New Year's Day

Over the holidays we had a lot of time with the minions.  It was great, but challenging.  With really cold weather and the ice storm brewing, we were housebound and stir crazy from the lack of fresh air and caged pens.  Chris and I had all of these grandiose ideas of the things we'd check off our "To Do" lists over the holidays.  There were six items on the list, two of them got done.  Although I may curse it a little bit when our January weekends and evenings fill up with our Honey Do lists, I won't regret the extra, uninterrupted time we got with Molly and Jack.  On Christmas Eve day I read them nine books, back to back, because that is what they wanted to do.  We enjoyed waffles for breakfast, later bed times and them pushing the boundaries on nap time.*

I've never been big on resolutions, but being forced to slow down the past two weeks really got me thinking about some goals and how I want to spend my time with Molly and Jack in 2014 and beyond.  I thought I'd share.

1. I want to read more stories to Molly and Jack.  We generally end up reading bed time stories five days a week.  We try for seven but rarely score a perfect week. Sometimes they get cut when we've been out, someone is melting down, no one is paying attention or mom and dad are exhausted.  I want to enjoy more story time with them any time, not just as a precursor to bedtime.
2.  I spend a lot of time reading: for work, online courses for my post grad certificate, and researching the latest head scratcher of bizarre toddler behaviour, but not a lot of reading just for me.  I added it up and I read about 10 books last year.  I used to read at least a book a week BK (Before Kids) and even in my first year as a parent I managed to read two books a month.  I got a lot of great books for Christmas and my birthday that I haven't cracked the spines on yet**, so I'm going to make it a priority to read more for me, even if it's just for 15 minutes a day on the subway.  
3. It's easy to complain about the lack of time you have as a couple once you have kids, it's harder and more rewarding to do something about it.  We've slacked and let life get in the way lately, but we're actually doing something about it.  Chris and I are determined to have more date nights in 2014, even if it's just re-activating our dinner and a movie date night at home some weeks.
4. It bugs me how much Molly loves TV.  We get such little time with the kids when we're working that weeknights and weekends seem precious and I resent losing her attention to TV land.  We limit TV time to half an hour a day and allow for a little more on weekends.  Sometimes, on a rainy (or snowy) Saturday afternoon, all I feel like is curling up and watching a couple of movies. I should allow Molly the same pleasure, within reason.  When Chris and I discover a new TV series we love, we go into marathon mode. I need to lighten up a little and stop the double standard.   We can use the time she's watching TV to read, get chores done, or spend more one on one time with Jack.
5. I am starting to book time for myself (I really focused on this more in the end of 2013), whether it's for a haircut, a coffee or walk with a friend. I'm going to be better about treating time I need to feel balanced more like regular appointments to avoid the martyr trap.

What are you doing to make 2014 a better year for your family?

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*Okay, no one but Molly and Jack were happy about the disruption to their nap routine.
**Someone gave me Coreyography that's right Corey Feldman's biography.  Sure, the life of Fel-dog isn't Shakespeare but biographies (both inspiring and trashy) are a guilty pleasure that I love.