2013

I'm usually not into New Year's Resolutions.  Mostly because they never get done.  Twice in my life, I have made resolutions and kept them.  And it was the same resolution- to not drink cokes for a certain amount of time.  My senior year of high school, I didn't drink cokes from New Year's until graduation.  Then the next year, I didn't drink cokes from New Year's until I went on a trip to the Amazon in August.  Both of them= accomplished.  Did it impact my life much? Nah.

Last year, I started a blog post about how I don't like New Year's resolutions, but I didn't finish the post.  It ended up somewhere in the land of half done, much like resolutions do!! Irony much?!

This year is a little different.  The past year has challenged me a lot.  In fact, I don't remember much of it, as I think I have just blocked it all out.  Having children 18 months apart is challenging in the beginning.  Balancing a newborn and a strong willed toddler can be quite trying, to say the least.  And then add post-partum hormones and anxiety, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

As Kinsley has gotten older, things have gotten so much better, but I decided there had to be a change.  I still have moments of anxiety but when I take a step back and look at things, it's simple really.  We are always going and doing.  I am staying up late to do more things and the wake up call from my cute little redhead comes early.  We eat terrible foods.  A lot of Chick-Fil-A.  A lot of Starbucks, Dr. Pepper, and sweet tea.  I am always cleaning and picking up the house.  It seems that no matter how much I clean, there is always stuff everywhere!

There seems to be one solution to my problems and it is this:
Simplicity.

More time at home.  More sleep.  More tickles and giggles with the kids.  Less stuff.  Less toxins. Less, less, less.
More of the good.  Less of the bad.

I wouldn't have to pick stuff up all the time if we didn't have so much STUFF.
I wouldn't be anxious about getting everyone together and to [wherever] on time if we just stayed home and didn't go so much.
I would feel a heck of a lot better if I put good things into my body instead of a bunch of chemicals and additives that taste great on the tastebuds but do nothing else for me except make me feel bloated and yucky.

Instead of a resolution, this year I came up with a motto.
"Health and Home: Keeping it clean in 2013"

I am trying to transition us to mostly clean eating.  Less processed foods and more whole, natural, organic foods.  [Don't you worry, I am NOT giving up chips and salsa, or Chick-fil-a.  It's all about moderation, people!!]  I am planning to make more things at home.  I told my husband and bro-in-law that I'm going to make homemade ketchup and ranch dressing and they just gave me weird looks and said, "ok...."  I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of reactions like that.  :)

I'm going to simplify my home.  I'm going to get rid of A LOT of things.  The kids don't need a ton of toys.  I don't need a pile of papers on my counter at all times.  I don't need to buy more and more and more.

It's not that I'm never going to leave my house.  The kids and I would go insane.  But I'm going to prioritize.  I'm going to focus on my first and highest calling- and that is to be a wife and a mom.  I think we will all benefit from this.

And I think this is a New Year's "resolution" that is going to make a difference.