december highlights and 2016 blogging intentions

The highlights continue on today!  I’m excited to share our December and more about my blogging intentions for the coming year.  Pictures first, then read on at the end of the post for what’s to come 2016.

When your sweater matches a tile background, you have to snap a picture.  Even if it’s in a bathroom at the vet’s office.

I made homemade pork ramen for the first time ever.  Loved the addition of soft boiled egg and cucumber slices on top.  The recipe came from the blog How Sweet It Is.

One afternoon the kid’s and I cut out trees (okay I cut them), got a glue stick and some string and made a little Christmas craft.  I love the simplicity.  It may still be hanging up there with no intention of coming down anytime soon.

I had been attempting homemade sour dough bread for a few weeks and the flavor just wasn’t right, so I did a side by side bread test.  My go-to crusty yeasted no kneed dutch oven bread versus the sour dough bread, and the go-to yeasted bread was the winner hands down.  So my attempts at sour dough bread ended and now I’m sticking with that we know is amazing every time.  Find the recipe for the fail proof no-kneed bread HERE.  We think it’s even better than store bought bread.

I’ve been super into yin-yoga at home to ease my pregnancy aches and pains.  This pregnancy my left glute/hip is really a bother, but taking the time for self care really does wonders.  I feel new and refreshed after every session.

28 weeks pregnant – welcoming the third trimester here in between teaching classes.

On a kind of rainy morning I was driving not too far from our house to go pick up eggs and spotted this pink recliner with a free sign on it.  I instantly loved the look and shape so I put it in the back of my car with the intention of getting it reupholstered.  Well, that turned out to be way more expensive than I wanted it to be, so instead I painted the fabric instead!  I love how the chair turned out and it is amazingly comfortable.  It reclines soooo much. A favorite spot in the living room to relax and maybe fall asleep in.

I got the chance to try out and review the latest for two fitness capris and shared some of my favorite yoga poses this pregnancy.  Check out the post HERE!

The beginning of Christmas present wrapping.  Brings me so much happiness!  I went with brown paper, lots of string or yard, wintery stamps and greenery this year.  Simplicity.

Hunter helped me make a batch of oatmeal almond jam filled thumbprint cookies.  We brought them to a friend’s house and they were such a hit!  I used Maryea’s recipe but subbed butter for the oil and made them a bit bigger than she did.

You can see a bit of the finished mural Jacob worked on last month.  There is a buck, doe, owl, rabbit and squirrel along with lots of trees.  His own little wilderness.

I made a batch of broccoli cheddar patties and had plans to share the recipe, but the person who liked them a ton was me, not so much the kids and Jacob didn’t even try them.  So really it’s just a Heather friendly recipe.  I thought they were super tasty little snack bites!  Interest in the recipe?

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie making with Jacob.  These kids love being in the kitchen, and of course, taste testing.

Impromptu starbucks date before doing some grocery shopping.  Zoe takes her steamed milk serious.

Hunter is such a sweet kid and cannot wait to meet his baby brother or sister.  The baby gets daily kisses, hugs and snuggles.

Avocado, banana and cocoa make a delicious and oh so messy combo!

Hunter got his first real chore – helping me fold towels.  He is really good at it!  And as long as he doesn’t get distracted, he finishes the job and has lots of fun doing it.

Zoe got her first lesson in knife skills.  They both chopped up their banana snack.  It is so much fun seeing them learn life skills and being super into it too.

This dinner was amazing.  I made pumpkin ricotta gnocchi with bratwurst and spinach plus thyme roasted green beans.  Will be making again for sure!

How to contain a child while coloring.  Put them in a box!

Zoe’s gold tutu finished for Christmas.  Love-love-love it.

On Christmas Eve Hunter earned a ribbon for a great torpedo swim solo.  So proud of that kid!

Another Christmas gift finished for Zoe!  Kitty, fox, mouse and doe wool softies.  Fully dressed and with their own special knit items.  Did you notice the fox’s shirt and Hunter’s shirt one picture up???

Christmas morning we had a special breakfast: eggnog crepes with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and cinnamon apple pork sausage.  Ahhhhh-mazing!

Zoe actually got sick in the evening on Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day, but after opening all the presents she still had fun in her new tutu with Hunter’s backpack and a whole lotta boxes to dance on.  Christmas day through the weekend we spent at home, not leaving for anything.  Jacob and I agreed that it was our favorite Christmas yet.  We loved just being together, relaxing and enjoying the excitement through the kids.

My aunt Carol came into town from Australia for a week so we got her to ourselves for a day.  We went to G6 (an indoor trampoline park), showed her the best coffee in town (Stumptown at Rivermaiden) and my mom joined us for thai food at Ginger Pop.  Such fun!

My final handmade Christmas gifts were for my niece Abigail and her newborn baby sister Hailey.  I sewed them matching roller skate dresses and then also made a matching dress for her new baby doll, plus this bunny-ish doll for Hailey.  We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family in Seattle the weekend after new years.

2016 Blogging Intentions

I remember when I first started blogging in 2008 and was eager to share all my thoughts, experiences and everything I was learning about related to health and fitness.  I posted almost daily and the blog was in the forefront of my mind. Then in 2012 I had Hunter and blogging took a smaller step back. Two years later Zoe joined our crew and it took yet another step back. One mama can only do so much. I still had these expectations I put on myself that I should do all the things blog-wise, while being a mother, wife and group fitness instruction. But reality is, I can’t do it all. Nor would I be any good at them if I put too much on my plate.  But what I’ve been learning about myself is that if I can change my own personal expectations, I can still do all the things I want to do, just at varying levels. Obviously motherhood (to almost 3!) and being a wife come first, then there is teaching and life living, and blogging finds a place after that. And while it is at the end of the list, it’s still important to me. Something I can’t and don’t want to give up, so what it needs is a shift.

I definitely have come to the realization that I can’t yet keep any kind of blogging schedule, and that’s okay.  It takes many, many broken up days to write a post, so when it’s finished, that’s when they tend to get posted.   I also see a shift in content, sharing even more bits of life as a mama with health and fitness only sprinkled in sporadically.  Healthy eating and fitness are still super important to me, but since it’s become just a natural part of my life, I don’t think about it as much.  It’s more of just who I am now, whereas years back I was in the making a change phase.

One area that I really want to increase sharing about is cooking with kids in the kitchen.  It is so much fun having the kids help me in the kitchen and to begin teaching them the importance of healthy food from a young age.  Learning how to cook is an important life skill, because it sets you up to create healthy meals at home, something I think is crucial for life. The more you can cook at home, the less you eat out or buy already made. There will definitely more to come on that area.

So to come for 2016…

• more on motherhood
• cooking with kids and kid friendly recipes
• home life and homemaking
• DIY/craft/sewing
• healthy living tips
• fitness (I see more on this post baby)
• and wherever life is currently at and new things I’m into

I am so thankful for all my continued readers, the comments and messages I receive.  They always bring a smile to my face and mean so much.  I hope you enjoy 2016 as much as I am planning to!

How was the end of your year?  What do you have planned for 2016?  If you have a blog, how has it changed for you over the years?

Heather

Want more highlights?  Check out previous months:

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015