It's a new year...time to re-evaluate where you are and where you want to be. Instead of making New Year's Resolutions, as I have done in the past, I have decided to set life goals that I will work on starting this month. I hope that these life goals will be more successful than my past resolutions, which usually are over by February! So, here they are, in no particular order:
1) Have a more positive attitude about work. It's been so hard for me to transition back to work since Morgan came along. Although I want to be a stay at home mom, it's just not something that we can do right now. I want to focus on being positive about working because I can't change my situation. Focusing on how much I don't want to be working has been harmful, so it's time to see the good in working and continue to pray that one day I will be able to stay home with Morgan.
2) Eat healthier and mostly at home. As you probably know, Patrick and I love to eat out. Neither of us enjoy cooking and I am not the best cook. My food is edible, but not spectacular. Along the typical "lose weight" resolution, I want to focus my family on healthier eating. I feel it's important for us to instill good eating habits in Morgan and we can't do that if we aren't being a good example. Also, eating at home will save us money and will allow us more time as a family. And in the end, I am sure that we will both drop a few pounds.
3) Take 20-30 minutes every day to do something for myself. As a mom, wife, and professional in the workforce, I hardly have any time that is not accounted for during the day. If there is spare time during the day, I almost always focus on doing things for others. While that is a great trait, I think my mental health will be better if I focus a little bit on centering myself and doing things that I enjoy...even simple things like taking a bath or reading. I always feel better if I get a few minutes of down time. This can also include exercise, which I am looking forward to getting back in to.
4) Be diligent about going to church and deepening my faith. With all that has been going on in my life over the past year, I admit that I haven't been going to church as much as I need to. I know that I always feel better when I do attend church. I want to focus on my relationship with God so that I may show my daughter how wonderful it is to have a relationship with God.
I have also set some goals for my relationship with Morgan and her growth. Here are our goals:
1) Start teaching American Sign Language in January. Many professionals advocate for parents to teach their children ASL because it allows kids to communicate before they can form the words that they want to say. Also, because Patrick and I both work with the disability community, I feel it is important for Morgan to have some basic knowledge of ASL so she may be able to communicate with all people.
2) Get a set nighttime routine and stick to it. We have been pretty good about doing a routine with Morgan so that she knows when we are transitioning to different events through the day. Over the holidays we got away from that and Morgan was a lot more cranky. We have set a nighttime routine of arriving home from the sitter, playing until about 6:30, dinner, bath, play time, nurse, read a story, bed. It has been working well for the past 4 days, so I want that to continue.
3) Focus on teaching manners. I think it's really important to teach Morgan how to have good manners. There are too many children and young adults today that do not know the meaning of the words kindness, respect, share, and others. When I grew up, every adult was Mr. or Mrs., it was yes sir and no ma'am, and adults were never argued with. She also needs to learn to use words to resolve problems and that she won't always get what she wants. Because I don't know if she will have a sibling, I don't want to have the spoiled stereotypical only child.
It's hard to set too many other goals at this point because of where she is developmentally. I am sure that when she turns one I will do an update on goals we will have for her. But for now, that's what the Tenney girls are focusing on for 2007.
