2013

2013. What an end to a wonderful year! The following were the goals I set out for 2013:

- I will finally graduate from my Masters Program
- I will find secure and meaningful employment
- I will continue to pay off debt (at least $15,000) this year while at the same time taking a family vacation in the Summer and buying a newer reliable vehicle
- I will make our house a home
- I will make an effort to be healthy

I can honestly say, 2013 was our best year yet. I really feel like we accomplished so much and grew together as a family in ways we hadn't even imagined.

I'm just going to go ahead and list our 2013 accomplishments in no particular order:

- I graduated from my 2-year full-time Master's program which I completed mostly while working full-time, being pregnant, and taking care of family responsibilites, etc.
- My work contract got extended not once, but twice this year in a job I really enjoy taking me to my due date in the Spring
- We paid off just under $10,000 of our debt (less than my original goal of $15,000 but I just can't feel bad about that progress).
- We bought not one but two newer and more reliable fuel-efficient vehicles
- We went to DISNEY WORLD!
- We bought a trailer in cottage country and spent many fun weekends up there all summer where every morning was spent out on the lake canoeing and the evenings on our deck with a glass of wine in hand.
- We got up to the in-law's cottage in Temagami, Ontario two long weekends and had a blast watching the boys enjoy the boat, water tube, and ATV rides.
- We finally got around to giving the boys the decorated and personalized bedrooms they deserve.
- Our kitchen got a small facelift with new tile floors and we gave our exterior a facelift which I appreciate each and every time I drive up to the house. We even hung a few pictures so our house now feels just a little bit more like our own.

AND last but certainly not least, we were blessed with yet another healthy pregnancy and excited by the news we'll be adding one more precious little boy to our brood.

I'm positive I'm missing so much but I'm actually in awe of the list above and feel like pinching myself regularly. This is actually my life and we have so so much to be grateful for.

This year, we also finally felt like we hit the sweet spot with the boys. We weren't sleep deprived monsters any longer and travel and vacation actually felt like travel and vacation rather than more work than being at home. We didn't yell as much, we laughed more, and were far less stressed than ever before. By the end of 2013, we were also pretty much a diaper-free household (except for pull-ups at night). It is amazing how much time you feel you get back when you're not worrying about dealing with somebody else's bowel movements although I know this is only a short reprieve until we delve back into the poopy train in the Spring. But we're over the hump! 2/3rds out of diapers!