Southern livin'

We are officially in Georgia and all I have to say is thank goodness!! I don't know why but it has occurred to me that I am really good at setting myself up for failure. For some reason, I told myself I was going to get here and do all these fabulous things and be set-up in a day. Well.... let me just say, it certainly did not happen that way. We have been to our storage unit multiple times trying to find everything the kids and I need during our stay here. I still feel like we aren't completely organized. And our schedules? They are so out of whack that it isn't even funny. Now, we all are sick. It just adds to the fun! But really, I love it here. I love the sun and warmth despite it being winter. I love the southern hospitality. I love that no one looks at you weird when you say "No thank you, ma'am". It's just so nice!


But then there is the impending doom, the reason we are here.... because in one week, my husband, my partner, my love will be leaving, for a year. I can't even stand it. Lately, all my inadequacies have been coming to a head and I really feel like I just can't do it without him. I feel like alone, I will fail our children. Again, I'm setting myself up for failure. See a recurring theme here?

I feel like I am not the only mother that does this. I feel like there are so many of us wannabe perfectionists that think the only way to not screw our kids up is to throw together pinterest projects for every school function and make our own baby food, soap, clothes, etc. When in reality all my child really needs/wants is for me to play her the sound board on her Charlie Brown's Christmas book and give her sweets every so often. So why am I so crazy? Who knows but at least I know there are a million moms out there doing the same thing.

Anyways, we're enjoying our last week with daddy, tornado warnings, ER visits, and all....

No idea how!

Here we are in January! Where did the whole month of December go? Between the holidays and preparing for our move, things have been busy to say the least. Luckily, one of my New Years resolutions is to come here more often!

But really, tonight I felt compelled to write. I have been thinking a lot about new beginnings lately. With the start of the new year and our move, it seems like the absolute best time to turn things around. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like a complete disaster who needs a complete 360 but I believe it's important to give yourself performance reviews every so often to see where you stand. So that is exactly what I have done. I sat down and really thought about the past year; I thought about what is most important to me, what I need to accomplish in this life, and how I want to be remembered. All this contemplation brought me to this point, this post, and these goals for this year:

1. Be a more supportive and loving wife.
While all wives should support their husbands, as their husbands should support them, military wives should support their husbands 100 more times. You can not understand or fathom the type of support that is necessary when your husband is about to leave you and his children for months at a time. You not only have to congratulate your husband's achievements at work, but help him to reach them. I can't tell you how many times I've bypassed the cookies because my husband is a week away from a pt test. This is probably one of my most difficult feats. I sometimes get selfish and forget about my role as my husband's main support system, as I'm sure many of us do. I want to work at catching my missteps and find new ways to build upon the love and support I bring to my marriage.

2. Have more patience for my children.
I have, especially lately, found myself being short with my toddler. Some days I find myself getting insanely frustrated and a slew of nos and don'ts free flow from my mouth. This is the same for my baby and his "fussy times". Parenting is no joke. Sleep is a gift, not promised and on any given day all of your belongings can be strewn throughout your house leaving you to spend all of that very short nap time, cleaning up. It's difficult and I am no super mom. I get frustrated. I can get snippy. And sometimes I need to walk away for a minute. I hope this year I can work on that. I hope I can walk away before I get into my no-fest. I want to focus on learning ways to handle my toddler's new found behaviors and help guide her to be an independent, yet respectful person. 

3. Focus on my own well being, my hobbies, and my career.
All to often, I hear mothers talking about things they want to do but never have time to do. This is me too. My children see the doctor for regular check-ups but I can't tell you the last time I had one. As mothers, we always put aside our needs and wants for our children. For the most part, this is wonderful and sometimes necessary. But it is also necessary for us to take care of ourselves, to keep ourselves physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually fulfilled. This year I want to focus on myself, even if only a little bit. I want to make a point to get my check up, to hit the gym often, to divulge in my hobbies, and get myself some gifts here and there.

4. Have a lot of fun!
I swear, I went into labor and delivery the day Isla was born laughing, having a good time, being playful with my husband, and just generally enjoying myself and then there she was. I left the hospital uptight and dare I say it, boring and UN-fun. It is no big secret that I am a tad bit type A and having children took my craziness from 0 to 60 almost immediately. My husband often tries to clue me in when I'm being too uptight about things, which is quite often. He is still young at heart and can enjoy himself often without much worry (I'm a tad jealous). While I do believe there needs to be one person who has it together, I also believe in keeping yourself from worrying constantly. With that being said, I hope that I can unbuckle my seatbelt (only metaphorically, I'm trying to be fun not dangerous) this year and stop being such a worry wart.

5. Build my spiritual relationship with God and share it with my children.
I really think this is totally self explanatory. Church, prayer, and some bible study.

6.Embrace our new surroundings and take in all the offerings.
With the changes in scenery we will be getting in the coming weeks and then again in a year, I hope to partake in everything. I want to explore eateries, museums, beaches, and antique stores. I want to meet people and see the sights. I want to just take it all in. And lets not forget collecting/creating/showcasing evidence of our travels :)

Yup, so there it is. My goals for 2013. I doubt many of you hung on through all my blabbing. If you did, I hope this motivates you :)