Word vomit.

Long time, no bloggage.  No reason for the small hiatius, other than I can't get my thoughts together.  Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.  I will give you a quick run down of what has taken place here in The Land and maybe some other stuff.  Come join the ride and see where this post takes us.  I'm sure it will end about where we started.  But hey, it's about the journey right? Or not...

Anyway, the kids and I traveled to Ohio for a surprise birthday party for my Aunt Bridgit.  She was completely surprised.  It was a quick trip, but it was wonderful to see my family.  The years really do pass quickly.

We have purchased the curricula that we plan to use next year.  I have started getting it organized...ish, and laminating for preservation.  Hopefully, we have chosen material that will last us for all of our kids.  Of course we will reevaluate this time next year.   I can't wait for the school year to be over.  Here in northern New York the last day of school is June 27th.  So a little less than 3 months of driving around everyday.  It isn't a whole lot of driving, but loading and unloading all of the kids for the past for the past 7 months is starting to take its toll.  The pregnancy isn't helping.  I loved all the snow and canceled school just because I didn't have to go anywhere.  Now, we will see how this translates next year. I'm an extrovert so once the exhaustion from running around has worn off I may find myself itching to leave the home.

Chris and I are trying to make some spring/summer plans for this year.  We want to go to West Virginia and New Jersey to visit our grandmothers and extended family.  Also, in July there is a family reunion in Illinois.  We want to do it all and we hope we can.  Funds and the Army are always key players in everything we do.

Chris was not able to complete his flight packet for the May board.  His medical wasn't back yet and he is still waiting on a letter of recommendation.  We are hopeful that it will be completed for the July board.

I had tests done to see if I had gestational diabetes.  I don't.  They think it is glucose intolerance.  I was pretty sure I didn't have it.  I still have to take the test again at 28 weeks.  So yeah...

Speaking of weeks of pregnancy.  I am having the hardest time knowing how far along I am...like, I can't tell you with any type of certainty where I'm in this pregnancy.  Maybe 16 or 17 weeks.  But really I could be way off.  I know I'm in my second trimester, but that's it.  I guess I could download one of those apps to help me keep up with it...

Also, I am still on the fence about finding out the sex of the babe.  I love the speculation of it all.  For a while I have thought it was a boy.  No reason just did, but over the past couple of weeks I'm thinking differently.  Though all of my pregnancies are relatively the same there are some differences and this one is more like Amelia's.  I have no desire to look at girl names.  I did the same thing with Simon, only I had no desire to look at boy names when I was pregnant with him.  So, now I'm not sure what I think.  At the moment, I'm on the fence leaning to finding out because I am not sure I want to wait another 20 weeks.  Plus a few friends said they thought it would be fun to have a gender reveal party.  How I would go about that? I don't know.  Pinterest I guess :).  But I'm just leaning that way right now...we will see which way I lean tomorrow.  Go ahead tell you me your stories.  Especially if you have experienced both finding out and not finding out.

So, until other day dear friends!

Happy New Year: 10...11 days late.

Oh my goodness, it is 2014!  How did we get here?  I went nearly two months since my last post.  Nothing new around here.  We all know my posts come in waves.  But I am feeling the need to blog.  It's cathartic.

In general, nothing new has been going around these parts.  And since my entire blog audience is Facebook family and friends I'm sure you have an idea of what has been going down here in the Land of Lockhart.  I'll provide a small list of highlights anyway.

Here we go, 2013 round up:

• We went to NC for Thanksgiving.
• Simon and Duncan were baptized. 
• Simon is officially a walker.
• Disney on Ice.
• Caught a cold
• We survived an ice storm.
• Christmas was wonderful and over too quickly as it is every year.
•  2014 arrived.

Really there are some wonderful detail that happened the last month and a half of 2013, but really I can't remember now that I'm trying to document them. Sorry.

But here we are 2014, a year of possibilities. The past several years I always have this overly optimistic idea that "this year is going to be 'Our year'".  You know that life altering year that will put us exactly where we are meant to be.  The year that is going to make every other crap-tastic year worth it.  I don't have that feeling this year, and it is probably for the better.  I am sure we are where we are suppose to be, all the crap and all the joys included.

I like New Year's though.  I like the idea of starting fresh.  I recently discovered people like to chose a word of the year as opposed to a resolution.  That idea is appealing to me.  Some of the blogs I follow have chosen a word and how that word will inspire them to make changes over the next 12 months. 

For me there are so many things I wish I wasn't and or was.  I sometimes wish I was someone else.  There are lots of things that I desperately want to change about myself.  (And to be completely honest, it's to the point of sinfulness.  I'm sure I am disregarding gifts that God has given me.)  I think choosing a word is a broader approach to the new year than a list of resolutions.  With resolutions I am likely to become extremely self-deprecating. So after several weeks of thinking and praying, my word is:

Purge.

The most obvious thing is ridding my life of stuff.  YES, that will be taking place over the 12 months.  In the shower on Christmas I was hit over the head by the Holy Spirit.  Seriously, I have never experience anything like that.  It had to be Divine. I was completely overwhelmed with what I must sacrifice for Lent.  I know we had JUST finished Advent, but I was being told anyway.  Over the 40 days of lent I will be removing 10 things from my home every day.  I will not buy anything.  I will keep my grocery shopping to a minimum, but that is all I will buy.  Every Saturday I will take my 60 items to the Salvation Army or give them to someone who wants or needs them.  I have hoarder tendencies...seriously.  This is going to be very, VERY hard.  I am sure that shower was my first hint as to what my word for this year should be.  Even though I didn't even know I was going to be choosing a word.

But I have other things too purge as well.  I'm obsessive. I have got to let things go and let them just be.  I have lots of mental baggage that I need to get rid of so that I can be a more authentic version of myself.  I am sure frequenting the confessional more than my yearly obligation is necessary.  Purging sin is probably a good start.  Comparisons, doubt, and ideas of what I should be need to go.  So I have the ability to embrace my talents and gifts, so I can be the woman that God created me to be.  I can't do this alone.  I have to ask for God's graces, and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit wouldn't hurt either...along with the Blessed Mother and the saints interceding on my behalf. 

To tell you guys the truth, I am not thrilled with the word, but I do think this word was given to me.  And in 12 months I hope that my life is lighter and more simplistic because of it.  I am sure that 2014 is going to be crap-tastic like every other year, because life is full of crap y'all.  But that is ok.  I can accept the crap I'm given, let it go, and let God do the rest.

Here are a few pictures for the end of the year.

Simon's baptizim on Dec 1st

Trying to get a Christmas picture.

All five cousins and Muma!

Making Santa cookies.

After Mass on Christmas Eve.

Opening gifts.  Notice the Happy Birthday sign!?!

Still opening.

Still CrossFitting

Holy moly...or is it moley...We all know grammar, from punctuation to spelling, there is lots of grey area.  Well here on my blog there is anyway.  So back to the "holy moly" (I'm going with moly), it has been twenty days since my last post!  I had not intended to go that long without updating my tens of readers about all the blessings and woes of my life.  Shame on me and the month of August.

For real peeps, August has been cray (May was too)!  4 birthday parties, Vaction Bible School, dentist appointments, playdates, yard sales, Pre-K open house, well baby check ups, speech, soccer sign up, and Crossfit are just a few things we have going on around here.  I'm not complaining.  We're just busy.

Crossfit has definitely had the largest impact on my days.  I went from doing nothing in terms of exercise to working out five days a week.  Change is happening.  After six weeks of training I have lost 13.5 inches over my body.  And I haven't changed my diet...yet, maybe. And I haven't lost any weight, but the inches are gone and I can tell I am getting stronger.  So for now I am going to keep at it and TRY to keep my belly aching to a minimum.

But I need to tell you this first.  I was limping around trying to get ready to take Owen to school then head to Gracey's for Crossfit, and I was telling Chris how sore I was from yesterday's workout.  The I proceeded to say, "I hope we don't run today...or jump rope...or squats".  He chuckled and said, "what do you think you are going to do sit around and eat cookies?"

Duh!

For real, that is my type of workout.  Anyway, it doesn't seem as funny when I read it, but he made me laugh and totally showed me how whiny I was being...even if that wasn't his intention.

Gracey is having little competition within the gym.  We are going strict 30 day real food diet plan.  Basically I can eat meat, veggies, nuts, I think eggs, I'm not sure about fruit, and healthy oils like coconut oil.  Yea, it's going to suck. Sorry, no complaining.  Ok, the first week will, but I'm optimistic that it will get easier just like working out did.  I'm am completely addicted to sugar! Since there is zero sugar (or sweeteners of any kind) in the 30 day challenge, I am hoping to get a hold on this addiction.

I am looking forward to the outcome.  I'm just not looking forward to the hard work...mainly because it's hard.

Anywho, I will leave you with the silly e-card that made me chuckle.  And I will try not to stay away quite so long next time.  Tootles!