27 - A Year to Love

{written on January 30, but posted a day late. You know, 'cause I got sleepy.}

{it's what we do on sick days -- teach the toddler all-important selfies. he now knows "cheese."}

{and then sleep and snuggle. With Sesame Street on for the littlest.}

Here I sit in the closing hours of my 27th birthday with a cat wearing a cone by my side and some hot vegetable soup in my belly. Today was not exactly the most celebratory of birthdays as our household has been hit by a stomach bug, one which started late Monday night and I thought I had narrowly escaped. But alas no; last night it got me. So today was a day of rest, tv, and a doctor's appointment to make sure all was well with baby (it is!).

I wasn't going to post anything until I remembered my resolution to just write. Today may not have been picture perfect or held anything worth Instagraming, but that didn't make it trash. In fact, when I really sat down to think about it, I got to spend it just the way I desired: with my two boys. I got extra cuddles from both, since none of us are feeling stellar, and was even taken care of by the eldest. I had numerous notes from friends sending warm wishes, and each and every one meant something to my heart. It was relaxing and full of love and completely unpretentious. It was a good day.

And that's what I'd like to focus on in my 28th year- attention to those who matter to me. Sending surprise notes in the mail, calling when I would otherwise text, picking face-to-face interactions over social media, and just generally taking the time to be there. It always amazes me how those little things truly mean the most. So this year I'm going to try my best to be that friend and give one of the sweetest and costliest gifts I have- my love.

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Ring in the Reflections and Renewal

2:00 a.m. last night found me changing a screaming baby out of soaking clothes. (If there's one thing that Dex hates in life, it's getting his midnight snack delayed.) As I stood there, trying to wrestle him dry, having long ago given up on the pacifier that was doing nothing but adding time to the experience, I realized that the city was alive with drunk strangers celebrating a fresh start. Visions of confetti flying, girls in golds and silvers and guys in 2013 top hats filled my head. The world alive in phases full of dancing, kissing, cheering, and merriment. Luckily jealousy was nowhere to be found, as the desire for sleep and a soothed baby topped all. "Happy new year, sweet boy," I whispered as he finally nestled against me.

What an amazing year to be ending, and an even more exciting one up ahead. While I have resolved not to make any resolutions, because making them seems to make them that much less likely to stay put, I do see each year as a fresh start. After the coziness of the holidays and the gathering of stuff, the new year brings a time to cleanse and purge. Organize. Clean. Appreciate. It brings a sense of knowing what you have, seeing what you can accomplish, and hands out new energy to get there.

Today I will look excitedly at the possibilities this year brings. I will try to organize my life and plans, getting what I can lined up to feel my future appropriately controlled. I think there is peace in having things scheduled- the mani/pedi marked down for tomorrow, our flight times and confirmation scratched in, and all the bills for the upcoming months flagged. This control allows opportunities for more spontaneity. It ushers me forward to enjoy the days, rather than worry that I'm forgetting a tidbit that will bite me later. 

With this planning though I will also reflect. I will look at the year that brought me here. The year that was good down to the core. While our blog has quite a few events missing (such is life as a bad blogger), it does manage to show some important moments. If you're new, I hope you get to know us a bit better. If you're a follower, thank you so much for journeying with us. 

Without further ado, here's a rundown of our 2012. 

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JANUARY

Alas, no blog posts. My mom, Tegan, and I drove cross-country from Baltimore to Austin to enjoy a bit more time together sans baby. Thoughts of boy nurseries swirled in my head. And I ended the month off celebrating my first quarter century with a fantastic group of friends at the Clay Pit. 

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FEBRUARY

I made some resolutions for my 25th year. (I kind of dread actually going back through those...) And we shared our first sewing project: the super easy DIY dog bed. 

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MARCH

The third trimester marked my first posts on pregnancy, here and here. It also included my last solo trip to Baltimore for our wonderful baby shower. Peyton kept himself from missing me too much by beginning work on the nursery, but that is a post that is yet to be posted. A llllong time coming, I know. 

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APRIL

To usher in a new season and new life, we did a quick house update by freshening up the front door. The back bedroom was in a state of renewal as well with paint all over, new furniture, and fun finds. Instead of posting these updates, I decided to procrastinate and enjoy life as a pregnant chica, which included seeing friends at another great shower for our little man.

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MAY

Well, we had a baby, five short days after squeezing in my maternity photos and praying that my mom would make it in time. She did, and on May 11th at 9:27am we all welcomed sweet Declan into the world. What an amazing, amazing time those next few weeks were, and while filled with loads of happiness and pictures, they were also bittersweet. Overall I learned to always try and soak in the '"now". 

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JUNE

As can be imagined, our main focus was sweet boy, but we also managed to enjoy our first family trip and begin the weekly photo project.

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JULY

Baltimore. Athens. Baltimore. Yay, yay, yay! Declan got to meet lots and lots of friends and add two new states to his already growing list of travels. He transitioned out of his stretching/grunting baby phase to adding smiles and little "heh heh" laughs. 

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AUGUST

It hit me that I have now become old while far too young, Declan slept through the night for the first time (that would have been nice last night...), and we filled our month with baby love and relaxation.

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SEPTEMBER

Declan turned four months and added laughing to his growing list of achievements. Peyton showed off his woodworking skills with a beautiful handmade gift for D. And my money spending desires were quashed by well thought up husband tactics. 

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OCTOBER

Austin City Limits came and went, Peyton added another year to his life resume, and we actually posted TWO things (one and two) for the pinterest challenge! The whole month ended by celebrating Declan's first halloween with fantastic family coordinated costumes.

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NOVEMBER

America had that little thing called an election, and even though we voted early, I still got caught up in the day. Declan got his first two teeth, ate his first food, and then six weeks of travel began along with an unplanned blogging hiatus. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Bristol where Declan was loved on lots by his Nana and Papaw and then we were lucky enough to help with the gorgeous wedding of Preeti and Brian.

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DECEMBER

Baltimore and Bristol. Sickness and sleep. Present buying and wrapping. Declan's first Christmas! There was snow before and after the day itself, a wonderfully crisp walk in the park day of, and lots of game playing all around. Declan enjoyed the month by mastering circles and backward scooting and is currently testing his legs by jumping fiercely. 

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WHEW!! And that is why you want the new year to be a fresh start. Looking back at the year before is exhausting stuff (if you even made it this far!).  How lucky we are though to be able to say it was ours. 

What are your thoughts on New Year? Are you a reflector, purger, resolution maker? Or do you think it's all silly and arbitrary? I'd love to see any recaps you have of 2012, or hear any 2013 plans!

And in the wise words of Jimmy, "Have a very fruitful (365) day(s)!"

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Should I Sty Or Should I Go (Clean the House?)

Way back in the days before I was a mama bear I wrote these new year's resolutions. It might seem to those twenty people who glanced at them that I've forgotten and put them aside, but that is simply not the case. I have remembered them every day that I fail to live up to their incredibly high standards. Next year is simple- eat breakfast and love on Declan. Done and done.

In truth, I have given some attempts at following through. I've walked more, sent some birthday cards full of x's and o's, and blogged lots of pictures. I'd forgotten about a few, such as work on our landscape and join a CSA, but luckily enough hit those nails on the head this morning when we picked up our first veggie box and later raised the backyard from an F to a D-. So not so bad I'd say. It's good to still have goals, right? Keeps life interesting.

The resolution that I have really focused on is keeping the house clean. Since many people do this automatically, I thought that it was time I give it a go. Let's start by clarifying: Peyton, no comments allowed, for obvious reasons. Apparently men have ridiculously high standards of clean, like more than one room at a time be orderly or have folded laundry. As I said, ridiculous.

So anyway, you fine folks, I think I'm getting this cleaning thing down. I've realized that keeping the house orderly ties in with my happiness and productivity, which then keeps it more orderly. Viscious cycle. So in my research on how to obtain this dream while keeping sane, I came upon six techniques that really help.

1. Make the bed. Here's a two-minute strategy that pays back ten-fold. Seeing it neatly made makes me want to tidy the rest of the room, which leads me to return the dirty glass to the dishwasher, put in some laundry, you name it. Plus it keeps me from lying down in bed, because who likes to make a bed twice in one day??

2. Always leave the room with one item. Anytime you leave a room, take an item with you. Obviously this only works if you are going to the room where it goes, so don't just grab any item for any room. It is mind blowing to me how lazy I am about carrying a plate in to the kitchen. Yet clearly, once I've accomplished such a feat I deserve some cookies. Some extra motivation never hurts.

3. dishes.laundry.bath.bed.living. I stumbled upon this lovely "Chaos Control Cycle" via 4SmartyPants and decided to give it a whirl. While I still haven't made it to bath yet, the bed is luckily done because of #1 and the living is often tidier due to #2. (Clearly, it would be wise to use the bathroom before coming over here.) The idea is that when you are starting to clean, begin with making sure dishes are in the dishwasher, the sink is empty, and counters are wiped down. Once accomplished, pop in a load of laundry, followed up by quickly cleaning items in the bath, bed, and living rooms. If at any point you are sidetracked, start at dishes and you will find where you left off. For me, it just breaks it into manageable chunks instead of a whole overwhelming mess of things to do. And it also makes me feel accomplished when I get even one done since I know it's something off my list.

4. Vacuum. Ok, grossness alert- I'm not great at dealing with dog fur. Poor Peyton dislikes fur so much that he has not only owned dobermans for this reason (among others), but has chosen the particular type that goes bald. Enter Tegan, a ninety pound mass of fur with four seperate coats; my sweet shepherd that I neglect in the grooming area a tad and only brush every few months. (Was going to add to resolutions, but honestly? Not going to happen.) So you can only imagine the fur buildup that occurs. I still have some improvement in this area. I'm thinking our spiffy new vacuum will help since it won't sound like a cat in heat, but that's putting a lot of pressure on the poor thing. When the house is vacuumed, it inevitably looks better and more put together.

5. Wash windows. It amazes me every, single time how much clean windows improve a room. It's a bit embarrasing how dirty they can get before I even notice they need cleaning, but I give myself a pat on the back every time that I do. Because yowzers. A little alcohol-vinegar water and a good scrub is all I need to take a room from musty hole to show house appeal.

6. Just do it. There are always quite a few little projects in each room that are waiting to be done, from paying the bills to posting on craigslist to popping dishes in the dishwasher to hanging up a mobile. I've found that as long as I'm not doing something important, if I come across a task that is under five minutes in length, I should suck it up and act. I get a quick accomplishment fix while tidying up a space. More productivity ensues, and voila, little Martha Stewart over here.

So there you have it. Six little tricks that I've found really help me succeed in keeping this house slightly above pigsty status. All starts with a made bed people. And a sound night of sleep. I would love to hear some of yours if you have any! Any help is major over here. :)

My bed's a-callin'. Good night!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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New Years Resolutions... Come a Bit Late

Happy Valentine's Day and New Year everyone! Time has just been flying by. Since my last post I wrapped up my undergraduate career, found out that our May addition is much more on the Pey- side of Peytina, driven halfway across the country twice (complete with two break-downs and three tows), celebrated Christmas, New Years, my big two-five, and the day of love, and adjusted to a life sans school. I have jumped into yoga in hopeful preparation for the (fingers crossed!) greatest and most painful day of my life, started decorating a room for a person I have yet to meet, sewed my first solo project, and tried to incorporate daily walks with the Mister into our schedules. There have been yummy meals, fun projects, and let's face it, a few naps and good shows in between.

So maybe it hasn't been all that busy since I parked my car here on January 10th, but it has been a change. And hitting twenty-five while feeling a little nugget kicking away inside me made me realize that I am halfway through my twenties, becoming a mother, and in turn, a full-fledged adult. Changes are a-comin', so I better learn to flow! To feel in control of this changing year I wrote some New Year's resolutions... A month late... And then waited to post them for another two weeks. But I've decided that putting them down here will help them stick, or at least give me a laugh a few years from now when I look back. So here we go:

Resolutions for My 25th Year

1. Organize the house. I have the time and the reason (hello ten-year-old boxes in closets that must house baby gear) and the hit-or-miss motivation. I am going to soldier through and use this nesting instinct for good instead of bank account destruction.

2. Keep house clean. Umm, so is that a gross one to even have to put on here?? Let's not answer that and just realize that it is a good and positive thing that I even care! Just like a recovery program- step one is admitting the problem. I figure that I had better start good habits now before the little guy is crawling all around. So next up in my procrastination on this is finding a good schedule and method to try and then blogging about how I will start it. That should cover me for at least another two weeks...

3. Walk with Peyton at least four times a week. We both need and love this quality bonding time. I try to forget that it's 50/50 that twenty minutes in we touch on some combative issue where I want to hit him with the bag of poop. Instead I keep the walks where endorphins are flowing and birds are chirping and Tegan isn't pulling hard in mind. And remember that it's good for the heart.

4. Take more pictures. Thanks to my wonderful graduation gift from my parents (THANK YOU!) this will be sure to happen. More on that soon.

5. Blog these pictures. Not only will this document the moments that I'm hoping to keep, it also will make me actually take the pictures off of my memory card and go through them, an exercise that currently occurs with the changing of the seasons. And Austin is known for its lack of seasons...

6. Be better about friend's birthdays. Because I want each and every one to know that they are special and loved.

7. Join a CSA or plant a garden. It's like a thorn in my side that I still haven't done either. Buying local produce is so much better for the environment and our health, and the CSA gives local, fresh goods that make you think outside the box on what's for dinner. I feel up to that challenge.

8. Don't just pin... DO! I am committing to doing two projects and two recipes per month from Pinterest to start to balance out (very marginally, I realize) the amount of time I spend looking at these wonderful ideas versus actual physical labor. (Oooh boy, I need to avoid that word from now on. Out of site, out of mind!)

9. Stick to a budget. Period.

10. Improve landscape. How? I do not know. But simply put, it needs to be done like Cundiff needed to make that field goal. That miss was too much on my heart, and looking at this landscape much longer might just put me over the edge.

So there we have it. The ten goals I have to work on while growing, popping out, and sustaining a baby. Goals that will hopefully make me feel relaxed, in control, and able to enjoy each day fully. Or at least make the house a bit more presentable to put on the show that I feel that way... But let's hope it's the former. ;) Anyone else make any resolutions this year??

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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