Goals for 2014

We had a pretty uneventful first weekend of January. It was so cold and snowy out that we couldn't do hardly anything. With temperature below zero, there was no way I was going to take the kids outside to play, even though I really wanted to pull them around on the sled with their new snow pants. Instead, we went to the mall play area for some fun. We may start going there more often if the winter is a below zero one this year lol! The kids had fun and we met up with Grandma Melanie, Aunt April and Uncle Kalvin. We walked all over the mall with them while they spent their gift cards from Christmas. Saw Aunt Ariel and her friends, plus one of Alan's friends from school! Uncle Kalvin even bought the kids a stuffed animal from Build-A-Bear! He bought Alan an Angry Bird that yells when it hits something lol and bought Anna a Valentine's heart puppy. So sweet, thanks Uncle Kalvin! We spent some time with Lon too, watched Despicable Me 2 for the first time (just as cute as the first movie) and hung out at the Village Inn. It was a great weekend, despite the lack of activity lol.


Today was still super cold out, so Alan and I decided to bake cookies for Grandma Melanie instead of venture outside during Anna's nap. The boy loves baking! He was a little disappointed that we didn't make our cookies from scratch lol, but we were using the cookie dough from Aunt April's fundraiser. It was still fun and he did enjoy making little balls of cookies and counting them. We made quite a mess too, which was ironic because of the lack of mixing ingredients. But we had lots of fun!



Despite my crazy perfectionism and anxiety disorder, I don't usually don't do New Year resolutions. I find them quite silly actually. Having worked at a gym for almost four years now, I see a lot of people who start their resolutions and give up after only a few months. I feel like New Year resolutions are just preparation for a future let down. They are always so unrealistic! However, I have been seeing countless motivational blog posts talking about similar things all over the web lately and I have been inspired to post one of my own. I even read a great post about New Year themes instead of resolutions. Loved that one and my goals reflect this most of all. They aren't necessarily goals that can be measured, they are more like ideas for the New Year. Things that I want to better for myself. :) I have thought thoroughly about each one of these goals, they are all realistic and achievable for me and my family.

Be present. This is a big one for me, Lon is always getting on my case about being on my phone too much. And with our current situation where we only get to see Lon a few hours each day, that is not acceptable by any means. Nor is it fair to him and the kids. I need to give my whole family all the attention they deserve while we are together and save the social networking stuff for when I am alone. I need to play with my children more, laugh with my family more, talk no, converse with Lon more. I need to be more present in my life and my family's life more. This also goes along with multi-tasking. If I am so busy doing a million things at once, how will I ever be able to notice the first time Anna brushes her baby's hair by herself or all the times Alan tells Anna he loves her??????? I do not want to miss out on any of that! I need to take on less things at once, clear my mind and truly ENJOY my children. They way that they deserve to be enjoyed! I will change that this year.

Be healthy. And not "lose 20 pounds so I look sexy" healthy, be truly healthy all around. I need to eat better so that I can feel better physically. I need to drink more water each day and less pop. I need to stretch more each night and keep my body moving as much as possible. I have started a new vitamin regimen for my now non-breastfeeding body. I read somewhere recently that people who are inactive more then 11 hours a day will die in three years. Now that is a little much, I think, but I do understand the point that they are trying to get across. Movement is life. I bet no one can guess where that quote is from lol? This also goes along with being natural. I remember when there was a time that we only ate food that we prepared ourselves, didn't buy pop or junk food for ourselves, and I meditated every time someone told me to take a pill for something. We need to get back to thinking like a naturalist. All of my granola friends would be laughing at us if they knew our current state. Its hard now, when I am still stuck in survival mode. But I need to break that, remember that we deserve better.  I will also make this change in 2014.

Be happy. With all the stress and obstacles my family has experienced last year, I have found it hard to always stay positive and optimistic. I have always been the person that can look at a terrible situation and find the few important positive things in it. I have helped so many people out of slumps before and am always willing to lend an encouraging hand. But not lately. Lately, I have been finding myself feeling very depressed, very down on myself. I need to remember that I cannot control everything in life, though I very much would like to lol. Things happen, people change, life moves on… I need to pull myself back together during those dark times and move on too. I am a great person, loving mother, wonderful teacher, hard worker and good friend. I am not a failure and our life is not over. Even if we do not find a new place to move to this year (which I so desperately hope that we do), we will be okay. It does not change who I am. I am still a strong woman and we will prevail! I will make a point to make this change this year.

Be spiritual. I have also been less spiritual in 2013 then I normally am. You'd think with all of the obstacles and hardships my family experienced, I would be the most spiritual woman around, but I am not. I took a different route: stress. That's not healthy at all, thus breaking my above goal. Nope, not going to allow that to happen anymore. I will start meditating at least a couple of times a week again. I need to read my Dhammapadda and Tao Te Ching more. Need to remember those mantras that helped me through soooooooooooo much when I was younger. I need to pray more, share my feelings with the Tao more, and become one with nature again. I feel like I am becoming the average person again, living in that metaphorical box that holds us all back. But I am not, I have enlightened myself so much in the past. I need to remember that now. This definitely is a change I will make now that its 2014.

Be calm during stress. This one is also based off of a blog post I recently read. It talked about yelling and how unhealthy it can be for your child. I encourage every parent that loves their kid(s) to read it! Its a great read! This year I want to be calmer during times of stress, times when I feel like I am about to let go and lose it. With my anxiety disorder, this will be somewhat difficult for me but I am confident that I can do it! My children deserve more, deserve better from both Lon and I. They don't deserve to be yelled at for silly mistakes and accidents, despite how inconvenient it may be for us. They are only human and children, they are still learning. And yelling shuts down communication and severs bonds. It never helps with the problem, it only exacerbates the issue. I believe that this one will be very easy at times, as well as very difficult at times. But I also believe in the "Time Out for Parents" policy too. I will be taking more time outs myself, if I feel I cannot handle the situation properly. This will be one of the most important changes I make this year.

Did you make some goals for 2014? I would love to hear them!

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