Every year I make the same resolutions that I think I should make, starting on January 1st, but for some reason by the end of month, I’m back to the same me that I was on Dec.31st:

Carly’s 2012 New Year Resolutions

I PROMISE that I will go to the gym at least 3 times a week …even though I hate the gym and can’t stand the idea of forking over hundreds of dollars to work out because , as I said, I HATE the gym!

I PROMISE that I will try my best to eat mostly REAL food and purge my cupboards of processed food… I end up throwing out hundreds of dollars of groceries ( I don’t actually throw them out, I donate them but then someone else has to eat unhealthy processed food), only to cave and restock my shelves with the same food the next month. It’s a vicious cycle.

I PROMISE that I will have more patience… like controlling my road rage when someone drives thirty kilometres in front of me in a sixties zone and I’m already late for an appointment… or not blowing a gasket when the list I made of things to do around the house only has one item crossed off it after 2 weeks and I wanted everything done NOW! ( Unfortunately my poor husband is usually the one getting hit by shrapnel from the gasket…last year I made a list of things I wanted done around the house before my son was born.  There were 15 things on the lists and because I was pregnant, I couldn’t do 90% of them so my husband worked like a dog to finish everything before my hormones attacked him. Sorry babe!)

I PROMISE that I will watch less t.v. (which I have an addiction to…especially now that there is reality television. Love it!)…and spend more time doing fun and interesting things like reading more, playing card games with my husband, going for hikes and generally taking time to relax. (One year I decided I would even cancel my cable in order to keep my promise of not watching t.v. but I ended up just renting a ton of movies instead which probably cost me more money and wasted more time in front of the television…but at least I could tell people I didn’t have cable…how silly was I!)

As usual, I made the same resolutions this year but when Jan.1st came around, I realized things were a lot different now because this year I’m a Mom! So I’ve decided that I will use this new role as my motivation for 2012.  Because by sticking to these promises, not only will I become happier and healthier but so will my son ( and also my hubby). As the saying goes ,“ If Mommy’s happy, everyone’s happy!” Plus I want my son to grow up in a healthy and relaxing environment and not learn my bad habits. The resolutions may be the same but I’ve tweeked them in order to stick with them this year and  fit my new mom schedule:

Carly’s ( aka. Mom) 2012 New Year Resolutions

I PROMISE to workout at least 3 times a week this year…but I will incorporate my workouts with spending time with my son and doing things I actually enjoy doing (Forget the gym!).  I will go to Mommy and Baby yoga classes, go for walks around Thetis Lake with the stroller, take my son to swimming lessons and work out my arms lifting my son in the air about 100 times a day and my legs when I jump with him while he’s jumping in his jumperoo (it’s like doing squats for 20 minutes but you don’t realized you’ve done them until the next day…my husband did this and could barely walk.) Plus the money I save on not buying a gym membership means we can save more for a family vacation this year.

I PROMISE I will eat mostly REAL food…but my motivation is that my son is now at the age where he is going to start eating whatever we eat so I want to make sure I’m giving him the healthiest food for his fast growing body.  He’s also going to learn about food through me so I need to be a good teacher and show him all the wonderful healthy fruits and vegetables there are out there and that they can taste good. And if I slip a few times and go through the drive-thru at Mickey Dees, I’m make sure to do this after he’s gone to bed because let’s face it, nobody is perfect and we all have cravings from time to time…he just doesn’t need to learn this one for many years!  Also by eating real food, it will force me to learn to cook better!  It’s a win-win!

I PROMISE to have more patience…because I want to teach my son this as well.  Plus I don’t want him learning the bad words that mommy says when she’s in the car and loses her patience (this seems to be the place where most children learn these words based on talks with my other parent friends…quick tip:you know you have a problem when the kids are also yelling at the driver in front of you to” F*&@#n  speed up.” Not Good!) I’m going to change my expectations and put that list in a drawer in order enjoy every fleeting moment with my son as he learns to walk and talk and take in all that is new in the world around him.  I will have to take out the list eventually but when I do I won’t freak out and simply try to complete one task each month.  My husband will be very happy about this resolution.

I PROMISE to watch less TV because…

a) As it turns out I  don’t really have time these days to watch TV ( so much for bon bons and soap operas like I was promised!) unless maybe while I’m breast feeding…maybe this is why they call it the boob tube? Hmmmm.

b) I’d rather do more productive things with my limited time (which is really only a couple hours a day when he’s napping.)

c) I want to use that time to recharge rather lose brain cells. I never thought reading a few pages of a book would become a luxury but it has.  My friend Nicole used to always tell me what a treat it was when she got to sit down and just read for a bit and I never understood until now!  Another friend once told me she used to get excited to go to the dentist because she’d get a chance to read a magazine for 5 minutes! And now I understand!

d) I don’t want my son to spend his childhood glued to the television…when I was a kid we were allowed to watch 1 hour of t.v a day, otherwise we were sent out to play outside till dark…and it was wonderful!

And unlike most years, I don’t need to print off my resolutions to stick on the fridge as a reminder because every time I look at my beautiful son Grayson, that will be reminder enough.  I’d love to hear what your New Year resolutions are this year and how you plan to achieve them.  Sometimes telling others really helps you stick with them. Happy New year everyone!

Coupon of the Week:  So I’m sure some of you are thinking that your coupon binder is looking mighty empty after pulling out all the expired coupons on Dec.31st but do not fret: TODAY Proctor and Gamble are releasing their newest coupons and there are a ton of them.  You can find coupon inserts in your local paper AND order them online at www.brandsaver.ca.  Plus I’ve found a bunch of manufacturer coupons in the grocery stores this week.  Happy Hunting!