New Years Resolutions 2015

Kids

I want to focus on my kids more this year. They are getting older and I’m starting to feel like they are growing up too fast and I’m missing it! I’ve been obsessed with cleaning my house because clutter stresses me out, but switching to a new schedule where I only clean at night when they are in bed has helped me focus on them more.  I also like cleaning at night because it gives me some alone time with audiobooks.  I’ll be honest though.  A long day with kids drains me and I’m struggling with finding the energy to clean from 9-10 pm.  Hopefully the audiobooks will help motivate me :) I do look forward to them.  Here are the things I want to do with my kids this year:

• Read books to them – I want to focus on chapter books that I didn’t get to read as a child or ones that I loved as a kid.  I didn’t read a lot of Roald Dahl as a kid but I think my kids are at the perfect age to read his books.  The first book I want to pass on to my kids that I loved was Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks.  I really hope to pass on my love of reading to them with fun books and also so I don’t have to read anymore of those Beast Quest books (they are quite terrible).
• Create more traditions – even for the small holidays. I don’t want to go too crazy here because I’m lazy.  That’s also why I want to make an effort to at least acknowledge holidays and do something simple and fun so I can make memories with my kids and help make it special and have some fun too.
• Play more! I want to do fun things with them during the day.  I want to be remembered as a good mom and I have turned into an old stick in the mud who doesn’t do anything.  I would love to teach them card games, board games, and do art projects.  I would also like to go places with them like the museum, the park, the planetarium etc.
• Just say yes.  I saw this on My Life and Kids and she says that it’s the best parenting tip she’s ever gotten.  My kids ask me all day to do things like: play basketball, help them find tape, build something with legos, play monopoly.  I don’t have to make much of an effort to have fun with them if I just say yes to the things they already want to do.
• Do chores with them. Having a cleaner house will help reduce my stress and it would be a great way to teach my kids and spend time with them.  I also like trying to come up with fun games to get them to do chores.  Laundry basketball where we throw the clothes into the washer machine and hampers is a big hit.
• Reading Parties.  Ally Condie said at one of her book signings that as a kid her family would go to the book store and buy books then get treats and they would all read together.  It sounds like a blast and I want to try it.

Spiritual

• Write in my journal.  I love writing in my journal.  I’m only a few months behind so this is just a habit I want to keep up.
• Read my scriptures.   Still in the Old Testament but I’m really enjoying it.
• Catch up on recording family memories.  I need to put home movies on DVD, make photo albums, finish the kids baby books and the last scrapbook I’m ever doing ever. I hate scrapbooking.  Only for my kids as babies.

Physical

• Reduce stress. I don’t think I’ve ever had a goal in my life to relax more.  My goals usually involve doing more stuff and making more lists.  I want to have less clutter in my house, have more reading time, less debt, less commitments, and less grocery shopping.  I bought shelves so I can stock up on things and not go every stupid week!
• Do yoga with my son.  This is part of relaxing.  I really like yoga.  I don’t have exercise in my routine yet, but I think strength training with yoga will help.
• Get a new, comfy mattress and bed frame.  When I’m not having nightmares about dinosaurs, I dream of having a mattress that isn’t broken and a bed frame that doesn’t sag.

Reading

• Read a 1000+ page book.  I have done this for years.  I did it last year and I’m excited to do it again! I even made of list of 100 page books that I have read in the past and ones I still want to read.
• Read all my book club books.  I might do a post about my book club in more detail (the books we are reading, organization etc) but I really want to make sure I read every single book club book this year.

Personal

• Stay within my budget.  I have an app that tells me how much money I have left.  I should really just check it.
• Go clothes shopping every month. I have money set aside for clothes but oh how I hate clothes shopping.  I was going to do this last year but then I had a baby and that threw a wrench in my plans.  I need everything.  Most of my clothes are years and years old, don’t fit and are faded/torn/stained etc.  I have made a little progress so far. I have new boots so I don’t have to wear open flats in the snow! I also got two new pairs of jeans.

Blogging

• Fix my search page. I want it to have a header that says “Search results for x…” but I haven’t quite been able to figure it out.  I might have to write some php or something but I think I can do it.
• Manage social media. I want to be better and a little more organized at cross posting my new blog posts on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
• Maybe have a paper planner for my blog. I just got a Passion Planner to organize my daily life.  Even though they are back ordered through February, you can print it and use it now.  After a week I’m already loving it.  I feel less stress and I remember my goals and to do lists much better.  Having a digital planner with a red number that always said “34” was so stressful to me.  I stopped looking at it all together and I often forgot important things.  I’m wondering if I should get a paper planner for  my blog.  Possibly the one that Parajunkee makes for book bloggers. 
• Make new, trendy social media buttons.  I made the social media buttons for my friends blog and I like that they are just the logo and they change color! So cool!
• Find a new way to read and keep track of blogs.  The biggest thing on my wish list is finding something that allows to read AND comment on blogs from my phone.  I haven’t found anything I like yet but I want to keep looking.  Do you have any great tips or apps that you use to read blogs? I’d love to hear them!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions this year?

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