I took a Think Kit hiatus this last week because I was literally so sick that it hurt my eyes to even look at a computer screen.  I was tested on Friday for Strep and Influenza and I tested positive for BOTH.  Get your flu shots, kids.  The good news though, is that I never really had a fever because I stayed on top of my tylenol or ibuprofen like a boss.  I am still very drained of energy and have a sore throat but today was the first day I had my voice back since Tuesday night.  I think my husband actually enjoyed my lack of talking just a little bit.  On top of that, Raven had a cold (just a cold thank goodness) but that did not make things easier for me.

Moving on, today's Think It question is: what did I discover this year?  When the weather got warm, I started taking Raven on daily walks which she thoroughly enjoyed.  We don't live far from Broad Ripple Park which I hadn't really explored before so I took her for walks over there.  By the way, Broad Ripple Park was an amusement park in the 20's and the Broad Ripple Park pool was one of the largest swimming pools in the nation at the time and they held Olympic swimming trials there!  Yea for learning history!  Anyway, I discovered a lot of great things while at Broad Ripple Park this past spring/summer/fall.  There is a terrace that overlooks the White River which is very serene.  By this terrace, there were absolutely stunning wildflowers.  Despite the White River being known for being dirty, I could look down from the terrace and see fish swimming.  It is a lovely, relaxing nature area in the heart of Broad Ripple.

Not only did the baby and I discover this little piece of nature spot, we also made use of the baby swings at the park.  They also have this giant seat that is on the swing set that I admittedly enjoyed swinging on.  We also enjoyed watching all the happy dogs in the dog park section.  Raven LOVES dogs so hopefully we can get her one in the future;)

Obviously being a first time mom, I have discovered a lot of things in general this year, but I wanted to give a shout out to Broad Ripple Park for being awesome and I'm glad I was able to really discover it with my daughter this year!  Now, let's skip winter so Raven and I can go back and play on the swings again!

Think Kit wanted me to create a pie chart or graph of my year.  To be honest, I have no desire to make a graph unless I'm being paid to do one.  So I'm going to write about what I miss about being a kid vs. being an adult (inspired by a Reddit thread I read today).

1. NO bills!  Nothing can sour a day like getting a bill and knowing the next paycheck will be paying for that and others.  Which brings me to...
2. NO budgets!  I made some sweet moolah as a kid by dog walking/house sitting and that money was used for toys or the mall.   I didn't have to think twice about buying something because of other financial responsibilities and if I didn't have enough money, I couldn't get that toy.  No debt hanging over my head.
3. RECESS!  I miss a good game of four square, kickball, tag, or gossiping about boys I liked in a giant cement tube at the Burtsfield playground.                                          
4. Summer Vacation!  Besides chores, summer time meant freedom.  When we had a pool, it meant swimming almost everyday.  I'm lucky if I get in a pool twice over the summer now.
5. Being fed!  I hate grocery shopping and am not a big fan of cooking but if I don't plan out meals, then I don't get that meal.  Also, my mom is an amazing cook.
6. Saturday morning cartoons!  Maybe it's because I'm an adult now, but cartoons just don't entertain me like they did when I was little.  I know I'll have to be watching some cartoons when Raven gets a little older, but I LOVED Saturday mornings because the cartoons entertained me quite well.
7. Having innocent crushes!  I was shy when it came to boys when I was a girl, but daydreaming about them liking me was so exciting!  I may have written a few names down on a folder or two of the boys I liked.
8. Lots of TLC when I was sick!  Whenever I was hit with a cold or flu, my parents were awesome at trying to keep me comfortable and keeping me happy.  Not that I don't get TLC from my husband, but it's not the same as having your mom or dad around.
9. Children's books!  More specifically, I miss reading Boxcar Children and Goosebumps.  I don't even need to go into detail about how awesome those were.
10. Family road trips!  I always brought my walkman and a box full of cassette tapes.  I would take long naps, I even miss the petty little fights I'd get into with my sister in the car.

Overall, childhood was fantastic.  I am excited to be able to relive a little of it through my daughter.

Think Kit asked me today what habits I started in 2013 that I plan to continue in 2014.  First off, I go to bed early now and wake up early (due to baby waking up early).   I used to never be able to go to bed before 11 pm, I was a semi night owl.  I would wake up right before I had to go to work and be so tired.  By the time work was over, I would either have to take a nap or be exhausted until I hit a second wind around 9 pm and would be up another 2-3 hours.  I don't know if it's exhausting watching a baby all day, but I do not get that 9 pm second wind anymore.  The baby usually falls asleep by 8:30 pm and I go to bed at about 9.  I may watch some television or some reading for around an hour and am asleep by 10.  I naturally wake up between 6:30-6:45 (sometimes before Raven wakes up) and I find it much easier to have this schedule then fighting an alarm clock at 7 am and getting less sleep.  I don't really have a choice to get up early anyway (like most working people do), but I do plan on keeping my same sleep schedule since I feel like I am getting more sleep than before having a baby.  Don't get me wrong, though, I still get tired sometimes.

Another habit I've developed this year is always cleaning the kitchen, at the very least doing dishes all the time.  This mostly started because of having to wash bottles but I haven't had any dishes all piled up in our kitchen since Raven was born.  This is also true of laundry because baby laundry can pile up quickly!  Because I am home mostly with her, I try to clean up here and there.  I would say overall, we have not a spotless house, but a clean house.  Since Raven requires a lot of attention, I can't do a bunch of deep cleaning for a long period of time but when her grandmother wants to watch her, I try to do a chore that require more time than a few minutes.  I like having a clean house, I'm sure my husband does too, so I will continue this habit into 2014.

Today's Think It question is: what has completely surprised me this year?  I know this seems to be a running theme with me, but since it's a major part of my life now I would say motherhood.  Truthfully, not being around infants prior to my pregnancy, I didn't know what to expect or what type of mother I would be.  The sleepless nights in the beginning were extremely hard.  I've always had anxiety but parent anxiety is a new level of anxiety that surprised me.  I am responsible to keep a tiny human being alive!  Yes, I was surprised at how much harder the beginning seemed than I expected, and there are still trying days, but I can't describe the love you feel as a parent unless you are one.  It really is a rewarding experience to watch your child grow and hit milestones!  I also love the baby snuggles;)

Another surprising thing that happened this year was having to have my gallbladder removed.  Late May, I started having a lot of digestive issues and upper right pain in my rib.  My tests were coming back normal so doctors didn't suspect my gallbladder being the issue.   I felt so horrible that I had a short hospital stay in June and a few ER visits for the pain.  Still, ultrasounds were showing no gallstones in my gallbladder so they automatically thought it was ok.

Finally in September, I met a gallbladder surgeon and explained all my symptoms to him.  He said sometimes patients can have a diseased gallbladder with normal tests.  He agreed to go in and look at my gallbladder and take it out if there seemed to be any disease.  I was so desperate for the pain to go away that I agreed to have surgery 2 days later.  Sure enough, I had a very bad gallbladder without gallstones.   It was scarred over from how bad it had gotten.  I was glad to finally have an answer after suffering all summer, but recovery was painful for me and it was frustrating not being able to pick up my baby for a week!  I'm glad that thing is out, though.  Who knows how I'd feel today if I hadn't had it taken out!

Today's Think It question is: What have I made this year?  Well, I made a baby.  That's a pretty big accomplishment.  I did not have a great pregnancy.. nausea/heartburn all nine months, sciatic nerve pain, terrible insomnia in the third trimester, and a bruised rib from a hard kick at one point.  I also have fibromyalgia so I definitely felt the pain of a growing belly and frequent migraines.  And then there was labor, oy vey.  Not that labor is fun, but I did not have the greatest of experiences when it came down to get Raven out.  Drugs did help the first half of the day (I was induced), but the drugs didn't seem to help when it got close to pushing time and I ended up pushing for over 3 hours.  I am lucky that I did not have to have a c section and that the baby and I both were healthy at her birth, but labor was definitely worse than I imagined (which I guess is a good thing because I didn't have too much anxiety about labor while I was pregnant).

Other less important things I made this year was a garden, a scarf, some jewelry, a mom blog, wedding flowers for about 12 weddings, a new journal, my own bath product, some new recipes, and a scrapbook for Raven.  I guess I like making things, including babies.

Well I decided to start Think Kit, a daily question to blog about.  I actually had written an entire blog and then my baby decided to hit the keyboard and it was alllll gone.  So here I go again: how do I plan on getting involved in my community this coming year?  Well, it's been hard for me to do a lot of activities outside the home since becoming a stay at home mother aside from my floral design business.  The past few months, I have donated outgrown clothing and baby essentials to a couple families in need and still have plenty I can donate to those in need this next year.

As for being more involved in the community, I would love to help, but I am a little stumped on how/where I can help that doesn't take time away from my mom job.  The best solution I have found is to use my voice via social media.  I will continue to promote organizations, events, and fundraisers through the world wide web, even if I can't attend all of them.  Being on a tight budget, I can't necessarily donate to all the causes I would like to, but I will try this year to get some volunteer work in.  I want to lead by example to my child and hope to show her the importance of giving back, to think of others and help where you can.  I know she's too young to understand now, but hopefully she will learn to become a selfless person and realize the importance of community.