real milk he will actually drink it. I can't image formula is amazing or anything.

Up next, one year.

30 Things: March 2012

The Chesca List:

3. Finish decorating the nursery - I am checking this off as complete, even though I hung empty frames. I got a cute rug and rocker for the nursery and rearranged some furniture. I hung Isaac's name up and hung a shelf. It is super cute. Again, someday I will show this to you. But it is done. The picture-less frames, are planned out to be family photos. I am cool and like to hang frames without pictures.

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month - I decided to make my hair the projects. I took up braiding. As a hair stylist I probably should know how to braid well. Until recently, I really sucked. So I found so cute styles that involved braiding and learned how to do them. It has literally changed my world. I can go a few more days without washing my hair now. I can get ready in under an hour if I must. And I don't have to sweat all summer long. Here, here, here, and here is where I found some new hair inspiration.

19. Try a new recipe once a month - I finally found a recipe on Pinterest that I actually love. I loved it so much it made me sick. Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Bars are like heaven. Try them. 

26. Hang Brett's diploma - Done. I am so proud of my husband for finally finishing school. And when I say finishing I mean getting a degree, because he has been talking about a master's program... But great job! I am so proud of you.

The Bresca List: 

I am starting to get embarrassed. We have really sucked at our goals together.

24. Have date night once a month - We dropped Isaac off for some Baja Fresh and ice cream...

I can't promise that April's update will look much better. Let's be realistic and cross our fingers for May's update. 

Ten Months

Age: 10 months

(I have slacked off on measuring him)

I swear out of nowhere my kid has grown up. It seems like he got teeth and stopped being a baby. He now has two teeth. I am not so excited for more to come though. Here is why. Poop. About two days prior to a tooth breaking his gums, Isaac has the worst runny poop ever. It makes messes. Gross. 

Isaac is now able to eat more solid food, so he decided that he is over baby food and formula. This means that he eats a lot. As far as what we have tried he likes it all.

He has gotten attached to things. He has this fluffy white stuffed animal puppy that he absolutely loves. We call him Ninja Puppy. He is  always being drug around the house. He also has gotten hooked on Elmo. His cousin Addy came for a visit and she loves Elmo. So now Isaac does too. He has a singing Elmo toy that he often sleeps with. Then there is the blanky thing. I have this controlled to just sleeping and car rides, though.

I finally got myself into a bedtime routine. Yes I said myself. In the past Isaac would fall asleep watching TV with me or it would be late enough that he started rubbing his eyes. Now I have a bed time set for Isaac. I stay up pretty late and as long as he is happy I usually don't mind that he is up. But I usually put him down for bed between 8:30 and 9:30PM. Prior to bed time. We brush teeth, read a story, and say prayers. I love this. I didn't think that I would like the whole routine thing, but I really do enjoy it.

And to wrap this month up... Isaac is using his walker like a pro, but he is still too chicken to actually walk on his own. He claps for everything. If he hears people clapping, he starts clapping too. He likes being outside and crawling around in the grass and he likes to eat rocks.

The end.

Conversations with Isaac

I talk to myself sometimes. Actually a lot. And the only reason why I am admitting this on the world wide web... is because I know there is at least one person out there that talks to themselves too. Just so we are clear though, I talk to myself in the "I like to think out loud" way. I mean I don't sit there and have a conversation with myself, answering back with ooos and awwws.

Now that that is cleared up, I do often talk to Isaac and for Isaac. And when he sometimes responds with his baby jabber I pretend like I know exactly what he is saying. For example, if we are in the car and he wakes up from a little nap with a few syllables voiced in my direction, I will often respond with something like this, "We are on our way to Grandma's house." This is obviously assuming that his syllables translated to, "Where the heck are we going mom?"

It is possible that admitting this information makes me a bit crazy. Or it just means that I am an awesome mother. I will now finish my rambling and get on with the more meaningful content of this post. 

"Hey Bubba. I know you really like playing with power cords, but you really aren't supposed to be doing that. Besides I need your attention. I have to tell you something super cool."

"Mom, I'm busy."

"Yep, I need that power cord now. Thanks."

"Mom, what is so super cool that I have to give up potential electrical shock for?"

"Look Isaac."

"Mom, seriously. What's this?"

"Bubba, do you remember when I told you on Thanksgiving that you were going to be a big brother?"

"I thought that was a joke."

"Well, you are going to have a little brother. But don't worry you'll still get some attention. You won't have a little brother ruining your first birthday or anything. He won't be here until July."

30 Things: February 2012

Here's to February.

The Chesca List

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month
8. Paint the hallway upstairs

This may count as cheating, but it's my list so who cares. I did one project that covered two goals. I painted black and white stripes upstairs and was inspired by a pin I found... ON PINTEREST. Check out the inspiration here. I loved how this project turned out. I turned my loft area into a little reading nook. I used green as an accent color. Currently I have laundry waiting to go into the wash sitting at the top of the stairs. So I can't take a picture and show you how wonderful my new space looks. But I will get to it some day.

15. Put up a picture of the temple and of the Savior in every room - Although this isn't completely done I just wanted to report that Isaac's room has a Jesus picture and the living room and the kitchen/family room have a temple picture.

19. Try a new recipe once a month - I tried it and sucked. I was also sick, so maybe it wan't that bad. But I don't recommend making Four Cheese Pasta Florentine, mine came out with a bland flavor.

The Bresca List

24. Have date night once a month - This was an easy low key night for us. We went out to Baja Fresh and Cold Stone. So simple.

25. Give away the black couch - Since I redid my hallway black and white, we gave away the "giant out of place couch that didn't fit in it's given space" to a coworker of Brett's. Check.

Nine Months

Age: 9 months

Height: 29 1/2 inches (officially)

Weight: 22 pounds 6 ounces (officially)

I am so proud of my little guy. He is getting so big and learning so much. He finally got a tooth in. Just one. But it is there! We have seriously had swollen gums for the past four or five months, but no teeth. It's funny to hear the occasional crunch when he actually gets to use his tiny tooth. He loves to brush it. He has a baby tooth brush and this training tooth brush that's all rubber. Yeah, enough about teeth.

He is a wonderful kiss giver. He usually gives you a few kisses when you ask, and occasionally he will just get in your face and give them freely. I love them. It has got to be my favorite thing in the world. He plays peek-a-boo all on his own now. Usually it is with a door. He'll sit on the floor and play with you while you are on the computer. Sometimes he plays with a blanket or his hands, but those options usually don't cover his face.

Isaac is standing now. He knows he can do it, but he looks so unsure of himself when he realizes what he is doing. He moves along furniture quickly and has no problem getting from the coffee table to the couch, via stand and lean.

He loves visiting with people. He knows faces he sees on a regular basis. Family and so on. He gets excited when he sees them. 

We've packed up all the nine month clothes. He is wearing the 12 month stuff and I need to pull out the 18 month stuff. We also had to invest in a new car seat. Our infant seat has a max weight of twenty two pounds. So now we have this giant seat in the car, which according to Brett, Isaac hates it.

That's about all. 

30 Things: January 2012

Let's start by saying that I am happy that I decided to not add "blogging" to my list of things to do this year. And by blogging I mean posting in a timely and or consistent manor. Look, you saw my lists, I will obviously be busy this year. Not to mention the typical wife, mother, human being busy that most people already are.

And now I am rambling. 

Here are the accomplishments for January. By the way... I can't even being to tell you how awesome it is to feel like I actually got something done. Something productive, something I wanted to do, something fun. Rambling.

4. Make laundry soap - So I'm a little obsessed with Pinterest. It is my way of getting away from my crazy brain. I got this recipe from a pin I came across for some laundry soap. I read the reviews and was convinced that it would get my clothes. It totally works. It is totally cheap to make. It totally makes my house and clothes smell wonderful.

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month - I could have done the whole two birds with one stone deal, aka laundry soap. But instead, I made chalkboard paint. I put it on my giant jar of laundry soap as a label. You can totally customize your color for the chalkboard. Awesome.

16. Make and keep a cleaning schedule - Life is crazy. So the house isn't always the way I want it to look. But I read somewhere, probably Pinterest, that if you clean a little bit every day, for about thirty minutes or so, your house will always be clean. I broke the rooms in the house down into six days worth of cleaning. Monday through Saturday, as best as time allows, I clean specific spaces in the house. When I stick to this plan it totally works. Now obviously dishes always need to be done and every night before bed I have Isaac's stuff everywhere. So those kind of things get done daily. But a clean home makes me feel so good.

17. Relocate dog kennels - Dogs totally stink. Especially mine. Their kennels are so ugly so I hid them in the office closet. So now only one room how the house smells like an old bag of Fritos. 

19. Try a new recipe once a month - I made Loft House Sugar Cookies. Pinterest. These came out just as good as when you buy them at the store. Magically, when you make them at home they contain zero calories. This is because they take three freakin' days to make. No joke. I started them at like 8:00 PM. Then I realized that the dough had to set for at least two hours or something. So I decided to work on them later. Day two. I baked them and made the frosting. Obviously they needed to cool completely. Duh, I mean people hate hot fresh cookies. Frosting, bah. It is supposed to sit for a while to let the flavors come together. Day three. Frost and enjoy. Which I did. Too much work.

The stuff Brett and I worked on.

4. Glue down the vinyl in the master bedroom - After Isaac was born, we replaced the flooring with vinyl wood looking planks. They are wonderful, easy to clean, and totally keeps the room cool. Some of the planks needed re-gluing. Anyways, someday I will show you how the floors look. No time these days for uploading pictures.

24. Have date night once a month - We went bowling with some friends. It was fun. We suck at bowling. The end.

29. Plant a tree - We did this. Then Emma, the dog, ate it. She has eaten like a million of our citrus trees. It's a touchy subject. We won't speak of this any further.

We have a little catching up to do on a few items. Some of the monthly goals we had, we were unable to accomplish, but better luck next month.

Eight Months

Age: 8 months

Height: 28 3/4 inches (unofficially)

Weight: 20 pounds (unofficially)

Seriously these months just blow on by. At eight months Isaac is doing pretty much the same as he was at seven months. I am just going to assume that this means by nine months he'll have some sort of growth spurt or learn how to do back flips. Something amazing.

For now he is pretty much the same size. His sleeping schedule is totally out of whack due to the insane holiday season. So we stay up very late and watch a lot of TV. He is eating everything, without any teeth. None. We call him Toothless now, he's watched How to Train Your Dragon a few times. He also has learned how to crawl the stairs, and quickly too.

So yeah.

30 Things: 2012 List

Inspiration. Usually I associate the word with things of a more spiritual nature. But, today I looked up the word for a more official perspective on its meaning. According to my computers dictionary, inspiration means the following: the process of being mentally stimulated, especially to do something creative. Mental creativity. I can do that. 

Last year I made a list of a few things I wanted to accomplish. I thought them up. Wrote them down (because that means you'll actually do them). And... that was it. Last year, along with other specific goals, I really wanted to focus on just doing my best. Which I feel I did okay with. But as I wrote 2012 down for the first time, I realized that I thought the previous year was 2010. My brain obviously skipped a year. I was slightly panicked, wondering if I wrote 2010 down on my son's birth certificate. Needless to say I need to get my brain in gear this year.

So, I have this friend from a few wards back. I stalk her blog. She made a list last year too. She did much better with her list than I did mine. I liked her list. I liked her goals. I liked how she made it all happen with a plan. So I am going to copy her. 

Thanks go out to Katie Harris for inspiring me to be mentally creative.

I made two lists of things to do this year, gulp. One is for Brett and I to work on together and the other is for just me. My list ranges from things I have been meaning to get around to doing, to things that I should do but don't, and things that I want to do to be a better human being. The plan here is accomplish as many of the things on my list as I can. Each month I'll sit down and decide what needs to be done, and how I want to go about doing them. Hopefully, do them. Then, bore you with a monthly report.

Anyways, enough with me putting random sentences together.

Chesca's Thirty

Involved Projects

1. Make a chalk board menu for the kitchen

2. Make a furniture piece for my family room

3. Finish decorating the nursery

4. Make laundry soap

5. Do one Pinterest inspired project per month

6. Fix the finish on my office desk

7. Refinish/find furniture for master bedroom

8. Paint the hallway upstairs

9. Put up a cork bulletin board/wall in the office

10. Paint the wall I missed in the family room

11. Put together a memory box for Isaac

Spiritual Things

12. Read the Book of Mormon, twice

13. Attend Enrichment Night, at least four times

14. Read every conference talk for the year

15. Put up a picture of the temple and of the Savior in every room

Organizational Happiness

16. Make and keep a cleaning schedule

17. Relocate dog kennels

Things Concerning Taste Buds

18. Cook a turkey

19. Try a new recipe once a month

20. Poach an egg

Things for Me and My Well Being

21. Read four new books

22. Get in really good shape

23. Learn a new piano song

24. Go to the dentist

25. Go to the optometrist

Miscellaneous 

26. Hang Brett's Diploma

27. Document my cousin's mission

28. Find a use for a vintage light bulb

29. Get a pedicure

30. Make my herb garden look pretty

Bresca's Thirty

Involved Projects

1. Finish the laundry room makeover

2. Attempt to refinish the piano

3. Finish the carpet in the master bedroom

4. Glue down the vinyl in the master bedroom

5. Fix the pavers in the front yard

6. Install a fan in the spare bedroom

7. Finish the carpet downstairs

Spiritual Things

8. Really try go to the temple once a month

9. For one month, go to the temple once a week

10. Invite a non-member to a church function

11. Have family scripture study and prayer, daily, for one month

12. Read the Book of Mormon together from beginning to end

13. Study Preach My Gospel

14. Hold FHE regularly

Organizational Happiness

15. Stick to a meal plan

16. Do not overspend  our budget

17. Pay something off

18. Keep the garage clean

Things Concerning Taste Buds

19. Cook Ukrainian food

Things for Us and Our Well Being

20. No TV/media for a week

21. Go to the beach

22. Go camping

23. Hike an Arizona mountain

24. Have date night once a month

Miscellaneous 

25. Watch the three best movies of all time

26. Watch the three worst movies of all time

27. Give away the black couch

28. Replace the outlet in the office

29. Plant a tree

30. Get CPR cetrified

So there you go. We better get moving.

Dear 2011

I like to recap what Brett and I accomplished the previous year, cause let's be honest, the year usually goes by in a massive blur. I also have a less than perfect memory and I don't want to feel like a complete bum who watching several TV shows a weeks.

But before I get into that, let me just briefly tell you how we celebrated to the New Year. We played XBox all night. With Casey. Modern Warfare Three. I know we are lame. We didn't even countdown or anything. Oh well.

2011...

We visited Utah and Washington DC.

Brett turned 25.

I turned 23.

Krista and the kids came to visit.

I spray painted my car.

Isaac was born.

Isaac learned to crawl.

We all got really sick.

Brett a promotion.

Brett graduated from college.

We installed new floors in out bedroom.

I refinished some office furniture.

We installed on pavers in the backyard.

We gardened, kind of.
Casey came to visit.

Well. It seems like a small list, but adding Isaac to the family was so wonderful and it really kept us busy enjoying him. Can't wait for everything to do this year!