New Year's Resolutions 2016

If I'm being truly honest, I'm not a fan of the "New Year's Resolution" idea. Every year, we create these idealistic resolutions that fall by the wayside by the middle of January, maybe middle of February if we're truly mustering our best effort.

Why do we as a culture do this? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak about why I do this every year. I do this because I want to improve. I want to do better and be better and in my mind toasting the new year is synonymous with reinventing myself, realizing that I don't have to be who I was last year. I don't have to stay stuck in self-destructive habits. I can explore ideas and interests that I've been wanting to explore, but have not done so out of sheer procrastination and laziness. For some reason, the new year is the kick in the pants motivation to stop making excuses for myself.

Why do my best laid resolutions fall by the wayside? I would guess that poor planning and lack of specificity play a part. This year, I tried to keep my goals pretty specific, but there are still some that are probably a bit too vague. The planning part? Well, that remains to be seen.

Without further adieu, my goals for 2016:

Spiritual

• Read through the Bible in a year.
• Continue to develop a habit of prayer.
• Develop daily consistency in devotional life.

Marital

• Continue and finish reading When Divorce Is Not an Option
• Change self and habits according to the ideas in When Divorce is Not an Option

Physical

• Return to my way of eating so that I can feel better and function better.
• Develop a lifting habit of 3 days a week.
• Increase fun physical activity with my boys.

Emotional

• Konmari my physical space in order to free up mental and emotional energy.
• Work through my Scream-Free parenting book and implement strategies for sound emotional regulation.
• Stay committed to my way of eating, so that my emotional state is less impacted by fluctuating hormonal levels.

Mental

• Develop my mind through quality literature and limit junk literature.
• Blog once a week in order to exercise my writing skill and ability to communicate via the written word.
• Make middle of the day quiet time a habit, even if this means saying NO to fun things.

Financial

• Continue to explore frugal living.
• Sort clothing with a careful eye for mending/upcycling potential.
• Explore alternate options for bringing in income. 

What are YOUR resolutions? Do you have a plan to achieve them? Have you successfully reached your goals in past years? Any secrets to your success with reaching goals that you'd care to share?

And last, but certainly not least, Happy New Year! Let's make it a good one in which we refuse to stay stuck in our self-destructive habits and ways of thinking!

Sunday Surf - Here I go Again!

It's been awhile since I've posted my Sunday Surf selections, but here I am!

How To Raise a Moral, Responsible Child Without Punishment

Another positive discipline article.

Barbie Dolls with Big Bosoms Bring Up Big Questions

An interesting take on Barbie and body image for little girls.

Marshmallow Rainbows

A fun art activity for St. Patrick's Day fun. I think I may try this one this week!

How To Fold a Prefold

Who knew there were so many ways to fold a prefold cloth diaper? We have a variety of diapers, but I'm a huge fan of prefolds. They are the most economical. They are inexpensive and hold up really well. I'm going to try a new fold from this article - the Diva fold. Felix has taken to flipping onto his stomach and screams like a banshee when I try to flip him over and pin him down to get the prefold on. The Diva fold allows me to snappi the prefold with him on his tummy. So this mama is going to try it!

Hello World!

It's been a long time since I've posted. So much has happened. We said goodbye to our dog. We welcomed a new furry love into our home. Felix has continued to grow and change and it hardly seems possible that he's on the verge of 8 months old. He's such a big boy. He loves to eat food in his highchair. He gets super excited with his goofy little grin that is reminiscent of his big brother's grin. He's becoming an expert in the sport of crash landing on his head while learning to crawl and cruise. He loves to say "mamama" and "dadadada" and we do believe he attempts his big brother's name.

Boo is such an amazing little boy. I feel like he's grown up so much in the last year. So much change has happened for him. He's become a big brother and what a fantastic brother he is. He adores his baby - even when his baby gets his hair! He's got such a big and loving heart. Sometimes when I ask him to do this or that he'll reply, "Okay mommy sweetie" or "mommy sweetheart" or some other such term of endearment. Of course I then have to pick my puddly self up off of the floor. He really knows how to get to me!

He gave me a laugh just yesterday. I was out on walk with him and his daycare friends and we were watching the garbage man put the garbage in the truck. Boo walked up to the garbage man and said something that made him smile. When I asked what it was, this is what he told me. "I said I'm going to be a garbage man when I grow up. I'm good at garbage!" I love his confidence that he has. He knows that he can succeed.

I've been working on getting healthy. A combination of stress from saying goodbye to our doggy Wally and a thyroid headed downhill caused some very rapid weight gain. So I've made it my mission to reverse this as quickly as possible. I've been using My Fitness Pal online, prioritizing me and getting some gym time, heading out for walks (aside from the daycare ones where I'm usually walking at a snail's pace so my kiddos can keep up). Also, my alarm goes off now every day to remind me to take my thyroid medication. I admit that I've felt like a new person in all of this. I've even been getting in touch with friends that have fallen by the wayside. It's nice to feel capable all of a sudden!

Hubby is excelling in school. We're all so very proud of him. We are anxiously awaiting news of whether or not he will begin the RN program this fall. Waiting for things like this is never fun, but all part of the process!

Now on to more important things. Pictures!

Say What?

Perhaps I should knock on wood before posting this, because I'm about to say that something like this has never happened to me.

Michigan Mother Reprimanded for Nursing Baby in Courtroom


I just don't get things like this. I mean, nobody would bat an eyelash if this woman had pulled out a bottle to feed her baby. What is wrong with our society and their idea of what a boob is for? Sure, there are other uses for it in the confines of a relationship, but the boob is full of mammary glands. It's primary function is to nurse. That's why we have them.

I will say that I feel very fortunate. I've never had anyone say anything negative to me while I was nursing. I've had people look the other way with kind of an embarrassed "Oh my God - she's nursing - what do I do - where do I look?" kind of panicked expression, but I don't know that I've ever encountered outright hostility. I just feel sad for people that must go through this - I can imagine that it must feel incredibly humiliating. This story in particular grabs my attention. I had to go to court when I worked in Child Welfare and sometimes the judge would ask me questions and I know how intimidating it can feel to be questioned by a judge. For this woman to be singled out in the middle of a courtroom and told by a judge that she's inappropriate must have been incredibly humiliating - my heart goes out to her. When will our society "get it", that this is just a normal thing a mom does to feed her baby?

Sunday Surf

Parenting
Opening Up The GD Toolbox: Play - Dulce De Leche

Canines
Puppy Escapes Car After Rollover Accident Runs Loose on Busy Highway - Two Little Cavaliers
Undefinable - The Pioneer Woman

Sunday Surf

Parenting
What's The Deal With Cow's Milk at 12 Mos. Anyways? - Breastfeedingarts
But They Look So Happy - Dulce de leche
Raising Little Chefs - Natural Parents Network

Religion
Finding the Balance - Crumbs from the Communion Table

Creative Pursuits
Annabel (the sweater, not the baby) - SouleMama

Rolling Over and a Tooth All in One Week

Well, Felix turns four months on Saturday and he started rolling back to front earlier this week. Yesterday I was rubbing his lower gums and felt a sharp protrustion on his bottom right side. I felt like I should write that somewhere, so here it is. I was terrible with tracking Boo's stuff. Seriously, I couldn't even tell you when Boo's first tooth came in. Does that make me a terrible mother? I.just.can't.remember. So I'm trying to do better here by writing this somewhere where I can find it later! And I'll leave you with some almost four month old cuteness.



And some older boy cuteness. Boo is helping mommy sweep!