Nothing Short of Resolutionary

Erin: Will, do you know what a New Year's Resolution is?

Will: Yes.

Erin: What is it? 

Will: A New Year's Resolution is a thing you want to, like*, do next year. You make up things you're going to do next year.

Here are Will's 2014 New Year's Resolutions:

• Make new friends.
• Play on a flag football team.
• Earn his green belt and purple belt in karate.
• Not get in trouble at school.
• Be nicer to his sister.

Erin: Hallie, do you know what a New Year's Resolution is?

Hallie: No, what is it?
Erin: A New Year's Resolution is a promise or a decision to accomplish something between the beginning of the year (right now, in January) and the end of the year (by next Christmas). Usually people choose resolutions that help them live healthier lives or have to do with being nice to others. Do you want to make a Ne-
Hallie: STOP TALKING. I already know what my revolutions** are.

And here are Hallie's 2014 New Year's Resolutions. I mean Revolutions:

• Learn new Sofia songs.
• Play with Lily.
• Go to McDonalds

Have your kids come up with New Year's Resolutions? Do you think your kids will keep their resolutions? If I were a betting gal, I'd put money on Hallie accomplishing all three of hers, and on Will doing really well until he gets to #5...

* Yes, he actually used the word "like"...so as much as it pained me to do so, I included it in his word-for-word explanation.  

** Yes, she calls them revolutions. Which is ironic, considering her resolutions aren't the least bit revolutionary.

2014 Resolutions

Last year I purposely wrote measurable, documentable, and (seemingly) attainable New Year's Resolutions in an attempt to 1) hold myself accountable and 2) hopefully end the year on a note of achievement.

As we all know, that plan didn't lead to greater success than any other New Year's Resolution plan I've tried.

So this year, instead of focusing on resolutions that cause stress by setting me up for failure (or at least partial failure), I'm focusing on resolutions that promise to positively impact my and/or my family's physical health, emotional well-being, financial stability, or overall quality of life.

Here's what I came up with:

• Eat cleaner. Specifically, I'd like to bake my own bread and granola bars. If you have a recipe for an easy, tasty, and nut-free granola bar, please share!
• Spend less. I don't spend frivolously, but in the coming year I plan to keep better track of where our dollars go and purchase only what we really need.
• Streamline my volunteer efforts. This will occur naturally come fall, when both Will and Hallie attend the same school, but I can expedite the process by simply waiting to say "yes" to volunteer requests until I've had the opportunity to evaluate whether or not the nature of and time commitment for the request make sense for me and my family. 
• Date my husband. Traditional weekend evening dates don't always for us, both because of our vastly different schedules and because paying for good childcare (which we are extraordinarily blessed to have) makes child-free activities cost twice as much, so our plan is to trend toward lunch dates, coffee shop "work" dates, and at-home-after-the-kids-fall-asleep dates.    
• Stop feeling guilty. About eating a brownie two brownies for dessert, drinking a Blue Moon on a Tuesday evening, reading a book instead of writing or researching while the kids are at school, and focusing my energy on people who build me up (instead of on those who weigh me down, which I admit to doing in the not-so-distant past).
• Teach Hallie to read and tie her shoes. Though teaching Hallie to read made it onto my 2013 list, she just wasn't ready last year. Now that Hallie's both academically and mentally rearing to go, I plan to help her reach her goal. And along the way I'll teach her to tie her shoes, because just like parents reach a point when they're ready to be done changing diapers, parents also reach a point when they're ready to be done tying shoes. I'm there.   
• Finalize our will. Though we've made arrangements for our children should something unfortunate happen to us, Tom and I MUST finalize this document before the end of 2014.  
• Paint my front door. Red? Green? Black? I'm conflicted.
• Learn American history. I recently realized how little I know about American history. My fifth grade teacher spent 30 minutes a day covering the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, but after I graduated from Mrs. Nowakowski's class I never saw another American history text book. Not in middle school, high school, or college. As an educated adult and the parent of a school-aged child who will soon embark on his own journey to learn about the history of our country, I find this gaping hole in my education appalling, so much so that I'd like to begin filling the gap. To be clear, my goal isn't to become a history buff. My goal is to understand a bit more about who we are and where we came from…and to be able to hold my own should I ever appear on the game show "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?". 
• Learn Texas history. What better time to learn about the history of my current home state than while I'm already learning about the history of my home country? I hope these history "lessons" turn out to be educational, yes, but also fun and something Will (and maybe Hallie, in some cases) and I can enjoy together. 
• Read books and watch movies. It seems silly to include reading and movie watching on a New Year's Resolution list, but because I have trouble finding the time to do both, onto the list they go.

I think that's it for this year. I'll check in at the end of June, hopefully with news of success and growth!

2013 Resolutions: What Went Wrong?

To say that the last six months have not been my most productive - at least as far as resolutions are concerned - would be the understatement of that same time period. Between January and June, I made quite a bit of progress on my New Year's Resolutions (in bolded black). Since the beginning of July, however, I've accomplished next to nothing (in bolded purple). I wish I could figure out what went wrong...

Professional Resolutions

• Update (and/or enlist the help Ferris Creative Media, my cousin-in-law's graphic and website design company to update) the Midwestern Girl blog homepage. 100% done. Thanks to Melissa at MNugent Art & Design, Midwestern Girl became Chasing Roots and along the way received an updated theme and a much-needed face-lift. I hope you're enjoying Chasing Roots as much as I am!
• Develop a comprehensive plan - spanning from January 2013 through January 2014 - to help me better divide my time between the Midwestern Girl blog, our family blog, my professional writing commitments, and my volunteer writing commitments. 0% done. And since we're already halfway through the time period for which I'd hoped to develop a comprehensive professional plan, I think it best if I just bail on a plan for 2013 and start working on a plan for 2014. Seems reasonable, yes? 0% done. Just staying caught up somehow took every moment of my free time. I'd like to say that developing a comprehensive writing plan will be on my list of 2014 New Year's Resolutions, but unless I discover a secret stash of weekday minutes, I can't see myself having the time to make it happen…at least until August, when the little one starts kindergarten.
• Further develop my newest professional relationship with the Bryan-College Station Parent Network. 10% done. After somewhat promising meetings earlier in the year, forward movement stalled as springtime approached. (My relationship with the BCS Parent Network remains solid and I still believe in the mission of the organization; they're wading through quite a few transitions, however, and these transitions need to be worked out before I can or am willing to go much further.) I'm crossing my fingers that fall brings new opportunities here. 10% done. As much as I truly want the BCS Parent Network to succeed, I'm not sure the website and I are a good fit right now. I won't completely walk away, but I also won't invest significant amounts of time and energy until I feel more confident about the end result. 

Physical Health and Wellness Resolutions

• Eat fewer carbohydrates.  Drink more water.  Drink exactly the same amount of beer. 33.3% done. Until today I'd forgotten about my commitment to eating fewer carbohydrates and drinking more water. I remembered, however, my commitment to drink exactly the same about of beer. 50% done. We'd successfully cut a few carbs from our meals, that is until Will's elementary school's Texas Roadhouse rolls fundraiser. Now I only eat Texas Roadhouse rolls. For every meal. (If you've never tried Texas Roadhouse rolls, you should - they hold the title of "most scrumptious carbohydrate" in my book. If you have tried Texas Roadhouse rolls, you know what I'm talking about and probably eat them by the dozen, just like me.)
• Make at least one new vegetarian meal each month and share my family's favorite recipes here on the blog. 50% done. We've tried six new vegetarian meals, the tastier of which I shared here a couple of months ago. When I return home at the end of July I'll once again begin scouring Pinterest, AllRecipes.com, and the Babble food blogs for six more recipes to test out on my somewhat-willing family. 60% done. I only made two or three new vegetarian dishes since the end of the summer. This was a tough resolution for our family as a whole because while we all love vegetables (even Hallie eats quite a few of the green variety), Tom and Will in particular believe that meat completes a meal. Any recipe suggestions?

Relationship Development Resolutions

• Go on at least one date (lunch and double dates count) with Tom each month. 50% done. We've been on seven dates - three regular dates, three double dates, and one barely-date to Tom's department's end-of-the-year banquet - since January, and though I know a busy fall awaits us, I think our goal of 12 dates is within reach. 85% done. Tom and I only went on three official dates since the beginning of July, but we were also able to go out once with another couple and once with a larger group of friends. I need to steal a page from a friend of mine's playbook - she and her husband have a standing date every other Tuesday evening (their babysitter is lined up for that day/time frame indefinitely) and unless someone in the family is gravely ill or out of town, they escape for at least a couple of hours.
• Spend at least one morning/afternoon/evening every three months with each child on his/her own.  Do not waste one of these nights out on the Mom and Son Speedway (less than) Spectacular. 25% done. A few months back Tom and I took the kids out for simultaneous girls' and boys' nights, and about a month ago Tom and I took Hallie on a date while Will slept over at a friend's house, but we haven't set up as many of these "special" nights as I would have liked. Any ideas from parents on unique mother/son and father/daughter dates? 60% done. Will and I went to see Smurfs 2 and hung out together at the Aggie Women's soccer game, and Tom and Hallie had two "sleepovers" (they get McDonald's for dinner, watch a princess movie, and then sleep in the playroom in their sleeping bags). I still need date ideas, so feel free to share!
• Follow through on all those "we should get together!" exclamations. Call/email/text friends and make plans to actually chat over a cup of coffee, unwind with a cold beer, enjoy dinner out, or laugh through a movie together. 50% done. I certainly wouldn't give myself an "A" on this one, but I think I deserve at least a "C+". I hope August - when we return home from our summer travels - will provide us with enough time to catch up with the friends we don't see as often during the school year. 70% done. If I come across that secret stash of extra minutes, perhaps I can do better with this one next year. 

Fun (?) Resolutions

• To repeat a 2012 resolution, knit two scarves for friends with cold necks. 0% done. Completely forgot about this one. 90% done. I knit two scarves, but have yet to gift them. I'm thinking an early 2014 give-away here on the blog is in order!
• Read, read, and read some more.  Read in the name of entertainment, but also to learn more about and to widen the lens through which I view the world around me.  Read a chapter book series (suggestions?) to my kids.  Teach Hallie to read. 50% done. Neither Will nor I have been able to teach Hallie to read yet, but I've been reading like crazy. My reading list (both the books I've finished and the books I hope to crack open in the near future) has grown substantially since January. Here's what I've devoured so far (I'd strongly recommend those that I've "starred"):
• *Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (yes, I reread all the Twilight books at the beginning of the year and yes, I'd recommend them)
• *New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
• *Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
• *Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
• *Divergent, Veronica Roth
• Bossypants, Tina Fey
• *Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
• The Lost Years, Mary Higgins Clark
• *The Host, Stephenie Meyer
• Where We Belong, Emily Giffin
• Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
• *The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve
• *Insurgent, Veronica Roth
• Traps, Mackenzie Bezos
• *Defending Jacob, William Landau
• Matched, Allyson Condie
• Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
• Crossed, Allyson Condie
• Reached, Allyson Condie
• The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (I had to prepare for the Catching Fire movie release)
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
• Allegiant, Veronica Roth

• Go to the movies. (In the six years since Will was born I've seen an average of one movie a YEAR in the theater. In the last two months, however, I've seen six movies in the theater - Wreck-It Ralph, Rise of the Guardians, Argo, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2...three times - and I've been reminded about how much I absolutely love the movie theater experience. When I watch movies at home I do so while simultaneously folding laundry, cleaning the house, writing blog posts, updating my online calendar, repeatedly sending children back to bed. When I watch movies in the theater I am truly able to relax and enjoy the film, and I leave feeling refreshed.)  With Tom, with my kids, and with friends.  When movies in the theater aren't an option, curl up on the couch - without any laundry or my computer - and enjoy Blockbuster rentals. 50% done. Of the movies I've seen (listed below), I especially enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook and Now You See Me and would recommend both, along with old favorites Miracle and Failure to Launch (both of which I try to watch at least once a year). Next on my list are The Host, The Heat, The Internship, and Despicable Me 2 - what else should I see?
• The Hobbit
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Escape from Planet Earth
• The Croods
• Epic
• Now You See Me
• Monsters University
• World War Z
• Miracle
• Snow White and the Huntsman
• Looper
• Water for Elephants
• Welcome to the Rileys
• The Runaways
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Butter
• Failure to Launch
• A Mighty Wind
• Pitch Perfect
• Despicable Me 2
• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
• Turbo
• The Heat
• The Smurfs 2
• Identity Thief
• Cloudy w/ a Chance of Meatballs 2
• Admission
• Sweet Home Alabama
• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire
• Catching Fire again
• Catching Fire for the 3rd time
• Free Birds
• Frozen
• Home Alone

We've now arrived at the end of 2013, and I can't figure out 1) how it's possible for 12 months to pass so quickly, 2) where all of my "free" time went, and 3) what went wrong with this year's New Year's Resolutions. 

Oh wait, now that I reread through what I wrote above, I'm willing to admit that perhaps the problem lies in how much time I spent reading and watching Catching Fire…

Just rockin' my Mockingjay pin.

Yearly Wrap-Up - By the Photos

The paragraphs and statistics are no doubt valuable, but as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are about 28,000 words worth of pictures...a glimpse back on 2013 through the lens of my camera.

 

 

Yearly Wrap-Up - By the Words and Numbers

At the end of each year I like to spend a little time reading through old posts and noting - thanks to the statistics feature associated with the blog - which topics were well-recieved (and which topics weren't, for that matter) by you, my readers. I have always written and will continue to write in my own voice, and I know how important it is that my blog remain a true representation of who I am, but I want my words to reach out in a way that you find interesting and engaging.

On that note, here are the year's 10 most popular (based on views) posts:

• "I Love Jesus, But I Drink a Little"
• Discombobulated
• Hair by Hallie, Part 2
• "On a Scale of 1-10, How Bad is Your Pain?"
• Weekly Wrap-Up (9.13.13)
• Send it Soaring
• A Drive-By Peanuting
• Organizational Challenge
• So Soon We Forget
• Tom vs. Toilet

This list does not include posts written for other websites or blogs, or posts written about the Washington, Illinois tornado relief and recovery efforts.

And here are a few of my personal favorite posts:

• Snow Angels
• For the Kids, One in Particular
• Chase the Wind and Touch the Sky
• It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Pees on the Patio
• To Get to the Other Side: One Family's Adventure from Lake to Lake
• The Pied Piper
• What Happens When You Let Four-Year-Olds Go to the Bathroom Alone
• The Cliche is True…Painfully So
• Lucky #7
• Look Up

Thank you for reading, for following (if you haven't already and would like to do so, just click on "Join this site" in the "Followers" box on the righthand side of the homepage), and for sharing Chasing Roots with your friends and family. I am extraordinarily grateful.

High Five for Friday (12.27.13)

1. We survived our 15-hour road trip through the horrific ice storm that battered two thirds of the country last weekend. While the storm certainly wasn't the worst we - as lifelong Midwesterners - had ever driven through, it made for two very long, stressful days in the car. Throughout Oklahoma and Southern Kansas, we saw between 20 and 30 accidents, consistently drove 25 MPH below the posted speed limit, and stopped frequently to cool off (we had to run the defroster on high - power and heat - to keep the windshield free of ice) and clean the quickly-accumulating ice off of the windshield wipers. It's always a relief to reach a road trip destination, but I felt comfort and gratefulness beyond relief when we finally pulled into the driveway.

2. The light weather system that passed through on Saturday night only dusted the ground, but a dusting of snow is better than no snow at all! The kids could barely contain their excitement when they awoke to winter, and so even though the temperature outside hadn't yet reached double digits, the three of us headed out to shovel the patio, play football, and build a snowman. Hallie named him Olaf.

The snow wasn't quite right for building snow people but Hallie couldn't have cared less.

3. Speaking of football, to call Will obsessed would be the understatement of the year. And since the snow isn't deep enough for Will and me to make our traditional swimsuit snow angels (I'll make swimsuit snow angels, but I won't make swimsuit dirt-leaf-snow angels - I have standards, people), we've decided to play a (very quick) game of swimsuit football. Pictures to come next week!

4. Christmas. Just Christmas. I love the season, the day, watching my children celebrate Jesus' birthday (according to Aunt Jenna, who's currently sharing a room with Hallie, Hallie awoke at approximately 4am on Christmas morning and began quietly singing "Happy Birthday Jesus"), and spending our time away from work and school with extended family. And as much as I try not to focus on the gifts, I adore watching Will and Hallie's faces light up when they finally see the treasures Santa left beneath the Christmas tree.

Ok, so it's just High Four for Friday. That'll have to do, because it's midnight and this girl is ready for sleep. Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend, friends!

2013 Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes

As always, they start the photo shoot a bit unfocused.

A few photos that came close to making the cut, but because someone looked at the wrong daddy (seriously, how hard is it to look at your daddy while your mama takes your picture?!) or couldn't keep their eyes open all the way.

I always take at least one picture of them from behind, holding hands. I thought this one looked alright at first, but when I opened it up on my computer I realized I was wrong - the light shining on the back of her head makes her hair look bumpy, and for some reason I think her outfit makes her look like an old lady.

I couldn't try again because they ran away from me. She took the lead initially, but eventually he caught up with and passed her.

And then we had this. So, so much of this.

I assumed - incorrectly - that these photo shoots would get easier as the kids grew up, but thus far they're only becoming more and more difficult. (Two years ago, no problems at all. Last year, she fell in a muddy marsh. This year, they fought like cats and dogs and she cried for 30 minutes straight.) At least they're cute...