Yep! I'm doing it! I'm making New Year's resolutions! (I have to use exclamation points to get myself excited and to not feel immediately defeated. Because, you know, New Year's resolutions.) I'm doing this live, people! I'm making them AS I TYPE. I'm putting the ON THE INTERWEBS for the world to see and I shall be held accountable! Here I go... Am I stalling? I might be.
Okay.
1. Workout!
How cliché can we get? Very, apparently. Look. IDGAF about trying to get so and so's abs or Kimmy K's butt (no way, José). Admittedly, I'd maybe like to get ripped, Ronda Rousey-style so I could kick some major ass. But looks are not the goal. Pant sizes are not the goal. I'm just tired of being so damn tired and feeling like a blob. So the goal is to tone and tighten and above all, energize!
Ideas to stay working out: Join a gym. Youtube Zumba videos. Other dance fitness. Get my friend Heff (Ian) to teach me to lift.
Moving on...
2. Make one new recipe a month!
I would not consider myself a good cook, but I do have a handful of trusty, tasty dishes that I can make to please both my husband and myself. I need to add more to this repertoire, which mostly consists of variants of chicken, tortilla and cheese.
I received an awesome Mexican cookbook last Christmas and so far have made ONE recipe from it. One. But, it was awesome, and I need to make more. This Christmas I received Thug Kitchen's cookbook. subtitle: Eat Like You Give a F*ck. I do GAF! So Imma cook like it!
3. Read, Read, Read!
Did you know that I am so indecisive and afraid of commitment, that I can't choose even a book for fear that I'll be disappointed or waste my time reading a book that I don't like. It's pathetic. My solution thus far has been to, instead, waste countless hours looking at my phone screen and refreshing Facebook or Instagram. BUT NO MORE! I SHALL READ A BOOK! I SHALL READ MANY BOOKS! I AM GOING TO TYPE THE BOOKS I SHALL READ!
Again, as Christmas presents (at my request) I received two books: Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph and Hands Free Mama by Rachel Mary Stafford. Those are the non-fictioners I hope to read in hopes to help myself become the best mom I can be to my little guy. I also plan on reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and I think I might just get my hands on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I'm not a super fantastical person, but Kathy Keller, wife of Timothy Keller states: "If you just don’t think The Lord of the Rings is for you, think again. Force it down, it will change your world." How can I argue with that? That pretty much sold me.
So there you have it. Three of the some of the most typical New Year's resolutions that someone could have. But, I still think they are pretty good. And at least I made them. How about you? Any resos you'd like to make?
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Get a Hobby
My last post made me realize something that I hadn't thought about before. And it was further emphasized tonight as I attempted to make my Amazon Wish List for Christmas. My son's already had a variety of things on it. Things I researched (on Pinterest) and decided they would be fun and engaging. Things that he would love and help grow his ever-developing brain. And then there's my Wish List, which consists of "gift idea: Cute tops to wear to work or for a night out" and "Things to decorate my house". I am realizing it is so stinkin' easy for a new mother...and any mother... to completely lose herself in her children. And, I think that is normal and biologically good and a sign of a good mom...in some ways.
It is one thing to be a dedicated mother. To pour into your children and to love them fiercely. And, when you are dedicating most of your waking hours to caring for another human around the clock, it makes sense that their needs are your own needs. And, that when you go to make your Amazon Wish List for Christmas, your child's is longer than your own. I think the problem comes, however, when our identity becomes completely wrapped in our children. I think when we don't stop to separate ourselves a bit from our children, it can trigger "helicopter parenting" (since his successes are my successes) and becoming over-involved. It can also lead to depression later in life when the kids go on to do their own things and live their own lives. They don't need their mommies anymore, and the poor mothers are left empty, having given all of themselves to their children for all of those years and being left not knowing who they are anymore.
I heard a teaching a few weeks ago on the topic of Christian parenting, and something the teacher said really stuck with me. He was telling about a time that he got really hurt and angry because his daughter ran into the arms of a friend's mom instead of wanting to spend time with him, something that they normally did together when he would come home from work. After a few minutes of being angry, he said that God gave him a thought and it was along the lines of, "That little girl is too small to be bearing the weight of your identity."
A mother's love is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Any mom I know would give anything for their children, to make them happy, to make sure they have everything they need. I am not belittling that or saying it's wrong. It's when we become so wrapped up in our children that we lose ourselves completely where things get a bit shaky, and can easily topple into over-parenting and suffocation of the child. I think it's something that I know I personally need to actively lean against. And I think that might start with getting a hobby of my own.
Any suggestions for an over-tired, part-time working mother?
It is one thing to be a dedicated mother. To pour into your children and to love them fiercely. And, when you are dedicating most of your waking hours to caring for another human around the clock, it makes sense that their needs are your own needs. And, that when you go to make your Amazon Wish List for Christmas, your child's is longer than your own. I think the problem comes, however, when our identity becomes completely wrapped in our children. I think when we don't stop to separate ourselves a bit from our children, it can trigger "helicopter parenting" (since his successes are my successes) and becoming over-involved. It can also lead to depression later in life when the kids go on to do their own things and live their own lives. They don't need their mommies anymore, and the poor mothers are left empty, having given all of themselves to their children for all of those years and being left not knowing who they are anymore.
I heard a teaching a few weeks ago on the topic of Christian parenting, and something the teacher said really stuck with me. He was telling about a time that he got really hurt and angry because his daughter ran into the arms of a friend's mom instead of wanting to spend time with him, something that they normally did together when he would come home from work. After a few minutes of being angry, he said that God gave him a thought and it was along the lines of, "That little girl is too small to be bearing the weight of your identity."
A mother's love is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Any mom I know would give anything for their children, to make them happy, to make sure they have everything they need. I am not belittling that or saying it's wrong. It's when we become so wrapped up in our children that we lose ourselves completely where things get a bit shaky, and can easily topple into over-parenting and suffocation of the child. I think it's something that I know I personally need to actively lean against. And I think that might start with getting a hobby of my own.
Any suggestions for an over-tired, part-time working mother?
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Here I Go Again
It's funny, I guess. Having a blog sounds intriguing and interesting, and like something I might even be good at. But then comes the over-thinking, the meticulousness, and wanting everything to be just right. I think I just have to get into the zone. The thing is, as a new mom, I'm learning there is no time for zones. Or you have to really make time. Like during nap times, you know, when your child is flailing about in the crib and learning that he can make really high-pitched sounds. I don't know how any new mom has deep-enough thoughts to even blog about.
But, if there is one thing that I have learned about having a baby, it's that everything changes, day to day, week to week, month to month and, as I am sure to find out, year to year. So, just as Bub continually changes the types of noises he likes to make (right now he likes to do a sound that Husband says is like Navi from Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a high-pitched "Hey!" sound), so too will the daily challenges change.
Perhaps the issue is that I have too much on my brain at any given time. Maybe this blog can help me organize some things. If only I knew how to add buttons to the side of my blog so I can organize things.
But seriously, go to sleep, Squeak Bug.
But, if there is one thing that I have learned about having a baby, it's that everything changes, day to day, week to week, month to month and, as I am sure to find out, year to year. So, just as Bub continually changes the types of noises he likes to make (right now he likes to do a sound that Husband says is like Navi from Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a high-pitched "Hey!" sound), so too will the daily challenges change.
Perhaps the issue is that I have too much on my brain at any given time. Maybe this blog can help me organize some things. If only I knew how to add buttons to the side of my blog so I can organize things.
But seriously, go to sleep, Squeak Bug.
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