New Year's Resolutions and Reflections

So, my New Year’s resolution was simply to regularly fix my hair. I’m trying to keep it simple! I managed to get a haircut the week of Christmas as my initial motivation. No more ponytails or bedhead for me. Um, yeah right…as of January 3rd, I’ve managed to style my hair one out of three days. LOL!

But, in all honesty, instead of spending time on ridiculous resolutions that I know I’ll fail miserably at…I spent some time on New Year’s Eve reflecting on all of the things that 2010 brought me…what I’ve learned and how much my life has changed since just last year.

Here's what I came up with...

• Prioritizing things I need to accomplish in the shower is key (and also not getting discouraged if it doesn’t all get done).

• I can tell you that the Sweet Potato Gerber Puffs taste 100% like Lucky Charms Marshmallows (and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve shared a can about 50/50 with Joseph). On a side note, the Banana Gerber Puffs taste like doo doo…and the target brand tastes like paper no matter what flavor…but this is just my grown up opinion- Joseph likes them all.

• It will take approximately one month from start to finish to fully pedicure my feet.

• Boil schmoil. Soap washes bottles just fine.

• I regularly use the Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and baby wash when I end up showering in Joseph’s bathroom (and yes, it is now referred to as Joseph’s bathroom).

• In lieu of purchasing exfoliating face wipes, I’ve incorporated Huggies baby wipes into my nightly face washing routine.

• Before I had Joseph, I don’t think I gave stranger’s babies more than a passing glimpse. Now, when I go somewhere with him, there is an unspoken rule that I am expected to somehow acknowledge other people with babies…as in “how old is he?”….”aww, she’s adorable.”

• I will also, for reasons unbeknownst to me, tell Joseph to say “hi” or “thank you” to the stranger even though I know he is not capable of doing so.

• I forgot how fun it is to be silly.
 
• Drool and snot will be on your kid’s face. It’s pointless to wipe it every time.

• I don’t ever really “catch up” on sleep. I just got used to living without it. 

 • There will be pee…on everything.

• Once I learned dirt would not kill my child, the 5 second rule changed quickly to the 5 minute rule.

• It’s ok to say no.

• I always dread going somewhere without Joseph, whether it’s dinner with Matt, a girls’ night out or an appointment to cut my jungle-like hair (where small monkeys have taken up residence). I am always happy when I ultimately do indulge in that “me” time, however.

• Match the baby food with the shirt color. 

• Babies move. Walls do not…ever.

 • Diapers can be used as both a “diaper” and as a toy while trying to diaper.

 • If I don’t like the taste of the baby food, most likely Joseph won’t either.

 • Phone calls are made during my work commute, otherwise, they are not made.

• One gets sick...all get sick.

• My white girl dancing can totally crack someone else up.

• I've developed an incredible ability to hold something weighing in at around 17 some odd pounds for seemingly hours on end while it squirms all over the place. For some reason, I still struggle with the 20lb bag of dog food at Costco though.

 • I laugh more. I cry more. I clean less.

• My life has a meaning that I never quite understood until this year.

• Any time Joseph says a new “word”, farts in a different octave, or does something like laugh at the dog, Matt and I freak out with excitement, as though he just walked on the moon. On a side note (and this one was shocking for me), other people, with the exception of grandparents, are not as impressed with my kid’s seemingly mind-blowing milestones.

 • I pee myself at least 3 times a day.

 • I tell the nurse that I’d prefer to not face the scale during the weigh-in at the doctor’s office, and to please keep the results to herself as to not ruin my day.

• I don't own a t-shirt that hasn't been spit up on at least once and sports the stains to prove it.

• Sometimes I go into the bathroom just to read. There’s a good 10 minute window before Matt will ask me if everything’s ok.

• Grumpy people need to work to resolve their own issues.  I can't take on everyone's problems.

• Maybe mornings aren't as bad as I thought they were.

• Make-up is not a necessity. Showering is, and should be factored in somehow.

 • Real friends will understand, and if they don’t, they will at least listen.

 • An infant car seat will snap into and snuggly fit in the upper basket of a Target shopping cart.  Any other store, no luck.
 
  • I’m still learning that its okay to be just good enough. I can't spend as much time as I used to getting caught up in silly details.  Most things still work out just fine.

Some of these things seem so small and may even sound not so appealing to some, but as a whole what they equate to is something so much bigger and so awesome. Something I wouldn’t give up for the world. I don’t live for just me anymore. I can’t put my finger on the moment it happened. I can tell you it wasn’t on April 4, and it wasn’t the moment I found out I was pregnant. It wasn’t the day I first saw Joseph on the ultrasound, or felt him move, or saw his first real smile, or heard him say Da Da for the first time and mean it. I’m really not sure when it happened, but at some point it did, and I am forever grateful that he gave me this.  Can't wait to see what 2011 has to bring!