By Kristen Pind

It's a new year. It's that time when everyone you know is promising that this year is going to be different. This year is the year I go to the gym, this year is the year I get a new job, this year is the year we go on that beach vacation, this year is the year we get financially stable.

I've never been much for New Year's resolutions. I'm not good at them. I can't stick with them. In all honesty, I just don't care enough to even try. So this year instead of half-heartedly making a resolution I don't actually intend to keep, I've decided to make plans.

This year I will plan a date night monthly with my poor attention-seeking husband who only sees me 10 minutes before I pass out at night. We will have a dinner where no one is trying to talk over us or eat off of our plates or crying because I cooked the "wrong" macaroni. We will bask in the glory of each other's company and maybe even continue to grow our 10-year relationship. I've said this before and I will say it again: making time for your spouse is something that will improve your relationship and your sanity. Don't hesitate, just do it!

This year I will plan a monthly sanity day for me. I probably say this more than I do about spending time with your spouse, but time for yourself is extremely important for everyone, and especially a busy mom like me. Without it, you lose yourself and the things that made you a good mom/wife. I will get a massage with my unloved masseuse who only sees me twice a year. I will buy something for me because I want it, not because I need it or the kids need it or the house needs it, but because I want it and it makes me happy.

This year I will plan weekly family time. We already do this, but sporadically. I vow to actually plan a fun time for my family so we can grow closer together and make memories that we will always remember. I do vow not to go overboard by volunteering for every little thing at the kids' schools, planning elaborate birthday parties that no one attends or really cares about, making homemade treat bags and snacks for every school party and running myself ragged trying to be the "perfect" mom like everyone else. Again, in all honesty, I don't care what all those other parents think, and if my kid is happy with the store-bought Doc McStuffins Valentines Day cards and a sucker then so am I.

I want 2017 to be different just like everyone else, but I want something a bit more. I want 2017 to be filled with substance, love, joy and family, and I think we are on the right track.