2014 Goals

This past year has been great! Nothing too major in the way of good or bad but just a simple and quiet year. This year we will have a lot of changes coming our way: baby sister comes in April, Paul will graduate in May, and one or two moves {depending on how work goes for the summer}. With one chapter of our lives closing and the next one opening there is a lot that I need to prepare and things that I want to do to help strengthen our little family.

Right now, with feeling so blah from this pregnancy, there are a lot of things I have let slip: myself, bills, play time with Lady A, chores...just to name a few. This year there are a few goals I want to work on that will help myself individually, strengthen our family and make our home a haven. I have come up with a list of goals that will help. This will also make our lives so much easier as we prepare for some major changes that will all be happening almost at the same time.

One: Enjoy the last trimester of this pregnancy

I get really sick with being pregnant. With Lady A I lost quite a bit of weight and it wasn't until the third trimester that I was able to start putting it back on. My Dr.'s were not too worried about my health or the health of the baby because I started with some extra weight. This time there is a new pill out that I have been using because the Zofran was not doing much other then giving me a bunch of side effects that I was having to deal with and take more pills for. This new Rx is have been great, not perfect but much better. The only down side is the one side effect that seems to be hitting me......drowsiness. There have been a number of days that I will sleep 14 hours or more. To help me enjoy the third trimester more I want to take time to bond with Baby #2 and something that helped me with Lady A was I spent time making her baby quilt. Getting out more and being more active {on those few warmer days during the winter} will help me appreciate my body and miracle #2, that took so long to get, otherwise I'll spend all my time inside just waiting for these nine months to pass.

Two: Develop a routine

One of the things I have noticed about my sister with her older kids and my sister-in-law with her toddler and baby is that they all have a routine, a good schedule. I know a routine is not for everyone but I think that is a big key to what can help in our home right now. My main problem is that I look at something that needs to get done and think, 'I have all day to do that' or ' I can do that this weekend.' There is no real schedule or time table that is being demanded of me, like school or going to work.

Well, it is time to fix all of that,  I need to demand it from myself.

I love having Paul home for the winter break especially because now I can take naps in the middle of the day and not have to worry because he is here and able to spend time with Lady A. It has been great to be able to spend more time with him, his semesters are so demanding and there will be weeks that Lady A won't see him. Having him around so much has made us a bit lazy especially when it comes to nap time and bedtime. We need to get a daily and weekly routine set up. This will include nap time and bedtime, bills, cleaning and a little me time. I love being a mom but I still need time to do a something for myself, whether it is just getting ready for the day {this will help with enjoying the 3rd trimester too}, working on a project or simply taking some time to read.

Three: Date Nights with Paul

As I have said, Paul's semesters are pretty demanding and he is gone a lot at night. This final semester is not going to get an easier. He has his thesis show that opens the end of February and then has to put his thesis paper together, we will be moving after baby number two arrives and he graduates. But it is important that we work on our relationship too so now he is going to have to squeez in date night....and I told him that just renting a movie doesn't count, we have to interact, but I know great things will come from it. There are a lot of girls in the theatre department who love to babysit for us so there is no reason to not get out of the house. Now to come up with some fun date nights!!!

Four: Be mostly packed and ready to move before Little Sister comes in April

This one is going to take some work, a good schedule and focus. I don't really want to count how many times we have moved since we have been married, if anything it helps with clutter because if I collect it I have to move it and I would rather not. The hard part is that I also love to have my "stuff" available to me if the mood should strike and I want to sew, paint, crotchet, etc. In a previous post you can see that I have already come up with my packing and labeling system. I have also started working on ways to get the apartment ready for when we leave. Check out how I have prepared the stove for easy cleaning when the end comes.

Five: Family History

One hobby that I love to do is family History. Growing up I loved doing puzzles, and geneology is a huge family puzzle. It is more than just putting names down and going back as far as you can, my real love comes from the stories and photos, getting to know my ancestors. It has been some time scence I have really delved into this, partly because of moving so often and not having a place to set it up and leave it so I can come back to it, even when I might only have 10 minutes or so. I have to take the time now and ask my Grandpas all my questions before it is too late.

There it is. Organize. Routine. Family.

Here is to a great 2014!!!

What goals or resolutions do you have for this year? Do you have any tips on what could help with my goals? I would love to hear them.