I somewhat sarcastically mentioned that I would leave up the Christmas decorations well into the New Year, which would in turn, help me ease into January.  I’m usually not a new year fan because I love the warmth of Christmas so much and I hate to see the New Year usher people’s Christmas spirit out the door.  So out of laziness or self preservation, call it what you will, my blog decorations have not come down, nor has my tree.  That’s right, my Fraser Fir is still standing tall with an inch of clearance to the ceiling, fully decorated and not really even dropping an exorbitant amount of needles.  Yet.  I’m not really motivated to take it down either (my dad would have had a coronary by now, he takes the tree down the day after Christmas if at all possible).

A fort we built from cardboard blocks

For some reason, this new year feels different from others though.  I think it has a lot to do with my homeschooling research.  It feels like a new beginning, a start of something fresh and new that I have never experienced before.  This is the year Caleb would be beginning “school” so I have had my nose stuck in books trying to get a grasp on where to start.  I told Scott in the car the other night, there’s actually about 5% of me that is getting excited about this journey.  Don’t get me wrong, the other 95% is still terrified and filled with questions.  But I smiled inside this morning when he was walking around the [educational/classroom] rug at the library practicing his ABC’s as he stepped on each letter.  “Why” is a favorite question these days, and it is hard to have the desire to answer those whys instead of saying “because it just is.”  Which brings me to another subject that has been pulling my attention away from my blog.  Discipline.  We’ve had our fair share of challenges lately, and I feel like I’m not handling them in the best way that I could.  So what do I do?  Read, read, read.  I had a $30 Target giftcard from a friend, so I ordered three parenting books on Target.com.  I feel like having a good grasp on positive discipline will be indispensable when we begin homeschooling (I say begin just in reference to starting to present materials on a daily basis and guide his attention in certain directions for periods of time.  But I know children are always learning.  Play is serious learning for them.).  With all the stress of Scott’s job change and an impending move weighing down, I know that I have not been the best parent I could be.  I feel like I have been so negative lately, and easily frustrated.  Burnt out basically.  Thus the reason I want to make some changes this year.

With the new year, come the New Year’s Resolutions.  Beginning with baby steps, cause I don’t wanna screw this up again.  I wonder just how many people resolve to lose weight each year, only to have it become a distant memory by Valentine’s?  This week, I’m trying to cut out any after dinner eating (I’m bad about nighttime snacking right before bed, ugh) and drink 10+ cups of water per day.  I desperately want to reduce the amount of “things” I have as well.  I’m absolutely horrible about hanging on to things I *might* need.  Or hanging onto it just to have it.  Telling myself I’ll use it one day, but then I never do.  I could make a small fortune getting rid of some unused toys and clothes.  What an overwhelming task.  This is where the procrastinator in me looks around and says, I don’t know where to start, so I’ll just do it later!

Speaking of procrastination…well this isn’t really procrastination so much as the cheapskate in me…there’s a better late than never post coming up…

Any guesses?

Comments

One Response to “it worked!”

    Julie
    January 10th, 2009 4:03 pm

    Shhhhh! Our tree is still up too!

    I enjoyed the gingerbread house pictures. Those are always so fun! Good luck with the homeschooling research. I know that feeling of being excited and terrified at the same time. Sometimes I still feel that way!

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