2022 is already off to an eventful start! As we look forward to the month ahead, I can’t help but wonder if this will be the last month “just the 2 of us” at home. WHEN will we be headed to Seoul?! The countdown is on.
Highlights
- Lots of snow!
- Dinner with my childhood friend and our husbands
- Cozy mornings and nights at home
- Baby laundry
- Cocktails by the fire
- Picking out recipes to try from The Korean Vegan
- Post-op checkup
- Back on the bike!
- Date night at Coda
Family
It was a very memorable month! We mailed another care package to Korea, our son turned ONE on January 4th, (we celebrated with a homemade sprinkle cake and sent a birthday video to his foster family), found out our case was EP approved on the 7th and court submitted on the 12th, and are anxiously awaiting a court date. While we wait for a court date, I started packing (at least making the world’s longest packing list) for our 7-week trip. (We have to quarantine upon arrival in Seoul, but good news as of Friday – quarantine has been reduced from 10 days to 7 days. I hope this trend continues.)
We just cannot wait to meet our little guy!!! All adoption posts here.
Travel
Scottsdale: We kicked off 2022 in the desert with lots of sunshine, time outside, and Hap snuggles. Our flight home was majorly delayed but the silver lining was admiring the twinkling city lights at night as we landed.
Kohler, WI: We spent the last weekend of January at The American Club in Kohler, WI. Growing up, my family used to go to The American Club every Christmas for a breakfast with Santa (and pick out a new ornament!), so it was incredibly surreal to stay here as an adult. I felt so grown up! On our way up we even drove past my childhood home in Cedarburg and coincidentally met the new owners who are absolutely delightful. It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend before life gets even crazier!
About a week ago, I was cleared to start walking without my boot/crutches, so we spent a lot of time “traveling” outside of our 4 walls. I missed our neighborhood walks SO MUCH and appreciate every minute outside.
Home Projects
Because we’ll be gone for so long this spring, we’ve been using our time cooped up at home while I recover from surgery to finish up some projects around the house. The big 3 we finished/are finishing up next week:
- Fireplace: When we moved in last January, our fireplace was set up as a gas/wood burning combination. The previous owners had never used the fireplace, so we decided to switch it to a fully gas system (less mess and hassle of lugging firewood up our flights of stairs and also visually cleaner lines). It was fun to pick out the glass rocks for the base (and doors that are coming eventually). It’s been such a nice addition to the chilly winter days!
- Office Wall: We finished the office build out late last fall, but knew it was missing another pop of color/texture/interest. We were thinking about adding paint or wallpaper, but decided on tile! It should be in stock next week and installed shortly after. I can’t wait to see the entire office finished!
- Baby’s Room: Like most things these days, the furniture I ordered for the baby’s room in August was still backordered at the beginning of the month. Now that we know we’ll be traveling soon, I cancelled the original order and found something we like even more from Crate & Kids – and it arrived just 3 business days later. All that’s left to do is add a couple decorative touches – my parents are coming in 2 weeks to help with the accent wall and finish up everything before we leave.
Recipes
Favorites this month:
- Sprinkle Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Monster Cookies (naturally GF)
- Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake – baked into 2 loaf pans instead of a Bundt pan
- Homemade Granola – with extra cinnamon and a splash of almond extract
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
- The OG CCC – Ruth Wakefield’s Chocolate Crunch Cookies
- Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Oatmeal Banana Pancakes
Books
I haven’t finished a single book this month, BUT I am loving The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Unfortunately, reading is the first thing to go when life gets crazy – I need to find a way to make more time for my giant stack of books!
Shows/Movies
- Formula 1: Drive to Survive – LOVING it!!! We’re one season in so far and I’m wondering if we should save the next two seasons for quarantine?! Something to look forward to!
- Always Be My Maybe
- Roadrunner
Playlist Favorites
- Mary, You’re Wrong – Wilder Woods
- Sweet Ever After – Ellie Holcombe
- Holy Water – Brett Eldredge
Life
January was WILD. In addition to preparing for Korea and bringing nugget home, Grant and I both recently started new roles, Grant is still taking night/weekend classes at Kellogg, and I’ve still been recovering from surgery. I had no idea how painful or long the recovery would be (or how much PT I’d need after!) – but I see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m infinitely grateful that my surgeon was able to squeeze me into his schedule before the holidays – he knew we were waiting for travel dates and truly made space just for me – one of the biggest blessings to end the year. I can’t imagine dealing with this with a toddler running around!
It’s been a LOT to balance so I’m taking things one day at a time – simply trying to keep up and keep all of the balls in the air! There are so many little details and things to remember and plan for and lots of last minute paperwork that we can’t start yet and still so much to do at home before we leave for the biggest trip of our life. As soon as we have set travel dates, I feel like I’ll be able to take a deep breath and truly focus on getting us ready to go!
As for February? I’m just excited!! I’m looking forward to having my parents in town to finish up the nursery, finalizing packing lists, hopefully receiving our court date, celebrating 10 years together (!!), and maybe finishing a book. 🙂 Can’t wait to see what this month brings!
