Looking Ahead {Plans for the Blog & New Years Resolutions}

I usually post a "Best of..." at the end of every year, but this year it feels just a little bit tedious to do it. You probably saw on my Facebook that I have been debating on whether or not to end our little family blog this year. It has been feeling lately like a chore to me to post every month and then when I do post, it's the same stuff I've posted on my social media. And who really wants to read about that multiple times in a row? Answer: practically no one.

When I first started our blog, it was in 2010 when everyone seemed to have a family blog and used them as journals to print off and record all the family memories. Well, I had every intention of doing that, but never did. At this point, 7+ years later it would be ridiculous to try to catch up now. The other main reason was that we lived so far away from family and a lot of our family didn't really have Facebook. It wasn't' as easy for them to view our pictures and read the silly daily things that happened. That's changed now that we live closer to family and now that there's more forms of social media that we are all on. The poll I did on Facebook showed that a majority of people that voted do like blogs (sporadically and in moderation), but that nearly 40% don't like them AT ALL. So, I've decided to keep the blog and lessen the posts. I'll only be posting when there's something I really need to say (It's nice to have the option of this outlet) or when there's something cool I think people would enjoy hearing about. When that happens I'll try to always share on Facebook since a lot of respondents (and myself included) only read blogs when the link is seen on Facebook. So my usual "this is our biggest things from the year" will not be happening at this moment. Perhaps in the future, but right now I'm not compelled to post about it. 

Plans for 2018

I do think it would be worthwhile to mention some of the goals I have for myself this year. Now that I'm done with school I have this persistent question of "what do I do with myself now????" That may sound funny, but let me just remind you that the last time I was solely a stay-at-home mommy/housewife was when Evelynn was still a newborn. It may also sound funny when I say that I'm not sure I remember how to be good at just that. I'm a stinkin' good student. I always do the job, I don't shy away from the difficult projects or partners, and I ALWAYS turn stuff in on time. So basically, being in school the past 4 years was the prime environment for me to feel good about myself, regardless of the stress. I felt like I was good at something again and it gave me a renew sense of self. Now I feel like I need to focus on being a mom again, and there's a lingering fear that maybe I've forgotten how to do that. The more I thought about it, the more overwhelmed I got. 

I've always had this funny thing that I do with my New Years Resolutions -- I do one great big overarching theme, and then I come up with a saying to sum it all up. Then I apply it to core areas of my life. Amidst all the overwhelming feelings I was experiencing facing life as a college graduate, I suddenly thought of the phrase "get back to the basics" and i think that's just what I need. It literally means to revert back to a simpler way of life and that's perfect for me right now. I need to get back to focusing on the essential parts of my life that I've always felt were important but have had to overlook the past 4 years. I need to block out all the extra fluffs that distract me from the basic and most important parts of my life. So if you're the kind of person who enjoys hearing New Years goals, read on. 

Get Back to the Basics

Personal

• Get organized! -- I already know that people with bipolar do NOT do well with chaos, so keeping myself organized is essential to my mental health. I did pretty well in school staying organized but I need to take that and expand it through all areas of my life, not just homework and projects. Also, with my newer health issues, stress is not my friend (more than ever). Stress raises the blood pressure which can also raise the pressure in my skull. The more organized I can be, the better off I'll be all-around. 
• More consistent scripture reading & prayers -- I've started doing the B of M 365 reading challenge and printed off a chart I've put in every month of my planner. I've also been keeping track of the days I'm consistent on prayers and readings. 
• Make sure I take time to myself -- they say that in the event of a crisis on an airplane you MUST put your oxygen mask on first. I've been so busy taking care of school, kids, and the house that I didn't often have time to just relax and worry about myself over the past 4 years. Since the start of the year I've been putting "me" time into my schedule every evening and tracking it as well. 
• Lose 20+ lbs -- 20 lbs is the minimum I have to lose to see if I can come off the temporary medications I'm on so this is a huge focus in the coming months. Losing weight it always so overwhelming to me but I'm trying to focus on the basic components everyone says to do:
• Exercise regularly-- I've been trying to find a balance of cardio and strength, gym and/or home workouts and so far it's not going so well. I can't handle too much or I end up with headaches (Friday I went overboard and was down the rest of the day). I'm trying to do about 30 mins 5 days a week right now and hopefully will step it up as soon as I can. 
• Water Intake -- We all know water is important. With a couple of the medications I'm on, it's even more important than usual because I could destroy my kidneys if I don't drink enough of it. I have a goal to always have a water bottle with me and take 5 gulps every time I drink from the water bottle. 
• Eating -- 3 to 5 small meals a day, balanced foods. No extra sugars. I'm especially focusing on keeping my portion sizes under control and getting greens in. 
• Sleep -- with my bipolar sleep is crucial. in Nov 2016 I was trying to do so much that I was only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night and my psychiatrist told me if I kept it up, I would be headed for a psychotic breakdown that I would not easily bounce back from. At MINIMUM I need to get 7-9 hours of sleep, so that's a goal I'm focusing on. When I have enough sleep I'm in a better mental state and handle my stress so much better. 
• Stress management -- this is part of my "me time" goal every day. I feel like it's already making a difference. I'm also trying to cut out anything that isn't essential to my health or the health of my family. 

Family

• Get the family on more consistent routines -- We've slacked on chore charts and sitting down to make Family Rules over the years because I haven't had the time to do it. However, Caleb and I both think that in order for a family to be happy and healthy, kids need consistency and healthy routines. 
• More family time! -- We've started doing family nights each week (much like FHE but without any religious involvement). We have a topic we do a little lesson/council/discussion on and then we talk about our schedules for the week so that we can find the best time to fit in activities together. 
• Strengthen relationship with each family member -- I have little goals I've written in my planner for myself to strengthening my relationship with each kid & with Caleb. 
• Connor
• Find out how school was EVERY day -- he usually doesn't talk much about school (either it's good or bad and that's it), but I think he likes knowing I care enough to ask. 
• Ask what his favorite part of the day was EVERY day.
• Take an interest in his interests -- ever since Christmas he's been obsessed with telling me about his 3DS and to be honest, I have zero interest. But I fake it to see his sweet smile! 
• Evelynn
• Snuggles & chats -- Evelynn is my quality time love language child. I'm the same way, so I've set a goal to give her my uninterrupted attention for a short time each day. 
• Ask her to be my special helper -- she loves to help and I think I take that for granted sometimes. I think she'd love if I specifically asked for her help. 
• Liam 
• Compliment his good choices -- this kid loves to be told he did something well and receive praise. I'm trying not to focus on his naughty behaviors as much (which have been plentiful lately)
• Ask him full questions -- He's a smart kid but like his brother, is a little slower to talk than a lot of others his age. It's easy to baby talk and not ask him full questions, but he does understand them. I have a goal to focus on doing better at helping him with that. 
• Caleb 
• Wake up when he wakes up -- when I was growing up, my mom would always wake up and send my dad off to work. I admired it so much, but I've slacked thus far in my married life to follow that example. This is a goal I have for this year.

Social

• Schedule playdates -- if you're reading this you probably know that I have a big problem getting over my social anxiety and sometimes it's too much for me to handle to try to make friends, although I desperately need them. This year I want to make a point to push myself and schedule play opportunities for the kids where I can find myself some mommy friends. 
•  Cut out the unnecessary -- Going back to my stress management goals, at the start of the year I went through all my Instagram follows and my facebook friends and got rid of anyone that I never saw posts from. I figure that if I'm not seeing their posts, there's a reason. It's ok if I'm not friends with everyone I've ever met. It's ok if I trim it down to the people that have made a difference in my life at one point or another. That's ok for me to do, in fact, maybe that's the necessary thing for me to do. 
• Set boundaries -- I'm a bit of a people-pleaser and have always wanted to feel like people like me. Sometimes that leaves me getting walked all over because I don't want to offend anyone by putting down boundaries. However, boundaries are necessary. They're important. If someone constantly dumps their drama on me, but never waits to hear my drama, changes need to be made.  It's more important than ever for me to make my life less complicated and more stress free.