Tuesday Tidbits and Resolutions

• Can we talk about the Bachelor? I am not one of those fanatics who has seen every single episode and knows each and every contestant's name, face and shoe-size, but on the chance that I do get into a season, I find myself completely sucked in. With football season over, there is literally NOTHING ELSE on on Monday nights so I figured, what the hell, and watched the premiere last night. Let's just say... bring on the crazies! I'm so excited for all the insanity to ensue.

• Ariana is officially crawling, and Kyran is horrified by it. He keeps giving me crazed looks like, "MOM, IT MOVES?!" and then just screaming. And this girl? She's a force to be reckoned with. I always knew she would be a spitfire, but good lord... they are fighting, already. And it's all her. She's an instigator, goes up to him, grabs whatever it is he has right out of his hands (even if she has the same) and then laughs when he cries. I have birthed a monster.

• I have to brag a bit because I am just SO proud of how far Ky has come the last couple months with his development. We do "school" every day and he is just learning leaps and bounds. He still has some trouble stringing words together or saying multiple syllables at once, but he's getting better about it. He loves saying "Mail man" and "Snow Man" and "Fire Truck" and stuff so he's getting there! But, at the ripe old age of 19 months, he knows ALL his colors, can point out every animal under the sun and can say most of them, is great with puzzles and shapes and can count to 4. His vocabulary is steadily growing, too and I love that he's a little parrot now and repeats everything I say.. so much fun teaching him new words and watching him learn!

• I turn 29 next month and I am already not looking forward to it. 29 is just a gross number to look at. I'd almost rather just turn 30 and get it over with.

• Hubs had the entire week between Christmas and New Years off of work so I took it upon myself to take a day and lock myself in my office to work on my business. I'm SO glad I did. I'm proud to say, I have a fresh new face, my own domain, updated logo, and brand new website that is all up-to-date. I also ordered business cards, stationary and mailing supplies so I can really dive in full-speed ahead this year. I'm so looking forward to it. 

• It's the time of year where everyone sets Resolutions and goals for themselves. Last year, I had two New Years resolutions (1. Not get pregnant, 2. Eat at Geoffrey Zakarian's Restaurant) and I completed both of them. This year, I am upping the ante to 5, but I want things that are achievable. I'm not going to resolve to learn to read and write in Russian (while that would be awesome), because I know it won't happen. I also wanted to choose things that would make me a better wife, mother, friend, and daughter. In no particular order:

1. Not get pregnant. Again.
Yes, there will be no babies for us in 2013. Or 2014, for that matter. This will definitely make me a better everything, but probably mostly daughter since my mom said if I had a baby this year she would move to Japan.

2. Try not to nag as much.
I want to try being better about explaining to my husband why certain things should/shouldn't be done one way (ahem, my way), instead of getting frustrated/annoyed and blurting out my usual, "OH MY GOD, let me just do it myself otherwise it won't be done right!" method. I want to be a better, less naggy wife, for everyone's sake.

3. Take better care of myself, my health
This is an important one, and for all intents and purposes is my #1 resolution this year. I have a serious case of anemia that needs constant attention and medication. While I was pregnant/nursing, I wasn't able to take the meds I need, and well, after 2 years of being pregnant and 6 months of nursing, my health has spun a bit out of control. My main goal this year is to aggressively tackle my healthcare, make it a priority, and focus to get my labs and blood counts down to where they should be. My family needs me to be healthy and this will make me a better mother and wife.

4. Spend smarter
I am not making any lofty goals about sticking to a budget, clipping coupons, etc... I'm trying to be realistic, and I know that if I try to clip coupons it will last for about 45 seconds. I want to spend smarter. To say no to myself, when I think I need that cardigan from Target (that I already own in 4 colors), or the manicure I can do myself, or a $6 Starbucks coffee when I have a perfectly fine working Keurig at home. To cut back, yes, but to also see where I am basically just wasting money and stop.

5. Speak to the kids in Urdu more
I am bilingual, and truth be told, I have lost a lot of my language since I went to college and didn't speak it as much anymore. I want my children to learn the language of my culture, and the only way to do that is to speak to them in it. They are going to learn English regardless, the same way I did. So if I can speak to them more at home, and have them pick it up, it would be great for them and for me. It's going to be hard since Hubs doesn't speak it.. but I'm going to try!

So there you have it. I think my resolutions are attainable, not too far fetched, and nothing that needs constant attention 24/7. I want to resolve to do things that will make our home a happier, healthier, fresher place to be and I know I can get there.