Tis the season for resolutions, and reflecting on things that worked last year and what didn’t.

We are finally starting to feel settled in our home, we welcomed our second child into the world and into our family, and we also learned that we needed to tighten our wallet a bit more since I am staying home to raise our babies.

So, even though it is mid-January – here are my 2016 resolutions.

1. Be grateful every day

We have a white board up on our fridge in the kitchen. Last year I used it as a to-do list, but to be honest, I barely would accomplish the things on the list. The erasable marker didn’t want to erase when I finally got around to completing my goals, and I had to scrape it off and wash the white board.

#MomFail

So I decided rather than have a visual reminder of the things I haven’t done, why not have a visual reminder of the things I’m grateful for.

That way I will be seeing these wonderful things that make me smile or make my heart feel full. The to-do list can be done elsewhere. This message needs to be a positive one.

So each day, Tall Dad and I take our turn writing down things that we are grateful for.

Sometimes it’s something as simple as snow.

Other times its for kids sleeping through the night. Tall Dad may- or may not have mentioned television shows or movies 😉

No matter what, they are things we like and are happy to remind ourselves of.

2. Be a wife first- Mom second

Being a wife while being a mom is hard. It’s a juggling act of needs, and often the kids take precedence. It’s hard for them not to – especially when they are sick or need help getting through the day.

But when the kids are okay, and there aren’t any pressing matters, I want to take that time to be more present as a wife to Tall Dad. He and I are the foundation of this tiny family, and without him, I would honestly be a blubbering mess. We need our marriage to be the pillars that hold us up when life throws us curveballs. And boy do there seem to be a lot of curveballs these days 😉

Seriously, when Dickens wrote about being the best of times and the worst of times, I feel like there was actually a new parent whispering those words into his ear.

New parents are so full of love, but are exhausted, learning how to balance an entirely different budget, and learning about the true meaning of selflessness. It can be a perfect storm of feelings, and it is easy to push a spouse’s needs or feelings to the back burner.

I’m speaking from experience, and I’m only into year 2 of being a new mom. It’s bloody hard, but I know I need to put my marriage as a top priority. With Tall Dad by my side, I’ve conquered severe postpartum depression, I’ve been able to help him with his struggles of what seems to be male postpartum depression and lack of bonding with a child, we’ve made it through colic, are tackling financial fears, and just learning how to be an adult.

I’m happy to have a team mate, and remind myself every day, that we have the same goals.

Together, we can accomplish anything – and that is why my marriage comes first.

3. Spend 1 day a week unplugged from social media

I love Facebook, Instagram and twitter. Honestly, I do. I could waste an entire day perusing things on those three sites, and I probably have at one point or another.

But, I have found that I sometimes get Facebook Depressed (is it such a thing? yes — learn more here)

It’s hard not to compare yourself and your home/vacation/kids to everything you see online.

Usually I can be happy for others, but there are other times, when I’m covered in lord knows what kind of a gross kid-substance, all I’ve had to eat is a bite of my son’s peanut butter jelly sandwich, and I haven’t showered in 2 days — when I see someone’s trip to a fancy island.

It’s generally a shot of their feet, hand holding an adult beverage, and beautiful blue water. You know the ones I’m talking about. Example thanks to google —

Well, rather than be happy for my friend, I sometimes feel a pang of “aw man, why am I not there?”

I’m happy with my life and my choices, but sometimes social media can make me feel inadequate.

Ain’t nobody got time for feeling like that because of a couple of websites — so I’m going to give myself a day off. A day off of the feeds, and the pictures, and the fun quotes, but also a day off so I can be 100% present in the here and now.

4. Be more green

We are recycling a TON more ever since I went out and purchased a little recycling bin. I used to just keep a paper bag next to the trash, but it never seemed to work. I would often find regular trash in there, and decided to get a real-deal blue bin! Man, has it worked! Our little recycling bin is almost full each day, and I love tossing the bottles and cardboard out into our large recycling bin. It’s a great feeling knowing that it won’t be in the landfill.

I’ve also really been tackling our budget, and have high hopes that we can bring down our electric usage by being more vigilant. Better for the environment and better for our wallet!

5. Cook more at home

I am no Betty Crocker or Pioneer Woman. My idea of making dinner is Rice-a-Roni Pilaf, and chicken, plus a bag of frozen steamed veggies.

I never really learned how to cook, or at least cook well, and it takes me a super long time to make anything. Since I have kids now, time is not something I have to waste, but neither is money on take out dinners.

So Tall Dad and I have decided to make meal planning a bigger priority in our home. We had our first freezer meal party with a couple of friends – and batch made 5 meals in the span of 3 hours. It was awesome, and delicious!

I’m also hoping to get my toddler son more involved in the kitchen as well…hopefully he will have better cooking skills than me when he is in his thirties 😉

So there you have it folks — these are my 5 realistic New Years Resolutions. Did you make any for yourself this year? Do you have any awesome and easy recipes that you might share with me? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Talk soon friends,