Annual resolutions

Here it goes again... the review of last year's resolutions and my list for the coming year.  I actually did pretty well this year.  I made friends, I took much better pictures, I am working on my 5th art project, and we went on quite a few fun trips.  As for the "enjoy cooking more" one and the "exercise" one, well, I should have known that with a newborn those weren't going to happen.  Not that I totally failed on them; I had some good spurts of exercising and cooking, but I'm still not consistent with either.

And this year, instead of having resolutions per se, I want to give myself gifts.  (Yes, I know what you're thinking.  I'm not making a resolution to spend more money on myself or anything like that.  Although, that's not a bad idea.  It would at least be a resolution I could keep.)  We always make resolutions and feel guilty when we don't keep them.  Well, I'm rephrasing in more of a positive way, so that I won't feel guilty if I don't keep them, and I don't have to view them as some kind of list I need to check off.
1. The gift of sleep (for me, and for my kids).  Violet is, and has always been, a terrible sleeper. She is so difficult to put to sleep that bedtime usually lasts about an hour (and that's after I put her in her bed).  It's not healthy, people.  I've decided that this has to stop.  I'm going to be stricter on bedtimes, I will avoid having her fall asleep in the car before bed at all costs, and I'm going to be home for Charlie's afternoon nap.  I'm also planning on going the entire year without having a newborn to take care of (imagine that!) so I might as well take advantage of all that sleep I'm going to get.  I don't care how, but in 2013, my kids are going to sleep!
2. The gift of a clean house.  I've been way too leanient with Violet and Charlie when they play with things they shouldn't play with.  It's hard for me to set limits because we don't have many toys, our house is really small, and we have no backyard, so I feel terrible telling them that they can't pull the pillows off the couch or take the ribbons out of my sewing stash.  But like the bedtime drama, it has to stop.  They got a ton of toys for Christmas so there is no reason for them to play with all of my things.  Not being a pushover is going to be AWESOME.
3. The gift of a well-fed family. Somehow, I always think I'm buying enough food for the week but every Sunday we always end up starving because there is NO FOOD in the house.  I'm going to fix that.  This is the year to fatten up my husband.
4. The gift of not trying to please people.  Enough said; this one's going to be great.