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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Best Of Me and ILYMTC :: A Look Back at 2012 And Happy 4 Years ILYMTC!

At the close of each year, I like to take a few minutes and go back through some of my favorite posts. And some of your favorites, too. For all of the new "loyals" out there, this is a great way to get to know me just a little bit better. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy!

2012 started out with a bang. 

In January, we found out "M2" was a boy and I opened up about how different it was being pregnant while chasing aroundThe Crazy Toddler Wildebeest. Second pregnancies are no joke and I longed for the 3-hour midday naps I had grown accustomed to while pregnant with my first.

In February I wrote a little bit about how I hardly everhave it all together  and shared with you some of the most insane dreams I’d been having thanks to pregnancy hormones. I mean, dreaming your husband and your brother in abattle to the death a la Hunger Games-style? Only in my dreams, of course. 

At 22 weeks pregnant, I talked a little bit about dressing the bump and shortly thereafter, hopped on a plane and left my Toddler overnight for the very first time. I flew down to Nashville where I attended my very first blog conference, Blissdom, and got to squeeze the necks of some of my favorite Internet friends

Upon arriving home I wrote all about my goal to find balancebetween family and this blog. This is something I continue to struggle with on an almost daily basis but it serves as a constant reminder that my children won't be this little forever.

In March I came to the realization that I couldn't convinceThe Husband to go along with the name that I had fallen in love with for “M2” despite doing the ugly cry on multiple occasions. Little did I know just a couple of months later he would come to his senses and we would end up choosing “Maclane.” We couldn't have chosen a more perfect name for the littlest M boy although I did jump the gun and order a pottery barn chair cover with the original spelling I had chosen around Week 20. Anyone have a "McLane" out there? Anyone?

In April I had my first official pre-M2 freakout over getting everything accomplished on the “Before Baby To-Do list” and wrote about that strange feeling of tinybaby hands in my hoo-ha. We closed out the month transitioning Carter to a Big Boy Bed and we couldn't have been more proud of him. Oh and I also read the Fifty Shades trilogy. You can read my review here. Thankfully I was already pregnant at the time because if I wasn't? I surely would have had a "Fifty Shades Baby."

In May I wrote a post about the “10 Things I Wanted forMother’s Day” and received a few of the meanest comments in the history of ILYMTC. I responded to them gracefully here in one of my most popular posts this year, “ItDoes Not Make Me Less of A Mother.” 

At the persistent prodding of a few of you, I finally put my thoughts down on “paper” regarding sex while pregnant and  the infamous Six Week Wait. I compared sex to being a National Geographic Expose and I was so happy to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings on the subject. 

June was just the best month ever as we welcomed Maclane on the 18th. Prior to that day, I shared with you all his name and a post I had written dedicated to New Moms. With an impending repeat C-section scheduled, I shared my Birth Plan which so many of you found helpful.

On the night before he was born, I published the letter wehad written to Maclane. In that post you’ll also find the letter we wrote to Carter the night before he was born. Be sure to have your tissues close by as it outlines the hopes, prayers and wishes that we, as their parents, have for each of them.

In this post, I share Maclane’s birth story and talked a bit about how I felt putting Carter to bed for the last night as an only child. Without missing a beat I quickly jumped into my new role as a Mom to two sweet boys and I swear my heart grew ten sizes in those first few days as I watchedCarter embrace his new role as big brother, starting with lessons on gentle hands. 

In between mothering and trying not to lose my New Mom of Two shit, I jumped on my high horse and wrote a bit about The Nature Of Blogging. Someone had to do it and as one of the "older" bloggers out there, I kind of felt all "Mom" about it.

In July I shared some of my Newborn Necessities and OtherMust-Haves, a post that has been pinned hundreds of times and continues to be one of the most popular posts shared.  In my constant effort to always Keep It Real I wrote this post, "I Do Not Have It All Together" and this post "Longest Day Of My Life." 

August came and I wrote about how motherhood often felt like one long celebration of life’s littlest victories and dug a little bit deeper into what it felt like to be a mom of two

In quite possibly one of my most honest and enlightening posts this year, I wrote about how, while sitting on the floor of Maclane’s nursery folding tiny little onesies, I broke down in tears and realized I wasn't donehaving babies

September? Well, that month started out rough. In one of the first posts written, I talked about how being a parent, for lack of betterwording, is fucking hard. Shortly after that post was written, I wrote another one about the time Iwanted to crawl into a hole and die. I can’t help but laugh out loud each time I read that post.

I wrote this post about a dream I had that was much more a nightmare than anything else. To this day I still have vivid recollections of it and it continues to rock me to my core. I guess it ended a bit rough too, considering that was one of the last posts I wrote that month. Worry only intensifies as a mother. Noted.

October began much better and held some of the most read, most loved and most vulnerable posts I've ever written. It was this month that I linked up with The Nester for her 31 Days series. I chose to write about Motherhood. You can read most of my posts here but it’s worth noting that my favorites that month were this post where I wroteabout having to be reminded that this life was exactly what I've prayed for  and this post about the things I wish someone had told me before becoming a mother.

Oh and I also wrote about Mothering Boys. You can read that one here.

I closed out the month blogging about blogging and judgment. I really hate blogging about... well... blogging but there were a few things Ineeded to get off my chest.

In November I shared a few of the things I learned from myboys which kicked off a week of guest posts as The M Family boarded our very first flight together, clear across the country, I might add. You got to sneak a peek into my Type-A personality with this post as I shared my  love for organization and packed the boys’ clothes in individual ziplock baggies by outfit. 

Upon arriving home I quickly made sure to jot down the lessons I had learned from traveling with my children. Lessons like “Traveling with kids isn't a "vacation." It is merely taking your children somewhere other than your house for a predetermined amount of time, doing the exact same things you do at home, but with much less arsenal and more than likely, much less sleep than normal.

And December. Oh, December. It is this month that I celebrate my 4th anniversary writing behind I Love You More Than Carrots. The exact anniversary, if you're so curious, is tomorrow December 13th. I'm hoping to surprise you all with a little video and a lot of thanks but as I'm sure you know, plans here don't always go as, well, planned. 

I can't believe I've been consistently writing here without taking hardly a breath for four years. I can't believe you're still reading. This month has been a good one so far- despite the death of the toddler nap and my sudden realization that I'm going to die tired. What a year it has been.

Thank you for reading. For following along. For your emails, your comments, your status updates. Thank you for laughing with me and crying with me. For telling me I’m not alone and I’m not royally screwing up my kids for the rest of their adult lives.

What a year. I cannot wait to see what 2013 brings. 

11 comments:

  1. So beyond INLOVE with this post!! What a GREAT thing to do. You are like my blogging mentor! I just love me some AP!

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  2. LOVE that you linked to all of these. I am going to have fun going back through some of my favorites, and discovering posts I haven't read before! This is a great idea to look back and reflect. I might have to steal this idea :-)

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  3. Loved you from the VERY START! I can't believe we've been 'friends' for 4 years! Time flies!!! Love you still now!!!!!!

    xoxoxoxo

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  4. I LOVE your blog! Seriously, your blog is a bloggy "role model." I like your style of writing, too. Thanks for introducing me to some of these posts. I've pinned Newborn Necessities for (hopefully) the near future! I used to live in MD and wonder if we ever crossed paths?

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  5. I'm so happy for you - your blog has grown and grown, and it's like you're at the top of the blogger world. There are so many women that accompany you - so much I've learned from them - and hopefully I'll get off my ass and get GVK up and running again .. but you are nothing short of inspiring. What a great year!

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  6. Even though I'm a fairly new reader, I have really been enjoying getting to "know" you. I like to follow bloggers who have two boys since I do too. I feel like I can relate more to boy mamas.

    I just celebrated my 6th blogging anniversary and I can't believe I've been at it this long. Here's to another year of me reading your blog :)

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  7. I am a new follower and found you through the 31 day Nester challenge. I enjoyed reading (with a tissue more than once!) the highlights of the past year! Thanks for your posts...they never fail to put a smile on my face to see the upside of motherhood! :)

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  8. i love your end of the year re-caps. i can't believe some of the things i missed- some of those were new posts to me!! thank you for being so open and honest and for sharing your life, your family with us.

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  9. Love your little trip down memory lane and I can't wait to "squeeze your neck" once again in March!

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  10. What a great recap! I can't wait to go back and read them all!! Happy four years :)

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  11. I'm a fairly new reader and Ioved reading back through these posts. You're adorable! And congrats on 4 years blogging!

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Thank you for reading ILYMTC. If you have any questions about a post or want to get in touch with me (or any of the cast of characters here at ILYMTC) email me at iloveyoumorethancarrots(at)gmail(dot)com.