I’m a young Mum, something that I constantly get teased about at Mum’s Group, in the real world it’s tough, in blogger land I’m just one of the crowd. It seems to be a common thing to read blogs written by Mums my age – I’m not sure if it’s stereotypical of me to say that and maybe it is common in America but it definitely doesn’t seem like a common thing here in Oz. So it’s nice to get lost in this world every once in awhile although I would like to know how a lot of them afford their seemingly awesome lifestyles! I guess that’s the behind closed doors area of blogging that only a few people address. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve and I’ll never stop discussing the potential ‘taboo’ subjects on here – but that’s for another time now it’s BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!
Most long-term readers know I have a love-hate relationship with my birthday. This has been tempered by the introduction of birthday weeks for us all. It isn’t an excuse to go crazy and buy lots of presents it’s a reason to honour the person and give them more than 1 special day. It also usually means zero housework which in my mind is the best present there is!
I also have a love of writing bucket lists and this birthday I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of Kaelah (from The Clueless Girl’s Guide) by doing a birthday year type bucket list. So here’s my list of 28 things to do before I hit 29 and it’s going to be a roller-coaster year with Baby Girl added to the mix.
ONE: BECOME A MUM OF TWO & GROW AS A PARENT
This is the big one but (universe willing) it will be the easiest. I definitely want to change the way I parent and it feels silly saying this is but it’s like I get a second go at it and I chance to fix mistakes I think I’ve made with Logan. Then again Logan is pretty set in his ways so maybe this won’t be so easy!
TWO: ESCAPE MY COMFORT ZONE
I will go out instead of hiding out at home – this is the thing I really can’t stand about myself – I often talk about this and maybe I should professionally discuss it but after doing a psychology degree I really have no desire to! A lot of people just don’t get this about me and a lot of people I wouldn’t even admit this to because it’s weird and as I said nobody gets it. I just need to force myself to take this giant leap and I need to remember I can do it using baby steps.
THREE: HOLD BACK MY WORDS
I can be a real bitch sometimes and this is something else I want to work on. It’s easy to say something mean because I’m grumpy/pissed off/angry and use that feeling as an excuse but it isn’t nice for anyone. This one makes me sound like a real cow and I promise I’m not.
FOUR: EXERCISE MORE
This will come into play once Baby Girl is born and I’ve recovered enough to start my PT sessions again. I definitely want to go on walks every day though whilst on parental leave.
FIVE: COMPLETE ONE MAJOR CREATIVE PROJECT
I’ve found lots of lists I’ve put too many projects on so I’ve decided to just focus on one. I’m not feeling very creative after having Logan so I don’t want to line myself up for a fall considering I’ll have two kids to look after. I don’t know what this project will be yet but I’ll share it on here once I’ve figured it out.
SIX: MAKE MEAL PLANNING WORK FOR THE FAMILY
I know there are blogs dedicated to this, regular posts written about it so it is definitely not something easy. I finally devoted a bit of time to it last weekend and I think with a bit of tweaking this will definitely help us out, especially with point 7.
SEVEN: LEARN TO BUDGET
We will definitely need this one once my parental leave becomes of the unpaid variety. It’s going to be different this time around because Logan costs us a lot more than an infant and we have gotten accustomed to living on two salaries (even if mine is only part-time).
EIGHT: REVAMP MY WARDROBE
I have one of the most stylish put together Mum friends ever and yes I must admit to a bit of jealousy and idolising but I also appreciate the inspiration.
This one will be tricky because I’ll still be breast feeding when my next birthday rolls around (ugh!). I’ll have time to cultivate the kind of looks that I’m after though and I’ll be aiming to put it to good use. I also want to do this cheaply but not on the cheap – if that makes sense. I don’t want to spend too much money but I also don’t want to buy cheap clothing that will wear out quickly.
I’ll also be aiming to donate clothes and this time I’m going to be very selective about where I do this!
NINE: SPEND LESS
I really appreciated my buy nothing unless it was necessary month (& attempt to live off one salary). Even just a month has given me a whole new perspective on living simply and not buying a whole tonne of unneeded/unwanted stuff!
TEN: LESS SCREEN TIME
Addicted to the internet – CHECK! I really want to cut down on my screen time and that will be one of my big aims this year.
ELEVEN: MAKE/CREATE 5 THINGS OFF MY PINTEREST BOARDS
If you don’t follow me on Pinterest feel free to – aussiemor. These could range from recipes to a home diy, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to achieve this one because I haven’t limited myself to specifics.
TWELVE: FINISH BABY GIRL’S NURSERY
Each time I walk into our office/dump room I get a little more nervous. Where are we going to put all the filing, photos, crafts and other bits and bobs let alone the office itself?! I’ve finally gotten excited though and started searching out different pieces which will pull everything together. I also don’t want to spend too much money so I’m planning on doing minimum crafting and using what we already have which includes repurposing some items from Logan’s room which were used in his nursery.
I’m also finding this one difficult because I know down the track we’ll want to have them both sharing a room when we downsize so there’s no point going ‘themed’ if it’s not going to suit a joint room. Thankfully I’m not scared about gender restrictions so Logan will be living with pops of pink and BG with dinosaurs!
THIRTEEN: SPENDING ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH EACH KID
This is especially important to me in regards to Logan because his whole life is about to be turned upside down. I’m hoping he will adjust easily but to make it easier on him we will be having some special one-on-one time doing an activity of his choice hopefully out of the house!
Baby Girl will also be getting one-on-one time with me seeing as she’ll never know anything other than having a brother in her life. Not that it will make much difference to her early on but I think it will be a nice way to build our relationship.
FOURTEEN: DATE MY HUSBAND
He is an amazing man, father and partner and I am definitely guilty of not making enough time for him. This one will get tricky once we’re a family of four but I’m not going to let that be an excuse. We won’t be able to afford the fancy meals that we’re somewhat accustomed to but I’m looking forward to making it work and finding fun cheap date ideas.
I think I’ll probably be aiming for a “date” once a month but it would be nicer if we could have them more often.