Thursday, January 12, 2012

Happy 2012! Resolutions and other mom advice...


2012 is here....what the heck? Where does the time go? I apologize for the lapse in posting...it seems to be taking an extra long time to recover from Christmas this year! Maybe all of the parties, the massive amounts of food, the winter sangria? It's possible, all of it. My new years resolutions this year, I took from one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes & Cashmere from last year. Emily, the fashion and home blogger over there, pretty much cloned my thoughts when she wrote her resolutions last year:

1) Live Fearlessly 2) Focus on the Present 3) Drink more Water

So this year, I adopted them as my own. Live fearlessly. Hmmm...something I have been needing to do for a long time. Since having children, I find myself gripped by fear on many occasions...the thought of getting on a plane, a bump on my child's head, going over tanker waves on a ferry....(that's the worst.) I have never considered myself a controlling person, but after contemplating my fears, they all come back to the same thing. Fear of losing control. Fear of something happening to my kids or myself that is beyond my control. When I realize the truth, we have no control, that is God's job, it is easier for me to let go and have fun. A glass of wine of the ferry doesn't hurt either. How will I ever teach my kids to enjoy life and throw caution to the wind, if I can't do it myself? A resolution, for sure.

Focus on the present....another resolution tailor made for me. I often find myself feeling nostalgia for other era's of my life...when my children were babies....when I was in my twenties....stressing at the age of 38 of how fast 40 is approaching. How did that happen? I swear I was just 29...where did the last decade go? Old home video's of days gone by...but what about today? Am I thoroughly enjoying 38? Am I cherishing the age's of 10, 8 and 4, or am I too consumed on how they aren't babies anymore? The one thing I don't want is to look back when I am 60 and wish I was 38 again....I need to enjoy the here and now, live every year with thankfulness and excitement for what the future holds. Definitely resolution #2.

Drink more water???? Dang. For sure. Pretty sure I am part lizard...never even remember to drink water until after 3pm. Just common sense, right?

Lastly, this is not really a resolution, but a piece of advice that sticks in my mind every time one of my kids asks to do something....A friend once told me, before the mom inspired automatic "NO" or "not right now" comes out of your mouth, try and ask yourself three things....a) What will it hurt? b) What will it help? and c) What will they remember? This has helped me say yes to many more fun projects and spur of the moment idea's my kids come up with. "Mom? Can we take all the couch cushions off and make a tent?" Let's see....I have just cleaned them up for what seems like the fiftieth time, and am about to reply with, "not right now...." but then I think, what will it hurt? Really? Is it that big of a deal to help them put the couch cushions back for the fifty first time? Will it really wreck my day on some level? Probably not. What will it help? It will boost creativity in my child, and keep them doing something fun, and off the Wii for awhile. What will they remember? Making cool forts in the TV room...mom getting out all the blankets to help, great memories focused around our home. Love it. "Go for it!" Here's to 2012...raise your glass of ferry wine to living fearlessy, embracing 38...or whatever super important year of your awesome life you are celebrating...living in the present, drinking tons of water (hopefully not while treading water and gasping for life after the ferry flipped over....) and saying YES! to little creative minds! Happy 2012! May all your resolutions come true!

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