It doesn’t seem right that 2020 is almost over.
This has simultaneously been the longest yet fastest year of my life.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
January 2020
In January I got to take a weekend trip BY MYSELF to Atlanta to stay with my aunt and cousins (ah, the good ole days where you could travel without a care in the world). I had so much fun. It was just what I needed to get my mind off my big birthday coming up…
My 30th birthday came whether I wanted it to or not. I was not happy about turning 30 and was dreading it for months, maybe even years. I tried to turn this mindset around and look at the positives. It was really hard, but with what 2020 would soon bring, turning 30 was honestly the least of my worries.
February 2020
I came back to Atlanta in February but brought the whole fam with me this time. And to our surprise, it snowed while we were there!
I went WAY out of my comfort zone and modeled in a fashion show fundraiser and I had SO much fun.
February was a good month. I got my first paid Instagram post deal. I started working with lots more brands and figuring out more and more how to be successful as a blogger.
March 2020
Here’s where things get crazy…
The first crazy thing was that I decided on Brad’s birthday to go get him a dog. Hadn’t planned on it one bit, but just had the thought that morning and went with it.
Then talk of COVID started. At first, we all laughed it off and thought it was funny. We thought people were overreacting. We thought it would blow over.
Boy, were we wrong.
We went to visit my brother and sister-in-law on weekend early March, and while we were there, North Carolina’s governor announced that all public schools were shut down for the next two weeks.
We all couldn’t believe it. We had no idea that South Carolina was next and that the kids would not go back the rest of the school year.
My daughter’s school was shut down, then my little ones’ Mother’s Morning Out program was shut down as well. My husband is a teacher so he was home as well.
There we were. Me, my husband, three kids, and a new dog. Stuck in a house indefinitely.
We started doing a lot of take out…
We spent a lot of time outside and the neighbors were the only people we saw…
Chelsea’s dance class went virtual…
To give Chelsea something to do, I came up with the idea of her drawing pictures and mailing them to friends and family.
But March was also a pivotal month for me. I was invited on a Zoom call with some local bloggers and that call opened up so many opportunities for me that are still unfolding today. So many new friendships, new partnerships, new mindset.
April 2020
There is not much to report in April, except staying at home and spending Easter at home alone…
Plus celebrating Chelsea’s birthday at home.
I was doing a lot of online shopping and coming up with projects around the house to do. I was staying up late and doing Tik Toks with Chelsea. She didn’t mind. But she was so sad that she wasn’t going back to school.
It broke my heart that Chelsea’s birthday wish was for the coronavirus to go away…
May 2020
A lot of my house projects started coming together this month…
Camille was growing up so much right in front of our eyes…
Chelsea finished Kindergarten virtually and got to go say goodbye to her teacher from the car…
We finally got to see some family and things slowly started opening back up a little…
Our neighborhood pool opened up, and that gave us something fun to do.
June 2020
In June we got to celebrate my mom’s retirement.
Lots of pool days were happening…
Chelsea did her “virtual dance recital”…
Anddddd it was the best day ever when these 3 started “summer camp” (going 3 days a week for 4 hours a day).
July 2020
We were so excited for July because it meant celebrating this baby turning one…
She started walking in July before her birthday.
But I ended up getting very sick the week of her birthday.
I was so sure I had gotten COVID. I got a test and had to wait three days for the results.
We had to cancel Camille’s party and quarantine. But luckily, late on the night of Camille’s birthday, I found out my test was negative.
Even though I was very sick, we still celebrated the birthday girl the best we could.
We were supposed to go with my parents to Charleston that next week and we thought we might have to cancel because I was so sick. But thankfully I started feeling better and we were able to go.
When we got back we were able to finally have my baby girl’s party with family.
August 2020
In August, my life completely changed.
I had been having an internal struggle wondering if I should try and start my own business and quit my part time job. Well the decision was taken out of my hands when I was unfairly fired.
In the next week, I started my business and started a podcast with my friend Lexi.
I also started selling my photo presets…
Chelsea was so excited to start first grade…
September 2020
Camille and Cooper started Mother’s Morning Out (and I officially had all my kids in school for a few hours a day).
This was the busiest month as I took on so many clients and tried to get everything on the back end set up for my business. Chelsea snapped this picture of me doing a coaching call one day when she was home doing virtual learning…
October 2020
At the beginning of October, my little buddy turned 3…
We had a celebration with family for him and my niece who turned 2…
I also got the pleasure of being in The Poinsett Bride’s fall photoshoot and wearing some of their gorgeous gowns.
My proudest accomplishment in my business was releasing my first e-course, my Instagram Masterclass.
I got together with some of my local blogger friends to do a luxury picnic and it was so much fun!
The kids had fun dressing up for Halloween.
November 2020
In November I transformed the kids’ playroom into my office so I could have a dedicated space to work.
Thanksgiving looked different this year, but we still got to see some of our family…
December 2020
December got off to a great start going to the Holiday Influencer Brunch at South Wind Ranch.
I took the kids to see Santa, but only one was happy about it…
I loved our Christmas decorations this year…
Chelsea was lucky enough to make a best friend in Kindergarten and then have her in the same class again in 1st grade. And lucky for me, I became friends with her mom! New friendships are so special and I’m so grateful for her and all the adventures she always takes me on! This was our most recent one to the mountains…
Christmas was certainly not the same with tons of traditions we weren’t able to do this year, but the kids had a great time and that’s all that matters…
My latest project with Lexi and her business partner is a 2021 planner that is absolutely amazing. You can read all about it and pre-order here!
As 2021 is upon us, I’m gearing up to continue having success in my business, continue to have amazing guests on the podcast, and continue having growing, thriving kids who are loved.
I will talk more about my plans and vision for 2021 in my next blog post. This one was for reflecting on the year we just had. It was a doozy. But looking back on all of this makes me so incredibly grateful. I had so many opportunities that I never would’ve had if I hadn’t taken some chances and gotten out of my comfort zone. I have kids who have the best life. I have made new friends that are so incredibly special to me.
2020 is one for the books. But I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Would you?
xoxo,
Lindsey
PS-My 2019 Year in Review post is here if you wanna check out last year’s.
PPS-This post, just like last year’s, was inspired by Helene Sula of Helene in Between.
Happy New Year to your family from mine!
