I became a bit intimidated (re: terrified) when I started to explore ideas for moms’ New Year’s resolutions.  There’s no way these articles were written by actual moms… at least not moms of babies or toddlers. They made it sound like such a breeze to keep the house immaculate and to be a perfect mom… so why not also become the head of several important organizations in the new year? I decided instead to reach out to a group of moms to hear their resolutions.

The first mom to respond stated that her resolution was to “Keep my son alive for another year.” That’s more like it.

Whatever your New Year’s resolution style is, I’ve rounded up ten themes and ideas for resolutions, from real moms. If you’re ambitious, you can craft some of them into your own resolutions.

Clean: Some moms are taking a different approach to cleaning… One mother shared that she promises to spend less time cleaning and more time playing. She plans to find a cleaning lady. Another mother, explained she’s going to try to just let go a little. “I have bad OCD, and if my house is dirty it drives me crazy”, explains Nora, “So I’m going to devote more time to my kids, and not spend as much time worrying about making sure my house is immaculate”.

Be a Great Wife: Or at least be present as  wife… One mom committed to setting up a date night and really finally going on a date. Without her kids. Another realized it was time to make changes to date night to make it work. “We were doing date night every other Thursday, because that’s when our sitter was free”, she explained, “Nothing’s open on Thursdays though and my husband has to work Friday”. So, she resolved to find a Saturday night sitter. Of course, making a resolution to be a great wife may go further than just date night. It may mean having family dinners. It also may mean not devoting all of your time and energy to work or the kids, so you have a little left for each other.

Be More Patient: Take a deep breath before getting mad at whatever disaster your little baby has caused (Or big baby… eh hmm). “Our baby is so little and doesn’t understand things I want him to understand,” explains Leslie, “He deserves my patience so he can learn at his own pace.” She continues to say she plans to work on patience with everything and everyone.

Put Down the Electronics: We all have important and interesting emails, texts and posts to read on our favorite electronics. Several moms are boldly resolving to stop making their kids compete with technology for their attention. “I plan to break up with my phone,” Becca sends via a Facebook message, “It’s amazing how much I find it’s glued to my hand… Oh look, like now… when I could be playing a game or something with my kids.”

Cook: One mom, Leila, suggests, “I want to make more food for my little boy”. Others want to try to cook just one meal for the whole family, rather than several custom orders. And other moms are making home-cooked organic food for their baby, but realize they’d also like to cook more for themselves and their spouse/partner.

Organize Photos: It’s so easy to forget about saving our special memories, amongst the hefty resolutions to become super-mom. But, you may really enjoy organizing photos and you may really appreciate having some framed favorites around or a photo book of these precious times.

Sleep: For as much time as we spend wishing for more sleep, I’m sad to say, almost no one is naming this as a New Year’s Resolutions. Fortunately, one smart mama mentioned, “I want to not be so tired so I can spend as much time with my son, as possible.” This will likely help her and her son to enjoy that time even more, too.

Find New Ways to Socialize: Why not resolve to do more things that will make you and your kids even happier? “My son loves to be around people”, explains Tamara, “I am very much a homebody. But it will be good for both of us to get out of the house, play, and socialize. Whether it be at the park, library, rec center, or a friend’s house we both need to get out and have fun more.”

Be Thankful: I used to wake up every morning thinking about how grateful I was that I’d somehow magically met and married my husband. Now, I wake up to a little cry over the baby monitor, which makes me dive out of bed, running to get a bottle on my way to the nursery. It’s incredible that with all of the blessings we have, we’re sometimes moving too quickly to stop and appreciate them. Despite the chaos and frustration of managing the house, the baby, sleepless nights, and maddening calls to DirecTV and BlueShield, it’s so important to remember to treasure the good stuff. This one’s on my list.

Spend Time Where it Matters: Several moms this year are promising to devote more of their time and attention to their kids. Bonnie commits to shift her priorities so that her to-do list doesn’t overshadow my kids’ to-do lists. She also wants to prioritize time with each of her kids. “I will make more special time with each of my children, tending to their individual needs,” explains Katie, “Getting caught up in everyone else’s world tends to make me miss some special times that are right in front of my face.”

Hopefully these give you some ideas, if you’re brainstorming New Year’s Resolutions.  But, don’t feel bad if you’re keeping it simple–keeping your family alive and setting aside some time to enjoy each other is no small fete!  Whatever your resolutions are, we wish you and your family good health and happiness in the new year.

Thank you to all of the moms who contributed to this article (mom’s names are changed on this site)! If you enjoyed this article and want to automatically receive articles via your Facebook page, you can, by “liking” the Mama Lovejoy Facebook page. You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, Periscope or Tumblr @MamaLovejoy1. Happy new year!