Before I usher in my slew of resolutions and to-do's for 2011, I thought I'd better take a look back at the ones I made for this year, and see how I fared.
The Successes:
Bear Resolution: Find a way to go on at least one date per month.
Although we didn't keep track religiously (and by that I mean, at all), I'm pretty sure we managed this one, thanks to my grandparents! There's still a 97% chance we won't have seen any of this year's Oscar nominees when the list comes out, but we did treat ourselves to some Harry Potter, a little Inception, and plenty of child-free restaurant dining. Woohoo!
Green Resolution: Replace our cleaning products with green alternatives.
This one wasn't hard at all: baking soda and vinegar replace pretty much everything just fine, and our house doesn't stink of chemicals after I clean it (which is ever so often...riiiiight).
Cooking Resolution: Try 10 new recipes this year.
Thanks to Rachael Ray's Book of Ten, Goons with Spoons, and Pioneer Woman, this one wasn't too much of a challenge, either. Done and done!
Let one or both of the girls spend the night at Grandma's house at least once.
I think we did it twice this year, and guess what? Everyone survived--happily, no less--and Keira is now constantly asking when her next sleepover will be.
Read at least 3 non-parenting-related, non-childrens books.
I got by on a technicality for this one: I read teaching books instead (specificially, Mosaic of Thought, The Case Against Homework, The Homework Myth, and Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It). They're child-related, obviously, but a step above If You Give a Pig a Pancake and the rest of my regular reading material these days! I'd highly recommend all of them except the second one.
The Failures:
Mom Resolution A: Limit Keira to 4 TV shows a day.
Yeah, this one totally didn't happen. I stuck to the token system for quite a while, but after Ellie was born, it was forgotten in a haze of nursing, rocking, and diaper-changing. Here's what I've realized, though: we now have two seriously smart kids, despite the fact that we sometimes (okay, often...FINE, pretty much always) have the TV on longer than the recommended 2 hours per day. Besides that, they're watching PBS, which is commercial-free and educational. Really, I'd be doing them a disservice if I didn't let them tune in! (Yep, that's taking it one step too far. But seriously, I'm over the guilt--they play, they talk incessantly, they get read to, they go places, and yes, they watch a little too much "Word World." Whatever.)
Mom Resolution B: Print out photos and/or directions for crafts to do with Keira and put them in a folder, so they're easy to grab and do when we have a chance...which we will more often, thanks to #2 above.
Like the one above, making this resolution and then failing to keep it forced me to realize that I didn't actually WANT to do it. I know there are a billion blogs out there for parents who sit down with their kids and do daily, messy crafts and rejoice in all the creativity and fun that results...but as someone who already does lesson plans and plans structured activities as part of my teaching job, the last thing I want to do after the girls go to bed at night is find and prep the next day's craft project. Not. Happening. Kiwi does plenty of crafty projects at preschool, and we do occasional ones here at home, too, so I don't feel too guilty giving myself a pass here, either.
Finish tracking down the signatures and doing the paperwork I keep putting off, to officially get my Reading Specialist certificate.
This one is just never going to happen. I need a signature from a professor I can't contact, and the university apparently isn't able to reach her, either. Since my district eliminated reading specialists years ago, anyway, I doubt this certificate will be of much use to me, so I'm going to toss this one in the "Letting It Go" pile.
Donate blood at least 5 times.
I made it three times--this one's going back on next year's list!
Find more time, energy, and/or attention for Catey-Pup.
Along with "I am not a crafty mom" and "I'm okay with my kids watching TV," I can now add "I'm not a pet person" to my list of this year's self-realizations. It's not Catey-Pup's fault...but it's not mine, either. She showed up on our doorstep a couple of years ago as a stray, and we, not being in the market for a four-legged creature to share our living space, searched high and low for her owners. When it came down to dropping her off at the animal shelter or keeping her, we opted to try to become Dog People...only, as it turns out, it's just not happening for me.
Don't get me wrong: Cate gets food and water, she sleeps in Keira's room, and she spends most of her day lounging on our couch or exploring the back yard. She's not neglected or abused. She is not, however, lucky enough to belong to actual Dog People, who bake treats for their canine pals, take them to dog parks, and tote them around in little purses everywhere they go. (I personally feel that dog-toters are desperately seeking attention, but I digress.) And I will never be that type of dog owner. But hey--at least she's got a home, and two little girls to lick clean after every meal. Hopefully she's satisfied with that!
The Verdict:
Overall, I kept 50% of my resolutions for this year. In teacher terms, this is dismal...an F. In statistical terms, however, 90% of New Year's Resolutions are abandoned, and I kept five. Woohoo!
Having trouble thinking of a resolution (or ten) for 2011? Try the Resolution Generator. I'm supposed to start a sticker collection!
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I think you did pretty well considering the fact that you are a wife, a mom, a teacher, etc, etc...
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as the pet thing goes, I think your little Catie pup is being treated just as any dog wants to be treated, getting to hang out in the house, having food and water everyday. Who wants to be toted around in a purse?