GTKY: Reflecting on 2016

[mcp6286]

Give us a pro-con-pro recap of your year! Bonus: what are you most looking forward to in 2017 (other than baby)?

[mcp6286]

Pro: DD's 1st birthday party! It was the most perfect, fun day and exactly how I envisioned it being. We had 65 people there and DH/FIL got a bounce house, petting zoo, cotton candy machine, the works! Her cake smash was adorable and she was thrilled to play with her friends all day.

Con: I was promised a teaching job in June when a long term sub ended at a school where I was incredibly happy in the town in NJ I've always wanted to live in. The first week of Aug they called me and said they'd decided to give it to someone else at the last minute. I was devastated, and we had to move to VA when I got a new job.

Pro: finding out this LO was coming! It was a bit surprising but exciting.

For 2017: DH and I are working hard on a plan to pay off our debt, and we'll finish a large chunk this year. Can't wait till that day!

[sagen]

Con 2016: I am in my new house, and have been for a week with no furniture, it has been 12 days since they took our stuff, I have no idea when the hell I get it. I had to buy more Christmas stuff from Santa, as all of our presents are on the damn truck which they said, oh sure it will be there by Christmas. It's stressful and annoying, our house in our previous state hasn't sold.

Pros: sweet new baby, happy cute kids, marriage going well

I am looking for forward to getting my stuff from the moving truck fingers crossed it is in 2016 and not 2017!!

[hpnegirl]

Pro: DH will officially have his PhD come this Saturday! We seriously can't wait and have been counting down to that moment. It won't be physically here until early/mid-Jan but it will be printed and dated for 12/30/16.

I also landed my current position which is a better fit for me than the one I took to move us back out here.

DH is now working full time, for the first time in his life.

Cons: we racked up a lot of debt while DH was on his measly stipend and we had DS in daycare.

2017: we're hoping to pay off all the credit card debt and finally stop living paycheck to paycheck. We'll be paying a huge chunk the next three months before I go on unpaid leave

[hpnegirl]

But quite frankly, 2016 can suck it (there's a lot of negative things that happened that I didn't mention above) and I'm ready for 2017

[icedtea]

Pros: Getting pregnant with this baby. Awesome trip to Switzerland with H.

Con: Aside from the obvious ones, my general mental health as we ttc.

2017: Moving to New England!

[lupincat]

hpnegirl Congrats to your husband, that's wonderful!

Pros: We went as a family (H, me, DS, my mom, and sister) to Universal and it was SO MUCH FUN. DS turned one, we found out about Baby2.0, DH finally graduated after 8 years of hard work.

Cons: The election was (is?) a giant black cloud over 2016 but aside from that we personally had a decent year.

For 2017: I'm just excited to see what comes our way, aside from the obvious new addition to the family!

[rosesquared]

Pros: Getting through 2 really difficult semesters of business school (knowing I have one easy one left) and getting pg pretty quickly (saved us a bunch of money/stress/etc).

Cons: Having a melanoma and this awful scar on my face, and my FIL's health and MIL's inability to be a functioning human.

2017: Super looking forward to finishing school and having a nice "break" before having to find a job.

[mcp6286]

Dec 26, 2016 19:39:26 GMT -5 hpnegirl said:

But quite frankly, 2016 can suck it (there's a lot of negative things that happened that I didn't mention above) and I'm ready for 2017

Same! Aside from the kids, this was one of the worst years ever.

[nikonine]

Pro: experiencing family life with H and watching DD developed her personality and learn new things everyday

Con: not being satisfied with my job (although it hasn't been as bad lately)

Looking forward to continuing to pay off debt and hitting some financial goals by spring.

[sleepymonkey]

Pros: Finally getting pregnant on my own after almost a year and a half of TTC; taking DD to Disney World for the first time and seeing her face light up with every princess she met; getting a promotion at work that came with a very good pay increase.

Cons: Racked up a lot of debt that I blame on dealing with IF - from 6 months of unsuccessfully working with an RE and also the fact that I'm an emotional shopper and the stress and depression it caused made me spend way more than I should have; lost a dear friend to addiction; realized our neighborhood is not really where we want to be but we can't do much about it.

In 2017, I'm looking forward to coming up with a plan to pay down my debt as quickly as possible.

[txcatlady]

Pro: finding out about this baby! Took an awesome and luxurious trip to California with DH. Meeting our savings goal.

Cons: finding out my sister and BIL will be in El Paso for 2.5 yrs instead of the 8 months they originally expected. Also that BIL will be deploying to Afghanistan again and might not get to meet the baby for almost a year.

2017: becoming a mom! Keeping a closer eye on our budget since DH will be a SAHD. Also coming up with a plan to save enough to buy a bigger house in 2-3 yrs

[cubbiebear325]

Pro: Getting pregnant with this kiddo after only 3 months of trying since dd took 21 months. It was such an amazing surprise for it to happen so soon. I also have just enjoyed watching dd grow and learn. She is such a smart, sweet, funny little girl who is truly the biggest blessing in our lives.

Con: My stepdad got diagnosed with AML (leukemia) in February and spent most of the next 6 months in the hospital for chemo. Luckily he has been in remission now since September, but it was terrible for my parents and hard with him being out of work and my mom teaches a preschool/daycare at thier church 2x/week so not a great job financially.

Also my scary possible fluid rupture and bleeding wasn't much fun either back in November, but luckily doing well now.

2017: Hopefully finishing our basement for more room once baby is here and of course looking forward to this little peanut joining our family and seeing how dd adapts. I'm actually looking forward to and think I will enjoy the newborn phase a lot more this time and enjoy maternity leave more. Its just such a hard transition and big change with the first.

[lupincat]

cubbiebear325 LT for all of the good stuff. I'm sorry to hear about your stepdad but I'm so glad that he's in remission!

[lastkiss]

Pro: 30 months of trying to conceive our 2nd child and ending up with two after only one round at the fertility clinic

Con: My uncle suddenly passing away and dealing with his estate.

Also severelly spraining my foot in February and having to be on crutches/walking boot for over 8 weeks

Pro: Getting offered partnership at my firm, even though I turned it down because we can't financially afford it with the twins on the way. But it's still on the table when I return from mat leave

2017: getting to watch DS become a big brother.