Friday Fives: New Years Resolutions

I have several things I've been working on in my life that I decided to turn into New Years Resolutions. I know that many people make resolutions only to forget about them a week into the New Year. But these are things that I think are really important for my family, my health, my well-being. Therefore, i'm going to work really hard, and hopefully be successful in achieving them.

1. Lose Weight
    Obviously this is a quite common NYR. But since I just had a baby, I think it's really important to my general health to lose the extra 21lbs i'm carrying around. I have 10lbs of Joseph weight (well, 6 is holiday weight. I was down to only needing to lose 4, it's now up to 10). The rest is my Stephanie Pregnancy weight. To keep myself accountable, i'm going to post my failures and successes on my blog. Once a week or so you can expect updates on how i'm doing in this department. I haven't decided whether or not to sign up for Weight Watchers or just try losing it on my own. Right now, i'm working on small changes (drinking more water, eating more fruits & veggies, and consuming less refined sugar.) I also have a goal of exercising every other day using our Wii Fit, and on alternate days doing an ab workout that I found in a magazine. If after a few weeks this doesn't seem to be working, i'll consider WW.

2. Be more organized
     This is a pretty generalized resolution. To be more specific, I want to be more organized with the things we do on a daily basis. I want to set out our clothes at night for the next day so that I can grab them quick and get us dressed in the morning. I want to have weekly dinner menus set up so that I don't have the "what are we having for dinner tonight?" conversation with myself on a nightly basis. If I create the menu on the weekends, I can go grocery shopping once a week and get all we need, with one mid-week mini-trip to stock up on milk and fresh fruit as needed. I also want to have Joseph's bottles washed and prepared every night before bed. And I really, really want to work on having Stephanie put her toys away as she finishes playing with them so that we don't have 15 things to clean up at nap-time and the end of the day. I work better when things are organized and orderly, so hopefully doing these things will help keep me relaxed and calm, especially during the early morning and early evening "rushes."

3. Be "in the moment" with my kids
     I already blogged about this, but it's still something i'm working on and striving to get better at on a daily basis. You can read about it here.

4. Take some "me" time every day.
     I think all moms feel guilty about doing things just for themselves. I know I do. I want to be super-mom, and get everything accomplished, and always do fun things with my kids, always have nutritious meals on the table, be super organized, keep a spotless house, and be happy all the time. But in reality, none of that get's accomplished if I don't have some time for myself. I'm a better mommy and wife when i'm calm and relaxed. So every day I want to make sure to fit 15 minutes into my day to do something for myself. I love to read, but haven't read a single book since Joseph was born. To remedy that,  i'll use my daily 15 to sit and read, preferably in the morning with a cup of coffee or at nap-time with a cup of tea. I find that when I do this, I get rejuvenated and have more happy energy to devote to my family. Including it on a daily basis should help us all be happier and more productive.

5. Have more patience.
     There are no "tips and tricks" for this one. I just need to work on it, catch myself when i'm starting to snap at Dan or Stephanie, and take deep breathes before I speak to them if something is upsetting me. I have a history of being impatient with people, so this is something i've worked on all my life. But, I want to jump-start my efforts, because it isn't fair to my family to have a frazzled, irritated wife and mommy all the time. I think that the previous 4 resolutions will all help me to be happier and calmer, and hopefully that will create a more patient me.

I know that none of these things can happen overnight, but using them as benchmarks all year long will be my goal. If they are in the back of my mind, i'll know they are there and things that I should be working on. I'm looking forward to a happy, healthy New Year with my beautiful family of four. Feel free to share your resolutions with me in the comments section! I hope all of my readers have a wonderful New Years, and please be safe!

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