2016 Year End Review

Newsfeeds and other media posts seem to want 2016 to just end already (and I know some of our friends and loved ones have had a tough year, too), but I have to say that 2016 treated our little family very well. Lots of excitement, change, transition, and certainly not without stress, but so many things to be thankful for. God is good.

So our year - here we go!

January. I got back on the road with a series of global workshops, experiencing lots of snow and sickness. (During a 2 week workshop, I spent one day in the room with pink eye and another in the room with a stomach bug. My colleagues kept a can of Lysol at my table the rest of the meeting!) It was hard to be away from the kids because they were growing so quickly! And so, so cute!!! OH, and we (and by "we" I mostly mean his saintly teachers) potty-trained JB. It was practically a non-event that I almost forget it happened. But it did, PRAISE THE HEAVENS!!!

February. Within a short month we had a lot to accomplish with an upcoming move in March. And our poor bubs just couldn't seem to stay well!! It culminated with an ER visit and so many finger pricks that JB (still) has a total fear of white coats and scrubs. Fortunately he got better and the subsequent months had more smiles than fevers. Meanwhile, we started to say goodbye to our Atlanta friends and family. So bittersweet.


March. I had to escape all the craziness in Atlanta by flying halfway around the world to Thailand. What an interesting country! And successful work trip. I won't lie and say it was easy to be away from the kiddos (my itty bitty baby Maryn!), pump-and-dump on a 26 hour flight, or deal with the jetlag, but what an experience. I got back just in time to pack, pack, pack and move to Middle GA!

April. Our first month in our new home! Gosh, has it only been 8 months since we arrived? I am so grateful for a smooth transition. I attribute this to the warm, loving people in this little town. We are blessed and happy. We spent the month learning our way around town and unpacking. I also met my girls for our annual girls weekend - this time just a quick trip up to North Carolina.

May. We celebrated and memorialized lots of things and people: mothers, Mother Earth, cancer survivors, graduates and our fallen soldiers. Some trips to New Jersey (me), some trips to Atlanta (all of us), and then moseying around middle GA (all of us + Enda). A busy month!

June. A few repeats of May with trips to the Northeast (me) and Atlanta (us). And we also had lots of visitors to Middle GA! We baptized Baby Maryn into the Christian faith surrounded by her extended family. So very special!!

July. AAAAAH, July, one of those months that had the potential to send us over the edge. But it didn't, thank goodness, and lots of fun things happened (in between carting the tiny terrors toddlers on planes, trains, and automobiles...) We celebrated our great country on Lake Blackshear with friends, took a quick beach trip to Florida (where Mama was working), and then I flew over to Paris for a week of work (and fun. And let's never forget, BEYONCE!!!!!!)

August. You would have thought we'd stay put in August, but we didn't. Short trips, though, to Atlanta and to Reynolds. JB also started pre-school (he loves it!) This was the month I finally accepted the fact that our new town is south of the gnat line (and humid as hell). :)

September. Always an exciting month of celebrations! First, our little ginger baby turned ONE YEAR OLD!! Maryn - how is she a toddler already?! James also celebrated his last birthday in his 30s. And JB, WHAT, is three years old!?!?!?! Somewhere in there James and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. Lots of love in September.

October. The month we gained a new sister!! Shawntel and Kelly got married! FINALLY. We had a blast watching them say "I do" and celebrating down in Texas. We spent the rest of the month doing fall things: state fair, pumpkins, and trick-or-treating with our Monkey and Zebra.

November. Happened a month ago and I can't even remember what we did in November. (This is why I maintain the blog - if I can't remember a month ago, how will I remember 10 years from now!) OH WAIT, we gained another family member! Our baby niece/cousin Addison! Well how in the world did I forget something so sweet and special. Shame on me.

December. Our first Christmas in our new home, and I loved the way it all turned out. Took a while to get the decorations up because the demo/reconstruction of our fireplace happened the first weeks (pics coming soon), but once they were up they were so pretty! For the record, the kids are still scared to death of Santa in 2016. The picture proof that will live in infamy.

I haven't even finished the Christmas blog post (computer issues, AGAIN; time constraints, PER USUAL), but couldn't neglect my NYE tradition of pulling together the Year End review for our family. It's how I stop and reflect on all the blessings of the year!

Here's to a happy, healthy, and blessed 2017. Happy New Year!!

My 2016 Reading List

The past few years my reading list has been dismal, and I sadly included more TV series and shows than books in my annual reading/watching list. Lots of work trips and long haul flights meant I was a book worm in 2016.

SEVENTEEN ACTUAL BOOKS, and I have enough books to actually categorize them. I could probably even cross-index them, but I won't. I also won't provide reviews because I enjoyed something about every book below. I'm a pretty happy reader so I gave all of them 4 or 5 stars on GoodReads.

Fiction

• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
• Descent, by Tim Johnston
• Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

Non-Fiction

• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson
• Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer
• 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi, by Mitchell Zuckoff
• Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, by Jon Krakaur

Non-Fiction: Autobiography/Biography

• Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family, by Condoleeza Rice
• Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards, by Jan Reid
• Bossy Pants, by Tina Fey

Non-Fiction: Religious

• The Trouble with the Truth: Balancing Truth and Grace, by Rob Renfroe
• The Armor of God, by Priscilla Shirer
• Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, by Mark Batterson
• Finding Calm in Life's Chaos, by Becky Harling
• Christmas is Not Your Birthday, by Mike Slaughter

Non-Fiction: Business

• The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, by Reid Hoffman

Non-Fiction: Parenting

• 1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas W Phelan

The only TV we watched were our regular series: Homeland, Downton Abby, and Ray Donovan. Homeland starts again on January 15th and it appears that Quinn survived so ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE FICTITIOUS WORLD. I'm halfway through Mercy Street and believe PBS will provide some good TV-watching again this year, even without Crawleys. Not too much, though, because I've got another lofty goal this year for my books! Going for an even 20, and my list of "want to read" is about triple that. :)

Happy Reading to Me!!

Holiday Parties and Holiday Cheer

I don't even pretend to lug around my big camera to all the events and functions going on in December. Don't they advertise the power of the iPhone camera for this very reason!  A photo dump below highlights some of the fun and festivities from the month.

First up, James hosted his first annual GovStrive Company-wide Holiday Party!  Last year each office/city had a dinner, but this year he brought everyone together in Dublin.  The night before we hosted the management team at our house with a fancy pizza dinner.

The next night everyone - from all offices and with their spouses - enjoyed a full dinner at the Country Club.  A band from Lake Oconee (led by Princess) provided excellent entertainment.  Food was excellent, too.

I can't begin to describe the feeling watching James address his 50+ GovStrive team.  He told the story of how it began, literally all the way back from just an idea and a dream when we were in our 53 Peachtree Hills house.  And now to see this large group, the clients, the growth.  I'm so proud!

This past weekend it was a quick trip for Christmas with James' Atlanta side of the family.  My parents joined us for the festivities, but I still managed to get only one pics (of the kids with my parents and Baby Addison) because I was too busy chasing the munchkins!  They were into everything!!  

Although we saw Santa a few weeks ago, I forgot to share the pics from the Santa line (which, when you go on a Saturday in December - one hour long!!!) These were actually with my pic camera.  Maybe I should get it out more for the holidays.

  

All this before we even get to the real day.  Can't wait for Christmas!!

Holiday Crafts - WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF!?

Every year I tell myself that I won't fall victim of Pinterest temptations or stress myself out with holiday crafts.  But then I just can't help myself.  Fortunately things turned out well this year (no matter how much hair I pull out in the process).  :)

Greeting Card Display
Normally I display our cards in the garland above the mantle, but this year our mantle was under construction until last Thursday.  The cards were sitting on the table with no where to go! So I went to Pinterest, found some ideas, drug out an old, scuffed frame James found at a garage sale for $10, talked James into some spray painting and light construction work, and VOILA!  This craft is a total win and one we can use every year.  And major kudos to James who really did 80% of this craft.

Salt Dough Ornaments
Somewhere I got this wild idea that we should create salt dough ornaments this year, maybe even starting a tradition.  James constantly asks why I set myself up for this stress and drama with our toddlers, but I always have high hopes!

JB was very enthusiastic about making the ornaments, as he loves mixing and pouring things.  And insisted on crafting in his undies.

Sissy just wanted to try to eat the salt dough and throw herself off the kitchen island.  She was quite peeved I forced her to watch, but I could only handle one toddler at a time in the mess of flour and salt!

Originally the plan was to cut out handprints and make "glove" ornaments, cutting circles in the middle to place a picture. I quickly realized there was no way my children could sit still enough for me to run a sharp knife around their tiny fingers.  Plus, JB was having too much fun squishing the dough to let me cut.  So I thought "quit being a Type A Mama, Jennie!!" and let him just play and squish and roll to his little heart's desire.

(And then, after they went to bed, I rolled out and cut the ornaments myself, using their hand prints that I quickly traced on construction paper.  Did not get to a little picture insert because I need a challenge to motivate me for next year.)

It took forever to dry these out!  The recipe said 2 hours on 150, but I did about 6 hours over the course of the next day.  And JB kept asking when we could paint them - he was getting impatient! Finally they were ready to paint, and JB chose 3 different shades of purple (his favorite color) to paint his mittens.  He wanted the matching mittens to be different and "crazy" because, well, TODDLERS. Again, Type A Mama had to just take deep breaths and go with it.

In the end, I love how these turned out!!  So sweet for many reasons - the memories that we made, evidence of their small 2016 hands, and more decorations for the kids' tree.  Certainly a tradition I plan to keep for next year, (as long as I don't read this post beforehand.)

Creative (and Coordinated) Magazine Wrapping Paper
Usually I coordinate my wrapping paper by color, but it's still store bought. This year I convinced myself to save up all our weekly Time magazines and wrap our presents.  Turned out lovely (especially with the nice ribbon I procured last year on clearance), but GEEZ what a pain!!  I wrapped all our small boxes first, which was fine, but the big boxes required lots of lining up the paper, lots of tape, lots of stress. And then James wrapped my presents in something that totally didn't match (KILLING ME!), and then my parents came with each present wrapped in all different types of paper (DYING!!!)  Oh well...  :)  (I'm grateful for gifts, I know I need to get over the matchy-matchy stuff, haha).

So there you have it.  About as much Pinterest-ing as I can handle this Christmas 2016.  Until the Christmas menu, of course.  :)

Ear Tubes, ROUND TWO

Nearly a year after JB's ear tube surgery his right tube fell out. And then he promptly had two ear infections.  Sigh.  This poor kid and his ears!  We had been doing so well with the ear infections! However, JB still suffers with a lot of congestion, sinus infections, and snores like a grown man.  So this week we went back in for new ear tubes PLUS an adenoidectomy.  We're coming at it whatever angle we can!

We told JB it was an "adventure" but he asks a lot of questions - smart three year old.  JB did great in the waiting room, even without his morning milk and muffin.  New toys are a great thing.

The second we headed back, however, he saw white coats and scrubs and lost it. The hospital bracelet saved the day (he loves accessories.)  We finally got him into his gown and waited with Nick Jr.

They gave something to "calm his nerves" which made him loopy and hysterical. You better believe we recorded video for his teen years!  It made it easier when they came to get him, too.  JB easily went into the nurse's arms, hugged her neck, and waved goodbye to us. This answered a very specific prayer of Mama's.

A quick 45 minutes later and we were back in there with our Bubs!  Lots of tears about the IV (he kept saying "I don't LIKE this!!"), but popsicles and apple juice helped.  And the promise of donuts.

We left the hospital by 9:30, just a few hours after we arrived. JB was still a little loopy and we nearly took him straight to the barbershop to take advantage from his agreeable nature. :)  But we didn't, just took him to Dunkin (per his request.)  JB talked his Daddy into both ice cream AND munchkins.

Day Two went by without any issues.  JB feels great, has a ton (maybe more than usual??) energy, and even the crankiness of yesterday has subsided. We could not have asked for a better outcome. Now let's hope and pray this helps him weather the cold and flu season!

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday!

I got an idea (from blog-stalking) to document a photo for every hour of the day. I've been meaning to do this for a while over the weekends, to remind myself of how much we cram into a day. Seriously, how in the world do we stay so busy?! I want to look back on this blog when we're old and retired so we can ask ourselves how we survived.

SEVEN AM. James was hunting so he left at 5:30. Gia was here so she got up with early-riser JB. This means Mama got to sleep till 7:30!! WOO HOO! I woke up spooning the vizsla, per usual.

EIGHT AM. Maryn had her usual warm bottle of milk and I took my shot of apple cider vinegar. This is a new thing I'm trying, and haven't noticed a lick of difference.  

NINE AM.  Luann's has the biggest biscuits in town!  Or so she claims. And since Gia loves biscuits we took her here to try them.  There were eight thumbs up. 

TEN AM.  Taking advantage of Maryn's morning nap and Gia in town, someone finally got a manicure! This really covered hours ten and eleven, because our little town has the slowest, slowest nail technicians I have ever experienced.  I don't even think about getting my toesnails done (they've been naked since the last day of sandal weather.) They do a great job, but who the heck has that time? Not this Mama!

ELEVEN AM.  Once I got home from my marathon mani, Maryn was still taking a marathon nap. So I quickly grabbed the pre-schooler for a friend's birthday party.  JB promptly fell asleep in the car, so I got in several errands while he snoozed.  

NOON. Birthday parties are the best!  JB learned "red light, green light", the art of pinata-hitting, and played "pin the tail on the donkey". He took his mask off for the last game because "I can't see where to put that tail with my mask on!".  :)  He also ate a minuscule lunch and a huge piece of cake.

ONE PM.  Both the red-heads needed some fresh (cold) air so Mama obliged with a quick little 2.5 mile around the neighborhood.  

TWO PM.  I realized I had very little time to get ready for Ms Danielle's wedding!!!  So I brought in lots of toys and tried to shower, dress, and do my hair with little M hanging on my leg. #fail

THREE PM.  Due to the difficulties of my two o'clock hour, my three o'clock hour meant doing my make up in the car in route to the wedding venue in Ft. Valley, GA!

FOUR PM.  And I mean like 4:55PM, we barely made it to the wedding!!  As soon as we arrived it took my breath away. What a beautiful venue for a beautiful couple!!

FIVE PM.  Selfies while we waited to sit down for dinner (and then someone took pity on us and took a real photo - we obviously do not know what we're doing...)

     

SIX PM.  I love a wedding that doesn't make you wait around for the festivities.  They promptly fed us, the couple enjoyed their first dance, and the cut was cut before seven.  YES. 

     

SEVEN PM.  I tried both the bride's and groom's (cup)cakes.  The wedding cake was phenomenal.  I also snuck a piece out for Gia.  Sweets are how we pay our babysitters these days. :)

EIGHT PM. We left a little early since we had a long drive. Fortunately we were among friends and trustworthy guests since we left the key in the cup holder (car unlocked) the entire wedding!  OOPS!

NINE PM.  Since we made much better time on the way back (and, again, BABYSITTER), we stopped for a nightcap at our favorite local place, Company Supply. They have the best tap in town. Such interesting, local finds.

TEN PM.  My last hour to update, because zzzzzzzz on the couch with my fav ladies on SNL and a fire.