It's a brand new year! How crazy is that? With a still relatively new baby in the house, Rhyno and I decided to stay home last night and quietly bring the new year in together. We watched movies, played some killer games of peek-a-boo, ate delicious food, and ushered in a new year as a family of three. It was quiet and low-key and kind of really wonderful.
Last year as I reflected on 2013 there was so much uncertainty in my life and wishes for good things to happen. The morning of New Year's Eve last year, Rhyno and I clinked coffee cups and swore 2014 would bring big changes for us. It was going to be our year and boy was it ever!
2014 has been a real beaut--it was the year my dad beat cancer and I became a mom. There will never be another year where I hear my first baby's heartbeat for the first time or hold Rowan in my arms for the very first time or see his gummy little smile for the first time. It was a year of magic and firsts and love and feeling whole. The year had it's challenges, of course, with work stresses and the challenges of being new parents and my dad kicking the crap out of cancer for the better part of '14 but I wouldn't trade in those 365 days. Where 2013 felt like a punch in the gut, 2014 felt like victory. I have a sneaky feeling 2015 is going to be even better, too.
I've seen a bit of a change in tide regarding New Year's resolutions recently, people "rebelling" and not setting goals for the year ahead to avoid the pressure, the cliche, the whatever else. I'm definitely not one of those people. I am excited to make some (very attainable) goals for the year ahead and work toward them in the next twelve months.
Do More of What Makes Me Happy
This is pretty general, I just want to focus on being positive and doing more of what makes me happy and less of what makes me a grouchy beast. Whether it be at home, at the gym, at work, what have you I want to love what I do. I also am making a bigger, better effort not to let life's annoyances and toxic people drain me of my good energy. Basically, I don't give a rat's ass about being around things/people/situations that damage my good vibes so I'm pressing the mute button on them. Life is too short (and sometimes feels too long) to allow bitter hags to rule your mood. My life is mostly rainbow colored unicorns and cotton candy clouds and I have really wonderful people in my inner circle, if you aren't on my happy level you can GTFO. There will always be stressful things and crabby nights of no sleep and unavoidable bad situations and days where I'm just a raging bitchface, that's part of life and I have people I can vent to, but I'm going to smile and be happy as much as I can. It's like the proverbial "they" say: you can't control what happens, you can only control how you respond.
Take Care
I'mma take care of everything! Post-pregnancy my body felt like a mess and I have had a hard time fitting in exercise (especially with the bitter cold barring me from even walking the neighborhood with Ro-Boat in his stoller). I spent a bit of last night finding work outs that can be done at home, without equipment and some even WITH your baby. After some breastfeeding challenges (more on that in another post) I've also cleaned up my diet. Since I felt like a schlub after having the baby I relied heavily on maternity leggings and nursing tank tops, never putting on makeup and piling my hair in a messy bun. Now that I feel a bit more comfortable with nursing and I'm working on gettin' my bod right, I want to take better care of my appearance again.
This one also applies to my relationship--I want to take care of the bond between my husband and I. People aren't kidding when they say the first few months of being a parent are hard on your relationship. Rhyno and I made a pact to make a better effort to be good to one another and reserve one evening a week for date nights (thank goodness for grandmas who love to babysit, am I right?).
Keep Turning this House into a Home
Our house is really cute. I mean, seriously, it is really cute. But over the last year or so, we've noticed more and more things that need work (#homeownerproblems, for real). When I was eight and a half months pregnant Rhyno noticed the shower in our master bathroom had cracked and now the entire room needs to be gutted (someday remind me to tell you how hilarious it is showering in our tiny basement shower when you have a belly for miles and can barely bend over). Our kitchen has been a disaster area (it is still my least favorite room) and we have plans to begin renovations on that as well. Rhyno and I made a list of the big home changes we'd like to work on this year--the bathroom, kitchen, making a berry patch in the backyard, fixing up our back patio, working on some of the landscaping. As I slip more into the homeowner role, I realize how important curb appeal is.
Aside from BIG changes, I also have plans to re-organize our digs and cozy up some rooms (on a budget, of course). For instance, Rowan's nursery could also use some organizational magic--that kid has a lot of stuff! My angel of a mother has also been staying over in our guest room/my office once a week so I'd like to make that space a bit more inviting for sleepovers while still being conducive to a productive work day. I've also made a full time transition back to our bedroom with my tiny co-sleeping babe (again, another post on how I jumped into being an accidental vegan and my accidental attachment parenting) and I want our bed to be a sanctuary of sorts. I want to be able to comfortable nurse Rowan at 2am without having to reorganize 845 pillows in the dark with a crying baby waiting to eat.
Make it Rain (on my bank account)
Changes are a' comin' and I want to be prepared with a fully loaded bank account. With plans for our home updates and my own demand that we go on vacation this year (see below), I want to make sure that we are saving as many of our pennies as possible without missing out on things we want to do. I was pretty good about saving money and getting on a budget last year when I was couponing and really paying attention to our bank account. Since having a baby I paid less attention to spending money (Rowan needs cute booties! I need a hands-free pumping bra! Who needs coupons or sales?) and I need to change that. I'm jumping back into couponing, making our own cleaning supplies, looking for sales on big items, being mindful of when we make big purchases, meal planning, and keeping baby items as low-cost as possible. Instead of going out to eat or ordering in, I've made a resolution to actually use our cookbooks. I have an entire cabinet of cookbooks ranging from all chocolate desserts to gluten free to vegan homecooking. Once a week, on a night we'd normally order pizza or Chinese, I plan to use a cookbook recipe instead. We get to try something new without spending a ton of money.
Until now we've been cloth diapering about 10% of the time and using disposables 90%. To help save money and the planet and keep our house as cruelty-free as possible, I am hoping to reverse that ratio (basically only having disposables on hand for babysitters or days where we're out and about) and introducing re-usable wipes. Yes, it'll be messy but it'll be worth it.
Get Out There
My biggest goal in 2015, and in motherhood in general, is to get out there and try new things and see new places. I've done a bit of research about free programs and classes and events in our area to check out with Ro. I also made a rule that we have to take a family vacation every single year without exception, even if it's short or on a really tight budget (we are already pricing out a trip to visit family in Florida for a long weekend this summer--Ro will see the ocean for the first time!).
Bring it on, 2015, I have a feeling you are going to be so rad...because I'm going to make sure you are rad.
What are your resolutions for 2015?
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You look so pretty today.