Top Ten Tuesday--Top Ten Goals for 2011

It's that time again, folks--time for another Top Ten Tuesday list.  This week, it's Top Ten Resolutions...but I'm just going to call them "goals."  Let's face it, I don't have much resolve, so this is more like a list of things I hope to accomplish, but I definitely won't beat myself up if it doesn't happen.
 
Doesn't sound like I'm setting myself up for success, huh?  Well...hmmmm...you're probably right.  Nonetheless, my top ten goals are:
 
1. Be able to run a 5k, minimum.  Running has previously been, as my friend Miranda would say, something I only do if chased.  This year?  It's something I'm doing for my health and for a healthy self-esteem.  I'm determined not only to get to the Disney Princess Half-Marathon/5k Weekend, but also to lower my risk of heart disease by improving my cardiovascular health.  And also, I don't mind if my saggy booty gets a little pick-me-up.
 
2. Learn to knit.  I know that immediately you thought, "That is one boring old lady."  And I am.  Boring, not old.  I like to be able to sit and do things in bed (oh, so your mind went there...), although I'm already preparing myself for leaving a knitting needle on my pillow out of sheer absentmindedness and having it poke through my ear or something. 
So maybe knitting isn't for me.  Or it's for a more responsible me (maybe that should be a goal?).  Katie wants to knit, too, but I'm willing to bet she doesn't get stabbed by her knitting supplies.
 
3. Keep my house somewhat tidy.  I want people to be able to drop by unexpectedly and only be shocked to see how wrecked I look, not how wrecked my house looks.  I've already done a huge toy clean-out downstairs and in my kids' rooms, and now I'm working on the upstairs playroom, which will eventually be Sawyer's room when he decides he doesn't like bunking in with his parents.  My carpets have been shampooed, and I'm doing my best to actually hang up the laundry that I get clean.  I'm making a valiant effort to get the dishes into the dishwasher immediately since we no longer have pets to lick them clean for us.  (Joking.  Kind of.)

4. Get that freakin' leak fixed.  We have a leak of some sort.  It started in the kids' bathroom, and now it has spread to include the upstairs playroom/Sawyer's future bedroom.  It just keeps getting worse, and I'm tired of clumps of sheet rock falling on my kids while they're bathing.  Plus, I can't decorate and paint the room for Sawyer until that wall is fixed, and that means his toys and clothes and furniture will be perpetually stuck in my room until we fix this (Sawyer can sleep with us for as long as he wants,  but the million baby items need a home).  And by we, I mean Brandon's dad.  I have no shame in admitting that my husband and I have pretty much no handyman skills.

5. Pay off those medical bills.  They don't seem to be disappearing on their own.  Sigh...

6. Get some sleep.  I really could go to bed much earlier than I do now.  I have a tendency to stay awake "just until Sawyer nurses the next time."  That's my excuse for staying up, but the truth is that I really just enjoy the quiet time when all three kids are resting.  I want to soak up enough quiet to get me through the next day when chaos inevitably ensues.  And I want to watch television with adult humor and talk to my husband about his day and eat snacks without them being stolen by little grubby hands.  The problem is, I am a person who NEEDS sleep.  Lots of sleep.  Add two or three night feedings to my late bedtime, factor in my kids all waking with the sun, and you've got one grumpy mommy.  Coffee helps some, but not much.  Something's gotta give, and it can't be Sawyer's food.

7. Keep on breastfeeding!  I think it's always wise to have breastfeeding goals, not just when it's resolution time.  I always start out with small goals--get a latch, get my milk to come in well--and then they get bigger-- nurse a week, six weeks, 3 months, 6 months, a year, two years.  Three days from now, we'll be hitting our goal of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding.  I love knowing that my chunky baby has been grown only on mommy milk thus far.  Soon we'll be introducing solids, and I want to make sure to keep it up through that.  He'll be turning one in July, and I want to keep on going through that.  We made it 16 months with Julia and two years with Brynn, and I'm hoping to make it that long with Sawyer.  My boobs are pretty awesome, and my goal is for them to keep up that level of awesomeness through at least the next year.

8. Get some blog followers.  Lots of people visit, and many keep coming back.  But only a few are following, and I don't know how to change that.  So I guess I should do some research.  You know, in my "free" time...

9. Learn to take a picture that doesn't suck.  Sawyer learned to sit up today, and my picture of it?  Kind of sucked.  My husband is great at photography, but he's not here during the day to capture all those moments.  I can do the point-and-shoot route, but I'd rather take a photo I'm proud to display.  I guess I'll learn in all that free time people think I have...

10. Tell my family that I love them every. single. day.  And then tell them again.  And then show them.  This one, I think I can accomplish.