Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!   New Year’s Eve marks exactly a year ago that Duc and I entered US soil as mother and son.  The day he became a US citizen and, the thing I was most excited about, the day he met his family.  I am forever grateful to Kelli for getting those homecoming photos of us.  Honestly, I hate to think of not having them…take a peek.

How awesome is this photo?  We had been up for over 40 hours…no joking.  We had all had the same clothes on since two nights before and I had spit up, vomit, (probably some poo), formula and food stuck to my shirt.  I smelled like a boy’s locker room, but none of us cared.  My family was just so happy to finally meet Duc and as you can see, he enjoyed them just as much. 

I rarely ever commit to New Year’s Resolutions.  It’s not that I’m not capable of following through with them, I just rarely ever make them.  Well, over the last few weeks I’ve decided that this is going to change in ‘10.

Here it is:

I’m going to de-mommify my life a bit.

Does that make sense?  For an entire year I devoted every moment to my son.  I don’t regret it at all—I needed it just as much as he did but the time has come for me to be a woman again.  Honestly, my wardrobe has taken a serious hit.  it’s a good day when I go into work without any food food debris on my shirt (courtesy of Duc, of course).  It’s rare that I have matching socks on and rarer still that I wear any jewelry (again, thanks to Duc.  A number of bracelets and necklaces have been broken due to his quick little hands), and my beautiful lipstick sits unused in my bathroom.  In the last year I can count the number of times on one hand that I left home without Duc in tow.  On that same hand I can count the number of movies I saw also.  Again, I don’t regret this a bit.  I work full time and I needed that time with him as much as he needed it. 

So here is the plan:

1. Trade in my mommy bag for something trendy.  I can already check this off my list—my mom bought me something quite un-mommified, but still plenty big for both of our things.
2. At least once a week I am going to wear lipstick.  I don’t care if I am going to Kroger, it’s time for mommy to feel like a girl again.
3. Hit the gym.  I actually miss this.  I miss the feeling of feeling fit and feeling my body change and mold to what I want.  Given the amount of stress I’ve had recently it is beyond necessary that I get back to the gym consistently.
4. Yoga.  Ok, this is actually more part of #3, but whatever.  My workplace rewards us for participating in health improvement plans.  I can take 7 weeks of yoga for $20.  Do you know how cheap this is????  And I can do it right at work, in the very same building Duc has daycare.  Whoo hoo!
5. Sleep.  It’s like I am trying to punish myself.  Duc generally sleeps well so there is no need for me to stay up late (ok tonight is an exception).
6. Regular haircuts and brow waxing—at least once a quarter.  It just makes me feel like a girl. 
7. Simplify.  Do more with less—I need to clean out the closets and just get rid of stuff.  I am sentimental so it is hard for me to do.  With Duc’s things it is especially hard since I still plan on having another child.  I hate to get rid of things I might need later, but most of this stuff was donated to me anyway.  I just don’t have the space.
8. Photography.  I have started my own business and for those of you have want the link, leave me a comment and I will send it to you.  I’m not sure I’m ready to lose some of my anonymity by linking it to here, but most of you that read I have known for a while.
9. I want to step up on my photography—take a class and really focus on the business end of things and begin having regular sessions.  I’ve had two in the last two weeks and I want that to be consistent. 
10. Every once in a while just do something for me.  It doesn’t have to be all day or far away, sometimes I just need to be in nature and get out of my head.
11. And above all, enjoy every minute with my son.  If any of the above items start to have a negative impact on him I will re-think how to do this.

 

Duc has discovered mama’s shoes.

And since I cheated you out of Christmas photos…