2012

Surprisingly I don't have a long list of resolutions or things I plan to do in 2012. There is one thing and one thing only that I am going to work on and that is ME. I always put everyone else's needs above mine and while there are days that I may still need to do this (sick kids, as an example), I will continue to do my best to take care of ME.

If you know me well (and some of you do) you know that I am a giver- 110%. Those that I am closest to and love get me and then some. I will bend over backwards to take care of them. But I don't do the same for myself. I've known this for quite some time but I've continued to ignore it. I'm tired of ignoring it.

The one word I have chosen for 2012 is REVIVE.

re·vive verb \ri-ˈvīv\
: to return to consciousness or life : become active or flourishing again

I need to flourish again. I need to bring me as an individual back to life. I actually started doing this over the last few months slowly but surely and am starting to feel better.

I will not be a slave to the scale.

I will stop emotional eating.

I will hydrate daily.

I will take time for me each day - some days it may only be 5 minutes. Ideally, I'd like it to be 30. I'll take what I can at this point.

I will say no to extra obligations and commitments without the guilt.

I will not allow work to take precedence over my needs or the needs of my kids.

I will love myself 100% and will not talk negatively about me to me.

I will smile. Every day.

And this is how I will REVIVE and bring Roo back to life as an individual and not as a mom, wife, sister, daughter or friend. Just me.

not perfect but worth it

So there's this song I heard the other day by Sugarland (I love me some Jennifer Nettles...). ANYWAY, it's called Every Girl Like Me. And while the lyrics to the song are about being the right fit for a partner, etc., the words that just kept sticking out to me were these two lines:

Because I am not perfect
But I know I'm worth it

And nothing else in the song matters to me but those words. Who's perfect? None of us. But we are so worth the effort - whether it's in being healthier by eating right and exercising, taking time for ourselves or splurging on a Starbucks coffee once in a while.

YOU are totally worth it.

I am totally worth it.

Let's remember this, m'kay?

kindle love

I gotta admit, peeps, my favorite Christmas gift is one I bought myself...



I never want to go back to reading paper books. This device is da-bomb-diggity. For realz. And Mel sent me to a great site that shares both free and bargain Kindle books! I am in bookworm heaven!

a good day

I think it was the meds. My 2 year old has stopped throwing tantrums, hitting, screaming and having complete meltdowns. She's still a little whiny BUT so much better than earlier this week. She told me tonight that her mouth hurts. Molars, maybe? I'm not sure. I guess time will tell, huh?

The husband is still at work (he came home at 5 AM to sleep until 9:30 AM and then headed back to work). As I write this at 10:55 PM he's still there and I have no idea when he's coming home.

Although I still haven't had a break I'm feeling better today. Probably because my daughter is feeling better which alleviates a lot of the extra stress. The kids didn't fight too much, I managed to get bed sheets changed and some laundry done and we even did puzzles and had story time. So I'd say that made for a pretty good day even if my daughter didn't fall asleep until after midnight last night and as I sit here typing this tonight is still awake.

my schedule

Remember a few posts back when I was griping about how I couldn't get anything done and needed to find a way to schedule the necessary stuff without compromising my "me time", etc.? Well guess what? I has me a schedule! Woot!

Last night, after a really nice, relaxing Mother's Day (big thank you to my husband for giving me the best gift of all - sleep!) I sat down and figured out my daily schedule. It's somewhat flexbile but should still allow me to get what needs done most days. And right now that's better than what I was getting done - nothing. This has taken quite a weight off of my shoulders.

Next item to tackle that I'm struggling with? Meal planning.

quiet

Sometimes all I need is quiet. I don't get to experience that at home. Given the events of the last few weeks, compounded by some other things that I'm not wishing to detail publicly, I NEEDED quiet. So what did I do with my quiet time? I slept (a lot), read, watched a few movies and shopped. I didn't think about my problems. I made it a point to completely shut everything else (90% of the time) and it was fabulous.

What did I learn during my "quiet time"? (That kinda sounds like I gave myself a time out. Ha!)

• No matter how crazy I feel at home, I miss my kids when they're not with me.
• I have an amazing husband. From Thursday evening (when I left) to Sunday evening (when I got home) he played Mr. Mom and took a vacation day Friday for me.
• I love New York City. It is AMAZING. Prior to the weekend my favorite city was Denver. Yeah, I'm leaning more towards NYC now (no offense to my Colorado-lovin' friends cause Denver ROCKS!).
• Sleep is NOT over-rated.
• My children truly are my world.
• And finally, I love my job. It's the hardest job in the world to parent but truly the most rewarding. Money doesn't compare to the dinosaur hugs (as my son calls them) and kisses galore from children that adore you.