Year in Review/200th Post

Today marks my 200th post, as well as the last day of the year. Instead of bombarding you with 200 things about me, I am going to reflect over the past year and the significant things and not so significant things that have happened. Since one day I will have this all printed, you will have to ignore all of the pictures. They are part of my journaling part of this blog.


January – Not much happened the first of the year. We watched The Bug for 8 days while my in-laws took her parents on a cruise and I realized that three kids were a lot more than two, and I vowed once again to never reproduce. I have been saying this since before The Spunky One was born.

The girls and their cousin "Bug"

Not that the bug is a hard kid, she was easy to have around. We just didn't know how to handle being outnumbered!!! We also figured out that The Spunky One is part genius.

Smart Girl...check out those puzzle skilz!

February – I learned everything a woman could know about powdered milk. My friend asked me to do a presentation on it at a provident living fair. Who knew you could make sweetened condensed milk out of powdered milk.

Also of great significance this month, DH and I took a trip to Seattle,

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! My heart starts thumping whenever I see this picture!

where my aforementioned vow to never reproduce again was foiled. Whoops!!! I knew when I got on the plane home that I was pregnant. The man in front of me had something ghastly for dinner the night before and he tooted it the entire way home. I told dh that if the man didn’t go to the bathroom I was going to puke on him. My pregnancy hormones kick in pretty quick.

March – I enjoyed my only pregnancy month without throwing up. I made it five weeks before setting out on the longest pregnancy in the written history of the world.

April – The middle sister in my family was expecting and we had a large baby shower in my house. And by large I mean 60+ women here. Blogging went to the wayside as I spent a good portion of my day either in bed or over the toilet. A total of two posts were written that month.

May – My sister made me an aunt on my side of the family. I had been the producer of the only grandkids on this side for some time, patiently waiting for my sisters to provide some cousins for my kids. That finally happened.
My neice at 7 mos old.




The Spunky One turned three and we had a much anticipated Spongebob party that she had been planning since the day she turned two. My mom made that cake. Can we say talent?



Spunk's SpongeBob Birthday



The head princess was in her very first school opera as a mermaid and went on her first fieldtrip that I did not attend. Princess's Opera...she is a cute little mermaid.

June – We found out that our Seattle souvenir was in fact a girl. I cried for a month over this. Not because I was having a girl, but I was grieving the fact that it was our last and I would never have a son. My daughters officially started to live at my parent’s house this month. Mommy was NOT doing well. It is also the month that DH and the neighbor Mr. McArmy finished our fence.

July – Slow month for blogging. It was a bad month, a dark month. My girls went with grandma and grandpa to Bear Lake and DH took them to Lagoon. If it weren't for my parents, my girls would not have had a summer vacation. I was in our room that was beginning to look and feel and smell more like a cave every day. It was also our 10-year anniversary. DH attempted to take me on an overnight trip. I laid there the entire time. (I will make up for it on year 11 DH…I promise.) DH also turned another year older.

August – I turned the big 30, or as my friend Alesha calls it, 20/10. The HG eased up a bit and I ate with the help of some drugs. Nice drugs. Drugs that also had some interesting side effects. DH took a business trip to San Francisco and my girls ended up staying with my mom. It was like a slice of heaven every time she took them. This time I was able to sleep the entire time. DH’s grandpa turned 90 this month and I think we saw every single one of his family at the celebration. The Head Princess started soccer and school this month.

September – The Head Princess turned 7.



The Princess and her birthday cake...she isn't a fan of conventional cake...she had scones and cini-minis instead



The Spunky One started her first day of preschool. We bought a puppy and named her Rosie. The Head Princess had a gazillion soccer games and we realized that AYSO stands for All Your Saturdays Occupied. My baby sister also announced that she was expecting. She was 13 weeks a long when she told us. Stinker.

October – We sold the aforementioned puppy Rosie. Mommy realized that a new baby and a new puppy=insanity. I tried to go into labor all month. Finally when I reconciled that I was never going into labor, I did. On the 30th.





Meeting Squishy for the first time.



Little Squishy was born at 12:30 in the morning on Halloween. It was the first time I had missed Trick-or-Treating with the kidlets, but it was worth it. I stopped throwing up this month. We are now outnumbered.


Spunky as Cinderella, Princess as a Cowgirl

Also Little Man was born about 30 hours before Little Squishy. I was so jealous.

November – We spent the month in complete adoration of Little Squishy. Trying to adjust, trying to sleep, trying to figure out all of our roles again. We had family pictures taken. We celebrated Thanksgiving at the in-laws.

Spunky, Grandma Dean, Princess and Bug.



Princess, Lindsey and Troy


The Head Princess was asked to be a flower girl at my cousins wedding this month. She loved it. My mom made that dress and did the flowers. My baby sister and my mom made the wedding cake. Did I mention they are some very talented women?

Mom, baby sister and Spunk

December – There are a couple of things I haven't blogged about this month, so here is the biggest recap. We blessed our Little Squishy. Dh did a beautiful job. My mom made her dress. Did I mention the woman is talented?We took Little Squishy to meet her great-grandparents on DH’s side. DH sang the part of Joseph in our ward’s Christmas party. We took the kids to see lots of lights, to lots of Christmas parties and had lots of fun celebrating the season. DH and I took in an “Eclipse” concert.




Christmas Dresses:
How they act when they think no one is looking.



We had a beautiful Christmas surrounded by loved ones. We even braved a blizzard and crossed state lines on Christmas Eve to spend time with extended family. Christmas was beautiful

The girls with their "favorite aunt Pattie." She told them that was her real name and now that is what they call her.


My two men in plaid. DH and Dad.

My bil "A-Ron" as The Spunky one calls him. My pregnant baby sister and my grandma. My other little sister had just had a 24 inch hernia in her belly fixed. She was home in bed where she should have been.
"Favorite Aunt Pattie's" daughters, "Favorite Cousin Jenny" and "Favorite Cousin Alicia". Seriously, my kids think those are their names. They are meeting Little Squishy for the first time.


My Mom...Hi Mom!!! The Spunky One and Favorite Aunt Pattie.


DH and The Head Princess attempting to learn how to ice skate. DH, are you...cheating?!?!?!




I was hit with a mean bout of a virus on Christmas Eve. Despite that, or maybe because of it, the kids had a fun morning.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without one breakdown.

How Little Squishy and I spent Christmas. I couldn't stand up without the room spinning. Thanks for that shot DH. Folks, this is what I look like on drugs. I found this on my camera this morning.

So, here I sit. Reflecting on the last year and all that transpired. I was so sick for so long. I have so many people to be grateful for. Most of my thanks belongs to my friend Hilary, my Mom and my sisters. They took care of my family when I couldn’t. They did my job for me when I couldn’t. They held my hand as I suffered and they did all of this without expecting anything in return.


I reflect over the life that I made. The sweet baby that fills my arms. The two lives that I made before her. How it is such a miracle to have them here and healthy.

I am so thankful for my DH. He is a rock star. As I was eating a yummy Japanese meal that he made for us a couple of nights ago, I thought about how lucky I have been. I still swoon when he walks in the room. I still get giddy when I smell him. I love it when he kisses me in the kitchen in front of our giggling girls. He does so many things for me and I am so grateful for him and his love.


All of these moments tie us together. My family has endured and grown so much through the past year. I am amazed that we made it. I know it is cliche to say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." We are made of steel.

This is what it is all about. Making memories, learning and growing, and family.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Happy New Year one and all!

~Blackeyedsue

Day Two