One month down

Today is the last day of January, 2011. Did you make any New Years Resolutions? If so, are you sticking to them, or did you give up?

I know for me this year, I created quite a few resolutions. I am doing really good on some of them, but others I am falling a little bit behind. For most people it takes from 60-90 days to create a habit. I am gonna be totally honest and say that I haven't done any of my resolutions for the past 31 days straight, so I am not gonna be hitting my 60 days right away. What I will say is that even though I haven't been perfect, I am not giving up on them yet.

I realized a few weeks ago that having a goal is a wonderful place to START, but it is only 1 piece to the puzzle. We must also have a road map or a plan as to HOW we are going to get there.

First I will tell you what my resolutions are. Putting them out there for everyone to read holds me at least accountable to try my best to hold up to them.

My 2011 New Years Resolutions:
1) Lose 10-15 pounds and tone up (I think weight loss is on about about 97% of the people who makes resolutions lists)
2) Run a 5K by the end of the summer
3) Do 30 minutes of physical activity 6 days a week (this can include running around and playing with my kids, cleaning the house, etc)
4) Read 1 - 2 personal books each month
5) Read my scriptures (for my church) 5 - 6 nights a week
6) Work harder at being a better mother (by learning to have more patience and using a quite voice when I get upset)
7) Work harder at being a better wife (by paying more attention to my husbands needs and wants)
8) Get a B- or better in all classes I take
9) Volunteer/do Charity work/Donate items once a month
10) Do/Say something kind for/to someone each and everyday. Also work and putting other before myself
11) By Christmas have most, if not all, the rooms in the house cleaned out, de-cluttered/organized & re-painted
12) Do/complete 1 craft project every month
13) Practice the piano 2-3 times a week (can be as short as 5 minutes each time)
14) Learn one new thing every month (this can be anything & everything)
15) Get all past financial records put on to our computer banking log (Quicken) & stay up-to-date on all financial record keeping
16) Write in my journal every night that I am able to
17) Start (and maintain) a mommy blog (whoo hoo....I am doing this one right now), a weight loss/becoming healthy blog & a church blog
18)Learn how to sew, crochet (I can say I have learned a basic chain stitch so I am working on this) & knit well.

There is my list. Yes it is pretty hefty, but I have a plan in place to keep on track and get to where I want to be by the end of the year. Check back tomorrow for how I plan to keep on my resolutions journey. And, don't give up on yours quite yet, even if you haven't been sticking to them. We can all get there!

Great Expectations

We have all seen items like the "Your Baby Can Read" programs. We have all sat and wondered should my child be crawling, walking, talking, this, that or another thing. Over the last couple of days I have really had a chance to see first hand how we all strive to push our kids to do this or that as soon as possible. To think that if they are not crawling by 6-8 months, or talking before 2 years old, then there might be something wrong.

With my younger son (Little B), I went through that talking dilemma that he wasn't talking at the appropriate age. We talked to his doctor who recommended us to a speech therapist. The speech therapist came out twice a month to work with Little B. In my honest opinion I didn't really see that she did a whole lot. 30-45 minutes twice a month wasn't having much impact. (Not saying she maybe didn't help for those speech therapists out there, just saying we didn't see that as a change in our house.) What did have an impact was that we realized we had been doing things different with him than with his older brother. With Big B we sat down each and ever night to read a book or two. He was also our only child so we talked TO him.
We soon realized with Little B that we were putting him to bed without reading him a book, and since he wasn't talking, we were all talking AROUND him, and not WITH him.

When we changed how we did things in our house, we noticed a huge change. He started learning and saying new words every single day. I also think that at the time he just wasn't ready to talk. There is nothing wrong with that. Now he is a happy, healthy and VERY talkative 2 year old.

The next incident came a week or so ago. I have been stressing quite a bit lately because Big B, our kindergartner, isn't reading all his words yet. I thought that he was behind and at times I was getting so frustrated when we read together because it just didn't make sense that he could get the words (words like "this", "them" and "they"). I talked with his teacher who said he had a tendency to space out when it came to reading. Because of this, I thought to myself, I wonder if maybe there is something wrong. I spent a few days worrying about what we were going to do. If we needed to see a doctor about it, or if there was more we could do at home.

A few days ago a wonderful neighbor (who also happens to be my amazing visiting teacher) was over and we were talking about kids and school. She had taken a child development class and was telling me that some kids brains just don't "click" into the "education" mode until age 6 or later. She also told me to relax. The school we are in is supposed to be the most rigorous in our district, and they push kids to learn faster. I decided to wait it out a little while and see how things panned out before taking Big B to the doctor.

Well an amazing moment happened yesterday. I was sitting and talking with out day care provider and telling her about my concerns. She told me that the other kids she tends who are his same age, and a little older, we not even reading simple words yet, and they were also just learning their letters and the sounds they make. What?! I thought. I have been worrying and pushing Big B because I thought he was behind when really he is doing amazingly well for his age. All because I had it in my mind that he was supposed to be further along than he was. That was such a sigh of relief.

I am not saying that some people might have children who need a little more push, or help in areas of their life. I know there will be times that my kids wont be able to catch on to things so easily. Heck, there are times I struggle to understand things that seem like they should be so simple. What I am just getting at is there isn't a set moment when you kids are supposed to know how to do something. It's best to relax and help them in their journey of life. To teach them and love them, and let them grow. (At their own pace)

I'm here

I am so excited to finally be here. Starting a blog is something I have been thinking about and pondering on for a while now. I am so happy that you have stopped by for a visit, and are taking the time to read my blog. 

To start I just want to tell you that yes, I am a supermom. Why do you ask? Because I am a mom. I have amazing children who are HAPPY and know I LOVE THEM. That in itself makes me a super mom in my mind. If you have a child who you love, who knows you love them and are happy then you should consider yourself a super mom (or dad) as well. 

Being a parent is not an easy journey. There is no handbook on how to raise our children. I don't remember ever being told how HARD it was actually going to be. I think I was in la la land when I thought that it was all sunshine and roses with babies. But I would never change it for the world. My kids are my greatest blessing and my greatest joy. The light up my world with just their smile.

I may not be a "complete" super mom every day, but I am striving to be. It is a constant journey to be the best I can be. To make the most out of every single day I have. Though I wish I was able to have 48 hour days, instead of 24, and only had to sleep 4 hours to be satisfied.

I juggle keeping the schedules of my own life, my husbands life, my children's lives, as well as keep the house running, working, school and everything else that I do. Somehow it works. Not every day is like clockwork, but in the end it works. 

Thank you again for taking the time to stop by. :) Life is a journey and I am glad we can all be on it together.