I have to say, that for a change, this year was pretty great.

We all stayed healthy, we had a lot of fun, we got a dog, and we accomplished a lot in 2015.

We started the year with a celebration of 10 years of marriage in San Fransisco. I continued on by celebrating my 35th birthday. We had a blast on Spring Break down in Maryland. Cameron turned nine. We finished the first year that both boys were in school full day. Our summer was spent enjoying time together in Maryland. The boys had a blast at four weeks of YMCA camp. The boys went back to school and this year they’re at the same school (which makes pickups so much easier). Logan turned seven (how did that happen?). We celebrated Thanksgiving in Maryland and the weather was simply perfect. Our Christmas was the, “best ever” and our Winter Break was fun.

As I sit here and look back on this year I feel like it was the best one in a while. But with that said, there is always room for improvement and that’s all I’m hoping for in 2016.

So what’s to come in 2016 here in Mommyland?

I’m excited to bring back A Week In Mommyland, my weekly photo update. I’m thinking about renaming it but it will be back in one form or another.

I will also be giving you some monthly fitness challenges, starting with a 30 Day Squat Challenge in January.

Other things to look forward to…More of my kid approved recipes and smoothie ideas, tales of running and of course crazy shit my kids (and dog) do and any other pearls of wisdom I can bestow on you.

If there is anything you’d like to see here please feel free to let me know.

Until then…HAPPY NEW YEAR from Mommyland!

Let’s face it, 2014 was rough. It started out looking pretty good but took a quick nosedive.

Taking a look back, it started with a hellacious winter filled with lots of snow, that usually fell while Bill was away, and many days off for the kids. The spring thaw started out awesome with me running in my first and second half marathons in the month of March.

There’s where we take our turn for the worst. I’m sure I’ll be paying off the medical bills that accompanied the process of my diagnoses and subsequent surgery for years to come. Spring was when the bill for Logan’s sleep study finally arrived only adding to the financial strain.

MONTHS of not running was made worse by our little family struggling to acclimate to the new normal as we entered the first full year of Bill’s business.

Summer was sedentary for all of us since Bill had to work and the boys were stuck with a mother who couldn’t even walk let alone drive to take them places. This summer will be the greatest Summer of Mommyland they have ever seen to make up for all the guilt I feel.

Mercifully the fall and holiday season came and went without much fanfare. Of course the stress of buying gifts while trying to whittle down the medical debt made the holiday season extra special.

So here we are, five days into 2015. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been (without a baby in the belly) and I’m down to the last pair of jeans that fit me before I have to live in activewear. I’m ready to see life turn around.

My hopes for this year are simple, get out from under this debt so we can start building some savings, run injury free, lose the 20ish pounds I gained in 2014 and to make those little daily stressors go the hell away. Yeah, that last one is almost laughable. OK, how about learn to cope with those daily stressors in a better, more effective way. Oh and I’d also like to have my house clean enough that if someone were to pop in unannounced I could offer them a cup of coffee instead of meeting them in the driveway to see what they need before sending them on their way.

I am hellbent and determined to make 2015 my best year yet. Hell, I’ve got a milestone birthday this year so it would be nice to have a great year.

How are you hoping 2015 measures up to 2014 and years past?