a new year + back to blogging

man i miss this blog. all year i was basically playing catch up and feeling like i couldn't post the day to day things that i used to love to blog about! brooklyn is at the age now where she loves to sit and look through the blog on her own. dream come true for me! but how sad will it be when kendall and adalyn want to do the same and there's hardly anything about their lives on here? it breaks my heart. so this year i am determined to keep up to date! it's so much harder to do now that i have three little ones to take care of, but luckily, james wants this updated just as much, so he's been more than willing to offer up anything he can do to help make it possible. i get giddy just thinking about doing this regularly again.

i also blame this rapidly growing babe that i JUST. CAN'T. PUT DOWN. for the lack of blogging...

on our anniversary (DEC 28TH), we've made it a tradition and priority to go to dinner and discuss our goals/theme/vision for the new year. i really love having our anniversary right before the new year because this has given us this kind of opportunity at just the right time in the year. this year was no different. we got a babysitter, kissed the girls goodbye, and headed to the mandarin here in bountiful. our favorite!

it was james who got the conversation going this year. last year, i was anxiously/nervously waiting to hear what middle name he'd picked out for our unborn babe. man that was a great moment! he couldn't have picked better, in my opinion. (in case you don't know, adalyn's middle name is jac, after my grandma jackie) he talked about things he wanted to improve on and what goals he had for our family. i did the same, and then we chose a theme... though we couldn't quite put it into words to make it a less wordy theme. then we happened to be in target a couple days later and saw a cute banner, and the words on it were perfect! so we snatched it up and it's hanging in our home as a great reminder of these goals.

i pondered long and hard about what i want my own personal goals and vision for the year to be. going back and forth thinking that i was either being too easy or too hard on myself. being a woman is hard right?! then add in there being a mother and wife and it's straight up impossible sometimes. it blows my mind how amazing those two roles are in my life, but how they bring me to my knees more than anything else. i wouldn't trade my roles as wife and mother for all the riches in the world (or donuts!), but it's HAAAARD. so i settled on some simple goals and a quote i've been trying to keep in my head constantly...

"A Mother knows that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent,

daily mothering is far more lasting, far more powerful, far more influential

than any earthly position or institution invented by man."

-Julie B. Beck

the task seems daunting, but with the help of amazing people i am lucky to be surrounded by daily, i can do it! it won't be perfect and it sure as heck most of the time won't be pretty, but i'm determined to be a better version of myself this year. so here's to a new year, a renewed hope, and a whole year ahead of things to look forward to!

here it comes...

you knew it was coming...

a post about resolutions. 

so bare with me. i just do so much better with goals and commitments if they're written down (typed down). my whole life, new year's resolutions have always had me excited. they've also had me nice and anxious. but i love them. i love making new goals, starting fresh, and being re-committed to things. 

and just like every blogger and everyone else on social media, i've come up with a word to live by. one that i will try and stick in brain, dig out when i need it, and also, i'm hoping it will help me be a better (nicer person). my word is simplicity. it has a nice ring to it. any word with -icity on the end of it sounds kinda pretty right? so that's it, simplicity. simplifying is going to be my main focus and it needs to be. adding another little body to cream gables will definitely be an adventure, and in order to keep up, i will need to remember that little four syllable word: simplicity. 

so without further ado, here are my resolutions/goals.

1. have a day planner to write things down, even if they don't seem important at the time. i kept a day planner from 4th grade until two years ago. i tried using my phone instead, but folks, i'm old school, and writing things down on paper is how i roll. i love it. i'm not ashamed to be old school. i am 28 now after all. lately, pregnancy brain has been hitting me hard, and i can't even remember simple things. keeping a day planner will hopefully help me remember. if i can remember to write things down that is.

2. menu plan. gosh i was good at this one for two years. i LOVE making menus and it helps me wrap my brain around grocery shopping and making dinner on a daily basis. i love it. i need to get back in the groove of it. if you've never tried it, do it. it will change your life.

3. give my husband and daughter more positive attention. this one gets tough for me. when i'm stressed, busy doing something else, or just trying to zone out, i definitely don't give those that i love my undivided/positive attention. there are some days where brooklyn just gets in trouble or told 'no'. that's not ok. or james gets home from work and i've had a rough/crazy day and all i wanna do is relax and be left alone. i need to show him some love and spend more quality time with him. even if we're just chatting before we fall asleep. 

and that's it folks. i have three resolutions because that's what i feel like i can handle. simplicity right? i feel good about them and am going to work my guts out to make sure they are my focus this year. i want to be the best wife/mother/melinda i can be. 

along with resolutions for the year, i have set a goal for myself:

to read the book of mormon in 40 days. yes, this goal will hopefully be finished by february (i started january 1st). after that, i imagine i'll set some other goals, but for now, this goal is going to get me through the first two months of the year.

what's that? you'd like to do this too?

here's the link. and you're welcome.  :)