Hellobee Boards

Home: We moved into our new home in Aug 15 and have managed to decorate 4/7 rooms so far. Our kitchen renovation starts in two weeks. I'm hoping we will get the hall, stairs and landing done by the time the baby comes (April). The bathroom renovation will be next but we will have to wait until I'm back at work after maternity leave.

Relationship: We've had a really rough couple of years but are both committed to turning things around. I certainly feel as though we turned a corner recently. With #2 on the way, we might hit a bit of a road block initially, but I hope not.

Kids: E is becoming more and more independent and her personality is flourishing before our eyes now. I expect she will be potty trained this year and will start school nursery class in September. Her little sister is due in April - I'm hoping E will enjoy being a big sister.

Family: I'm hoping for no drama this year, no illness or anything. Business as usual please!

HOME: we're slowly chipping away at renovations. Next up is the upstairs bathroom, which we'll hopefully start April/May this year.

RELATIONSHIP: we're in an OK place now but hardly have time for each other. I don't think we'll have more time at all this year with #3 arriving shortly. We've agreed to just tough it out until kid stuff settles down. I'm really looking forward to a kid free vacation in about a year.

KIDS: We are a week away from three under three. Kinda freaking out. My girls have so far been amazing but we're about to throw a big wrench in the mix.

FAMILY: I'm trying to not dwell on how much easier my life would be if we were closer to my family. DH's family is close, but they're all really busy and not really interested in helping us out much. My folks are coming for two weeks on Friday to help with the girls and newbie. I really wish we were closer.

Home:
We own an older home, so the list of projects is never ending. We built garden beds last year, so they are ready to go this summer, and we have some other landscaping to do. We also need to paint the master bedroom to get it ready for sharing with a baby!

Relationship: my husband finishes residency in June. Hallelulijah. I'm looking forward to him having a predictable, easier schedule, and for us to be able to spend more time together as a family and couple.

Kids: well, hopefully there will be a new baby joining us in August. My daughter will also be going through the transition of leaving her in home daycare and beginning preschool in the fall, so I want to make sure we have a nice solid routine in place that she can rely on when things get crazy at the end of the summer.

Family: both our parents have some stuff going on related to mental health,and it's been challenging to navigate. My mothers closest sister is very ill with cancer and although nobody has given us timelines I doubt she will be alive for another year. This will be a ton loss, especially for my mom, and I'm worried about it.

I like how this has no "Career" category - which is one big unsolved category for me which I hoped to iron out big time in 2016! I think once that is resolved, everything may fall (back) into place. So fingers crossed.

Home: We just remodeled our kitchen / first floor last year so no big change is planned I think, other than the maintenence such as painting the trims outside (which we were supposed to have done last year). I am hoping to hang up more artwork and make our magazine-quality living + dining room into a cozy home. I really would love to hire a cleaning lady but husband said there is no budget

Relationship: Hahaha. Personally I am hoping to be more patient with husband. Not sure if I can expect any change from him. We had a fight turned into a talk the other night and basically since I no longer pull in as much money as I used to, we have no budget for nothing, as in no budget for babysitter or date nights. Well, not like we ever had any anyway, but it is really not happening now.

Kids: I am hoping to be more patient, less screaming and yelling and more quality time. That is really my weakness and I really have to work on this. Other than that we always always have a lot of fun. I would love to involve him into art, theater and performance arts (which is a selfish thing to do because that's the things I like, haha), and figure out sports in summer. I'd like to get him to swimming classes in summer so we'll see. Oh, not to mention he will be attending a new school in fall, if we get in. So I hope all goes well too!

Family: Going to Hong Kong in the middle of the year to visit my mom, and hoping to somehow visit the in-laws (even though I really don't want to,I know DS would love it so I just have to suck it).

HOME: We will likely put our house on the market in March to move to a larger city. DH will be minutes from work but my commute will be an hour. Although I'm not looking forward to the commute, I am excited to live in a larger city!

RELATIONSHIP: Things could be interesting for us since our first baby will be born in March. I"m expecting some bumps in the road.

KIDS: DD1 will arrive in March! We are so thrilled!

FAMILY: Our families are super excited for the baby to come. I just hope I can survive MIL's "suggestions" and advice.

HOME: I'm hoping we will be putting our house on the market sometime in 2016. I've got a couple small house projects planned. I want to paint a couple rooms, some trim, and replace the kitchen countertops.

RELATIONSHIP: Things are great. I'm hoping we can go out once a month and stay connected now that we are parents. I would love it if we could see each other more on a daily basis. DH needs a new job so he can have better work life balance. He's actively looking.

KIDS: DD is such an easy going baby. I just want to enjoy this next year as much as I can. At the end of the year I will contact the fertility clinic and get the process started for another transfer in the first half of 2017.

FAMILY: I miss my family so much! I want to live closer to them again. Both my and DH's sisters have some drama and we try to stay out of it as much as possible and also offer support when it's wanted.

HOME: We're finally getting around to organizing and putting our office to use! We're about 90% done with the build out and I'm so excited with the way it turned out! We want to slowly tackle other home projects since the office gave us a bit of a kick starter, but we'll see how that works out with a new baby on the way.

RELATIONSHIP: DH and I are in a good spot right now. He's been more helpful in the care of DS, but I could/should definitely dote on DH more. I sometimes get too comfortable with status quo and forget to tell/show him I love and appreciate him so much. I need to work on that!

KIDS: DS is 2.5 and is in the throes of learning and understanding so much right now. I love it!! We're expecting DD in March and while I don't look forward to the every 2-3 hour MOTN wake ups, we're excited for our expanding family. DS loves babies, but I'm nervous to see how he'll take to DD since she won't "go away" after a few hours, and he will no longer be the only child.

FAMILY: My family (or rather, one member in particular) has always been a bit loco and this year doesn't look any different. If anything, it'll probably continue being worse. There's talk of remediating some of it, but we'll see how things pan out.

Home: We've been in our apartment for almost three years and genuinely love it. We are hoping to move back to our home state in the next two years (preferably within a year) so we will continue to rent. Just working on purging our things and organizing.

Relationship: DH and I are doing really well. We haven't had a real out of the house date since DD was born but we make it a priority to spend time together at home.

Kids: DD recently turned one and she is a complete blast. I love that I get to stay home with her and I am really looking forward to doing more activities with her this year and just seeing more of her personality come to life. We are still undecided on a second, but that we wouldn't start trying for at least a year anyway.

Family: We live about 2.5 hours away from most family. We miss them and try to see them as much as possible. When we are able to move home we hope to be less than 30 minutes from all of our parents. I really look forward to that.

Overall I think this will be a great year.

HOME: Small projects around the house but nothing major. Working towards saving for a bigger home, but we don't plan to move for another couple years.

RELATIONSHIP: We're good right now. Just want to keep up the date nights. I'm sooo happy we finally have a consistent babysitter.

KIDS: Toddlerhood is trying, but also really fun, so I'm trying my best to enjoy the ride. We've been TTC #2 for awhile so I'm hoping LO will get a sibling this year.

FAMILY: Hoping it is a pretty calm year for everyone. We are on good terms with everyone but there have been some health scares on DH's side which have stressed everyone out. I hope this year is better for the people involved.

HOME: DH and I are planning on some major DIY renovations (aka, attempting to finish the basement to a degree where the kids can play down there). Also, a major decluttering of the basement and garage, and of "stuff" in general.

RELATIONSHIP: We have been making some big strides in communication, especially about finances. I'm hoping this continues. Also, definitely hoping for some more date nights!

KIDS: DS2 will be turning 1 in July....which means we'll (ok, more like I'll) be pushing for TTC again. As for the kids we already have, we'll be potty training, but other than that, I'm just looking forward to my boys growing together.

FAMILY: Less IL drama......that's a lot to ask for

HOME: we love our home. Depending on other factors, we may move but I'm not banking on that. We will paint and maybe replace the floors this year.

RELATIONSHIP: Keep up the good work. We've had a fantastic second half of 2015 and I want it to continue.

KIDS: I applied to get her into a different preschool for 2016. We'll see if that happens. If not, same daycare and start applying for 2017 schools. I've already applied for 2017 private school to get on the list if we don't get into the charter and don't move.

FAMILY: Same ol. Visit the parents. Try to figure out what to do about the estranged sister in law and her kids.

Home: I'm apprehensive about our renovations planned for this year. We just spent a ton last year on window replacements and although I literally can not wait to gut our kitchen, I have a feeling it will cost a lot more than we've anticipated. It'll be an extremely busy semester at school for me and I know I won't be able to dedicate more time on other things.

Relationship: Although I'll likely be very busy, my schedule for the upcoming months will be a lot more stable. I really hope that the added stability will lessen my stress - it's been crazy these last few months and it's taken a toll on our relationship.

Kids: I hope DD will continue to thrive. It's such a blessing to be able to see her grow into a mischievous little preschooler.

Family: We have no plans in expanding our family. For once, I think we're happy where we are and do not want to tempt fate by trying to add another. We're good And it feels so nice to be able to plan ahead without adding any what ifs into the equation.

HOME: We have a few projects we want to tackle this year... like a fresh coat of interior paint, and getting brand new carpet. It's going to be a pain, but I need to stop putting it off!

RELATIONSHIP: Really great! We have a deep friendship, and he's just so understanding, thoughtful, and kind.

KIDS: They're growing so fast. Turning 3 and 5 within the next month, and DD will be entering Kindergarten this year - where did the time go?? They do need to work on those listening skills though!

FAMILY: Pretty calm and even keel. Nothing new to report! But no news is good news.

HOME: we might be putting our house up for sale...we're running out of room!

RELATIONSHIP: I think there will be some challenges but I hope we can stay strong and support each other!

KIDS: adding one more in August. They're all pretty close but I hope they calm down a bit (mostly my oldest)

FAMILY: I hope to be closer with my sisters and take care of my parents more.

HOME: we have no plans to move anytime soon. We are in the process of a huge purge and reorganization of our house to make better use of our space. The playroom was reorganized over winter break. We got rid of the bed frame and ordered a Murphy Bed for our guest room and moved the upstairs tv in there with a new couch. I love it! It used to be a office/guest room but now our home office is moved across the hall and now that room is an exercise/office room. It just works much better now. LO is getting another bookshelf in her room and the nursery is being cleaned out (it's basically a storage room right now). We have two overhead garage racks but are adding two more for more storage. Then all the closets and cabinets will be purged and reorganized. 2016 is the year of having a cleaned out and organized home! It's our New Years goal to maintain the organization throughout the year!

RELATIONSHIP: in a really great place and I'm always so thankful for that. We know each day we have with each other is such a gift. Our goal for the new year is to be more present with each other.

KIDS: LO just turned 4 and it is such a fun age! She's at a great school and loves her teachers and friends. We are doing our embryo transfer next week and are very hopeful and excited. LO is very excited to add another baby to the family too which I love.

FAMILY: both sets of parents are retired now and are so helpful. We are noticing that they just seem older now and worry about their health but all we can do is encourage them to take care of themselves.