New Year's Resolutions for Mothers of Multiples

Choose One Book to Finish by End of Year
How many books are sitting by your bedside table? If you're like me, about eight; however, they likely include the following: a guide to fixing a child's behavioral problems, a strategy for keeping your marriage functional in the face of raising children with temporary behavioral problems, a Bible, a self-help book on dealing with stress, and The Queen of Clean's guide to getting gum, crayon, and dried up, previously spit-out granola bars off the carpet. Is there even one book sitting in that stack that is purely enjoyable? I'll admit, I do have one, I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson. However, I'm only on page eight and I started it six months ago.

Choose a book that you've wanted to read for some time and vow to complete it within the next six months to a year. We should all complete at least one book each year that is read for pure enjoyment. Some recommendations: The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, The Madam by Julianna Baggott, or Trading Up by Candace Bushnell.

Get Organized!

A cluttered home creates a cluttered brain. Moms can't afford any more clutter than already exists. Organize drawers that are currently overstuffed with coloring papers, take-out menus, and various sign-up sheets. Arrange the items in your linen closet. Sort out your pantry. This need not be an all-day affair. Dedicate yourself to a location-a-day plan if need be. You'll be amazed by how much more relaxing it is to open a well-organized linen closet than one filled with contents from which you have to cower when opening.

Make Your Personal Medical Appointments…This Week!

It's easy to procrastinate when making non-critical medical appointments. After all, who has time to sit on hold for long periods of time, waiting to find out how many months will pass before she can be seen? As we listen to classic "on hold" music while the minutes tick, we convince ourselves that we feel just fine and will, therefore, make the appointment another day. Before we know it, it's June and the doctor can't get us in until November! Dedicate a week this month to making your annual appointments for a physical, well-woman exam, dental cleaning, and any other annual appointments you require. Make the appointments for your husband as well. His health is just as important, yet he is likely to go ten years without seeing a doctor if allowed.

Begin Reading One Spiritual Guide

I realize I'm asking you to add yet another book to the ready-to-topple-over stack presently next to your bed. Yet, if there is one tool that has helped myself and many of my friends shuffle through our days with a little less frustration over the small, albeit annoying, occurrences of each day, it is spirituality. Invest in a book that guides you day by day toward a greater understanding of your purpose, reminds you that there is a greater power at work in your life, and gives you the strength and the perspective to conquer the numerous inconveniences -- not to mention routine daily activities -- that transpire. A few of my favorites: The Purpose-Driven Life, by Rick Warren, One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant, and Wisdom of the Ages: 60 Days to Enlightenment by Wayne W. Dyer. For an incredible autobiography about one woman's journey toward understanding her purpose and finding peace, pick up a copy of Flames of Grace by Susan Walker. It's beyond inspiring.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919), an American writer and poet, noted "There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul." New Year's Resolutions are your own. They are meant to enhance your life, not add to the chaos that already exists within it. If you commit to shifting the practices in your life that cause you to count the minutes until bedtime from the minute you open your eyes each morning, you will surely be on your way toward a fulfilling year.

Elizabeth Lyons, a parenting and twins expert, is the author of "Ready or Not…Here We Come! The REAL Experts’ Cannot-Live-Without Guide to the First Year with Twins". Visit her website at www.elizabethlyons.com.