New Years.

Welcome to 2014. A new year, and that's about it. Let's just be honest. A new year does not actually bring much change. What is so special about January? Nothing really changes except the date. Our children are still in school, in the same grade they were in a month ago. They have the same class, the same friends, the same routine. As adults, we still get up and do our jobs every day at the same pace, and on the same schedule. As a stay at home mom, I am still going to wake up every morning at 7:30 and change Monster man's first poopy diaper of the day. Cause that boy is on a schedule, and it's not changing just because the year ends with a 4 instead of a 3.

That being said, I like the idea of New Year's resolutions, and I really believe that if you put your mind to it, you can make better choices and better habits. So here's a few things I'd like to change this year, even though I know it probably won't stick.

1. Wake up happier. Granted, I wake up every morning to a poopy diaper and that's not fun at all. But I can wake up and be happy that I have a whole 4 to 5 hours before I have to change ANOTHER poopy diaper. And that's pretty sweet.

2. Yell less. I spend a lot of time trying to be heard over the chaos of my zoo. But I want to yell less, and whisper more. My dad has a theory that children listen better when you whisper because they have to be quiet to hear what you're saying. Time to start testing that theory out a little more often.

3. Drink Less Coffee. I know, it's blasphemous. But I should really be drinking water or something, instead of having coffee for breakfast and lunch. I should be eating real food too. Ah well. One goal at a time.

4. Play on the floor. This year for Christmas Monster Man got three huge bags of Megabloks. And the kids love building castles. They also got Play-doh. So far Husband and I have been doing really good at just sitting down and playing with them. Yesterday started with the entire family (except Monster Man, he's too little) having a play-doh molding contest. Monster S won by far. Also, uh, does anyone know where I can find a really big pack of Nerf darts? We've had so many Nerf wars this past week, that's we've already lost half of our darts. Which I'm totally ok with.

5. Read more. Not just for myself, but also with the girls. They love being read to, and now Monster S is sounding out her words and starting to read on her own. Now is the time to develop their love of books.

If you'll notice my resolutions are not typical. I'm not trying to lose weight, or sculpt my abs into a six pack, or even have a perfectly clean house. I'm more realistic with my personal goals. Those work for some people, but they certainly wouldn't work for me. Let's hope I can stick with the goals I have!