2013 in Review

In less than 48 hours, we will be ringing in 2014. As always, here is our year in review & resolutions.

January: Christopher was still deployed. Sirius turned a year old and I made him wear a silly hat for a picture. He loves me. We also got to spend a day in Savannah with Jess, Shaun, and the girls! Fandom Mama (formerly Myrda Custom Prints) was created.

February: We got a little excitement this month! Started out with a visit from Susie & Bill during the Superbowl. Krissa & Gene (Nana & Poppy) also came down for a visit. They help me complete the big surprise for Chris, which was the garage overhaul into the "Bears man cave". Lucas hit the milestone of sitting up on his own.

March: The boys and I went on a retreat to Hilton Head, SC. We all had such a blast. Holly and Audrina were also there, so it was nice to have friends nearby. Holly & I got to have dinner without kids. *GASP* We also found some jellyfish and a live sea snail in a conch shell. Christopher's squad suffered their first and only loss this month. 

April: I made a last minute decision to drive to Illinois by myself with the boys to attend Grandma Judy's services. Aside from Nana and Poppy, this was the first time the family met Lucas. He also got his first tooth on the drive up! Our week long visit turned into 2 weeks when I developed food poisoning. Also, even though we weren't present, Cory & Tim got married and yay! 

May: The only thing of note, that I can remember, is that I hit my first major fitness goal of losing 50lbs. 

June: This was a big month for the Myrda family. The boys and I traveled to SC for a Thirty One party with Bethany. Shortly after, she and her kids met up with us in Savannah to help me shop for a homecoming outfit. Most of the month was spent checking the flight schedule over and over. On June 29, Christopher was finally stateside again and reunited with us. This was the first time he saw Lucas since was 13 days old. Conner was overjoyed to have his daddy back.

July: Lucas finally started crawling. We took some traveling time for his post-deployment leave. We took the boys to the Atlanta Aquarium before heading up to Ft. Campbell. There we spent a few days with Susie and Bill. With the help of Stephen and Kari, we managed to organize a surprise dinner. We said it was for his mom's birthday, when we actually we were hiding out in the back to surprise them. I got to visit with Katja and her kids. We ran the Run 4 Gus 5k in Chicago. The boys went to their first White Sox game. Got to visit with Nick and Archer. There was a homecoming gathering for Christopher at the Rochelle VFW to see many of our friends and family members.  While we were visiting, we found out about Stefan being KIA. We were heartbroken for his family. We took a day trip down to Jacksonville, FL to meet Ashley and her family and get some photos taken.

August: I organized a counter-protest against WBC, who planned to show up to Stefan's services. This was the second I have planned (one at Bliss in 2011). I assumed a few hundred would show, and it ended up being in the thousands! It was beautiful to see so many people come together like that. We had people from all over GA, and many from FL and SC. There was even a couple that drove from Ohio to help us. I participated in GISHWHES 2013 and had an absolute blast! I can't wait to do it again. Conner started school at Long County Head Start. And we got a new car.

September: Two big things this month. Lucas turned 1! All of my planning finally paid off with a huge Pirate party for Captain Conner and First Mate Lucas. It was so much fun! I am not sure how I will top it next year. We also went back to cloth diapers and I realllllly wish we had kept with it in the beginning.

October: Conner turned 4! It was nice to have Chris here for it, instead of saying goodbye as he went to the sandbox. Unfortunately, Lucas contracted RSV and pneumonia, which resulted in a 4 day stay in the ICU. Winn was great with him. Finally Halloween came along. We did a family theme and dressed as characters from Doctor Who. Conner was a red dalek, I went as a female 11th doctor, and Lucas was the TARDIS. Conner also dressed as Bilbo Baggins for storybook character day at school.

November: I turned 25 O_o. I did 25 RAOK to celebrate. I went back home for 5 days. It was only supposed to be 4, but my flight was cancelled due to inclement weather. It was nice to be back and not have to worry about anyone but myself. I got to see my best friend, who I haven't seen since 2011! Many thanks to the Pedersen's for putting up with me for a few days :P. Thanksgiving was very small. We were supposed to have a few guys come over, but they decided not to come last minute. No big deal. We still had an awesome day. Lucas also got his first haircut! He also went under some testing for CF, but I *assume* it came back negative since I never received any calls or stuff in the mail. We have a follow up in January.

December: Fandom Mama took our first outing to a flea market. It was a huge bust because it was raining. We doggy sat for a friend. My mom and Bob came out to spend Christmas with us. We took them to Tybee so that my mom could finally say she had been to the Atlantic Ocean. We just returned from a trip to Stuart/Port St Lucie, FL to see Aunt Gail, Cory & Tim, and Jeff & Trudy. It was really nice to get away from home and catch up with them. Lucas also started walking! He also learned to climb stairs. As for NYE, we don't have any specific plans. Maybe I'll figure out the permanent fix to our dryer problem. lol

Overall, 2013 was a busy, hectic, full of medical issues and I am glad it is over. I stink at making and keeping New Years Resolutions, but there are 2 that I plan to work really hard towards. 1. I want to get our savings account back up. With all of the traveling, birthdays and Christmas, we really let it dwindle. 2. To weed out negativity. This means taking toxins out of my life, as well as working on mini-goals, like less yelling and arguing, to reach the big goal. I know that these two things are attainable, I just have to stay on top of them. Being that I am starting school in January, I will definitely be put to the test on the second one. I guess I need to throw in a 3. Pass all of my classes. There is only one I am worried about, so that shouldn't be a problem. 

I know I say this every year, but I truly hope to keep up better on this blog. I have a list of recipes to make and things to do in order to keep it more active. I won't make this a resolution, purely because I have for 2 years and never kept it. C'est la vie. Happy 2014, everyone!