New Year's Resolutions

This year I took a different approach to resolutions. Instead of focusing on just one thing that will never happen - run more, starve and miraculously regain my pre-three-baby body (which isn’t exactly dreaming big, trust me) - I decided to shoot for making over my entire life, thereby giving myself multiple areas in which to fail on the off-chance that I might actually meet one or two goals. Its no secret that if you write down your resolutions, or otherwise share them, you are more likely to follow through with them. So here they are:

1. Drink Less. In fact, due to an unfortunate series of events involving red wine and family gatherings, I’ve gone dry for all of January. So far, so good, but as you’ll see below this may have impacted some of my other resolutions in some not-so-unexpected ways.

2. Play more. That means play more with my kids. After stumbling upon a written complaint categorizing my parenting style as a lay-about, I have vowed that I must shake the perception and do everything I can to engage with my children in their play. Unfortunately as I do not regularly wrestle with my children, I will never unseat their father as the ultimate play-mate. I can, however, do my best to do a little more in the area of pretend play. After a full day of playing every kind of small figure in the house (including but not limited to Little People, Puppies in My Pocket, Calico Critters and doll house), this much is clear - resolution #1 was a bad idea.

3. Commit to an exercise routine. Back before my husband left me for the glamorous life of a bankruptcy attorney (he has been gone almost every week since mid September), I was an avid runner. Without fail, I would wake up at 5:45 am to meet a friend (another mother of three, also running to get the hell away from her kids). When I became a single parent that routine became impossible. Thus I have vowed that 2009 will be the year for me to create a more flexible and somehow successful exercise regimen. I can tell you already that I will not be using the Hollywood plan by which you stay fit and trim by simply "chasing your amazing children around."
4. Stay on top the laundry. It seems like such a simple resolution, but really its huge. Think about the laundry involved with three children, all of whom have trouble keeping their food on their plates or in their mouths. And then there are the special laundry deadlines involved with gym uniforms and traveling spouses, these garments always cut to the front of the line, often leaving me without something like a clean sports bra for weeks at a time. So far I am not on top of the laundry, unless you count the fact that the laundry is backed up in the chute all the way to the first floor and as I write this I am on the second floor.

5. Do more outdoor stuff with the kids. This goes under the "what was I thinking" category. It is currently 24 degrees outside with the added bonus of a winter storm warning. None of my children has the ability to keep a mitten dry or the tolerance to soldier on with a wet one. Its January and we live in Cleveland. And again - if resolution #1 is going to stick, #5 is going to have to go.

6. Read more with the kids. I love books, I do. In fact reading to my kids is one of my top three parenting activities (giving baths and coloring are my other two). Its just that I don’t like reading the same book over and over again. Especially when the book is awful. For example, I have read Dora Loves Boots 17 times today. The fact that I have alternated reading that book with reading Meet Backpack, doesn’t really help.

7. Cook more. I put this resolution into action almost immediately. The first thing I did was survey my children to figure out if I were to cook, what exactly would they eat. Luckily, because there are 7 nights in a week, we came up with six meals that they each would be willing to eat. They are: spaghetti, although only the youngest eats actual spaghetti, the other two eat variations such as undressed noodles or in the case of my son, garlic bread; soft tacos, again not all my children eat the full taco, my son eats only the shredded cheese; hot dogs and oven fries, I say oven fires so you can be sure that I am extra- committed to good nutrition; Ham; Pizza; and "Plate of Choices", this is a variation on cheese and crackers in which I place all sorts of cheese, crackers, and pepperoni and salami on table and let the kids fill their own plates. Obviously fruit and vegetables are included at each meal - we’re big on baby carrots and red grapes. Armed with this information, I have been doing some serious menu planning so far this year. We have indeed eaten at home most nights and the best part is, I really haven’t had to cook a thing!

If I can keep any of these resolutions that will be fantastic. If I can keep any of these resolutions and keep number one, that will be a miracle.