Reflecting back & looking forward to the year of ME!

I’m back! After two weeks off blogging, to spend much needed quality time with my family and to get re-charged and unplug, I’m back!  To be honest, unplugging (almost completely) for two weeks has been so liberating, especially for someone like myself, who is obsessed with social media.  It made me realize how easy it is to get caught up in day to day life. A true break is all we need sometimes to keep or get us back on track and see what’s really important, which made me realize that I need to make a resolution for 2015. I’m four days in the new year, and I’m so grateful and hopeful for this upcoming year. But before all of that… I want to take the time to reflect, and look back at 2014, and oh, what a year it has been!

For starters, I had my third son, Nathan, in September.  It’s been a crazy ride right from the get-go. Based on the way he came into this world I should have realized that he would throw us for a loop. He came out so quickly, I almost delivered him in the hallway of the hospital.  Almost worse, right before he popped out the hospital wanted to send me home. Meaning, I might have had our son in our mini van (gross!).  Most people who see me with three kids think I’m an “expert”. While I appreciate the sentiment, I’m just surviving most days. Not to mention, Nathan is a completely different baby compared to my older two boys and I’m often at a loss as to what I should do with him.  For one, he won’t take a pacifier. Our oldest had his till he was four, and our middle son just got rid of his  a few months ago, short of his second birthday. Nathan also hates being swaddled while we swore by it with our oldest two who were swaddled till they were both six months old.  He’s also the worst night sleeper but the best napper.  With all those changes and challenges, he’s also our happiest baby, which really, is the most important thing!  I can’t wait to see what the remainder of his baby year has in store for us!

Our middle child, Ryan, has grown by leaps and bounds this past year.  He turned one last January and he’s about to celebrate his second birthday. He’s already hockey obsessed like his older brother and he knows all NHL hockey teams names by looking at their logos. His favourite games include looking at hockey cards, playing table hockey or playing hockey in our basement.  His vocabulary astounds us daily. He loves repeating every word or phrase we speak and he has always has a jump and a chirp when he excitedly says “YA!”. He loves counting and actually understands the concept of counting.  Okay… I’m just about done bragging, but I can’t help it. Beyond being the smartest two year old EVER (of course!), he’s also one of the sweetest I know. He loves giving kisses and he’s so helpful. He’s also obsessed with both of his brothers. He’ll do anything to get Kyle, our older son, to pay attention to him, even if that means letting him jump on his head 100 times. He’ll just lay there and laugh away like they are the best of buds. I hope that one day, they really will be!

One of the biggest changes to happen this year was having my oldest son start J.K. To be honest, my husband John and I feared the worst.  Kyle is shy, sensitive and very depended on John and myself.  We didn’t think the transition would go well and I shed more than a tear on his first day.  However, I’m glad to report that it was all for naught.  Kyle just loves going to his class, has made a bunch of new friends and we’ve witnessed him excel and grow academically each week.  We’re very fortunate that he’s in a small sized class (only 15 kids). Most importantly, he’s becoming more and more indpenendent. It’s amazing to watch him play by himself and grow to be independent. I think this is my favourite age for Kyle. He’s shown us maturity and understanding at times when we needed him to the most yet he’s still full of cuddles and kisses. I think it’s the best of both worlds!

Besides my family, 2014 has been an incredible year for my blog. I got to work with some amazing brands and several of my personal posts were featured on SavvyMom, including their top 14 picks for 2014 (I still can’t believe it).  I think one of my favourite partnerships has been with Nikon.  As a Nikon Mom Ambassador, I FINALLY got to learn how to properly use a DSLR camera and not just shoot pictures on “auto” mode.  Learning to do this has been on my bucket list for a while now and I can’t wait to continue learning how to take even better pictures.

#16 on my befor- 40 bucket list is getting my pre-baby body back and that’s what I plan on focusing on in 2015.  The last few weeks I’ve started hating the way my body looks and how I look in my clothes. I realized that I’ve put on more pounds after I gave birth instead of losing them like I have in the past. So while I never make any New Year resolutions, I knew that it was time for a change. Together with my husband, because truly, no one else can keep me in check and be brutally honest with me as he can, I plan on making some big changes. As John would say, we’re not dieting, but we’re changing the way we live… healthy living.  That’s my motto for 2015. We’re doing it the old fashioned way. Instead of relying on a fad diet or a cleanse, we are going to focus on what we eat (taking out things like sugar, processed food, sodium, etc…) and work out when possible. I’m proclaiming my resolution right here and now to keep myself accountable, because everyone knows peer pressure works best (kidding, but not really).  I will also blog about my progress, the food I’m eating and the exercises that I’m doing in case anyone else wants to join me on this adventure. Or if you have any tips for me or some awesome recipes, I would love to hear them too!

While I really want to focus on ME in 2015, I also want to become a “hands-free” mom.  Meaning, I want to be in the moment with my kids. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a stay at home-mom or my obsession with social media, but I’m often on my phone when I’m with my kids. While I have no plans to completely check-out, I want to figure out a way for me to stay connected (online) while focusing on my kids while I’m at home with them during the day.  This will be a challenge for me, but it’s something that I want to work on nonetheless.  I know it’s only a matter of time when the tables will be turned and I’ll be speaking to my kids or asking them to do things together with me, but they will be too “busy” on their gadgets.

So here’s to 2015, the year of ME and the year of being hands-free!

Did you make a resolution? If so, what is it?