Happy New Year! The holiday break is just about over and I’m not ready for that yet. Seriously, let’s keep it going, okay? Tom had off from work between December 23rd and January 3rd and I’ve mostly taken that time off from the blog as well. I’ve been posting some on social media and of course did yesterday’s fashion roundup but that’s about it. I honestly just now put our Christmas pictures on the computer because I haven’t had the time to edit pictures. As much as I love the break I also love the structure and regularity that comes with our normal schedule and I’m definitely excited to jump back into things with a renewed vision and heart for where I want to go with my blog and social media presence.
At church on Christmas Eve our pastor talked about scheduling different time slots for different family members which is so what we do every holiday and it can be really stressful. He also talked about how during the typical holiday get together there seems to be problems we can’t solve, people we can’t control, and expectations we can’t meet. This definitely resonated with me and my life. Fitting in everyone (both of my divorced parents and my in laws), and trying to make everyone happy, can be a really big burden and was starting to stress me out. And on top of that Tom’s grandfather (Pop) who we loved dearly passed away right before Christmas which put a damper on things and we added a last minute trip to New Jersey for the funeral.
So here’s how it played out. Tom’s parents ended up heading to New Jersey last minute for Christmas. My dad came up Christmas Eve (Saturday), celebrated Christmas with us Sunday, and left Monday morning. My mom came up Monday afternoon and we spent the evening with her. Tuesday we left for New Jersey, Wednesday we attended the funeral, Thursday we flew back to Atlanta. Then Friday, Saturday, and today we’ve been cleaning, doing laundry, housework, and me catching up on blogging and trying to figure out how to make videos. It’s seriously been a whirlwind.
But all the stress aside we had a wonderful Christmas. The kids came downstairs and opened presents on Christmas morning and this was the first year where Maddie Grace (2.5 years old) has fully understood Christmas concepts which made it really special. Even down to talking about baby Jesus and naming her baby doll Jesus. So maybe she doesn’t understand it completely. But MG definitely understood that Santa came (from “up high in the sky”) and brought her presents. All she asked for from him was a book so that’s all he brought her (well, 2 books actually) but she was thrilled to get it. She also got some toys from me and dad, and grandpa brought more toys and books. Tripp also got 2 books from Santa (had to keep it fair) and we gave him the exact same number of presents as MG, but some of his were actually stuff we already had wrapped up. Neither of them knew so it worked perfectly.
And despite the sadness surrounding our trip to New Jersey we enjoyed our time there and visiting with family members who we don’t get to see that often. It’s special for Maddie Grace and Tripp to get to see their ‘cousins’ there (we’re calling Tom’s cousins kids cousins because it seems like the best term).
So what are my personal and professional resolutions for the new year? Here it goes:
Be more authentic and true to myself.
Schedule less.
Make sure I am present in the time I spend with my children.
Read some books.
Eat clean and exercise daily.
Surround myself with positive and uplifting people.
And be a person who uplifts and encourages others.
Reach out to people who aren’t already in my social circles.
Turn ideas into reality.
Spend less, save more.
Make fun and unique videos [follow me: www.youtube.com/clairecervino].
And in the spirit of self promotion here are some of our holiday activity videos I’ve added to Youtube. I’m going to be doing a mix of family activities and travel videos, beauty tutorials, and product reviews. I’d love to have you follow along because I really think it’s going to be a lot of fun!
Our trip on the Santa Express:
And hopefully today I’ll have up a get ready with me makeup video!
Have an amazing start to 2017 friends! What are some of your goals for this year? I’d love to hear them below.
Your pictures are gorgeous!
My 2.5 year old got an Itty Bitty AG doll for Christmas too, I don’t think it has left her side since she opened it!
Loved reading all of your goals and seeing your sweet Christmas photos! I’m sure that 2017 is going to be amazing for you, and o can’t wait to see you achieve it all!
Love these photos and your goals! All of that planning sounds so stressful, though! So sorry about your loss. 2017 is going to be a great year!
these are some great resolutions girl! i am stealing a few 🙂 so glad we got to face time with you on christmas morning!