2010 Here We Come

This post is really just a conversation I've been having with myself or the past little while. The new year is always a good time for me to start fresh and make some changes.

Last year I announced my 12 month plan that was supposed to help me grow and become healthier in body, mind, and spirit. Well it didn't work out exactly like I'd planned. The same day I wrote my goals for the year I woke up puking. Then later that day it dawned on me that I was pregnant. So yes, I made ALOT of changes last year. Just not the ones I thought I would be making.

So I'm going back to my 12 month plan again this year. I have felt stretched very thin lately and overwhelmed and I need more organization in my life. I'm not great with organization or schedules but it's time for a change. I'm hoping that if I add things in a little at a time I can organize my life and keep my priorities straight. I feel like this is going to be a big year for my little family. Knowing myself, I know that the only way I'm going to make any big changes is a little bit at a time. It takes me 4-8 weeks to start to develop a habit. So I plan to make small goals towards my big goals.

First, I need to remind myself of the positive changes I made last year that have stuck.
1. Laundry- I have really stayed on top of my laundry for the past year. I've started doing all the laundry every Monday and putting most of it away by Tuesday. It's become a habit for the most part and I consider this a huge accomplishment.
2. Art- We did a lot of art last year.
3. Outings- we did a lot of fun outings last year. As soon as it's warm again I plan to take my girls out more to see the beautiful outdoors.
4. I survived 9 months+ of puking and got a beautiful baby daughter.
5. I improved my scripture reading regularity.
6. Successfully planned and went on an awesome family vacation. Everyone needs a vacation- camping whatever.
7. I read more books than I have in the previous few years. It's been really fun and good for my sanity. I read 25 books last year.
8. Two Fish put all of our spending and bills into Quicken so we can track our money more carefully.
9. Did a lot of spring cleaning and organization on our house.
10. Decorated and painted 5 rooms.

1. Big Plans

I've been thinking a lot about what's important to me with regards to teaching my kids. I want to expose them to art, music, good books, and spiritual things. I'm doing a good job at the art and books part but music and spiritual needs some work. This year, I want to take more seriously my responsibility to teach my kids. The world is getting to be a scary place and I really need to fill my children's heads and hearts as much as I can in these few short years that I am the most influential person in their life. There are a lot of ways I want to teach them but the tangible plans I've come up with are:
A. Music. I got a lot of stuff for Christmas to help me with this plan. We've been doing music activities every day for the past week and a half and Red Fish is having a blast. New Fish just likes the commotion so far but I think all children are deeply affected by music. We sing, play the piano, do finger plays, and listen to more music. Red Fish can't get enough. It's even helped with her speech a little bit this week. She picked up several new little words this week which is a big deal for us.
B. Spiritual Knowledge. I've been feeling some urgency to bring the spirit into our home more. I'm going to work really hard to have a regular family home evening on Monday nights. We've done it the past two weeks and though it's a struggle to know if Red Fish is even listening to a word we say I think we have to keep trying. I'm working hard to try and prepare nice lessons with visual aids and games and activites that we can use over and over. I don't think every week will be a keeper but I want to start building up a collection of lessons. I also want to make sure that all members of our little family are reading scriptures. We make sure that Red Fish gets read to everyday but we've just started nightly reading in her scripture picture books.
C. Art. I feel like this is really important for Red Fish. The way she has responded to my efforts to provide her with art experiences has been really rewarding for me. I'm excited for New Fish to become interested in creating. I tried really hard last year to commit to bringing more opportunities for art and creativity into our home but it takes a lot of work to make sure I'm keeping up with it. I definitely need to recommit for the year.
D. Read read read to my girls. I think kids can never be read to enough. Two Fish does the majority of reading to the girls because he does bedtime with them but I need to take more opportunities to read to them. (Plus I need more snuggle time with them!)
E. Provide them with a lot of attention and try to listen to them. I'm hoping that if I listen to them even before they can talk they will communicate better with me in later years.

2.My house is a battle that I never seem to be winning. The clutter and mess are starting to take over. I have a plan to stay on a cleaning schedule so that the whole house gets cleaned and vacuumed every week. I also want to try and get a cleaning project done every week. I cleaned the art cabinet out two weeks ago and I switched all the stuff in the girls rooms last week. I'm hoping if I get more organized it won't be such a huge hurdle for me clean my house.

Also the big goal for this year is going to be our back yard. It needs some help and we need to put some serious work into it. We already put in the window well covers so that's a start! I'd also like to make the curtains for my bedroom and bathroom so I can be finished with the upstairs of our house for awhile. I'd like to get some things made for the office, kitchen, and family room as well.

3.To date my husband more frequently. We've always been good at making our dates a priority until last year. No more. This year I want to go on a date with my husband every month. We have play tickets through April so that should help. We need to get to the temple more often as well.

4.Budget Budget- We got all of our bills and spending habbits logged into Quicken now so it's time for a new budget. Last year was a year of many many unexpected expenses so it's time for us to buckle down and get some money put back in savings. Also Two Fish is going to be taking his lunch to work more so we don't spend so much on take out.

5.Work
I need to figure out a better balance of working. I've been getting more done and trying to schedule my hours better. It's a work in progress.

6.Friendships
I have never had a great talent for making new friends. I'm good at keeping friends. This last year I've been lonely and I need to make a greater effort to make more friends in my neighborhood. There are some great women in my neighborhood, I just need to get out there and work harder to befriend them. I've been really lucky to have some great childhood friends and some wonderful friends from college who are spread across the country now. I also have some fun friends I go out with once a month from my old neighborhood who have been truly lovely. Red Fish needs more playdates and I need more friends to go on outings with or talk to so this is officially your invitation if anyone is still reading this monster post- Let's be friends! I apologize for my social awkwardness or any perceived stand offishness. I'm just not good at the beginning of friendship! I swear I'm really good at keeping friends! Let's plan some playdates, trade some date night babysitting, go to the aquarium and chat.

So here I go...one step at a time.

January Goals
Health goal- floss my teeth on a regular basis. Schedule a dentist appointment. The last year of fertility drugs and pregnancy were really hard on my poor mouth.
House goal- Work on getting on cleaning schedule
Spiritual goal- Have Family Home Evening every week
Family Relationship goal- set aside specific time everyday to just play with Red Fish and New Fish and do nothing else. Go on a date with my husband. Work on including at least 3 art projects and music activities every week with my girls.
Mental Health goal- Read two books a month.
Financial goal- Put together a budget for the year based on our spending reports for the last year.