January 1st is always the time when everyone is making resolutions. Don't kid yourself, we all do it. We choose something we want to change and sometimes we succeed and we do in fact do our resolution for longer than a day! Sometimes its a month, a couple months...sometimes its an epic fail! But, with that being said, here I am on January 1st and I am thinking of all the things I would like to do in 2014...what changes do I want to make to better my life? I could make a list of 100 things - easy. But, I also want to be a little realistic and only do things I can actually accomplish. I can talk all day about making a change but nothing changes by talking...I actually have to do it!
As I pondered what I wanted most I went to losing weight. Since having Henry almost 4 months ago I carry a little extra weight, loose skin, all those magical things that happen to a woman's body after carrying a child inside her for 9 months. And as much as I do want to continue running and exercising when it works out and I want to eat healthier but most of all, I want ACCEPTANCE. I want to accept my current weight, my stretch marks and loose skin. If I lose 5 lbs or 10 lbs or gain 15 I want to accept that too. But, by acceptance I don't only mean acceptance of my figure. I want to accept more than that. I want to accept that my house won't always (or ever be) spotless with 3 kids and 2 cats! I want to accept that when my kids grow up they won't remember a messy house but they will remember building puzzles and lego houses! They will remember playing with playdough and reading books! I need to accept that laying back and having fun with them is more important than constant cleaning! I need to accept that everyone does things differently. I have to accept that some other Mom's will find time to have a spotless house, make delicious fresh baked goods, cook a healthy meal, teach their toddler their abc's, workout for 2 hours and still have their hair and make up done when they their husband comes home. I need to accept that they may be able to do all of that in one day when the most I accomplished was feeding my kids and changing from pyjama pants to sweat pants! I need to accept that some days are going to suck.You know the days when you overslept, the cat puked on the front mat, the baby is teething or your daughter forgets her lunch at home. Those days can suck but I bet at the end of the day you can find a moment that didn't suck. Like, when among the tears of your teething baby you pick him up, cuddle him and sing him a lullaby and find him staring up at you with a big gummy smile. Or picking up your daughter from school and hearing her say "Mom!" and come running into your arms. Or when reading a book to your son he leans over and says "I love you". If you can accept that some days will suck, you will also accept that even though some days are hard, there is good in every single day! You just need to be open to it!
Another resolution is to spend more quality time. I want to spend quality time with my kids individually and as a family. I find that during the busy days it can become a competition for my time. But if you can give each kid private attention even for 5 minutes a day you will find them less annoying and they won't be struggling for your attention - because they got it. I can hear what my son wants to tell me without his older sister interrupting him and putting words in his mouth. I can hear about my daughters day at school and hear what was good or bad about her day or what she learned. I can spend 5 minutes, in a quiet room, with my baby and watch him discover his toes or listen to him coo and gab. I also need quality time with my husband. Even if its 5 minutes of talking in bed before we turn out the lamp. I have discovered that right now in our life is the busiest we have ever been. We have always been busy but right now its a different busy. We are running with our 5 year olds activities. We are running with our 3 year old and dealing with a baby and sleepless nights and lots of laundry and very little time for eachother as a couple. Its very easy to put our relationship on pause to concentrate on kids and trying to get 5 more minutes of sleep. But I want to make time to hear how my husbands day was or pause for a minute to hug in my kitchen. I want to curl up in bed and tell him a funny story about the kids and kiss him goodnight. Quality time. Five minutes of quality time is much better than an hour of not really "being" there.
Lastly, I want to laugh. I want to laugh more than I frown. I would rather look in the mirror and apply corrective eye cream to laugh lines than scowl lines. I want to laugh at the chaos of everyday life. I want to sit down and B.S. with my sister in law about potty training and temper tantrums and lack of sleep and laugh and know that me and her and every other Mom out there have something in common. I want to sit on the floor and wrestle and tickle my kids and laugh at their silly sense of humor! I want to read Robert Munsch books and make funny voices and hear my kids laugh and in return laugh with them! I want to tell my husband corny jokes and laugh my ass off while he rolls his eyes and starts laughing at me! Nothing feels better than talking with friends or family and laughing, laughing til your stomach hurts and your eyes water! I want more of those moments in my life!
And I guess - if all those things fail I can always give up smoking. In 28 years of life, I haven't smoked for 28 of those years! Can you say successful new years resolution or what!
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you find time to sit down and evaluate 2013 and think about what you want in 2014. I hope that the new year brings you health and happiness - whatever happiness is to you!
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