Happy New Year! The weather may be craptastic outside, but we are enjoying a cozy day off from the post-holiday bustle. The above photo has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I just had to show of Bean’s awesomely obscene holiday bow. Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

As I do every year, I spent yesterday thinking about my goals for the upcoming year, because for me, “resolution” is not necessarily a four letter word. At the top of my list is getting back to the healthy lifestyle I had pre-baby. When I got on the scale this morning, I was pleasantly surprised that I’m only about 20-25 pounds off my goal weight, and coming from the girl who dropped 60 pounds last time, that seems pretty do-able to me. However, it’s not just about the numbers on the scale, or the fact that I miss my skinny jeans desperately. Right now, I have the activity level of a sloth, and my energy level is in the toilet. Blaming Bean and sleep deprivation is easy, but if we’re being honest, my abysmal food choices and total lack of physical activity are the true culprit. I miss having the bounce in my step that comes from a halfway decent diet and a modicum of exercise. So, just like last time, I’m starting small, because drastic changes only set people up for failure. My goals for the next two weeks are to add an extra helping of veggies to my dinner plate, cut down my ridiculous diet coke consumption and add 30 minutes of activity a day, even if it’s just playing Wii Fit with the Heathens. If I can keep that up for two weeks, we’ll add another goal from there.

As for the Heathens, my husband and I drafted a new set of rules, but more importantly, defined a set of consequences. As they get older (and mouthier), we occasionally have to revamp their expectations . I’ve noticed that, over the past few months, I’ve turned into a mom who spends a whole lot of time threatening my misbehaving kids, but rarely following through with consistent punishments. Predictably, they have ceased to take me seriously as MOM (aka master and commander), and respect for my authority is absent. We had a family meeting, laid down the law and they have been put on notice. If I hadn’t already be crowned “Meanest Mom Ever,” I’m sure I will be by the end of this week.

But ya know what? I find that I’m okay with that.