2019

A New Year offers us the opportunity to reflect on what we want to accomplish or improve about ourselves and our lives. It can feel all-consuming to think about our goals – there is so much I want to do – but as a working mom of two, there is only so much I can do, and realizing this has been liberating.

Something that I’ve come to learn about myself is that I don’t thrive when I set too many new goals at once. I become overwhelmed with too many changes/commitments and feel like I fail at all of the them. So the list below isn’t meant to be an “all at once” approach. It’s going to serve as a guide to help prioritize some things I’d like to accomplish this year.
mirror  |  leopard pillow  (and here) |  similar glider  

F O R  F A M I L Y
I’d like to work on my patience. It’s an area I think a lot of moms struggle with – we have so many priorities to manage and sometimes the weight of it all can leave us feeling like we’ll snap if one more thing gets put on our plate or we have to break up one more fight over a toy. Because I struggle with anxiety, it makes having more patience even more of a challenge for me. I’d like to have more moments where I pause, take a deep breath and step back from a situation.

I’d like to find ways to connect with my kids during their schooldays. I’d like to occasionally send little notes in their backpacks – Harper mentioned it to me once and it slipped my mind and a few weeks later she asked why I didn’t write her a “love note” and it was heartbreaking! I’d like to find little ways to surprise them.

I’d like to start making more time for date nights and time with friends. We had a very busy holiday season and went out more than we usually do – and it was awesome! More of that, please.

F O R  S L E E P
Can I make a confession that I know a lot of you will relate to? I stay up way too late doing things that ultimately aren’t important. I think because I work a lot and have two children, night time is the only time I really have to decompress. I got into the habit of staying up way too late (which for me is 11-11:30 PM) because I used to do my last pumping session of the day from 10:30-11 p.m. for a year when Lincoln was a baby. My body got so used to it, that it’s hard for me to fall asleep earlier. I’m usually in bed by 10:15 or so, but I spend time writing Instagram captions for different campaigns, scrolling social media, watching Instagram stories, etc. I keep using the excuse that it “helps me fall asleep,” but the truth is that it prevents me from getting as much sleep as I should. Here are some things you can do if you struggle with this too:

Set an alarm – If you have an iPhone, there is a feature called “bedtime” that will make your phone remind you when to head to bed. I disabled it about six months ago but started using it again because I need that reminder to get my butt upstairs and start my night time routine (shower, skin care, etc).

Sleep mask – I’ve sung the praises of a sleep mask before, but it’s truly a game-changer and worth re-mentioning. I currently use a sleep mask and it’s amazing at blocking out all the light. The silk material is perfect for delicate skin around the eyes, so no worries about causing irritation to your skin. I find the sleep mask allows me to sleep more deeply because I’m not disrupted or distracted by any changes in light in our bedroom. We have a transom window above our French doors, so it’s not fully dark like our other bedrooms that have blackout curtains.

Journal – I purchased some daily journals to motivate myself to reflect each day:  The 5 Minute Journal, 52 Lists for Happiness and the 5 Year Q&A book for moms. My goal is to start them this month and to be more consistent with journaling, reflection and gratitude. I think it will help my anxiety to incorporate this into my routine.

F O R  T H E  H O M E
I strive for a space that is both functional and free of clutter. Over the years, I’ve learned that things that are no longer used or bring value to you or your family do not belong in your home and I have zero guilt about getting rid of them (this book helped me a lot with transforming my mentality about our home).

This year, I’d like to remain more consistent with keeping our home free of clutter and everything having a place. Though our home looks clean and organized, sometimes our closets, behind cabinets and pantry tell a different story. It’s so easy to shove something behind a door and think “I’ll get to that later.”

I just did a huge clean out of our home. We had a garage sale, sold a ton, donated a lot and I even tackled our pantry and it has actually stayed organized for a few weeks, which almost never happened before.

Every month, pick a space in your home to focus on. It may be your junk drawer, office, where you stash the kid’s art, your pantry, etc. Take everything out and start from scratch. It’s the only way to really see what you have, need and what must go. This has been a super effective method for me in keeping our home organized.

You will love your space so much more if you fill it only with things you truly love and/or need.

F O R  H E A L T H
I’m planning to get started again with P.Volve! The workouts really make me feel good and are very low impact, which I love. The results are fantastic too – you can read my review here.

I’ve been eating well for the last year and my plan is to continue that while adding a little more variety to my diet. I thrive when I eat the same foods – it works well for my digestive system and I feel good – but I’d like to find a few different “go-to” meals that can change things up a bit. Stay tuned!

What do you hope to work on in 2019?