Happy 2011 & ABC's

Is anyone else wondering where 2010 went??? I think we definitely left it in the dust and gotta move on to the next year. :)

We had a wonderful, but busy holiday season. From Nov. 1 until Jan. 1 is basically a blur for us, so getting back in a routine is wonderful! You never realize how much you miss it until you don't have it. We spent most of our time with friends and family doing lots of fun things. Thanks to Santa for coming to visit and sending the boys a personal video message on daddy's computer. They thought it was so cool! HA!

So, I probably shouldn't admit this but I'm stealing this idea from another blog I frequently read. The author did it for Thanksgiving, and I started it before Christmas but never finished. I think I will use it as my ABC's of 2011. Maybe it will start me off right in this new year.

This past year has really opened my eyes to things I am thankful for, grateful for and down-right obsessed with so this should be interesting. Feel free to comment at the end!

A - Auburn. I believe in Auburn and love it!!! What an amazing year this has been for the Auburn Tigers. Although I did not go to school there (which some find odd that I cheer for them), in this state you must pick a side...Auburn or Alabama. It is a religion, not a game, for a lot of people and can get pretty ugly sometimes. However, this year Auburn has made me proud. I loved taking the boys to their first Auburn game. They haven't stopped talking about it, even though Brice says "Roll Eagle" and Cooper says "More Eagle." They are learning to love it! We will be cheering for them next week as they play for the National Championship. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR EAGLE, HEY!

B - Brice & brothers. I think I've said it before, but Brice Thompson has blessed our lives in so many ways. It is amazing to watch him change every day. He learns something new and wants to know all about it. Thank you God for choosing us to be Brice's parents. What an awesome little man. Now, brothers...how fun this is! When we found out we were having a second boy my heart was elated. I cannot even begin to describe how these two little guys are going to be best buds. I think it their age helps, and sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing by having them so close together, but over the past year they truly have become very close. Cooper wants to do what Brice does, Brice wants to play with what Cooper is playing with. I never understood how special that bond could be, until now. "A brother shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams." ~Author Unknown

C - Cooper, Coopie, Coop. Good Lord, I love this little guy!!! I don't think there are enough characters for me to type how special he is to our family. As much as he wears me out on a daily basis, I love that kid more than life. He is getting bigger and bigger everyday. I can't handle that he will be 3 soon. It seems like yesterday I was trying to balance a toddler, a newborn, a job, a house, etc. My oh my how times have changed...for the better! As freaked out and scared as I was to have a second child so close to the first, I would not change a thing...NOW. This little guy literally melts my heart! And he knows it...

D - Dedication. I have a really hard time saying "No" to people and to commitments. I am involved in w-a-y too many things, but I would be bored without them. However, this year I am going to dedicate more time to me. That may sound selfish, and I don't mean it to but sometimes you get caught up in doing for others that you forget about yourself. As part of my commitment this year, I want to dedicate more time to bettering myself.

E - Exercise. Booooooo, yuck, ugghhhhhh! I don't even want to discuss it, but it's got to happen! The. end. period. HA!

F - Friends. What I wouldn't do without my closest girlfriends! You all know who you are, but I'm sure you never know much you mean to me. You keep me grounded, restore my sanity and love me for the person I am. The older I get, I have realized that people change and friends change, sometimes for the worse but sometimes for the better. However, one thing remains the same "A good friend is like a good bra...hard to find, supportive, comfortable, always lifts you up, never lets you down or leaves you hanging and is always close to your heart!!!"

G - Grandparents & Great-grandmothers. Thank you LORD for amazing grandparents. Brandon and I are truly blessed with amazing families. I know not many people can say that, but this year our eyes have been opened to the amazing support structure we have. We are so lucky to have them! I'm not sure we could get through a week without their support on some level. Seriously, no words can describe how thankful we are for them. I am also extremely thankful that our children get to grow up with their grandparents and great-grandparents in their lives. Not many can say this. Both of my grandmothers (MeMe & Granny) are still living and are very much a part of our children's lives. How special is this!?!?! We are so blessed for our boys to be brought up in this type of environment.

H - Health. Should I even start down this road??? We all have the desire to lose some "lbs", but I have not been good about sticking to that plan. My goal for 2011 is to get in better shape, in turn making me more healthy. Brandon and I struggle with this daily and have decided that we want to be healthy role models for the boys; therefore, we have made a commitment that 2011 is going to be our year. :) Will you guys please remind me of this and hold me accountable?

I - Internet. What in the world did we do with our spare time before we had the internet? Reading blogs, playing with Facebook, clipping coupons has become a past time. When we don't have internet service at home, or heaven forbid on my phone...I feel lost! Thank you Al Gore for creating the "internets."

J - Jogging/Running. I've said for a year now that I want to start running. Everyone I know that runs is skinny! Therefore, I'm making this my exercise of choice but I've got to ease into it! I've never been a runner, so I don't plan to run a marathon next month. However, by the end of 2011 I plan to have run at least (at the very least) a 5K!

K - Kid's First. This is our church daycare where the boys spend most of their days. I am thankful for such a loving staff that cares for our most prized possessions on a daily basis. They have learned so much from their teachers. Thank you to everyone there that loves on my boys daily...even if a certain one drives them nuts-o! :)

L - Learning. I may have mentioned this a few million times already, but it is so fun to see the boys learning new (good & bad) things every day. It's true what they say, they are both soaking up everything they see, hear and do. Kind of scary if you think about it. We have learned new words this year from daycare...more on that later. On a serious note, one of my goals for 2011 is to learn more about the Word. Brandon and I want to learn more about the bible and our faith, bringing us closer as a couple and to the Lord. Although we have both grown up in church, doesn't mean we know everything about our faith or the bible. It is my prayer that we both stick to this commitment, so that we can better ourselves, our children and our family.

M - Miss Molly. My oh my how times have changed! I love this girl more than she knows. I am so very proud of the beautiful, somewhat responsible (*wink*), young woman she is becoming. She is so irritating to me sometimes, but other times I don't know what I would do without her smiling face. I am truly blessed to be her sister and I hope she knows how much I love her. So proud of you Mo! P.S. Anyone notice the resemblance of this post and Cooper's??? He is so much like her, it's scary!!!

N - Naptime. I am very grateful that our boys BOTH still take naps. If they don't have their naps, they are OOC (out of control)! I can slowly see Brice growing out of these naps, and I will certainly cry the day he does. However, for now...we love NAPTIME!

O - Organization. My plan for 2011 is to get my house organized!!!!!! Is that even possible? I don't know how some people do it, but I'm going to work on it. I want to get my closet back, get our garage back and my laundry room. We'll see if and how this works out, but one can hope.

P - Posts. I need to be better about blogging and "posting" in 2011. I started off with really good intentions last year, but certainly fell short. Here is to a better year with many, many more posts.

Q - Coupons or "Q" as the fancy bloggers call them. I was pretty good with my couponing in 2010, but I hope to be even better in 2011. My girl, Amanda, has inspired me! She keeps a fancy spreadsheet that tells her what she spent and saved. I'm hoping to be more like her in 2011. :)

R - Reality TV. I am a sucker!!!!!!!!!!!! I love, love, love just about everything reality TV has to offer. I know this is not something I should admit, but I cannot get enough of Bravo, Food Network, E! and all things reality. Thank you for not judging. :)

S - Spouse. What would I do without him??? He truly is my best friend. I love him with everything I have and love watching him be the amazing father that he is. Brandon truly has a heart of gold and strives daily to provide for our family. There are so many things I love about him, but just to name a few: I love the fact he truly believes we (YES "WE") will win the lottery one day, I love his sense of humor...it lights up a room, and I love that I make his crazy but he loves me anyway.

T - Turkey. No, not turkey like at Thanksgiving but ground turkey. It has become a staple in the Thompson house. We love it and have found so many delicious recipes to make with it. Brandon is OBSESSED with this turkey, spinach & pesto meatloaf recipe. It is pretty de-lish, so let me know if you need the recipe.

U - US Weekly. Probably one of the best magazines every! I told you I loved all things "reality" and this magazine lets me keep up with the latest celebrity gossip. I really don't know why I care about it at all, but it's kind of fun. To be honest, Brandon (who would never admit this, so I'm throwing him under the bus), LUUUUUUUVVVVVVVVVVVVSSSSSS to read the magazine as much as I do! He will actually buy them at the store, come home and read them before I can get my hands on them!!! Should I really be admitting to this???

V - Victory. "Split the V...Dot the I...Curl the C...T-O-R-Y!" Do you remember that cheer from elementary school? Since I can't come up with anything for "V", I'm making a wish that Auburn will bring home a victory in Arizona on Jan. 10. It would be kind of cool to have back to back national champions from the state of Alabama. So say it with me......"Weegle, weegle War D*mn Eagle, kick 'em in the butt big blue!!!!!"

W - Words from daycare. Boy oh boy...the things we are learning. :( Granted it's not a daily thing, but I'm starting to hear those dreadful words..."booty", "doody", "naaa naaa naaa boo boo." The talking back is starting too! Ugghhh, not fun! I never thought I would hear myself utter "You don't talk back to your mother. I am the parent and you respect me," but how quickly times change. I know there will be worse things to come, unfortunately, but I hope it is later rather than sooner.

X - Xylophone. Not that my children play this instrument, but BOTH the boys LOVE music! I think this is fantastic and am already preparing myself for a seat in the "band parents" section. :) One of them will be there, I'm afraid. We took Kindermusik classes in 2010 and plan to do it again in 2011. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, so instead of sports I think we will try this again....since soccer was a bust!

Y - Yellow. One of my favorite colors. I plan to revamp my wardrobe (a little at a time) with more color. I will never forget my best friend growing up (Stacy) telling me that my closet was so "drab." She was so right and things haven't changed. :) I own w-a-y too much brown & black!! Therefore, for the new year I'll add more color. Thanks Stace for that advice all those years ago.

Z - Zoloft. Enough said.....

We have so much to be thankful for. It is so nice to have a time of year to reflect on all of our blessings and plan for the future.