New Years 2009

Me: Ellie and Addy! Hurry upstairs...we are going to have a toast to celebrate the New Year! (uh...yeah...my 4 and 6 year olds were both up until midnight!)
Ellie: WOO-HOO!

Ellie: *Running around like a crazy silly monkey sloshing her cup of juice everywhere* 5 ... 4... 3... 2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ok Mommy, where is my toast? I'm hungry. I want cinnamon and sugar on it!

Me: ummmmmmmm...

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Resolution of 2008--Lets see how I did. (gulp)

1. As some of you know I lost quite a bit of weight this fall. I am re-upping my efforts and intend to lose the rest of the pounds I want to in 2008. --Well...I totally blame this problem on Gary and Kim. Which is also nuts because the last holiday I spent with Kim, she and Sally helped me shop for smaller sized jeans. Grrrrr. I ate my way back to my previous big self while submerged in grief. Dead people are always so inconsiderate. *totally joking* It doesn't help that people bring you cinnamon rolls and muffins and stuff while you are grieving. They ought to only bring healthy food. Though not really...cause you need bad food when your heart it broken. :)

2. I want to read more with my kids. Addy and I have decided to read 300 books in 2008. Paperbacks and novels. My mom gave me a really cute little notebook and we agreed to keep a list of the books we have read in there. At school she reads like 10 books a day and hit 100 books in like a month. I figure then at home we ought to be able to ready 300 in a year. Ellie and I are going to try for 100. --I quit keeping track after my year got derailed...I'm quite sure Addy and I have read 300 books. And I'm sure I read 100 to Ellie. Probably many many more.

3. I want to do some organizing in my house. More like one time organizing than life style organizing. I just have a few scary places that need some TLC. These places are: my buffet, our closets, our dressers, my linen closet, and an old army trunk. --Lets see...I did clean out my buffet...and then I sold it. I did clean out all those things...and I moved. So ... well ... it didn't really get me anywhere.

4. I want to write a letter to my bio-dad once a week. We could stay in touch better this way. --Well. Does a text message every other day count??? Probably not...but I know him much better this year than I did the last. :)

5. And lastly...I am going to do the 888 Challenge. You can read about it at www.triple8challenge.blogspot.com I'm just getting started on picking my books...so I'm a little behind. --I didn't finish it...yet. I'm still on it. But considering my awful year...and the fact I was reading The Pilots Wife when Gary and Kim died (a book detailing the grieving process of a dead pilots wife)...I didn't do too bad. Which...reading that book just before (like 2 days before) was all God.

I read 29 out of 57 books. Not bad. I'm sure there are more that I read...but I can' think of them. I read several books on grief over the summer, but I only wrote down two. My list was flexible. Its now the 889 list. :) I'm ok with that. I also never published my list. Maybe I will get to it 2009.

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2009 Resolutions:

1. Well...since Neal was diagnosed with diabetes in the middle of December...(yeah...more on that later)...we would be quite serious about losing some pounds and overhauling our eating. Neal started in December...I started after the new years party. :)

1b. Start a blog about my experiences with diabetes. There are not enough out there.


2. Finish my 889 list.

3. Figure out how to have kid friendly cars. I have this amazing friend who has her car all decked out to meet her kids needs in every situation. I thought that was so cool. I want to do that for my kids in our cars.

4. Start my family on pro-biotics and some other immunity enhancing herbs. I'm SICK of green snot and ear infections and puke.

5. Do more sewing. I'm off to a good start. I made a sleeping bag for Ellie's American Girl Doll today. Wooo-hoooo!

6. Continue to not use my dryer.

7. Have a fabulous summer.

8. Make a file for fun things to do during each season and holiday...so I don't go..."awww I forgot about that" after the holiday is over.

9. Be more supportive of my oldest daughter in a couple areas.

10. Be a scream-free parent.

11. Break the cycle of a particular lie I am have been believing. I'm almost free.

Hmmmm. I'm more ambitious this year. We'll see how it goes!!!