Year End Review (and some goals).

Well, 2011 started off the worst way I could have imagined but ended on an upward swing. We lost my mom at the beginning of the year. It remains (and probably will for some time) the worst thing that ever happened to me and my family. We're all still adjusting but we're making our way through it. Life, does in fact, go on for those still living. People change, grow, adapt and move on. So while we started the year with a tragedy, we ended it with a miracle. Our family is growing by one more (which - very, very, very small change - means I'll need a new blog title. We won't be the Three Beesley's anymore!).

This year has been a pretty good one, I suppose, over all. Aside from my mom passing, Nick graduated college with honors and accepted a new job offer. He's learning lots and enjoying his new work. This job is allowing him the opportunity to travel, which is both good and crappy. Ben & I hate having Nick gone (and Nick doesn't particularly like to be away, either) and we aren't looking forward to him having to go again (not on the horizon for awhile, as far as we know). However, it's a great learning opportunity for Nick to travel on behalf of his company and work with the client.

As for myself, not much new. I'm trying hard to get more involved with my mommy group - it would be great to make some friends for myself but my main reason is to get some friends for Ben. I've been struggling these last few months with keeping my commitments to go - this pregnancy is taking a lot out of me so far and it's hard to keep up my motivation. Hopefully this phase passes with the 1st trimester ending and I'll be more reliable.

I thought I'd take some time to review our goals from last year and see if we made any progress on them over 2011. My guess is: no. :) But we'll see. Then I'll make some new ones for 2012. Lots to do with a new baby on the way!

Goal #1: Get my house clean, organized and to stay tidy every day.

Man o man, is this goal ever going to be accomplished? I fear not. As I seem to be using this pregnancy for a cop out on everything lately... :) It's true, though. I have had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I know the kitchen is bad when Nick stops to clean it. Oops. Maybe one day. I have great goals of giving my house a super thorough deep clean and then just doing a few minutes every day, one or two rooms a day, to keep it up. This has never happened. Or at least, not for very long.

Goal #2: Try something new every month.

Well, with a toddler - every day is an adventure and discovering new things every day. We aren't doing as much outside the house, necessarily. This will be an item we continue to work on in 2012. I'll pick out 12 activities we can do locally and cross them off, once a month.

Goal #3: Make baby food myself.

Ha. This no longer applies. Well. It will towards the end of 2012. :)

Goal #4: Clean out the clutter & live more simply.

Definitely always a work in progress. We clear and pare down and then a few months go by and we clear and pare down some more. I imagine we'll have a large purging process this spring, in preparation for the new baby. Maybe we'll actually have that garage sale this year.

Goal #5: Spend less, save more.

So I just died of hysterical laughter. We're horrible at saving money. It feels like we never have any, you know? So when we get some extra, we're so excited to be able to go do this or go buy that that we never hang on to that extra for very long. I'd like to start up a yearly vacation fund, so we can start taking Ben on fun trips like Disney World. Plus, it would be nice if we could afford to go visit Nick's family (at Disney World? ha ha) or my friends in Seattle.

Goal #6: Tackle some of those "I'd love to do ______" projects.

Hm. Sort of. We ripped out our backyard deck but didn't get any further on fixing it up (we're stumped on what to do next). We planted a few container gardens and I have some ideas on how to expand on that this year. I made Nick build our bed. Maybe we'll get to some more this year!

Now on to some goals (and just random things I want to do) for 2012:
#1 - we're hoping to be able to use some (or most) of our tax return money to visit our family in Florida (probably before new baby comes - I'm thinking perhaps April).
#2 - improve & expand our veggie garden
#3 - clear out and ready the guest room for new baby!
#4 - deep clean the house and maintain a little bit every day.
#5 - make a list of 12 things to do around our area and do one a month
#6 - fix our backyard. may need to contact a landscaping company for ideas.
#7 - for me: try to scrapbook every day. even just one page.
#8 - play outside, every day. Even if it's raining.
#9 - things to help Ben: get rid of the bink, finish potty training, try out a big boy bed, look into preschool options for late summer/early fall.
#10 - for Nick: clear out the garage, paint, create storage & organize.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2012 is a great year full of much accomplishment, personal growth and great experiences.