Welcome 2011! Looking forward to the year ahead.

2010 was a great year, but alas, it's time to move on. I'm hoping to make the best of the year that is yet to unfold, a year that will hold a great many challenges that I'm sure we will triumph over. 

This year, I will be going back to school to pursue my Pharmaceutical MBA. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I'm not sure how I will balance work, school and family - but I am lucky that I have a husband who is able to stay home with the kids and is such a huge help with everything around the house and also helps me manage my stress levels. I'm very lucky that my employer is going to completely fund my MBA program as long as I get at least a B in each course. I'll be taking 2 courses per session, along with a total of three week long residencies and I'll obtain my degree in 2 years. Of course, this is all pending formal acceptance into the program, so I guess I should worry about getting accepted a bit more, though I'm already past that part and now trying to plan around classes, residencies and full time work!

In 2011, Benjamin will begin to crawl, and then walk and I'm sure he will keep us on our toes. I anticipate some sibling squabbles and hope that they don't get too bad. Victoria will begin Pre-K this year and we hope to still keep her on her current schedule of 2 days per week at school, 1 gymnastics class and staying home with Derek the other times. Unfortunately, our local school district does not offer a Pre-K program, or we would consider putting her in full-time, but right now putting her back into the daycare program with Pre-K doesn't seem necessary.

Some general goals I have for 2011 include:

1. Getting and staying organized at home!  I am a planner, and I'm pretty organized when it comes to work and plans, but the house makes me feel like I'm living in chaos! I hope to get organized and keep it that way. I actually plan to get a dry erase board or calendar to keep a chore chart, mainly for the big things like shampooing the carpets and deep cleaning the kitchen and bathroom more than the general clean-up.
2. Getting our household finances in order and living on a tighter budget to allow for more savings/paying down debt.  We're still adjusting to being a one income family with quite a few unplanned medical expenses, but I'm hopeful that things will fall into place a bit more in the new year.
3. Keeping up with photos - taking them, printing them and storing/organizing them. In the past few years I've been good at taking the photos, but that's where it ended!
4. Keeping up with my crafts. I'll post more details about my 2011 crafting plans in another entry, but I'd really like to stick with my creations. It's a huge stress reliever for me and something I really enjoy.