2014 Resolution #3

#3: Be There and Get Messy!

I am the first to admit, I am addicted to the technology that is so readily available to me. I am a lover of my Pinterest account and I waste spend too much time browsing that site for more inspiration for a dream life that is impossible for me to obtain. I am a victim of what is being termed "Pinterest-stess" as I feel enormous pressure to live a perfect life, raise perfect children, and have all the latest and greatest gadgets in my house all while living on a budget, clipping coupons, and making my own soap. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my pins and I have found them incredibly helpful and inspiring.

I have come to the realization (and its embarrassing to publicly admit that this had to be a realization to me) that while technology is fun... there is something much more important to me. Actually, there are two somethings that are more important to me than anything in the world. So why do they get pushed aside so I can win the next level in a stupid game?

Enter my new year's resolution #3 part 1. I just want to be there! I want to "play cars" when Brayden pulls on my leg. I want to build forts and be there for every smile Madi bestows on me. So what have I done so far?

I put my cell phone on the counter. I got on the floor to drive cars around the carpet and I played peek-a-boo with Madi for a half hour... Why? This is the fastest return on a resolution I have ever had. Already I have witnessed an increase in Brayden's pretend play (which makes my mommy-heart flutter with pride), I was with Madi as she rolled over by herself for the very first time, and I never get tired of her giggles!

Time for part 2. Get Messy.

I have never considered myself to be an immaculately clean individual. I have never been able to conquer the clutter that surrounds me... My house has never looked like those beautiful homes I see in magazines, and on blogs...(can you say "Pinterest-stress" with me?)

But the challenge of having a two-year old and keeping a clean home is an ongoing battle that is incredibly exhausting! I feel like I spend all day saying "No, don't touch that" "No... don't bang that around"... you get the idea. I am tired of it and so is Brayden. So I chose to add "get messy" onto my list of resolutions. What does that mean for me?

Today I watch Brayden "wash" his hands in finger paint (meaning it was up to his elbows...). Then I sat down next to him and stuck my whole hand into it too and showed him how to make hand prints. It was a very special moment I got to have with my little boy who is growing up all too quickly.

There are plenty of other resolutions and goals I have on my list. But for now, these are the ones I am working on. What are your recent resolutions?

2014 Resolution #2

If you are wondering where my #1 went... its over here... :)

#2 is Organize the house. Yes, we bought a house almost an entire year ago... but I was experiencing the sickness that comes the first half of my pregnancies, so I let my dear husband unpack the kitchen (he was doing the cooking for himself anyway...). As the year progressed, so did my pregnancy. One excuse after another got me to early September when we welcomed Madi into our lives... The past few months have been survival of the newborn stage.

So now, almost a year later, I am ready to officially move into my house! There are boxes that need to be tackled, and the puzzle of how to fit our previous possessions into a new place is perplexing. Step by step, room by room, puzzle by puzzle I intend to tackle the organizing dilemma one little bit at a time to make my house into a home! (Cross my fingers I can/will actually post my progress!)

Why climb the stairs?

Has anyone else noticed that the stairs are usually right next to the elevators? Ever since I made the decision to take the stairs and not rely on the elevators to get where I need to go this reality has been quite prominent... The elevators are mocking me. Don't believe me? Yesterday they opened as I walked by them on my way to the stairwell... without anyone waiting for them... three times! I'm beginning to wonder about this decision...

Ready, Set, Goals!

But with the beginning of a new year we all set goals for ourselves and depending on the goals set, more often than not fail to comply within the first month... am I right? (unless your goal is to continually breath air... I would hope that gets accomplished!) As for my list... I tried to keep a realistic outlook when I wrote it up. I have learned that I do better with small steps working toward a bigger goal. For example: I want to learn how to cook. Solution- my goal is to try two new recipes a month this year... So far... I still have a couple of recipes to try this month... :)

As a couple we made a goal to have a 3 month food storage supply. We definitely don't have the room to store 1 year, and honestly two of us couldn't keep up with it to keep things from going bad... well, with the most recent case lot sale (thank you Macey's) we have just about reached 3 months. We might even have the rice to feed Asia for a year... but don't quote me on that...

Usually I write up my goals on January 1 and then by January 3 I have lost all hope. This year I have tried something a little bit different. In my Nutrition 100 class we are talking about nutrients called vitamins and minerals... and how food contains them. Crazy, I know... But the other day we talked about how every country around the world has their own version of the "food pyramid." We compared them and noted that the new USDA pyramid is the only one in the world that emphasizes how important exercise is to your health, as well as your diet. It also implies that you need all food groups (that includes oils and fats) in order to reach your fullest health.



When I got home I decided that I would get onto the website to see where I am with my own diet... what I found has literally changed my life... or at least my outlook toward food and my diet. When you go to the MyPyramid site, you can look up a food and it can give you information on you. If you take note of what you eat for a week, input the information, it can tell you what you are lacking in your diet... but even cooler is a new program I found. MyPyramid has a menu planner with a 7 day tracker. For fun I put in what I had to eat and it calculated how I was doing according to the dietary guidelines and the 2000 cal. recommendation for my activity level... I was surprised as how well I was doing... and how far I still need to do.

When you sign yourself up (a name, age, and activity level) it will give you your personal guidelines and oh fun you can have! I admit I got a little carried away... but its fun to hear the little 'ding' as it calculates your food intake... But more importantly under the "reports" tab you can choose to look at your daily menu, a weekly menu, a family menu (I added Bryce to my account), food details, and (my favorite) the "my next step" program.

It will show you what you need to work on and then lets you choose one to work on. It will then take you to a list of simple ideas for how to improve a particular part of your diet/activity. For example: I was low in my whole wheat grains. I chose the idea to have oat meal for breakfast. So I did and my feeling of accomplishment is fairly high... all I had to do was eat oatmeal instead of fruity pebbles... wow...

There is also a program on the website that takes you to "MyPyramid Tracker" which lets you input your specific activities, and your food intake, then will show you your energy balance for the day according to calorie intake and output. Pretty exciting...

I admit, every time I have wanted to become healthier, I have been overwhelmed with the immensity of the goal and have not even begun. But with the new outlook I have now... that all it takes is a little decision here and there... I really believe that I can do it!

I was so excited about it, I talked with my old roommate who told me she wanted to improve her health habits and we have set up an exercise schedule to work out together and we have our own "family" so that we can track each other and thus have a little accountability for our eating habits. Bryce is interested and so is Ica and together we want to improve our health! Yay for inspiration!

I greatly encourage any who are interested to check it out. Let me know what you think! Are you going to re-arrange any goals? :)