Goodbye, 2011...Hello, 2012!

Motherhood and homeownership have turned me into quite the little list-maker (or perhaps I should blame it on time spent with Bear's sister, who literally keeps a master list of all her lists--she's Monica from "Friends," except not annoying). Rather than making one general resolution, I've started making a combination list of Resolutions and To-Do's for each new year, which has worked out pretty well for me: it gives me a deadline to get stuff done AND helps me remember all the things I want to accomplish during the year. Plus, looking back at the list in December and seeing what I've done makes me feel all productive and victorious and junk like that.

Let's see how I did on this year's list:

1) Work smart, not hard- in progress!

In other words, quit being so lazy that I make more work for myself in the long run! I did pretty well on this one, making some simple changes that helped a ton: meal planning for two weeks at a time (half as many trips to the Dreaded Grocery Store? Yes, please!), installing a curtain rod in our laundry room doorway to hang up clothes straight out of the dryer, stocking up on stuff we're always running out of, etc. I also made a handy-dandy meal planner that has all of our most commonly used dinners and their ingredients on it, so we don't have to flip through a bunch of different cookbooks and the recipe binder to make the grocery list:


Now that the girls are getting to a squabble-y age, I started a system that I read in a magazine a while back, where each of them takes turns having "their day." (Luckily for us, Keira was born on an even date and Ellie on an odd one, so it's easy to remember whose day it is.) On "their day," each of them gets to do things their way: pick the first bedtime story, choose whose hair gets combed first after bathtime (they always choose each other), choose which color cup/plate they want at dinner, and so on. It's not so much a "Queen for the Day" thing--we don't let whoever's day it is become a tiny dictator for 24 hours--but it cuts down on bickering over whose turn it is and who gets to go first. "Whose day is it?" Bam. Problem solved!

2) Keira's preschool scrapbook-mostly done

3) Mommy & Me class with Elliana-done, with cute gymnastics pics to show for it!

4) Donate blood at least 5 times-done, with only 2 days to spare!

5) Finalize our wills-done!
If anything happens to us, we're donating our fortune to R. Kelly to make sure he can finance more chapters of Trapped in the Closet. Don't worry--he definitely won't get custody of the girls.

6) Finish re-painting the hallway for the last time ever-DONE! Hallelujah!
I'm also pretty proud of the photo wall I recently added:



7) Watch at least two seasons of "Buffy"-done, and then some!
Um, yeah. We watched the entire series in about 2 1/2 months! We experienced the absolute creeptastic genius of "Hush" (with all of the lights blazing inside and outside our house, just in case!), I joined Team Spike, and when it was all over, we went through withdrawals that even attempting to watch "Angel" couldn't cure. Instead, we took all that cred Bear's sister and Bittle had finally earned for their "Buffy" recommendation and cashed it in on another of their longtime favorites: "Supernatural." We're not big horror fans, but it didn't take long before we were snorting our faces at the unreasonably attractive brothers' rock star pseudonyms ("Good afternoon. I'm Father Simmons, this is Father Frehley.") and letting ourselves get sucked into the Winchesters' world. We burned through five seasons in another couple of months and just bought season 6. If you don't watch this show, you're missing out! If you do, mark me down for Team Sam...

8) Err on the side of empathy- in progress!
I'm generally a pretty empathetic person, but sometimes I get impatient or irritated with people when a little more understanding would probably serve us both better. I've really made an effort this year to empathize with other people's choices and behavior rather than judging them. It definitely helps to think, "He must have some really unhappy stuff going on at home" or "She must be having an awful day" rather than just writing someone off as a jerk when they're rude or seemingly irrational. Of course, some people ARE just jerks, and I'm going to have to decide where I give myself permission to stop being understanding before I wander into Doormat Territory; but in most cases, the nicey-nice is a good thing!

9) Take an overnight trip with Bear-Boooooo.
We didn't get to this one in 2011, but I got Jerry Seinfeld tickets for Bear this Christmas and am hoping that show in March will be our big chance for 2012!

10) Make our house prettier (inside and out)-Inside? Mayyyyybe. Outside? Big fat no. Oh, well.

And now that 2012 is only two days away, I'm busting out my new list!

2012 Resolutions/To-Do List

1) Overnight Bear date

2) Donate blood 5 times again

3) Floss nightly so as not to waste another bajillion dollars on fillings between my teeth

4) Read at least one Hunger Games book (the movie trailer hooked me big-time)

5) Finish organizing the garage and work on the rest of the house

6) Put money IN savings (weekly) instead of taking it out

7) Do the Color Run in April

8) Take more family pics and more pics of just us Bears (in addition to the billion photos I'll keep taking of the girls)

9) Be a nice wife and learn how to make coffee for Bear (I realize making coffee should be relatively easy for someone with a master's degree, but as someone who doesn't drink it, I've never taken the time to learn)

10) See at least 4 of the Best Picture nominees before the Academy Awards (though I will rue this resolution if it means I have to sit through The Help)

11) Go to a movie alone (never done it!) and possibly coordinate with Bittle to see it "with her" simultaneously from opposite sides of the country. Yes, this is lame. No, I don't care.

12) Stop texting in the car. *cringe* This is going to be a big one for me--I can type without looking and often can't resist replying at stop lights, but even that's illegal now and isn't worth a ticket (or worse). I've already started turning off my cell volume and keeping my phone in the center console so I'm not tempted when I hear that little jingle, and it's definitely do-able. I just need to add a Post-It pad and pen for the car so I can jot down reminders when I think of them ("Text Bear that he is a man-whore for leaving his wedding ring on the counter," or...you know...other important stuff) instead of sending a text right away so I don't forget.

13) Paint the bathrooms, and maybe the laundry room. (2012 Me will, without a doubt, hate 2011 Me for putting this on the list. The question is, will that hatred come before or after she gets any painting done?)

14) Find new kid-friendly recipes for the girls. They're getting sick of eating the same things all the time, but don't really like trying anything new, either.

15) Get Keira to wear jeans before she starts kindergarten (this revolution has already begun--more on that soon!)

16) Do some 7-day challenges to build my willpower stamina. (Resolutions to eat healthy, drink more water, or exercise regularly would be doomed to failure, but I figure I can do 7 days of anything...maybe?)

Wow--that's a long list! Better get working on it!