New Year's Resolutions

So we made it through this year! I always put too much on my plate, however this year was WAAAAY over the top! I seriously need to work on that. But regardless, it was yet another great year.

So, in keeping with 'tradition' and hoping that if I put pen to paper for everyone to see maybe I'll actually keep them, I am going to list my New Year's resolutions:

1. lose weight...boring I know, everyone says that, but I mean it...I MUST lose some of this freakin weight. I have been blaming it on "baby weight" for too long. We don't plan on having another baby anytime in the near future ever as Greg says, so now is the best time!

2. budget to save money...I am a spend what I have kind of gal...which is a big step up from what I was when Greg and I met, a spend everything I have, and much more too! I really do want to be better at this, for myself, but most of all, for my husband who puts up with my overspending every holiday season. This year I MUST MUST MUST stick to a budget and save every penny I can, because when Greg comes home from his deployment we will be moving and we will be buying a new home (hopefully in Colorado, which will be significantly more expensive than here), and hoping to furnish it with new living room furniture, a new table (which is a must because Dani doesn't fit at our current table), new HE front load washer/dryer, new linens, Greg's shed, a small garden, a new swingset and hopefully a trampoline if space/money allows, and all of the other expenses that come with moving/buying a home.

3. Knock out my project to-do list...before I start new ones. My guest room/office/playroom is overrun with bags of crafty stuff that I have purchased for projects and that just sit there because I move on to something else. I have so much in there that I can't even scrapbook/craft at my craft desk. That needs to change.

4. Figure out my embroidery machine! Seriously, I got this awesome machine from Greg last year for Christmas, but it is so intimidating that I quite frankly am scared to do anything with it. And it is very difficult to schedule classes during a time that I don't have the big kids. But, try harder!

5. Stop procrastinating! I keep myself so busy with everything else going on that I wait until the last possible moment to do other things, like gifts, mailing stuff, preparing for a party, etc...

6. Get back into my FlyLady routine and stick with it! Greg will be deploying in the Spring and I must must MUST have a plan of attack already in place in order to keep this house of 4 girls from falling apart! Flylady is awesome, and if followed every day 15 minutes a day (and one hour one day a week), your home will remain clean and clutter free. I sooo need to be clutter free!

7. Start a chore list for the girls. It's that time...especially with Greg leaving! Make my life a little bit easier by making the girls do a little more. They already know how to set the table but if you look ahead to #8 you'll understand! Sam loves folding...well, everything...no she literally folds everything she can get her hands on right now, so she may get to help me fold towels. Both girls love cleaning the windows...enough said there!

8. Be more consistent. As I write this, I am talking about with the girls, but in all honesty...I need to work on being more consistent with EVERYTHING!

9. Do more with my kids. Don't get me wrong, we do a lot together. But we don't do as much as we used to. When the girls ask me to do something with them I find myself more and more just telling them 'not now, maybe later.' And immediately I feel bad about it. My kids are more important to me than anything else in this world...whatever I am doing can wait.

10. Start sending out monthly update letters along with the monthly pictures. The girls are growing so stinking fast that I am starting to forget the milestones that I hope to remember with them. And they are getting more active which will keep me very busy, especially when Greg leaves. I don't want to forget anything, and I don't want the grandparents to miss anything.