A lot can happen in a year! When we rang in 2018, we lived in a house in Michigan. I was pregnant and working for an insurance company, and Husband was still in law school.
Now we live in an apartment in Virginia with our baby. I get to spend my days cooking up a storm and writing about it here, and husband has a full-time grown-up job.
New Years has become one of my favorite holidays. It’s fun to wonder about the year ahead, but what I REALLY love is looking back on the past year and thinking about all the things that have happened and changed; things you've accomplished and lived through.
And we lived through a lot in 2018! Here are some of the biggies:
January: We found out we were having a boy! I changed departments at work. Had a baby shower and things started to feel VERY REAL once a car seat was in our house.
February: We took a trip to Florida with my parents. Super fun! Our flight there was cancelled (not so fun) and we had to spend the night in a hotel, where I discovered Shark Tank and got totally hooked.
March: Went to Iceland! Husband started having job interviews for post-school. Had my first-ever deposition. (For work, don't worry.)
April: Another baby shower! Also another deposition (still for work). Felt really pregnant, and really good. Nesting began. Welcomed a nephew!
May: Finished our shared room. Husband graduated! Had another baby shower. Took a childbirth class. Celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by eating my favorite pie in bed. Felt really pregnant, and really uncomfortable.
June: Started my maternity leave the day after my due date. Tried not to throat-punch everyone in my life once I passed the 40 (and then 41) week mark. Did all of the things to try to go into labor. Got induced and had a baby!
July: Celebrated the 4th in Ohio. Visited friends. Husband took the bar! Packed up the house we loved. Tried to fit in all of our favorite Michigan things before leaving.
August: A (disastrous) move to Virginia. A surprising amount of culture shock. Lots of unpacking. Tried to adjust to the sweltering Southern heat.
September: Started blogging full-time! Lots of figuring out where the heck do we put all of our stuff in the apartment. Explored our new city.
October: Found out Husband passed the bar! Wondered when leaves change in Virginia. Got a storage unit when we realized we can't fit all of this stuff in our apartment.
November: Vacationed in Florida! Visited Michigan! Husband got sworn in and is now a real lawyer. Were thankful for lots of things!
December: Found a church we like in our new city. Lots of fun Christmas stuff with Baby!
A year in review:
Greatest accomplishment: Surviving! 2018 was a wild ride. We crammed a lot of major life changes in (moving, having a baby and becoming parents, career changes). I feel like a tough cookie just having lived through all that.
(And also like I need a really long nap.)
(And also now I want a cookie.)
Greatest disappointment: Our move to Virginia. We had a house we were really excited to live in that totally fell through. It turned into a really expensive and stressful ordeal.
Also, the Instant Pot. I have only used it a couple of times, but so far feel very meh about it. People hype it so much, so I realize my expectations may be too high. Maybe 2019 I will try to figure it out??
Greatest challenge: Adapting to a new city. Especially with a baby! I forgot how hard everything is when you move. Like when you have to pull up directions just to run an errand that would have been totally mindless (and maybe even relaxing) in your old city. So much mental/physical/emotional energy is required for even the smallest of tasks.
Best purchase: A lot of new things that made their way into our home this year were baby products (see my very favorites here!), but most of these were gifts. As far as things I purchased myself, this extra long phone charger is probably the thing that has improved my day-to-day life the most!
Worst purchase: This rug. At least it was on clearance?
Highlight: Having a baby! Especially the first 7 weeks with him. Not that I haven’t enjoyed all of the subsequent weeks, but the newborn days in our old house with him just felt so perfect.
Low point: The end of pregnancy. I had a bad case of PUPPS, which - if you're lucky enough to have never encountered it - is a pregnancy-related skin condition where you break out in hives, and the only cure is having your baby (though I’ve also read about some women who have it after childbirth!) This was agony. I have never been more physically uncomfortable or miserable. Plus, I went way past my due date!
Favorite new hobby: Going to Trader Joe’s. This is a hobby, right? We didn’t have one where we used to live, and it’s probably my favorite thing about where we live now.
Most fun trip: Florida in February! Super fun and relaxing.
Most exiting discovery: The Scrub Daddy! Tackles pretty much every task I’ve given it, and just try looking at it without smiling. I dare you.
Favorite things I ate: There’s a lot of food around here, so this is hard to narrow down. BUT some of my favorites included: Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Gingersnaps (I would tell you how many tubs of these I’ve eaten this year, but it’s honestly kind of embarrassing), spruced-up brownies from a box, ice cream from our favorite place in Michigan, A LOT of Skyr in Iceland, chicken shawarma from our go-to spot in Michigan (and now this homemade version), this really unbelievable French toast, and an easy, healthy weeknight favorite: Recipe!
2018 definitely left its mark on our lives. I'm sad to see it go, but am also hoping 2019 is a little less action-packed!
Leave a Reply