Happy New Year! (ya know, like two months ago...)

I got a phone call from our bank saying that our debit card number was flagged for fraudulent purchases.  They wondered if I was in downtown Detroit buying gas and groceries on a day I was home with sick girls.  I'm glad they were on top of it cause I'm not sure I would have caught that - at least not as quickly.  They will reimburse us the $200ish dollars eventually and I got a new card.  It's just weird cause I use my credit card for everything (we get cash back) so I have no idea how our debit card got hacked.  ugh.

So some friends got together to celebrate New Year's Eve.  This reminds me, I forgot to tell you all about the Toddler Nativity.  I was thinking (early December) about how I would love to do a nativity program - like my Glauser nieces/nephews would do.  I think that my girls would love it.  Since we don't live close to family I thought it would be fun to get together with some friends and put on a little Christmas program and dinner.  After working through all the details, the day finally came.  All of my girls had a NASTY cough but I still wanted to take them... then like 3 hours before it started Scarlett threw up.  So ya, we missed the event.  I drove over to the Sawayas and made a few Cafe Rio salads for Jake, Jami and me then took them back to our house.  Sad that we couldn't enjoy the party.  Darn germs!  Luckily on New Year's Eve my girls were all doing great!

Earlier that day I made Oreo Balls.  Yum Yum Yum!  I used a cookie scoop instead of getting my hands all gross and I only dipped the tops, but they turned out delicious.  I tinted the chocolate green so we could tell which batch I used mint Oreos.  And it was so cold outside that I put them in our garage to freeze them!  Do you like my fancy double boiler?  ;-)

We took the bumbos and trays with us - instant twirl seating!

I brought our new Picture Charades game that Kandy gave the girls for Christmas.  The kids loved when it was their turn!  I would help them figure out what to do then they would turn around for the parents and basically freeze up.  They all were so shy!  But when it was their turn again they would run enthusiastically up to the front!  Even though they were bashful, I think they all loved it!  See Scarlett's clip in pink hair?  She found it in my bathroom closet and wanted to be like mom.  :-)

The the kids watched a movie while the adults played this trivia betting game.  It was fun, but mostly cause I was on Jake's team.  Man, he was on fire!  We totally won!  Go Jake!

I used to roll my eyes at parents who left parties early cause their kids had to go to bed, now I'm eating my own words!  That's totally us!  I hate staying out later than like 7pm (and that's pushing it).  Yes, I would love to hang out with my friends.  But around that time my children turn into pumpkins and it's not fun anymore.  So we usually are the first to leave.  Oh well, at least they are all great sleepers!

The next day Jami stayed home with the twirls while the rest of us went and delivered gifts to my neighbors.  I used to do Christmas Gifts but that's such a crazy time of year, I decided this year to do New Year's.  It gave me an extra week AFTER Christmas to put it together.  Genius!  I also went the store-bought route instead of something homemade.  That way we could just leave it on their porch and not worry if they weren't home.  Plus, they won't have to wonder if we have a clean kitchen (I always think about that when I eat treats from other people).  None of my neighbors give out gifts like this.  The first year I stressed that everyone was going to feel obligated to give us something, but I decided nah, forget it, yo home to LA!  Wait.  What?  I'm tired.... I decided that we needed to do something to help our neighbors be more kind.  We got to chat with several of them that day and I love getting to know them better.  One family - who live directly across the street from us - asked if we just moved in!  That's how close we all are.  Little by little we are changing that.  The lady who lives behind us always brings us a beautiful gift in return.  She's Korean and she told me that's their culture.  I have a singing snowman toy from last year.  But it's been a great way to meet some of our neighbors that we normally don't see.  Hopefully they'll start waving back at us when they drive by.

What would New Year's be without goals?  When Jake and I were in CT we decided to make goals in 4 categories: emotional, spiritual, physical, & mental.  That way we could be well balanced (instead of just focusing on losing weight).  In fact our RS lesson in January focused on a conference talk that had the same basic idea... but I can't remember what it was.

Goals also have to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.  We really had this drilled into our heads during our P&W days, but it makes total sense.  Just saying "I want to lose weight" is probably not going to happen.  You need to say "I want to lose 4 lbs this month by exercising 3 times a week and only eating dessert once a week."  SMART.  

Goals are personal and very individual.  But I also think there is value in sharing them with others.  I think it helps us be more accountable but it also helps us really commit to something when it's not just in our heads.  I have other goals that I'll probably only share with Jake, but these are the main goals I want to help our family focus on this year (well at least Jake and me, the kids are just along for the ride).

Glauser Goals for 2015

Emotional: invite one family we'd like to get to know better (from church or our neighborhood) over for dessert per month

Spiritual: have FHE with our little family every week; study BOM by topic every night

Physical: work out 3 times per week (wake up early, late at night?) consistently

Mental: read 2 fun books this year; practice the piano for 30 min a week

Scarlett also gets her own special goal this year: wear clothes everyday.