It’s a NEW YEAR!!!! Christmas is over and after spending at least one week of the holidays in bed with the most horrendous stomach bug known to man, I can honestly say that I’m f**king glad it’s over.
If you’re a parent, then you’ll know all about colds and stomach bugs. Obviously non-parents have these too but when you’re a parent, a cold or stomach bug is like a family member who barges their way into your home uninvited every few months.
Especially if you have a reception-aged child.
So instead of spending New year’s Eve partying (or in my case these days, watching Jools Holland or some fireworks show on TV because I’m too old and tired to give a sh*t about partying), I spent the evening in bed feeling like death when the clock struck twelve.
And the poor 4-year-old spent Christmas Day trying to build his brand new Lego sets while pausing occasionally to vomit into a bowl.
BUT…
We’ve now recovered and are ready to take on 2024!
Here are a few New Year’s mum resolutions that I am aiming to achieve. I can’t promise that I will achieve them, but I will try my best!
1. Stop it with the mum guilt
The first of my New Year’s mum resolutions is a BIG one to achieve but I’m working on it. After seven years of being a mum, it’s time for me to stop feeling guilty when I become burnt out or when I don’t want to role-play or if I raise my voice slightly at my children. All mums lose their cool at some point.
Of course it’s not OK to shout at our kids ALL the time, but we all reach a stage where we feel stressed. And that’s ok. Parental burnout can be combatted! And so can the mum guilt.
2. Get some new clothes
I’ve probably purchased a total of two items of clothing since becoming a mum. So yeah, I really need to freshen up my wardrobe. There’s a lot of 40th birthday celebrations coming up in my circle of friends this year and the last thing I want to do is attend any of them in a dusty dress that hasn’t been worn since I was 29.
January sales here I come!
3. Start showing plants some love
I feel bad about the fact that any beautiful plant that enters my home ends up dead within a few weeks. I’m TERRIBLE at caring for real plants. But not anymore! I’m determined to have a garden full of beautiful blooms in the summer!
Might have to set a reminder to water them though…
4. Declutter the house
Especially the children’s bedrooms! After the influx of toys at Christmas, it’s time to start getting rid of The Disney plushies and replacing them with Lankybox plushies.
Sigh.
Or in the four-year-old’s case, making enough room for anything spider-man related, which is his latest obsession.
5. Eat less chocolate.
Yeah. That’ll never happen.
6. Cut down on spending
The husband and I sat down the other day and looked at our outgoings. One of the biggest expenses was cafés. Whenever we visit anywhere with a café, we always stop off there, especially if we want to get out of the house quickly and don’t have time for lunch before we leave.
This is fine occasionally but the cost really mounts up if we do it every time (the price of a small coffee at some places is shocking!). So we’ve made it our goal to take packed lunches and flasks for most of our journeys and only have lunch out as an occasional treat.
7. Visit more places
Now that the children are getting a bit older, it’s a little easier (note I said a LITTLE) to go on biggish family walks. So I’m aiming to visit as many different places as possible this year and discover some lovely new trails!
8. Cut down on coffee
Hahahahahahahaha. No.
9. Try to feel better about myself
I doubt myself. A lot. This year I’ll be turning the big 40. And I’m hoping to change some of the ways I view myself. All the things about myself that I’ve thought were negative, such as my reserved, introverted nature, I’m going to try and look at more positively.
Also, I’ve accepted that I’m not a perfect mum but I still look at other mums and occasionally don’t feel good enough. That needs to stop, which is why it’s one of my New Year’s mum resolutions!
10. Accept that my house is not spick and span
Well, it won’t be until the kids are older at least. No matter how many times I put away their toys, clothes and shoes or pull out bits of Lego from under the coffee table, they will all reappear there a few hours later. My kids are still very young and there’s little point in me trying to make my home immaculate when it just gets messy again soon afterwards.
A few toys here and there are what makes it a family home and I’ve come to realise that I wouldn’t have it any other way. And despite this study showing that an untidy home is the thing that parents get stressed about the most, it’s normal to have a bit of mess!
A house with toys all over the living room is a sign that my kids are still young. And I will miss it when they are older. Probably.
And so…
If I can achieve most or all of these then I’ll be rewarding myself with a massive bar of chocolate. Which is perfectly acceptable, because eating less chocolate is the one New Year’s mum resolution on this list that I won’t be achieving anyway.
Happy New Year!
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