I know I’m on blogging sabbatical (or hiatus, maybe?), but this is too important to not post.

Congress and big business (whoa. have i used that phrase, ever?), AKA THE MAN, is trying to put a well-needed end to piracy on the internet by limiting our right to free speech.

If it passes, all of your pretty little blogs and Facebook posts and Pinterest pins and Twitter feeds and even the way you use search engines and shop online will be under strict censorship regulations.

Motherfuckers.

Don’t let them do this. And especially in the good name of trying to protect us.

Sign the petition on Google HERE, where you can also read much more on SOPA/PIPA. No, not Pippa Middleton. She has nothing to do with this.

There are 65 days left until I turn 31.

I’ve decided that I’m going to spend the rest of my time being 30 focusing on some things in my life that need focusing on.

My kids. My husband. My family. My health. My friends. My career.

65 days.

I’m not going totally dark. You can still find me on Facebook, Instagram as katiekavulla, Red Tricycle Seattle and Portland, and SheKnows. And of course, by email at being5blog AT gmail DOT com.

xo.

found here.

I’ve been thinking hard about what my goals are for 2012 and although I have millions running around in my (confused and cluttered) brain, I decided to intentionally go against making a 2012 List, like I did last year. 2011 was probably the busiest of my entire life — it was rewarding in many ways, sweet in many ways and hard in many many ways. It also felt complicated — the schedule juggling, kid juggling (literally and figuratively) and the life juggling. I didn’t see my friends or family much last year and although I did better at living in the moment, I feel that I lost a lot of the simple moments last year in the shit-storm that was learning to be a working parent.

Also, the more I read back over the past year of posts on Being5, the more I noticed how bitter and hard I’ve become. It was hard to read at times. Almost painful. It made my heart ache a little for the person I was a year ago. A bit more innocent. A bit less bitter. A lost less selfish.

Hence, my goals for 2012.

Simplicity. (as much as is possible, at least)

Time with friends and family. (raise your hand if I owe you a phone call. or ten.)

Less TV. More fresh air.

More water. Less other shit.

Finding the good more often. In people and in life.

Be kind. And patient. And sweet. And helpful. And a good listener. Even when I don’t want to be.

Take one day at a time to create the life that I want. For me and for my family.

That’s it. Seven simple lines for the new year.

Tell me, what’s at the top of your list for 2012?

I’m proud to say that some of my articles and contributions have made Best of 2011 lists this year. It was just about this time last year that I booked my first freelance job with Red Tricycle and I began contributing as the Seattle Scout for Stroller Traffic soon after. I hold both places near and dear to my heart, so these are happy moments for me.

(read Red Tricycle Seattle’s 13 Best Stories of 2011.)

(Read Red Tricycle Portland’s The Ten Best Stories from 2011.)

(Read Stroller Traffic’s Best of 2011.)

From our house to yours…

Wishing you a happy 2012.

xo.

The custom iPhone case by PaperCourt Press goes to…

And, the signed copy of The Bungalow by Sarah Jio goes to…

Congrats, Lisa & Ashley! Email me at being5blog @ gmail (dot) com to get the details on how to get your prizes!

xo to everyone who entered! More good things to come in 2012 — promise!

I’ve been dreading going back and re-visiting it because I don’t feel like I paid much attention to it as 2011 got busier and busier and BUSIER.

But, here goes nothing…

You can read the original post HERE.

THE MONTHLY CHALLENGES.

JANUARY: Write one thank you note to someone in my life everyday of the month. – I did tackle this project and sent out a huge stack of thank you notes towards the end of January.

FEBRUARY: Learn to sew — by hand and with a machine. – I don’t even know where the sewing machine is right now.

MARCH: Spend one day a week baking. – Funny.

APRIL: Call and say hi to someone in my life every other day. – Who’s laughing at this one?

MAY: Keep a daily journal. – I’m going to say yes, because I blogged every day. That works.

JUNE: Read instead of watching TV during the daytime. – Nope.

JULY: Watch all the Harry Potter movies. – Again, no. I must do this asap.

AUGUST:To be determined.

SEPTEMBER: To be determined.

OCTOBER: Play cards with Josh in the evenings twice a week. – I wish. Although, I just kick his ass anyway, so what’s the point? (wink, wink, honey.)

NOVEMBER: To be determined.

DECEMBER: To be determined.

RANDOM 2011 TO-DOs

Take a week-long family vacation to the beach. – We chose to stay home instead, mainly because we were to exhausted and busy to prep to be at the beach for a week, although, we did take some weekend trips to the beach instead. Read about them HERE and HERE and HERE.

Go camping. – Took a camping trip in Leavenworth with Josh’s sisters and their families. Lots of swimming, bike riding and time with cousins. Read more HERE.

Put as much money into savings as possible. – We’re better off financially than we were a year ago, for sure.

Finally print and hang pictures around the house. – YES! Although, I still have some blanks in our picture wall and I do have more to hang, but progress, nonetheless.

Have friends over for dinner more often. – Not as much as we’d like. This needs to be a priority for 2012.

Have a monthly date night. – Not every month, but I’d say more often.

Finish landscaping the backyard. – Didn’t happen.

Establish an office area in the house. – We did create an office area. Hopefully this nook can be perfected next year.

Read a book every month. – Pretty close!

Go visit Kassie in Portland. – Sadly, no. Although, we were lucky enough to have our Kissy come visit in March for my 30th birthday.

Get Everett a passport. – Putting this on my ASAP to-do list.

Teach Janie to ride her bike without training wheels. – She’s super close.

Participate in the March of Dimes walk for Team Meggers. – In the pouring rain, at that!

Update Josh and my wardrobe. – This will never end. Mine is a little better. Josh’s still needs some work.

Finish the bunkbeds for the girls. – One of the best things about 2011! Read more HERE.

Finish decorating Everett’s room. – I didn’t even try. Although, we did just buy him curtains. Blackout curtains.

Finish decorating Janie & Meg’s room. – It’s almost complete and will be in the next month.

Reach 100 Being5 Facebook followers. – Success! And I’m almost to 150 now.

Get to an average of 500 daily blog readers. – Hmmm. I’ll need to look.

Relaunch Dress Me. – No. And it’s not going to happen. Thankfully, I have some great outlets for writing about children’s style now. And, I get paid to do it. Bonus!

Send birthday cards to everyone in my calendar on time. – Sorry, friends and family. In fact, 100% of birthday presents were late this year too. That’s horrible.

Attend BlogHer in San Diego in August. – I didn’t make it because I chose to take a trip to LA to meet up with friends instead. More on that HERE.

Teach Meg all her letters and numbers. – Didn’t even need to teach her. She just knows them. Cutie pie.

Get back up to running five-miles comfortably. – Not quite. Although, I do feel comfortable running again.

Take one evening a week for myself, out of the house. Have Josh do the same, in his garage. – Because I’ve had to take a lot of time to work, this hasn’t happened. I hope to make this a reality in 2012.

Be a supportive and encouraging wife. – I hope I have been. I think I’ve improved, at least.

Be a patient and kind mother. – I think I’ve been a better mother in many ways this past year and a worse mother in other ways, mostly due to working at home. You win some, you lose some, right?

Do more crafts with the kids. – Not really. But, I’ve tried to be encouraging of their creativity by making sure that they always have the craft supplies they need and not bitching about crafty-messes.

Establish Friday night as family fun night — games and movies and dessert. –No…

Make cafe style curtains for our kitchen. – Definitely no…

Figure out how I can wear my wedding rings again. – My allergy seems to be improving. Time will tell.

Be a more available friend. – Big fail. BIG FAIL.

Establish a chore routine and allowance for the girls. – No.

Communicate with my brothers and their families more. – Maybe a little? No. Not really. I’m not a great sister, honestly.

Take a picture every day and use Project Life’s Digital Book to organize them every week. – Didn’t happen.

Give our kitchen chairs and table a make-over. – Finally, a yes! Josh put new seats on them and they looked great. Until the kids starting spilling food and drinks all over them. I see new, easy to wipe down kitchen chairs in our near future.

Drink more champagne. (as inspired by laura willard.) – I ordered champagne as often as I could.

Get more professional writing jobs. – For the love of god. Yes. So thankful. So busy. It’s fantastic.

Have an amazing 30th birthday. – Many of you were here. It was wonderful.

Have an amazing, fun-filled summer with the kids. – We did. Busy, but fun.

Go to the dermatologist for a full body scan thing. – Oops. No.

Make a recipe binder. – Again, no.

Make a household binder with important info, packing lists, supply lists, kid info, etc. – One more time, no.

Make an emergency supply kit for our home. – I’ve added to our water supply!

LIVE IN THE PRESENT. (again, thanks LW. good reminder. so hard to do. obviously.) – I’m going to say yes on this one. I’ve tried hard not to live with my head in my day planner, to be more spontaneous and to take each moment as it comes.

Well, I don’t really know what to make of all this. There are some things on here that I forgot about all together. My life has taken a 180 since I wrote this list — from the beginning of the year until the end, so at this point, a list like this seems so unrealistic to me. Make a RECIPE BINDER? For the love of god, I just hope I can remember to FEED THE CHILDREN these days. Will I make another list like this for 2012? I’m still undecided. I always have a running to-do list in my head — personal, family, professional and household — but maybe there are bigger things to focus on right now…

Tell me, did you accomplish what you hoped to in 2011? How do  you feel heading into the new year?

psst! it’s the last day to enter to win a custom iphone case HERE or a copy of sarah jio’s new book HERE. entries are low, which means you might just win! come enter!

I received my last $200 gift certificate for being the winner of the OnlineShoes.com ShoeStakes earlier this year. An entire 11-months filled with shoes — it’s been unreal, really.

As my final purchase, I actually decided to get something other than shoes — one big purchase that I’ve been eyeing the past couple of months…

This is the UGG Australia Kellan Clutch. I’ve been searching for a new clutch for a while now, since all my friends are probably sick of my poor, old Betsey Johnson clutch that I usually tote around with me when we go out to dinner and such. But, I have strict requirements for a clutch — size being the most important feature — and haven’t found one I’ve loved until now.

I think that this girl will fit the bill nicely — I hope she enjoys dive bars at neighborhood Chinese restaurants where everyone is too afraid to actually eat the food, because that’s where I’ll be taking her out this weekend!

So much love to the team at OnlineShoes.com — from marketing to customer service to video production — y’all couldn’t be any better to work with.

Bedding and room design details are still in progress. (yes, there will be the appearance of some chevron stripe here and there…) More on that once it’s all pulled together.

Until then, these happy faces say it all.