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“New year, new me.”

It’s hard to start the “new me” part of the new year until we get back into our routines, isn’t it!  The way the holidays fell this year had us feeling out of sorts.  Where a Wednesday feels like a Monday, and once the tree has come down there is still 5 or 6 days left until that routine starts again!  To be honest, we’re kind of sick of lounging right now.  We’ve watched everything on Netflix and we’re done with Christmas movies.  We literally cannot eat anymore.  But with this weather it feels entirely impossible to get motivated or go outside anywhere when it feels dark and bleak all day.

My teenager always says, “Do we HAVE to go somewhere?”  Because he’s attached to the idea that school breaks are all about being lazy and staying up late playing video games and sleeping in.  Sure, that’s what we did in our generation but back then, things were different!  I mean at some point you would hit a level you just couldn’t get past and get bored of the game for a while.  With games today they are constantly evolving and changing, and if we let them our kids could go for days straight playing!  Plus, at some point we will actually have to start going back to school and those sleep patterns don’t just bounce back to normal overnight.

The key to starting new routines and getting into the spirit and motivated is planning.  Otherwise before you know it, you’ve eaten nothing but old candy canes and been staring at screens, waiting to see if the rain will ease up… and then you’ve missed the two hour window of daylight and seems pointless to try to leave the house at that point.

You’ve really got to plan your day out.  “Gee I should really get my kids out,” is usually my thought at some point and then it all gets away from me.  So if you want to go to a new park, go to SkyZone, catch a movie, you’ve actually got to plan it.  First step is to figure out what day it is.  Check your phone for that, but don’t get distracted by your notifications.  Make sure you check the hours, prices, and get the directions.  Check for a Groupon!  Call a friend for motivation and accountability, and to make any outing just a little more fun, and appealing to tweens/teens who really don’t want to hang out with their FAMILIES doing BABY STUFF.

Or make a list of the things you always want to do if you only had the time.  Your routine will start out much better if you take any extra time now to clear out a closet, a kids toybox, or hey tackle that garage and you might even be able to park inside again one day once the Christmas decorations are back where they belong!

Of course if you’ve been go-go-go or travelling or are just generally exhausted, take the extended time to lounge and hang out and make sure all the holiday treats are dead gone and you’ve binged up on the Netflix necessities (Fuller House and Bird Box!) before the real routines kick in when school goes back next week!

To be honest, I’ve already stocked my fridge with Lunchables because I already know that “new me” is probably going to be taken over by “Old me” and will need a little magic trick to help me get the kids out the door in the morning!

Jen
#ThatSurreyMom
@jenxrobbins