I made it!!! Tonight Bryan and I will end our fast and you better believe I'll be celebrating with 100 cans of Vanilla Coke!! I'm pretty surprised that I made it through the whole thing with zero soda. I'm pretty proud of myself. In full disclosure, I hated almost every single day of no soda. Some days I didn't really notice, but some nights we'd go to eat and I would crave a soda. I know that's not healthy, and I sound like a crazy addict but it's the truth. 

In other news, Izzy and I have taken on a new adventure. I've always wanted to be super mom who reads to her kids every single night. Well needless to say I have slacked in that department. Honestly most nights it's a win if we get everyone bathed, fed, and in bed on time without any meltdowns. And now with Elly being here trying to get a few quiet minutes of reading is almost impossible. 

Like I said I am not a fan of reading, but I remember being little and loving books, but somewhere along the way I stopped enjoying reading. In a world filled with technology and print dying I think it's important to teach our kids to slow down and use their imagination while enjoying a good book. I think electronics have their place, and Izzy's learned a lot from the games on her leap pad, but it's our goal for us all to unplug a little. I know Izzy loves "reading" and telling us stories so I'm really putting forth a conscious effort to spend time in books with her, and help grow that so we can stop reading the same ones over and over. 

Yesterday we started reading "The Wizard of Oz." I've always loved the movie but never read the book. Crazy right? We're only 3 chapters in and I'm already surprised by the differences. I do think the version I got is condensed for kids but it's still weird. Dorothy doesn't even wear red slippers, they're silver! Anyways, I thought it would be fun to read a story that's a classic, and when we're done we can watch the movie as a reward. I really hope we can stick with this and read more. I know we won't be able to every single night, but as long as it's semi-regular I'll be happy! 

What about you? Do you all read to your kids or on your own? What are some fun ideas to get your kids to enjoy reading? Sound off in the comments section!

Until next time...

Taylor

Now that the Thanksgiving tryptophan has worn off, we've cleaned up Christmas' attack on our house, and slept away half of the first day of 2013 it's time to get back to the real world. January 2nd was always my least favorite day while working because it meant that the holidays were officially over and busy season was headed our way. Now it's not fun because Bryan has to go back to work and I've really enjoyed spending the last week and a half with him! I'm not experienced in hangovers but recovering from the holidays can be pretty difficult. Who would have thought spending time with family, surprising kids with presents, eating yummy food, and not working could be so tiring? 

This time of year most people start to think about New Year's resolutions. I haven't always been a big participant in them but in recent years I have started to think more about things I want to do in the upcoming year to hopefully form better habits for myself. So I thought I'd share this year's goals with you guys!

1. To take more pictures with my camera instead of my phone. I'm always wanting to improve my photography but when it comes to snapping pics of the girls I find my iPhone is much easier to whip out than my bulky DSLR. 

2. To be more intentional about disconnecting from technology and connecting with my family. This is an all around struggle in our house, but I'm confident we can find a healthy balance of family time and tech time.

3. To drink less soda... this one might kill me. I am addicted to vanilla coke. It used to only be available at Sonic but now you can buy the cans, which really gets me in trouble. Plain coca-cola will never satisfy again! Bryan works for our church and every year they fast for the beginning of the year. I tried to think of something other than soda to give up and there wasn't much else that would be really difficult for me. So you'll probably hear lots of complaints about it for the next 21 days but I'm hoping I can stick to it. As for the rest of the year, I'm going to start cutting down my coke consumption but ordering water when we go out to eat... also not fun. Ugh caffeine why do I love thee?!

4. I'm determined to win one of the free Disney trips that they are giving away every day this month! I would tell you all to enter it as well but that'd make my chances of winning decrease. However, if you REALLY want the inside scoop *this* website may or may not have all the info for you. ;)

*BONUS*
5. Watch the Thunder win the NBA World Championship. Thought you'd get through a post without me mentioning them didn't you? Not this time!

So what's your opinion on resolutions/goals for each year? Do you think they're stupid, do you always make one, are they even possible to accomplish? Answer the poll below and let me know what you think in the comments section!

Until next time...

Taylor