HELLO 2019! We turned the calendar to a new year last week and while it is a new year, I won’t say a new me as I think the “new” happened back in November when we welcomed our second son.

A blogger recently said with a new year she feels the need to do something BIG. I feel her on that one, but I can barely keep the day-to-day chores going. I keep adding to my “to-do” list while on maternity leave. New additions include more books to read and getting a fitness certification. If I can check anything off of my list, preferably before going back to work, I will chalk that up as my “BIG” personal thing for this year.

This is the first full week of the new year and we are in full swing of routines. Our toddler went back to school [daycare] and swimming last week, which was very welcomed. My husband is back to work after taking some vacation and paternity leave, and I am still on maternity leave for another month. So our baby and myself are the only ones not fully back into a normal routine. But I started teaching my Monday night spin class again, so it feels a bit like the fog has lifted and we are becoming a functional family.

Over the weekend my husband kept reminding me he was going back to work on Monday, like I suddenly forgot. So I reminded him of the shared online calendar that he never uses. Maybe that can be a New Year’s Resolution for him. It’s never too late to set goals. His leave wasn’t on the calendar, but I was well aware he was going back to work.

Sometimes I wonder why I spend time updating our calendar and meal prepping when I get asked regularly “Do we have something planned for X day?” OR “what is on the menu for tonight?” I spend time writing this all down for myself so I do not forget, BUT it is also for the whole family. Not just for me. Hence my frustration when questions are asked and it is readily available for viewing.

Knowing my husband’s leave was coming to an end and zero of the projects I wanted done were complete, I figured we could spend some quality time at least updating the picture frames and hanging wall art.

Back in August we had a number of rooms painted in our house. I didn’t want to hang anything after we got it painted mainly because the walls looked clean and fresh. I was also really pregnant and figured I would only change my mind, so a bunch of new holes in the wall after they had just gotten filled was not ideal. Finally, five-ish months later, I was ready to get some things on the walls to make it look like someone actually lives here.

I daydream about being a home renovation/decorating team like Chip and Joanna Gaines, however the reality is, my husband and I are not. We bust out the measuring tape, ruler, level, and hammer. I like to measure everything so that it is even. This drives my husband crazy because every time we hang something he usually steps back and says, “Well that looks great.” My response is typically, “No, it is crooked. The right side is too high.”

My simple Sunday wall art project started to take a lot longer than anticipated. It may have had something to do with the nine picture frames I wanted hung on one wall. I needed them in the middle of the wall, evenly spaced vertically and horizontally, so it made a square. After the third picture frame was hung, my husband stepped back and said “Well that was not easy, but I think it is straight.” My response, “They are crooked.”

I could tell he was frustrated with my vision, BUT I really wanted the pictures hung a certain way. I had not stalked every Target in the area, and even had my sister who lives half way across the country [they were not available online], get these 8″ x 10″, $4 frames for no reason. The frames were going to get used how I had planned. I told him “They say the best things in life are not easy.” He said, “Yeah, that’s why I married you.” Thanks…I think?

I ended up taking over hanging the pictures from my husband. We both may be guilty of putting one too many holes in the wall with those damn frames BUT it turned out how I planned and that is all that matters. My husband said he does love the way it looks. Moving forward I will need to take only horizontal photos because those frames are not getting moved.

Next on my list is decluttering. If you have not seen the new show on Netflix, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” I would recommend it. Even if you just watch the first episode, that was enough to get me motivated. We will see if I can knock out a few rooms, to see what “sparks joy” and utilize Kondo’s signature folding techniques. I am staying hopeful, however it seems like quite the task.

We will see if I can tackle at least a room or two. Or I may just sit and cuddle our baby. He is turning out to be a mama’s boy and quite the cuddler. This is very much welcomed by me because our toddler has always been a daddy’s boy and doesn’t like to cuddle.