Good Riddance, 2011!!

Let me just preface this post by saying that 2011 was a little completely crazy. We had some of the best and also some of the worst experiences of our lives. 2 has been our number. This year alone we’ve had:

• 2 working parents
• 2 major tests (UT BAR and NASM)
• 2 unborn babies
• a 2 hour drive (sometimes less, sometimes more) to visit 2 different specialists (perinatalogist and hematologist) every 2 weeks (or more).
• 2 months of bed rest
• 2 trips to the ER (one for me, and one for a cut on Liam’s hand).
• 2 layoffs
• 2 trips to Utah
• 2 Christmas season stomach flus

I am hoping that 2012 will at least not be any worse, and will hopefully turn out to be quite a bit better, even if just as crazy.

Although I realize our situation is slightly complicated right now (and will likely continue to be so due to our new additions), I have decided to be ambitious and have come up with 12 resolutions for the year.

1. Pay off our car
2. Lose baby weight
3. Potty train William
4. Wean William from pacifier
5. Read 12 books (almost completed #1)
6. Be a better budgeter---I have a goal of replenishing our emergency fund.
7. Monthly DIY projects (mostly baby/sewing projects, but I also want to try to make foaming hand soap, household cleaners, among other things).
8. Finally finish William’s baby book---this one has been nearly done for 2 years. Just need to actually print out photos and transfer my notes about his first life into the book
9. Get a race PR---probably shoot for a 5k or 10k---a half or full marathon may be too ambitious when nursing twins.
10. Pay off all our debt…mostly just our insurance deductible, but still, it would feel good to be done
11. Try 52 new recipes---I had a goal of 100 last year, and did about 70. Not bad considering I couldn’t cook/eat for 2-3 months. I’ve already done 2!
12. Organize our life---monthly organizing projects. This is my current passion. I have always LOVED to organized, but I’d really like to get things organized in a fun, cute, or original way. And hopefully I can get Steve and William to at least sort of keep things that way.

In some ways, I have planned to be less ambitious than in years past, in case the twins prove to be more work than I have anticipated…but I have also wanted to challenge myself and grow as a person. I am excited to see how much I can actually accomplish and am going to try to report when I finish a goal so I feel more accountable. Wish me luck!

Since no post is complete without photos, I’ve included a few of our photo shoot outtakes. It was so hard to choose! We have put some up on the wall…and I love the finished look. We even put up a belly shot where a picture of the twins will one day go. Makes me want to get nice pictures every year.

This photo of William is probably my favorite. It doesn’t quite capture his personality like the one on the sidebar, but as my SIL Catherine calls it, the “GQ Baby” photo, is really something else.