1.31.2013

currently {link up} do-over needed, stat


Can I get a do-over for this week? Please?

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely (and currently sick, go send her virtual vegan chicken soup) Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super happy to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Loving the little handful of things that are going right. Because everything is going haywire. I started a new position on Monday as the director of public relations for a large software firm, an amazing opportunity that I'm super excited about! PR is the kind of job where your job is literally your ability to make a great impression... And then Loretta came down with her first ever real "sickness" on Monday. So I had to leave work early on my very first day to get Loretta. There is a lot more to go on about... like I need to make friendship bracelets for the staff at Urgent Care because we are like *this* now... but the end of my fun rant is just to say that it's now Thursday and this week can eat it. Also I know some of you amazing moms who are dealing with actual crises right now, living through weather emergencies and actually struggling, and it kind of puts my own stress in perspective and makes me feel like an asshole for complaining. Still, a do-over please? I wish a better week for all of us!

Wishing a thousand wishes for really boring things like a healthy baby and the ability to stick to my meal plan next week. Wishing for a pair of brown boots. Wishing for a backrub from George Clooney.

Craving fountain soda. My one work indulgence and most unhealthy thing I "eat" is I usually get a diet fountain soda almost every day but this week has been a hot mess and I'm suffering withdrawals. Need ice, straw, coke zero!

Missing having family nearby who can help you through rough times. I know that's selfish but I miss them all the time for their awesomeness and great company. This week I miss that I know they would have come to the rescue and helped us out. It's hard living so far away from family. When things go wrong you're really on your own and it's sobering. I'm a big drag this week, right?! Sorry. Let's all stand in the dark holding hands and crying! Or, better, let's talk again next Thursday.

Worrying take a guess :) I'm worried that I've made the impression that I'm a drama person at my new job. The fact is that I would judge someone who came in and then took a day+ off their first week. I'm relatively judgey about this stuff and I know I'd be side-eyeing like a pro! It makes me want to cry. Ugh. I'm so not a drama person! I am boring! Dull as dirt. I shall prove it to them.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:
wondering, loathing, cooking, reaading, listening

HK

1.29.2013

it's not the flu

Loretta is sick. I started a new job. Because of all this, Otto is super needy. Rob's trying not to explode. Actually that amazing guy is taking a very inconvenient day off of work today to watch Loretta so I don't have to miss my second day at my new work. Ten gold doubloons for that guy!

Anyways, Otto made this card for his sick sister last night while I had her at Urgent Care. Poor baby is rocking a fever, chills, shakes, and raspy breathing. The prognosis is that it's a virus and should pass relatively quickly. Fingers crossed on that. What a sweet brother. He is being rewarded with glasses of Pedialyte (the closest thing to Kool-aid he's ever tasted).

Hope your weeks (how is it only Tuesday?) are far less exciting than ours. xo

1.24.2013

currently {link up} describe your lunch to me


Welcome to Thursday! How did this week happen so fast?

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super excited to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Watching the rain begin. Thank you Jack Frost for freezing the gloomy Oregon sky for a whole month. I may be the only one who loved it but I did. I will take freaking super cold + a little sunlight any day over Oregon's usual uniform of sloppy wet crap drizzling down for months on end. Looks like we're getting back in uniform. July can't come fast enough!

On a sidenote, I also watched that new Kevin Bacon show The Following this week. Did any of you? What did you think? I will probably keep watching it but I felt a little shocked by the thing. Like the gore and violence were a little over-the-top for network television. Sometimes, even though I like a good thriller mystery as much as the next guy (and will watch CSI reruns for HOURS on end if I find myself sick and in bed) sometimes I just think these shows have become downright irresponsible in their horrific displays of meanness and violence. Yes I am wearing my conservative grandma underwear and I don't even care who knows it! ::shakes finger at TV::

Instagramming my kids, but not as frequently as I'd like and not doing a very good job of keeping up with my reader either. After that glowing self-review I still have to say, "Come follow me!" http://instagram.com/otandet if you aren't some random creepy guy I will follow you back. Also, Currently gals, I'd love to find you on there. Hoping everyone posts their accounts in their posts this week so I can come stalk you! In a non-creepy way, of course.

Tasting so many healthy new recipes much thanks to meal planning. We made this incredibly yummy vegan green chile stew last weekend and holy what now!?!? Amazing. I even tried something I found on Pinterest and made eggs over easy inside of bell pepper rings as part of "breakfast for dinner" last night. So good. You may have caught that action on Instagram. Because hahaha...

ps. Don't panic! Instagram is not down.

Listening to Otto sing I Have a Dream a song he learned at school. Listening to Loretta say, "mama" "dada" and "baba" when we ask. Listening to the rain. Listening to coffee brew. Listening to the click click of my keyboard right now as I write this post at 4:30am while everyone sleeps and before getting myself together for the day.

Learning to move on up, chase my goals, and enjoy success when it presents itself. Tomorrow is my last day at my current employer, a job I took almost immediately when we moved here a year and a half ago. I'm so excited to start a new challenge (on Monday, yay!) focusing my efforts on PR for a larger organization. I'm also a little nostalgic about saying goodbye to the place and people I've called "home" for the past 18ish months.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:
loving, wishing, craving, missing, worrying

HK

1.23.2013

a boy and his papa

My dad's 60th birthday was yesterday. Otto was so excited for his Papa Mike and said (yup he really said this) "I will look in the night sky for a sparkly star and if I see it I will wish that I could wake up in Arizona to see Papa Mike."

And then I dropped dead.

Because this kid's heart is the sweetest thing I've ever known. And I LOVE how much he loves his Papa. These two are the best of buds whenever they get together. They go on wheelbarrow rides, dig in the dirt, read stories, watch cartoons, and the THING they love most of all in the whole world is eating ice cream. They are ice cream buds!

So, for Papa Mike's birthday gift we went to a local pottery painting place and Otto made him his very own "Papa Mike" ice cream bowl. Ot was so proud. He worked with intensity to make sure every square centimeter of the bowl was covered in paint. It turned out pretty epic and we sent it to arrive on Papa Mike's big day.

My dad called Otto last night and told him the bowl was the nicest gift he's ever gotten in his whole life. Otto beamed and then corrected him, "Ice cream bowl". These details are important; they make up my 4 year old's world. Him and Papa Mike are ice cream buds ♥ and even though sugar makes my sweet hearted child do a little wild rumpus... well I don't even care about that when it comes to him and his ice cream bud. A boy and his papa, that's about the sweetest thing in the world.

1.21.2013

terms of endearment style

I don't do this often, but thought I would do a "working with some small amount of style" post. For the past month-ish I've been making it a point to eat smart, exercising when I can (meaning I've done jumping jacks like twenty times and planked once for a whole minute), and organizing my shiz. I feel like 2012 had me in a very overwhelmed and not-feeling-together place. 2013 is for taking charge! And part of that, at least for me, means feeling like "myself" again in my clothes. Loretta will be one in March, I can't wear maternity sweats, eat doughnuts, and not shower much longer... It was smelly and sugary while it lasted! So, I've lost 6 pounds so far and can do 120 jumping jacks in a ROW! You can shoot nerf rockets at me and call me Chyna Diamond Blaze because I will dodge those nerf rockets and knock you down with a jumping jack to the throat! Umm, anyways, so here's what I wore to work on Friday: casual, warm, and colorblocked to the max.

I have no idea what I'm looking at in these pictures. There was no bird or plane. No one ever taught me how to model, womp womp. And even though I am clearly wearing leggings, and despite the fact that I recently called pants garbage because I was angry with them (as a category) for looking SO BAD on me... I am secretly pretty sick of the whole skinny jean movement and ready to find my style in a way that feels at home to me. My style icon of all time is Debra Winger (in Terms of Endearment yes, but also just Debra in general in her golden era when she owned Hollywood as the pretty, sexy, strong, tomboy). How I would love to add some of these pieces to my closet... because PANTS. I am ready to get back into pants. Wide legged, glorious PANTS!
Image via Pinterest and Polyvore.

As I get older (and dudes, I'm turning 35 this year so yeah, THAT) I realize that my style is very basic and comfortable, but pretty I think. I like wool and cotton, earthy colors, and feminine touches. I'm short but I still love flats. I don't like jewelry but lately I've started romancing the idea of finding a fancy antique man's Rolex at the thrift store (unlikely I know). And I can't wait for my hair to grow out.

Who are your fashion icons? Do you find yourself moving more and more towards a certain "look" that's timeless as you grow older or do you evolve with the changing trends? I suppose we're all a little combination of both. I'm doing this "nothing new" challenge this year, not buying anything new (but used is fine) so I'm hoping to find some items at the thrift store that will help me as I try to move my "look" more towards my ideal. Hopefully some classy lady of the early 80s realizes she's outgrown her fine collection of petite trousers, wingtip loafers, blanket sweaters, and mens Rolexes!

And Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to all. I hope you are spending the day with the ones you love and that it's sunny and warmish for you. Anyone else ready for a picnic day? I'm OVER the cold! Over it! Done.

1.17.2013

currently {link up} a miasma of incandescent plasma


We do weird things for our children, don't we? I am asking you, society! What a weird trippy world it is for kids... Otto had the BEST time at his party so the fact that I could go my whole life without stepping inside a themed restaurant again doesn't even matter. Kid = overjoyed = my work here is done. Check out his rhythm and moves. I wonder if my dreams of Otto becoming a professional ballerina (not kidding, those guys are in amazing shape and what a job!) will ever come true? Ok, sooooo, since this is like the fiftieth post that mentions it, I solemnly swear that I will shut up about Otto's birthday now. But WHAT?! My kid turned 4. Four! Four. Omg four. Ok, I think I'm done now. Four. Egad four. 4. Foooooour. Four.

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super excited to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Growing my hair out. I had super-long, messy hair this time last year and honestly that, and wearing that in a topknot, is pretty much my comfort zone in the hair department, but just about the second Loretta was born my body revolted on my hair and I felt panic --> I HAD to cut it all off. Had to! Well I am over that now and cannot wait for it to grow back out to its happy rat's nest place.

Making new recipes. This meal planning thing has me trying all sorts of new recipes out and so far they have all been pretty fantastic. We did this easy baked salmon recipe last night and Otto said (in an impressed dinosaur voice, if you can imagine), "whoa, I think salmon is my favorite food!" Mind you he's had salmon before, but now he wants it at every meal!

Worrying less than usual and that is awesome! I start a new job in a week and a half (Yay!) and I have such a light heart and feel so much energy when I think about it. Otto is doing great in school. Loretta is growing like a weed and learning new things every day. We're finally settling into this old house. And Rob's schedule this semester is really not as bad as it's been since we moved here, so he's around for dinners and to help evenings and weekends. What's to worry about? Things are on the up!

Dancing daily with these kids of mine. We dance party while we cook dinner. Rob's the DJ because he has much cooler taste than the rest of us. Me? I like everything, from super indie and Skrillex to whatever's on the radio. My favorite song this week is just a radio song but I really am loving it "This Girl is on Fire" by Alicia Keys.

Laughing at with my kids. Loretta's balls out personality never fails to bring a smile. Do NOT get between that girl and a teething biscuit. She will cut you. Otto is just a dream of sweetness and creativity and indignation. He's obsessed with learning all the planets, in order, and their physical properties. This is trouble for Mom because, ummmmm, not my area of expertise! When I found out Jupiter was made of all gas I was like, "well then it probably shouldn't be a planet! You have to be able to land on a planet!" and then Otto and his dad side-eyed me super hard and took their planet book in the other room where I would stop interrupting. Anyways, if your kids are super into the planets AND you like dance partying like we do, try out this song by They Might Be Giants, it's super rad.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:
watching, instagramming, tasting, listening, learning

HK

1.14.2013

a group giveaway!

expatriababy
loveandbaseball
OTET
7 bloggers have come together to bring you a grand prize worth over $250 One winner takes all Competition is worldwide Good luck x

1.13.2013

something new and something old, new again

Something new. My AMAAAZING friend and co-worker Jamie Lundy heard me whining about my boring old blog header and up and created me a brand new beautiful one! Can you believe? Needless to say I am over the moon at this sweet, thoughtful gift. It's so fun and charming and the quote suits our little household to a tee. Thank you, Jamie!

Now here is something old, new again. A friend posted this on facebook this morning so I clicked the link and ended up watching the entire movie with Otto this morning. Two kids (like 18 year olds) completely recreated Toy Story scene-for-scene using actual toys. It's so fun and amazing and inspired and just awesome! Otto was completely impressed that a "kid" made a whole movie all by themself. So rad. So so rad.


Rob woke up around the halfway mark and joined us in watching. Our whole family was completely charmed.

Hope you are all having lazy, lovely Sundays. I am about to start cutting veggies for tonight's chicken noodle soup and gathering some napping babies (when they wake) for a walk to the grocery for this week's supplies. It's so crisp out today that your nose runs the second you open the door. But it's also bright and clear, not sopping wet like it often is around these parts, so we are determined to get out in it and catch some vitamin D.

1.10.2013

currently {link up} mark it with a bookmark


This week we are getting back into routines and celebrating an unglamorous life full of non-holidays... until Otto's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this weekend that is. I am sure that event will fill his head full of more hot air for a while. Oh boy! But really, he is coming back around from his super-spoiled winter holidays and has been spending much of his time in the evenings working on tracing letters and copying words and otherwise melting my heart with "important work" that reminds me how much he is just like I used to be. He continues to make bookmarks (see above) to mark his favorite page in every single book.

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super excited to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Missing sleep. Dear Loretta, bless her intense little heart, is having a hard time going back to sleep after each sleep cycle. So every 90 minutes or so, every evening, she's been waking up and tearing the house a new one. Since what she really wants is a little minute or two of nursing and snuggles, this means I am in high demand and as much as I love cuddling with that lady I also am looking forward to her moving along onto the next phase in baby sleep drama. May that phase please be the one where she sleeps for such long stretches that we can hardly believe our eyes!

Thinking about everything that is and was and needs to be and all of the things that need to be done and kind of freaking out about how much of everything there is! I saw this on Pinterest and it sums it up, including giving me some really good advice about how to deal with my overactive brain. Image via.


Except I would add to the word "create" other words like "parent, live, work, enjoy, calm down, watch Justified"

Considering how much I love meal planning and why I never thought of it before. You guys, I invented this genius thing called meal planning where you write down what you are going to make for dinner for the coming week, go grocery shopping just for the things you need ::hand smacks head:: and then make those things and have rad dinners and save money. Yes I invented it; you're welcome! We haven't ordered out once in 2 weeks. That is literally a world record. Look it up.

Moving things from boxes to the places they go. Yep, having lived in our house for 4 months now we decided it was finally time to start tackling "that room" that has all of our extra things like our photos for the walls. So as-of last weekend it finally looks like people live here with pictures up and everything. My next project is organizing my work/sewing station and making some upcycled sweater pants for Ms. Loretta using this pattern from my rad sponsor Adirondack Patterns (not a sponsored link, just a true story).

Playing the Scooby Doo version of jenga that Otto got for Christmas. I am absolutely terrible at it so it's probably important that I continue to play it enthusiastically and with a smile and practice both my hand/eye coordination and showing, by example, how to be a good sport when you LOSE EVERY TIME.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:
growing, making worrying, dancing, laughing

HK

1.09.2013

Wordless(ish) a lady day

Loretta and I had an unexpected "Lady Day" (and really just a Lady Morning) on Monday when her sitter came down with the flu. I loved our quiet morning and as I mentioned in a previous post, I thought we might even have an adventure, go to a thrift store, and cap it off with Starbucks. Instead, we ate a little breakfast, explored the living room (boy oh boy, yes, our wimpy fake tree is still up with all of its decorations put away, how sad), got down to business on some laundry, put a little clean laundry on Otto's bed (some of it even got put away in the drawer), and then Loretta took a long siesta. What a nice morning. By afternoon Rob was home from school so I went off to a late day at work where I locked myself in a scary parking lot at night! What a chump. I briefly considered climbing a chainlink fence and jumping some barbed wire to escape; thank goodness a coworker saved me before those desperate measures because that totally would have ended successfully... because I'm super agile and fit (lies).

1.07.2013

our own small, strange comedian

Pic taken at Otto's little birthday party at my parents' house that we had back when we were visiting Arizona. That is an Oreo Blizzard Dairy Queen ice cream cake right there. Words cannot... And this coming weekend we'll be having his blowout extravaganza at Chuck E. Cheese. Oh boy with the birthday parties. I will be very glad to get back to boring old calm around these parts. And to systematically unspoiling my child, ha!

At four years old, Otto's command of language impresses me every single day. Less and less are we even able to spell out the things we don't want him to hear because he can figure out what we're talking about just by context clues and his new-found ability to sound out words. ::horror face:: It's a scary territory to be entering, but it also brings daily joy because the things that come out of this child's mouth make me laugh so much.

This little conversation happened between Ottobot and myself yesterday morning:

Me: Hey Otto if I made some banana bread this morning would you eat any?

Otto: Cookies or nothing.

Me: Well that is crazy talk, sir! How about this? I will make banana bread because I know I will eat it and Loretta will eat it and you can have some too, if you change your mind.

Otto: I definitely will change my mind.

Ha, he drives a hard bargain. Also, he just makes me laugh. I love the person he is growing into and love watching him test the waters of sass and even downright faking us out. He will lie for sweets. This is a fact. He will straight up tell Rob, "Mommy told me I could have M&Ms for lunch." But he folds so funnily under pressure.

If Rob said, "Are you sure Mommy said that? If we go ask her, will she remember saying that?" Otto would smile this big goofy smile and admit that he made it up. What a grifter! Do all 4 year old spins yarns so shamelessly?

You may be wondering why I am writing this on a Monday morning when I should be hours into a workday. Well, it is an unexpected lady day with Loretta. Her sitter is sick and Otto and Rob are both at school. We are enjoying the peace, doing lady things, like tidying and thinking of taking a field trip to the thrift store and maybe Starbucks as we got a gift card recently. Hope your day is just as nice and peaceful. I think this is going to be a great week! Just a feeling. Hope yours is awesome as well!

1.03.2013

currently {link up} happy anniversaries

This week we are all about the anniversaries. Otto turned !!4!! on Tuesday ♥ Today, Rob and I are celebrating our !!15!! year wedding anniversary ♥ And then next Wednesday Loretta will be !!10!! months old ♥ Such a week of happy milestones.

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super excited to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Wishing for my same old wish and yet it never comes true. Sun (yeah, you, in the sky) why can't you please just extend the day by a couple of hours? 26 sounds about perfect. No? Whatever, fine. (jerk)

Thinking about the coming year and all of the great things it will bring. I think 2013 is going to be stellar.

Cooking just what I'm supposed to be cooking each night as per our new meal plan system that I mentioned in my previous post. What a relief it is to know you have all the ingredients for your meals of the week and know ahead of the last minute just what's for dinner! This week our meal plan went like this...

Sunday: homemade broccoli cheddar soup
Monday: baked potatoes topped with leftover soup
Tuesday: Otto turns 4! Out to dinner
Wednesday: taco night
Thursday: 15 year anniversary! Fiesta bowl and pasta at home
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: homemade vegetable pot pie

I made sure to mention the "homemade" stuff above because it's important to pat yourself on the back a little about these things! Even though most of my homemade stuff is more like half-homemade. Like for our pot pie I will use frozen pie crusts, but still!

Drinking peppermint tea and lots of soda pop. Our whole house caught this headcold thing that is going around and even though it's been a few weeks, I cannot seem to shake the raspy throat part of it. Peppermint tea is my old friend and always a favorite when I'm sick and then nothing sounds better when your throat is acting punk than a little fizzy soda! Coke Zero is my go-to.

Working on that true crime novel I was commissioned to copy edit as well as being back to my regular job as-of Wednesday (goodbye Christmas holidays, until we meet again). It's taking me longer than I'd anticipated to finish the book, but what an awesome project. I'm totally fascinated by the story and a little frustrated with myself and Miss Loretta because right around 9pm each evening she wakes up to nurse herself back to sleep and I can't seem to stay awake beyond that point. I love cuddling, but I am also a sucker for dozing off early so trying to stay up to edit the book has been a challenge. I expect to finish the editing tonight, though, so that I can send it off to the author tomorrow.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:
missing, thinking, considering, moving, playing

HK

1.01.2013

2013 I Look Forward to Owning You!

2013 is going to be the year to beat! I've decided. I've been wallowing in feeling overwhelmed long enough. Bye bye 2012, thanks for my awesome daughter, otherwise you were pretty much garbage. It's time to get a handle on this shiz. I've been reflecting a lot lately about all of the things that give me hives in life. Mind, body, soul, and wallet (uck uck spit blech money vom vom vom) have been a mess lately and I have a game plan to get all of them rounded up and whipped into shape. I'm really excited about all of this! This is all do-able! Here are the resolutions, I don't usually do them, so this year I am going for the gold by making several... feel free to make these same resolutions, they are good ones!

1. Get a planner. Use said planner. Be more organized. Hurray! I just got my cute little planner today at a calendar store for 50% off and I love it. It's slender, but has both full-month and weekly pages as well as areas for lists and notes. I'm using one of the bookmarks Otto made me to keep the current week marked. Rob was like, "Google Calendar, hello?" but I am the kind of girl who needs to make lists, cross things off, and write things down with a pen. My "planner" for the past year consisted of notes written to myself on old receipts, in sharpie, wadded up in the bottom of my purse. This year, I'm all fancy!

2. Meal planning. This sounds minor but it's actually major. This week has been our first of meal planning and I already feel relief, knowing what we'll have for dinner every night of the week and not worrying about what pathetic sham of a meal I'm going to scrounge up at the last minute with whatever's around the house. Yesterday I made broccoli cheddar soup from scratch and we had that with a loaf of multigrain bread from Eugene City Bakery (yum!). Tonight we had the leftover soup on baked potatoes. Meal planning is going swimmingly! And I think we'll probably save some good money this way too, because it's been a bit of a pizza delivery extravaganza around these parts lately. My meal planning will take place on Saturdays for the following Sun-Sat week and I'll make a grocery list of whatever we need for the meals. I'm hoping to try out some new recipes too! And then we'll shop on Saturday or Sunday for all the ingredients and shaBAM! we will rock dinners in 2013!

3. Rock my body. In my case, this means getting those last fifteen or so (cough, cough) pounds of baby weight shed but more importantly it means getting fit. I am using the "Lose It!" app as of yesterday and I already really love it. I'm also going to get more exercise. I want to feel great about how I feel and lately I've felt super sludgy. So on top of simply losing the weight, I am going to exercise for at least 20 minutes 3 days per week and completely cut out quite a few types of food that I've been indulging in lately... namely red meat, fried things, and sweets.

4. Nothing new. This is a change I made back in 2011 that I stuck to for almost 6 months and it made quite an impact on our bank account and our attitude towards buying things. The rules are pretty easy: don't buy anything new, but used is fine. See? With the exception of obvious stuff like food, toiletries, and if anyone needs underwear or whatever. This resolution was such a challenge but I absolutely loved it before and I'm hoping to love it again. It forces you to search hard for the things you need and to not make impulse buys that are a waste of your money anyways (like stickers, why can't I resist buying Otto stickers???). We'll see how it goes. I'm crazy stoked about it. I'll be using my sweet planner to make thrift store scavenger hunt lists. So that's neat!

5. Consolidate debt. It's hard to write anything about this that sounds interesting so I won't try. But just to say that if you have a bunch of credit card debt you should consider getting a single loan with better interest, paying all the cards down, and then cutting them up. We are doing this and basically saving hundreds a month plus paying our debt down faster. Win/Win! Credit cards are rubbish. Such a slippery slope. My amazing dad helped us out more than I can say in getting this together and I'm super excited to be debt free by 2015!

So what are your resolutions? I'm on a resolution bender! Whoohoo for taking charge of shiz and owning 2013!

ps. Today is Otto's 4th birthday! Exactly four years ago today my life got 10,000x better than I could have ever imagined. I'm so excited to try to trick him into going out for sushi with us today for a mini birthday dinner. I'll share pics soon from his AZ family birthday party last week and upcoming Chuck E Cheese party in a couple of weeks. Egad we are doing the Chuck E Cheese thing, yes we are.

Happy New Year!