10 things I'm going to do this year

This week I've kept a piece of paper on the kitchen island. Whenever I thought of something that I'd like to get accomplished this year, I jotted it down. By the end of the week there were a whole pageful of "to do's" and some artwork by Aoife. Instead of boring everyone with the entire list, I've narrowed it down to the top 10.

#10 - Keep the car clean. I know this sounds easy but I seem to have a really hard time with this one. I've already made a good start. The car is empty of all toys, food, extra clothing and trash. In the back I have reusable grocery bags, Aoife and Emmy's hourly care bags, the Ergo backpack and the diaper bag. I vacuumed it and got the car washed. I even applied tire cleaner and Rain-X to the windows. Making it a habit to keep the car clean will make Brendan VERY happy!

#9 - Finish Aoife's cross stitch and baby scrapbook. They are both ALMOST done - so close but yet I haven't actually finished them. She turns 2 at the end of April and these need to be finished or else they'll never get done.

#8 - Learn to drive a stick shift. I know, I know - I'm 33 years old and I can't drive a stick. That's humiliating - especially when you consider that we've owned a manual shift car for 5 YEARS! There's really no excuse - I just need to bite the bullet and do it!!

#7 - Take a photography class. I love taking pictures and I've gotten a lot better but I've wanted to take a class for a long time. There was always a new baby or a pregnancy preventing me from taking that chunk of time to do it. This year I have dependable childcare and classes available on post. This is going to be FUN!

#6 - Get new bedding for our bed. We've had our current quilt etc. for almost 10 years and it NEEDS to be replaced. I've been looking for something that I like for about 5 years - no joke - and I just haven't found anything that I like any better than what we have. It is time, though, and I need to find something - and maybe I won't be scared of white - we'll see!

#5 - Get the kids into swimming lessons. The indoor pool on Ft. Campbell just opened up a few weeks ago. At least Aidan, if not Emmy as well, are old enough to take lessons without me in the water. Hopefully I can get them all signed up for the same time - Aoife too! They need to be comfortable in the water before summer comes!

#4 - Potty train Aoife. Oh we're both sooooo ready for this to happen. I need to time it for a few days when we will be home all day. She HATES getting her diaper changed. She's always been like this. She's a really mellow kid but turns into a whirling dervish/screaming banshee when it's diaper changing time. I really hope she trains easily. It'll be the first time that I'll be diaper free for 6 years!!

#3 - Organize my closet. I LOVE an organized closet but I never seem to prioritize it well enough. It takes a good amount of time to get it set up so that it'll be easy to keep it neat. It's a good thing that one thing I have this year is LOTS of time - specifically after 7:30 pm!

#2 - Keep making cakes. Since we got here I've been pretty busy making cakes. It's been great and I love feeling productive and making a little (little) bit of money. I stopped taking orders for a few weeks but I have one due this week coming up and I'm open for orders again. Can't wait to get baking again!!

#1 - Be a good friend. I've already met many new people and started new friendships since we moved here in July. I'd like to develop friendships with both new acquaintances and old friends. The only way we're going to get through this is with each others support.

So we'll see how I do! I have a 360 more days to accomplish my goals. I'm off to a good start and very motivated right now - hopefully that will keep up!!