Just to catch up...I had a week off from work between Xmas & New Year's this year. I decided with my days I had to burn that this would be a great way to unwind from the holidays. Well,what I found out is that it is super hard to be a stay at home mom to a 2 year old and 9 month old! I imagine if I did this all the time I would be good at it BUT I don't! I had so much on my personal to-do list for the week that I laugh about now (I really thought I was going to get it all done and then some) I had to just let that all go. I decided I didn't want my kids watching t.v. all week and I wanted to really live in the moment with them so that is exactly what I did. It was a blast. My house was a mess but it was a great week and I am happy I did it.
Let me just say if there are any stay at home moms (SAHM's) who read this blog -God bless you all. Especially the ones who are organized, get it all done,and make it look effortless. Your job is a FT job and then some! I have to admit I had to use daycare for a day in order for me to be well I guess you could call it - selfish. Oh well, I said it. I needed some "me time" and I got some! Kill me for it. During that time I got a mani/pedi & massage! I had gift certificates piling up (which I absolutely love as presents for my birthday/mother's day, keep them coming please!!) and really enjoyed every minute of the pampering.
Most of the pampering I indulged in was to get ready for the awesome New Year's Wedding we had this year. Our really good friends had a fabulous wedding on NYE, it was such a great time! Here is a picture of Adam and I while we were partying our asses off in true NYE style!
(not sure why this came in so small...)
Reality hit after the New Year's wedding and I had to come back to work. Booo!!! Just as you start to get used to something it's over. Coming back to work has been so busy for me I can barely remember being able to be at home for that vacation time. I am currently trying to get back into a good gym routine again (I have been slacking quite a bit over the past week and half) and deciding what my 2012 goals are...I was good with gym in December but not great and I need to get back to the great status with the gym STAT!
I decided to keep my goal list short so that I actually accomplish them and they are attainable! I am not as organized as some people are with the goal list but here goes my punch list for 2012:
1. Keep myself healthy and fit, 4 days a week at the gym as usual, work on the treadmill as much as I can in the winter months so that I can run some shorter races in the spring and focus on speed for those. Work on a long term goal race again through the summer - training for a 1/2 marathon again and I would love to do a marathon this fall. I am trying to recruit a marathon training partner...
2. Focus more on going out with Adam for "date night", we have been doing this a little here and there but make it more like a dedicated 2 times a month would be nice.
3. Be a great mom. I try to do this as much as possible but there are those days where patience runs thin and I am tired from work or all the things I have to do. Taking in every moment I can with Eli & Bo at this age is what I am talking about. I want to focus my attention here even more than I do currently, I know they are only little for so long and I just absolutely love them at this stage.
4. Work my tail off at work this year to get a promotion = make more money :)
5. Organize my home!! More specifically - my mail area in my kitchen, 1st floor coat closet, 2nd floor linen closet, and our walk in closet in our bedroom. (I am happy to report I am on my way to getting this completed, just had a fabulous trip to The Container Store and spent some $ in this department to organize my stuff nicely, I still have more to do but I am working on it!)
6. Do something every single night that is on my to-do list after the boys go to bed. Even if I just do 20 mins of work towards something daunting on my to-do list (whatever that might be) the task at hand will be more manageable for me. Some examples include: cleaning/laundry, the boys baby books that I am behind on, my recipe's that are lying all over the place and need to be organized into a binder, painting the interior of the 2 closets I referenced above that I want to organize.etc.....
7. Cook 1 day a month where I prepare multiple meals and freeze ahead to make the work week run smoothly at dinner time. (I am currently pretty good at this but I want to kick it up a notch where I actually try to do "once a month cooking day" where you make enough meals in one day or weekend to get you through the full month).
8. Get our Will done with a lawyer (we have had 1 meeting with the lawyer just before the New Year and we are started on this) & contribute more to the boys 529 plans (college savings), it is really hard with paying for 2 kids in daycare and living our normal lives to find extra money to put in these accounts,but I know we can make a more concerned effort in this department.
And that is it. I know I could name a bunch more but I am going to keep it short. I don't want to get too ahead of myself!
One last thing - I know I promised a picture of the boys playroom loft when we had the finished product and here it is! The boys love playing here, little Bo is always underneath playing with the magnets and Eli is loving the ladder and getting up there with his toys, his imagination just runs wild when he is up in the loft. He is usually driving a school bus or playing with his cash register and talking to the customers at the grocery store! (you know Mickey, Goofy, Teddy.... lol...it's too cute!
