Yes? Good! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (Oh, and Merry Christmas! <-- I seemed to have missed that one too).
My life is always a whirlwind. I'm not sure how I keep up so I don't expect you too either.
The holidays have come and gone. The tree and stockings are put away. No more presents and no more mistletoe. I'm not all that sad though. Christmas was bittersweet (as always). We had some tension to deal with, but Christmas morning turned out perfect. Emma had her first taste of French Toast and loved it! We got the desired pictures of her in front of the tree and opening her first presents. Her adorable pink pj’s with Santa Claus on them made the pictures that much sweeter. She, of course, will never remember this Christmas, but I will. I made sure capture only the good parts. Hopefully I can get around to starting her scrapbook soon so that she’ll have all these memories stored in one place (a new year’s resolution).
With the passing of the holidays comes the welcoming of a New Year. Like everyone else, I began to think about the year that has passed and wonder what I can do differently this year to creating the best year possible for myself and for my family. This year holds a lot of promise. I am not one for making New Year’s resolutions that I will only make then break. Instead, I like to call them goals.
My Goals for 2013….
- Get my house organized! From little to big, cupboard to laundry room, bedroom to bathroom, I would like to have a place for everything. Some would find this an easy task, however, this seems near impossible to me. I now have a baby who will soon be a toddler. I want to use our baby-proofing-time to also organize the things we currently have. Wish me luck!!!
- Review and make attempts to right the wrongs on Ryan’s credit. We want to move in the not-so-distant future and purchase our very first home. My credit is shot and will take years to fix, but Ryan’s isn’t so bad (emphasis on “so”). If we can start small and prove that we are working on his credit we’re hoping within a couple years we’ll be able to buy that house we keep dreaming of and get the heck out of Florida!
- Review, organize, and create a plan to tackle all our debt. This is a constant goal, not just one for this year, but one I want to start putting in place. I want to be able to teach Emma the right way to handle and manage her money. I don’t want her to see us robbing Peter to pay Paul for her entire life.
- SAVE! Don’t we all say “I want to save more” but then we never do. This year we can and we will. Last year my saving attempts went towards maternity leave. This year I won’t need (hopefully) to take a leave of absence. I haven’t changed my saving habits. A certain amount of money automatically transfers to a savings account once my paycheck is deposited. I plan to keep this plan in place but with a few monies stashed here and there for “surprise” spending. Along with this overall savings plan, I want to set aside a small amount each month for Emma. We can’t afford too much right now, but I have 18 years to save. If I start now I could have a small chunk for her by the time she’s ready to go to college or get married (which of course isn’t happening until she’s at least 30! Right!?!).
- Give. I love to give back. Pay-it-forward is not only my motto, but also my own personal therapy. We will be participating in March of Dimes again this year, but I want to find as many ways that I can give back as possible. These can be as specific as charities or as spontaneous as paying for someone’s order at a restaurant or grocery store. I have no parameters on this, so I’m not sure it could be considered a “goal”, but it is something I want to ensure is part of my life and Emma’s life. If I teach her nothing else, I want to teach her to give to others. There is something about giving to others to causes your heart to swell. It brings an unmatched joy, a renewed spirit, and happiness like nothing else. If I give nothing else to Emma, I want her to have that.
- Date Nights with Hubby! This is a big one. During the pregnancy, and now with an infant, our time together has been slim to none. We haven’t been able to really enjoy each other. We both know that this is only for a season, and every couple goes through this, but I want to make sure we find some focus for each other. I want Emma to grow up knowing that her parents are in love and not just roommates that love and care for her solely. It will be hard to part ways with my baby girl for hours at a time (apart from the time I work now), but it is important for all of us that Ryan and I get some alone time.
- Get tone! Doesn’t everyone jump on the lose weight – get fit train at the beginning of every New Year. The gyms are swarmed in January, but by February 1st, the same old groupies are the only ones to actually visit the gym. Ryan and I live a mostly healthy lifestyle already with our eating habits. We both have some areas we’d like to work on, especially me with this newly stretch-mark-road-map tummy. I have lost all my baby weight (woot woot!), but my body is not what it used to be and my clothes still fit weird. Up until now I haven’t been able to work out other than my late night baby bouncing sessions. Trust me, that is a work out! My goal is to walk/jog with my handy-dandy jogging stroller 2 days a week, which would mostly be the weekends. Once the daylight returns to the early evenings I will increase my number of days. Hey, you got to start somewhere, right!?!
- Last, but not least….spend every bit of time that I can with EMMA. This is my ultimate goal for this year. Everything else can wait if necessary. In the last 2 weeks my baby girl has gone from a “baby” to a “little person”. She has clearly crossed newborn threshold and is headed straight for toddlerhood. She is so alert, sitting up on her own, reaching for things, learning cause and effect, indicating what she likes and doesn’t like or what she wants and doesn’t want. I can clearly see an “older” version of the sleepy baby she once was. I do not want to miss a second of her growing, changing, and learning. I already miss so much by working full time, but the time I do get with her is precious. I am committed to spending quality time with her while she’s awake. The house, the bills, the emails, and sometimes even the blogging will have to wait. I am busy making memories and teaching my daughter the most important things in life! This stage doesn’t last forever. I want to remember it.
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