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.
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.
So beyond INLOVE with this post!! What a GREAT thing to do. You are like my blogging mentor! I just love me some AP!
ReplyDeleteLOVE 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 :-)
ReplyDeleteLoved you from the VERY START! I can't believe we've been 'friends' for 4 years! Time flies!!! Love you still now!!!!!!
ReplyDeletexoxoxoxo
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?
ReplyDeleteI'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!
ReplyDeleteEven 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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 :)
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! :)
ReplyDeletei 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.
ReplyDeleteLove your little trip down memory lane and I can't wait to "squeeze your neck" once again in March!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great recap! I can't wait to go back and read them all!! Happy four years :)
ReplyDeleteI'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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