A word to live by in 2014

At the beginning of 2013 I chose a a word to live by for the year. The word I chose was courage and I don't think I could have chosen a better word for the year.

There were many times when it resonated with me and saw me through.

I had courage to race my first half marathon.

I had courage to get pregnant with our second baby.

I had courage to say "yes" to another C-Section with it became clear that was the best choice.

I had courage to sit at the bed side to say goodbye to my dying aunt.

I had courage to give her eulogy and honor her life.

The list could go on and on. But when I think about 2013 I really don't think there was a more perfect word for me to live by for the year.

We are one month into 2014 and I have been thinking a lot about choosing another word to live by. This year looks so different for me already. I'm a stay-at-home mom for the year. I have a little man who is in his very trying three's. I have a newborn. I have two kids at home, not just one. 

I am an anxious person by nature. I am pretty high-strung if I'm being honest. I plan. I obsess. I tidy. I have a hard time "relaxing" or "going with the flow". But with two kids and a year at home, I need to relax a bit more. I need to ignore the dishes and tend to my baby or play with my little mister. 

I need to be a little more calm. 

So that is the word that I've chosen: calm. 

When my 3-year-old is throwing a temper tantrum or demanding my attention over and over, I need to stay calm.

When my baby is crying in the middle of the night and I can't figure out why or how to help her, I need to stay calm.

If I'm too exhausted to get my workout in for the day, rather then obsessing and stressing, I need to stay calm.

If there are days and moments when the laundry is piled and there are dishes in the sink, rather then letting it overwhelm me I need to stay calm.

This is going to be challenging for me, but I know it will be the best word for me for 2014.

 

New Year, New Goals!

2014 is here. I always love the start of a New Year. While I don't ever set specific "resolutions", I do like to set myself some goals for the New Year going forward. I've been thinking a lot about this next year and how different it's going to be for me having a newborn, 2 kids, and not working for the year. So I've been trying to keep all of that in mind and be really realistic with my goals this year - while trying to stretch myself a little bit.

Here goes.

My first goal is to run 1000 km's this year. Really, when you break it down, it's not a lot. But I decided I need to not set myself a goal race for 2014 (but watch out 2015 - hubs and I have our eye set on a great half marathon for our 10th wedding anniversary!) I want to focus on running just for the love of running. Running to get back in shape and build up strength and feel post-baby-confidence. In saying that, I knew that if I didn't have some sort of goal, I may not hold myself as accountable. 

Next - get back to pre-baby weight. Hubs said I can't really count this one because in his words, "that's a given". But it's top of mind going into 2014, so it's obviously a goal.

Try a new fitness routine. 2013 was all about run-run-running. With a little pre-natal yoga in there at the end. I really want to stretch myself to try something completely new-to-me.

Eat Clean!! This time last year, we were rocking our clean-eating diet. Riiiight up until I got pregnant. Then I got into the lovely stage of "I'm starving, but nothing looks good except...(fill in the blank with some sort of unclean junkfood)." So while we tried to maintain as clean-as-possible of a diet throughout my pregnancy, we were by no means strict about it. Now with two kids in my world, I'm extra conscious of wanting to make good, healthy, eating and lifestyle decisions for our family to help them grown to be healthy and fit kids. I'm excited to get back to our better eating routines with this one!

Unplug - at least once a week. I have our "Family Rules" on the wall in our house and one of them says "Be Present - Be Patient". This comes to mind a lot when I'm playing with Gabe, or snuggling with Addy, or talking with hubs and catch myself checking my phone. I need to be more "present" to me, this means not looking at my phone or trying to multi-task when I'm with my family. My goal is to unplug every Sunday (Sunday, because I know the whole family is always together on that day). 

I have some family goals in mind, some goals for the home, etc. But for today, these are just my personal goals. What about you?