Happy New Year!

Well ... HELLO!!!

Wow, four and a half months or so since my last blog entry. All is well here ... and I suppose I should have read it over first to update it. But I'm so anxious to post new stuff here, so that's where I'll begin!

I'm actually writing this on my fifth day off due to this massive blizzard that hit the DC area this past weekend. Which is wonderful! We have plenty of groceries and thankfully never lost power. There's just ... too much snow to even get out of the parking lot! So I've done plenty of the things I never get to do ... knitting, reading, watching Netflix.

Life is so busy with a baby. But can you believe, it's been nearly a year already? In just a few more days, George will be 10 and a half months old! He is wanting to stand all the time (hasn't found his balance yet!). He has also figured out how to get up on all fours (think :: plank position), and how to curl one leg under him when getting down or trying to get up. Lots of physical development taking place! He is finally on the charts for weight, he's still a short guy though (26 percent versus 2 percent, lol). He loves to eat just about everything. He dislikes pineapple, salmon, and quinoa though. His diet is 100 percent whole foods. He's eating five times a day and nursing three times a day. When I'm at work he is down to one bottle of formula, but we're going to start using a Cuppow cup -- basically a glass mason jar with silicone rubber around the outside and as a cover -- with a slot at the top. I don't believe in "sippy" cups. He should learn how to drink in a dignified manner like the rest of us. It's what he deserves! He sits on the baby toilet and has gone number 1 in it several times since Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, he had a great first Christmas. Traveled in the car like a dream. The weather was incredibly mild, so we didn't run into any trouble. He finally got to meet some of John's friends, and others from mine and John's families. I can't believe it, but we are already filling out his application for school in September (he'll be attending mine, it's opening a toddler classroom sometime this year).

hangin with grandpa at great grandma's

first Christmas, in Connecticut

here is George's new toy shelf (a Tv shelf from Ikea). He's not really choosing from it yet, but I am making sure to display taking one of the things out a time, working with it, then putting it away when done. Oh, we have since replaced the frame on the left with a john james audobon robin print, lol! that was just how the frame came from the craft store.

My work is going well, though I'm currently seeking another "on the side" opportunity to make some more money as it's very hard to live here on the two teacher salaries we make. I'm considering DoTerra Oils or LuLaRoe. The initial LuLaRoe investment is really large, so maybe I'll begin with the oils. I don't really know. I hate having to spend money to get money, maybe. But these are flexible opportunities as far as time commitment. At this point, I'm really looking forward to about 8 weeks off in the summer. We are planning a trip to Cape Charles,Va. where we used to live. 

The other day, I was thinking about some of my goals for the upcoming year. Here are some of the things on the list ::

Hikes, spring and summer

read 15 min daily

tidy 15 min daily

send 1 postcard/month to my best friend in Oregon

learn to sew

enter a shawl in a state fair

start an Etsy shop or web site

explore creative pursuits I have passion for

very much simplify and reduce the grocery budget

I have been very disheartened to see that nearly all the bloggers who I link to in my sidebar are deciding, for one reason or another, to not blog anymore. I'm starting to think Instagram is the death of bloggers. But if I'm not mistaken, you can only use Instagram from a "smart" (I hate that we call devices smart) phone, and I don't have a smart phone. I really miss Meg (she does an Instagram blog now), Leya, Erin, Libby, Kristina, and soon possibly Ash Grove Mama and Rhonda. I'm so glad to still have the Soules, Ginny, Heather, Bonnie, Frugal Trenches. I'm very open to new blog links, so send them my way, please!

I am going to try to blog more, it's just man the first year of baby is wild! All-consuming, and in the very best of ways. We are all well here. Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon!

Love and light,

Karen