Resolutions Revisited

It's been about a month since I made my resolutions for 2010. I thought it would be a useful, though somewhat painful exercise to assess how well I am doing so far.

Let Norah play outside.
Does a trip to and from the Jeep count as time spent outside? Sometimes Norah will drag her feet through the snow or straggle behind us and pick up a stick in the yard on her way back into the house... Does that count?

Keep a garden.
I think I should get the Christmas trees back into the attic before I plant or even plan to plant anything that will actually rely on me to grow.

Listen to Scripture.
I am often too busy getting the can of beans from the pantry and combining it with the chicken broth on the stove. It seems incredible, but I don't have the time to also grab the CD player from the dining room and the Bible CDs off the shelf in the living room to make it possible to listen to Scripture while I work in the kitchen... Norah often fetches ingredients for me, cans of this or a box of that... Maybe I will ask her to help me fetch what I need for this, too.

Pray.
Both The Power of a Praying Wife and The Power of a Praying Parent are on my bedside table. So far, I've used them three time this month. And, even though one of my goals was to "be quiet" before God in prayer, my prayer time has been a bit too quiet, if you know what I mean... Zzzzz. Maybe I should move the books to another place in the house? But, I fear that if I do that, they will get even less attention than they do now, since I am always busy everywhere else in the house.

Sew.
All the materials for my projects are still sitting right where they were when I first typed these resolutions. I usually have time enough to sit, turn the sewing machine on and consider where to start stitching, but that is when the baby starts crying or Norah calls to me from the bathroom, needing help wiping her butt. (She's five. She has a hard time getting it all... Can I get a witness from all the other moms out there who can't stand to see their five- year- olds scratching their rears later in the day because they can't seem get it all? Amen?)

Collect books and music.
I downloaded two CDs from Power Music: 17 Again (for my senior class) and a Bootcamp mix (for my cardio sculpt class). No books so far. I haven't had time to search for them online and purchase them.

Call my friends.
I haven't invested in my friends this month... Unless calling them to ask them to babysit counts?

Keep my room clean.
I am trying to get the rest of the house clean before I organize my room, so that just means the extra crap from out here is piling up in there all the more.

Attend more home school group activities. I took Norah to a play date at Andie's Bounce Barn and to a home schooled friend's birthday party.

Teach Norah to swim.
This vacation to Florida has given Norah intensive practice in the pool. We have been swimming for a few hours every day, so she is doing really well. She's "water walking" for longer lengths without goggles and swimming like a fish under water with goggles. She's even been diving for toys on the pool steps. When we get home, we will continue meeting with other home schooled kids at a local YMCA once a week to swim for an hour (and since other kids are there, our swim practice will count towards social time as well).

Lighten Dwayne's load around the house. I've stopped complaining... as much, but I haven't had extra time or energy to do any of the work for him. If I actually do start painting the trim in the downstairs bathroom, I will probably have to stop for the same reasons that I can't sew.

Read to Avril. Norah practices phonics while Avril's in the same room. Does that count?

Talk to Norah. I try not to have my laptop open during every breakfast and lunch we have together, though it is so tempting to use meal time to "play" on the computer. Rather, I will force myself to shut the laptop's lid and sit still and look at Norah and ask her questions about what she's been doing, watching, playing, etc. And, wonder of wonders, she actually answers those questions! ...Works like a charm!