February Resolutions

February's Resolution is to Love Your Family. I have thought a lot about how I was going to do this above what we already do. We are a family of hugs and kisses, family time, individual time, talking, and I love you's on the phone. Then my husband told me about research that said that a staggeringly low amount of spouses say 'I Love You' to each other every day and the same low amount kiss hello or goodbye. And it got me thinking - we do all of that but is there a way to do more than that. So this month I am going to focus on the following things:

Be present when my child or husband is talking to me

I am horrible at listening but not paying attention to when people talk to me. In the morning my daughter often has to say things twice before they will stick in my head because I am putting my lunch together, getting coffee or packing my bag. The same goes when my husband gets home. Usually I am so caught up in my book, game or TV show that I half ignore what he has to say.

So my goal is to stop the distractions when they talk to me.  To truly hear how their day was, the answers to their questions and to connect with them.

Laugh More

I am not that funny, I can be grumpy or miss the joke but I am trying to laugh more and be in an environment that allows for jokes and laughing.

Do 'chores' with LOVE rather than resentment

I waited a long time to have a family and along came the perfect family for me. And lately I have been finding myself resenting certain 'chores' I do for them. Not every time I do them, but often enough that a pattern is emerging. And I have to remember - if doing dishes 5/7 days a week, doing laundry,  and making 14 meals is the worst part of my life then I have it pretty sweet. I should shut up, smile and make the most of it before my attitude causes me to lose it.

I am also going to really work on my Happy Home Habits. They sort of got lost in the overwhelming life change that was Paleo for January. They are great habits to have and I really want to use this year and accomplish something rather than have the year pass me by.