2019 Musings
Anyone else do their best thinking in the middle of the night? It’s 4:30 in the morning three days before the end of the year and I’m wide awake (of course with #momlife) thinking about the quickly approaching beginning of 2019 and just how much happened in my life in 2018.
2018 was by far the most amazing year of my life. It’s the year that made me a mom. How crazy is that? It honestly still feels surreal to say. From announcing we were expecting, to welcoming our little guy, and every moment in between and since, 2018 really was the year of Archer.
Many of you know that I struggled with infertility for years, and had just pulled the trigger on moving forward with becoming a foster parent when Archer was sent to join our family. It was so unexpected and we couldn’t have predicted all of the twists and turns along the way, but I’ll never stop being grateful for every single one of those moments… even the tough ones.
I’m not big on most New Years resolutions. I feel most people go into choosing one without a plan of how they’re going to achieve it (including me). How many of us have said we would eat better, exercise more, spend more time outside and on and on, only to completely lose momentum come March 1?
With Archer joining our family this year, I wanted to really think long and hard about what resolutions we could make as a family that would impact our lives in 2019 in an overwhelmingly positive way, but also ones I knew we could achieve with some planning. The time goes SO FAST with little ones, you know? I feel like I blinked and my teeny tiny newborn is now looking more and more like a big boy every day. It’s wild.
I decided to focus on goals that would impact our physical health, our financial health, and our mental health. All of these areas are so key to our day to day joy!
Here’s where I’m coming from:
1. We have gotten into some unhealthy (and expensive!) eating habits since Archer was born. We are super guilty of indulging in meal delivery apps when we feel too worn out to cook, or have a particular craving (which 9 times out of 10 is some kind of high calorie and super fattening deliciousness).
2. Hello couch potato! Man, having an infant is exhausting, especially when both of us are also trying to juggle work and social commitments with that delightful sleep deprivation too. It’s become our new normal to lounge around way too much and binge watch whatever we can find on our FireStick.
3. Am I the only mom who is now BFF’s with the Amazon delivery man?? When your sleep schedule is all jacked up, it’s incredible the random (and totally unnecessary) things that end up getting purchased.
(Does my baby need another pack of bandana bibs? Of course not, but man does he look cute!)
And 4. Since giving birth and going back to work it’s been really hard to find the right balance between family time, work time, and “me time.” There are so many weeks where I feel like the only time I truly get to relax and unwind is that one night I can sneak a bath… in our tub filled with Archer’s toys.
So with all of this being said, our family is going into 2019 with these clear resolutions:
1. We will make meals at home a minimum 5 days of the week, with a goal of cutting our food bill in half (I know, that totally sounds nuts, but we spend WAY too much on food). We are also going alcohol free for the entire month of January! (So pray for us)
2.Since we both work from home with really flexible schedules, we will start exercising as a family more often, with a goal of 3 hiking trips or long walks per week (minimum of 10,000 steps each time).
3. I will clear out quiet time every week for myself, where I’m “off duty” from mom, partner and work responsibilities. Whether it’s actually having time to blog again (a New Year’s miracle!), going for a walk, or having a ladies brunch, it’s good for my mental health to have some me time again.
And by far the one that will be most challenging…
4. We will not purchase ANY items for ourselves or the house (including clothing!) through the end of March, excluding anything vital (like paint to finish the guest bathroom remodel).
Trust me, I know this is going to take a lot of work, but what’s a resolution if it’s not challenging?? Who’s in to follow us along on this nutty plan and help keep us (me) accountable? (Especially with that shopping ban… it already is painful!) I want to hear about your plans for 2019 too!
