2013 Year In Review In Pictures

January

January must have been pretty boring because all I have pictured is my then 5 year old dressed up as a gangster with a Nerf gun. 

This is the month my oldest turned 10. He took so long to decide on his birthday party, as in 2 days before, so when we texted family, they were all busy. We told him he had a choice between having a party or getting to do whatever he wanted, like go with the family to a movie, or go play at Bogey's Fun Center or Bouncin' Barn or Bowling.. He didn't decide.

February

I emptied my computer hutch and moved it into the bedroom for some peace and quiet when I was doing homework for class.

We emptied the game cabinet out and moved it where my hutch was, sorted the games, got rid of a few, and re-filled it. We have a LOT of games!

March/April

Easter Egg Hunting! I had my nieces overnight and took all 4 kids to 2 Easter Egg hunts with family. It was windy and cold. We also hosted a nephew overnight. It was a month of family sleepovers.

Then we celebrated my youngest's birthday and my Dad's.

The youngest learned from his brother's mistake and had a bowling and bouncing party. All the kids had a blast, and my nephew won the big ticket prize at the arcade. 

May

We went the Indy Children's Science and Technology Museum where I got to see Geckos and the boys climbed a rock wall.

Then we visited Nashville, IN for their "Taste of Nashville" event where all the food vendors supply little samples of their wares and you buy tickets. Each sample costs so many tickets to try. Here the boys sample ice cream. They also had gellatto, panini's, steak soup, strawberry shortcake, oils/vinigrettes and bread, chocolate covered strawberries, fudge, and many many more. You can vote for your favorites and the vendor wins a plaque or something.

We built 2 raised bed gardens. 

June

The boys made stepping stones for my new pond.

There were 6 fish in here at one time..

 I harvested some radishes. They were a little hot. Some of them were good.

 I painted this picture. After my college class and work was over for the summer, my creative juices were flowing.

Hubby surprised us with a trip to our first indoor water park in Ohio. 

Our newly planted cherry tree had a cherry on it!

July

I started growing HUGE cucumbers.

The littlest learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

 We took a road trip north for my cousin's wedding and passed huge wind farms..

And visited a Railroad Museum.

 My cousin had a beautiful wedding.

I grew some beautiful gladiolas.

 We found the very fat raccoon that raided my compost bin every night!

 My youngest tried out a pogo stick.

 The boys enjoyed the pond. Probably because a frog decided to move in!!

We went to the fair.

I harvested some carrots.

August/September

 I harvested A LOT of veggies! And MORE veggies!

 We went fishing. This reel is being held by the 4th generation!

We caught some fishies.

We had a family reunion. This is supposedly the last one. All the people who started this reunion are getting too old to come out.

October

 I took my sister to a concert. Pictured here are Hawk Nelson, The Afters, and Building 429.

 The boys dressed up as Transformers for Halloween.

They carved their pumpkins with a little help.



November

 I painted this for class. I like the quote.

Then we started giving the oldest his own room. Both boys helped paint.

December

We made a Christmas mess. The boys got a few nice gifts.

We celebrated with family. The season is about togetherness. Cherish the moments you have!

And the biggest gift of all was his own room.



My goal for 2013 was to try new things. 

• I was a successful gardener. 
• The pond was something new and took some learning. I lost all the fish by the end of the year, but two of them grew rather large and I had a frog living in it! I call that pretty successful if wildlife moved in. 
• I tried a new food. 
• We went to new places, like the museums and water park, and the boys got to see their first wedding and spend their first nights in a hotel. 
• The youngest leaned to ride a bike without training wheels and use a pogo stick. 
• We took our annual trip to Holiday World and the youngest was tall enough to ride the big rides! We discovered the new water slide area and though we got sunburned, we had a blast. 
• We went to an indoor waterpark.
• I became a Godmother.
• I took my sister to a concert. We began to bond.
• The boys got juggling sticks for Christmas and we've tried them out.

I guess trying new things was a pretty feasible resolution. In hindsight, it was going to happen. The point was to learn to be open to new opportunities, look for them and go for it!

Fitness and Nutrition: Baby Steps

We put an elliptical on our Christmas Wish list, the hubs and I. We had been looking at one that we would have had to order because it wasn't stocked locally in any store. It was going to be around 200 dollars with shipping, give or take. We looked on craigslist, too. Hubby found one for 50 bucks that he said worked. I didn't see that one, but I did see one for 50 bucks that said the readout screen was broken. I want the screen to work so I can see how well I've done, so I frowned upon this.

Meanwhile, I had made myself a little 'get-into-a-fitness-routine' plan and I actually put it on paper; which is more definitive than just thinking about it. It included a little 2 minute routine I saw online on the inspiring Daily Hiit website, and then a 5 minute routine, and finally, I am supposed to begin a 5 day challenge this next week because I am off work, also by Daily Hiit. (Go there to see what kinds of workouts they have right now.) It is nearly New Year's, so I figured I'd get a jump start.

I was going to begin the day after Christmas, kinda slip into this easily, since Christmas this year was on a Wednesday, I'd have two days to start doing some exercises and Saturday, when I was already scheduled to have a family celebration, I could rest a little.

But on Thursday, Boxing Day, hubby and I walked all over town returning/exchanging/shopping. Instead of doing a routine, I wore myself out walking all over. We decided to duck into Goodwill to see what caught our eye. He was looking for a computer part that they didn't have. You never know. Lo and behold, there was an elliptical. So I climb on it and heck to see if the display works. It does. It even gives you a general reading of your heart rate when you put your thumb on the sensor.

We got an elliptical.

For 25 bucks.

It was covered in dog hair and spiderwebs. We were tired from walking so we left in the car until Friday. He vacuumed it off in the garage, then we lugged it into the house where the boys and I went over it with Clorox wipes. It suddenly looked usable. In fact, the boys can't stay off of it!

The first day, Friday, I was only able to get 2 minutes in before I jumped off to let the boys have a turn. I did another 2 minutes later in the day. I spent most of it packing up the Christmas stuff and moving roll-top desks around. (Can I count that as a workout??)

Saturday I did go to my family's celebration and got in a 5 minute workout on the elliptical.

Baby steps.

I've also been conscious of my nutrition. We've been buying less pre-packaged and frozen foods and more fresh and whole grain and raw foods. I still buy Light soups for my lunches and have been enjoying pita chips and hummus as a snack. I am sad that I cannot find my favorite flavor of oatmeal, but if this means I have to finally learn to make my own or to try new things, then so be it.

More baby steps.

As I discover new things, or try more new things, or need to gloat over how proud I am of my new healthier me, I will post. :)