2012 Year in Review

In a lot if ways, 2012 was a year if anticipation. We began the year by sharing the exciting news that we were expecting.

Very shortly after we announced our pregnancy to family and friends, PJ and I started a working on what would eventually result in our appearance on Craft Wars. Over the winter, we taped videos and submitted and edited and submitted more. I was fascinated by the process, such a long secretive process, but I couldn't tell anybody!

Speaking of secrets, and also in February, I threw a mustache themed surprise party for PJ's 40th birthday.

By March we knew that Joshua was going to be a boy. I planned a bee themed gender reveal as part if our regular family Easter dinner. We even hid the news as part if the Easter egg hunt.

By March we also knew that we had been selected to film Craft Wars, but we were not allowed to reveal that information to anyone. In fact, by Easter (when we revealed Joshua's gender and name) we had already flown to LA, competed in the show and WON.... But we couldn't tell anyone!

By the spring, I was busy planning for my maternity leave (writing 9 weeks of sub plans for 4 classes is NO FUN) and attending some extra doctors visits to prevent a premature labor like I had with Lydia. (At this point I was taking weekly hormone injections, yuck!) meanwhile, PJ was hard at work on a playhouse for Lydia, since we did NOT get to keep the one we built in Craft Wars....Of course I couldn't share pictures of either playhouse because we still weren't able to talk about being on the show or how we did or what we made! I could talk about the tree that fell and narrowly missed our house.

The school year ended and the summer began with swim classes and a trip to the beach. Before I knew it, the end if June brought The Lydia's actual birthday on a Monday, Craft Wars aired on Tuesday, I finished projects and filmed my vintage circus nursery for a DIY decorating contest on Friday, we hosted Lydia's party on Saturday,...... With all that going on is anyone REALLY surprised that I went into pre-term labor a few days later?!?

Joshua decided that the Fourth of July was so exciting, he didn't want to miss it. It was so exciting that he didn't bother to turn head down! His excitement was met with a c-section and a visit to the NICU. Thankfully we both recovered quickly from the ordeal.

The next four months were a blur of maternity leave and baptisms and family and school starting, but not for me! Thanks to our Craft Wars win I was able to stay home until early November, which means that the last two months of 2012 were a blur of catching up after three months of being gone.... All while sleep deprived and over stressed!

I hope that working and caring for two kids and nursing and pumping and crafting will at some point settle into a routine that makes it all manageable. For now I am constantly reminded that things are going to be harder while I am sleep deprived and feeling over stressed. Thankfully I have this blog to look back at the last year, but also at life five years ago, when I was excited and exhausted with Lydia as a baby and i know that it will be all right. Here's to looking to the past with an eye toward tomorrow!