Why I Love January

I love January.

I used to view it as a month where the let down of the holidays sunk in and endless bitter cold days were to be endured without any exciting events on the horizon.

Not anymore.

It's still dang cold outside and my skin is so dry that my knuckles are cracked and bleeding, but January is filled with possibility. No more stress of trying to fit it all in. No useless gifts to buy for people that will most likely never be used. No obligatory parties and holiday events. 

Back to our routines! January is filled with planning. The year to come! January is where we find our most optimistic selves in our resolutions. Our goals of getting organized. Of doing things differently this year.

My camera may be collecting dust as of late, but I don't know if I've ever felt so satisfied with how much has been accomplished in a few short weeks. Even though I don't have any picture documentation, here are ten things we've been up to that prove we are alive and keeping busy:

1. We decided to finish our basement. I think. We've been in a vicious cycle of decision making the last couple of years. Are we moving? Are we staying put? Are we starting grad school? Should we make some upgrades to our house, only to move again? But I think we've finally committed to adding a couple of bedrooms and a bathroom to accommodate our growing family. 

2. I spent the first two weeks in January completely organizing and clearing out our basement, getting it ready for the remodel. And I'm happy to say we have sufficiently gotten rid of every single item that might not be used again. Loading up trash cans and taking car loads of stuff to charity is one of the best feelings in the world in my book. Now I can sleep at night knowing we aren't holding on to needless clutter. As organized as I am, I still couldn't believe the amount of stuff we were able to get rid of.

3. My original plan was to spend a week reorganizing and purging each floor of our house, but the basement took two weeks. Now I'm on to the main floor and next week is upstairs. I'm trying to figure out how to condense stacks and stacks of cd's that Troy and I have held onto since High School. The cases were disposed of long ago, but I can't decide whether to dump all of the discs or if I should really spend the time making digital copies.

4. Work has been crazy the last few weeks. Apparently everyone and their dog thinks that January is the best time for a website makeover. It's a good thing I really really love my job.

5. We've gotten back into better habits with family nights, scripture reading, date nights, family meals, etc., which is in large part due to finally reaching my "happy" spot in pregnancy. Even though I want to burn all of my maternity clothes, I'm so happy to have energy again.

6. I enter the third trimester this week. The first four months were the longest of my life, but now I feel like this baby is coming right around the corner. My only complaints now are the constant heartburn and aching ribs, but I'll take those anyday over having the equivalent of the stomach flu every hour of every day.

7. I'm still trying to figure out how to nix the bad technology habits the boys got into while I was sick for so many months. It doesn't help that we're cooped up inside.

8. We took a little getaway with our friends over MLK day weekend. It was really relaxing and I made it through a whole book, which almost never happens since I always choose work over reading. It's a good thing since I'm hosting book club later this week.

9. I've been using the eTo-do app on my phone the last few months and it feels so good to check off nagging little tasks. Stain chairs. Christmas returns. Oil changes. New ink cartridges. Touch up paint in bedrooms. Check check check.

10. Just when I was feeling on the top of the world as far as productivity goes, I hit a parked truck in the Costco parking lot. I wasn't rushing, I wasn't distracted, I literally just overshot it when I pulled into a parking spot. My car got the worst of it, but we're still going to have fork over cash to fix a crack in the truck I hit. So frustrating. I've never been in an accident in my life. Can I blame it on pregnancy?

I'm equally as excited for February. Nash will turn three, we're planning a Superbowl party, homemade Valentine's are on the horizon, and we're taking one last family trip before the baby comes.

For the first time in a long time, I am relieved to say, life is good.