In This House

Goal-setting tonight with the family was fantastic!  But I get ahead of myself.  First, let me tell you how I almost set the house on fire.  Not really, I made meatloaf.  The juices bubble, bubble, boil and trouble and (yes, I know it's double, double, toil and trouble...I'm trying to be clever) actually bubbled over a little bit.  Well, that got the oven to smoking and then that made the whole house smoky and the smoke alarm went off.  As my mother always said, that's how you know dinner's ready. 

All in all, it was a pretty good meatloaf - if you don't mind yours a little charred.  *giggle*

Ok...on to goals. 

We stuck a big piece of paper on the wall and divided it into two vertical sections.  The left side was for goals; activities and things we'd like to accomplish this year.  The right side is an adaptation of the My One Word project where you list all the characteristics you'd like to have then you choose one of those words on which to focus your efforts for the next year.  We adapted it to list the type of family we'd like to be.  We'll leave our list posted a few days then come back to it mid-week and decide on our one word. 

Then, as our conversation continued, we split the One Word side into half and drew three smaller boxes below for individual goals (goals specific to one person).  We also wanted to remind ourselves of our family core value: LOVE.  L-Listen | O-Overlook | V-Value | E-Encourage.  Thanks to our beloved pastor, Charlie Robinson, for such a beautiful acrostic. 

2012 is going to be a great year! 

Happy New Year, friends.  What are YOU focusing on in 2012?

ps. Incidentally, if you are interested in trying out our worksheet, help yourself to the PDF.  Enjoy!

Christmas is over - thank goodness!

*whew* Thank goodness that's over! 

Christmas IS my favorite time of year.  It is an amazing opportunity to rest, recharge and reconnect with family and friends.  It is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  It is a time to enjoy good food, the cutest decorations of the year and PRESENTS!  *giggle*  (sorry, channeling my inner 9-year old)

Monday we go back to work; the kids are back Wednesday.  On one hand, I'm ready to go back.  The kids are getting stir crazy with only boring mommy & daddy for entertainment.  And mommy needs something to do all day but pick up KIX cereal and bananas off the floor. 

On the other hand, I love being home.  This is the only time of year I see so much of everybody.  During our regularly scheduled craziness, there just isn't time to sit on the couch and watch a movie together, or play a playstation game together unless we schedule it. 

Munchkin is sitting on the couch, practicing her cursive in a notebook.  She's ready to go back too.  She's excited and curious to meet her new math/homeroom teacher.  She's been reading like a true crazy-viller. 

Princess Crybaby is currently wearing her coat.  Not that we're leaving; she just wants to wear it.  She's got her cup in her hand and she's dragging her ride-on whateveritscalled around.  We should have gotten her a wagon. 

Coach is playing his online game.  He's like a level 75 super-hunter.  I am a wimpy little level 22 (almost 23). 

And yours truly is sitting on the couch, touching her blog for the first time since...well, before Christmas.

So, while I'm glad the cooking, endless cleaning (because you never know who's coming over) and wrapping and cleaning up presents is over, it's been simply heavenly to rest and recharge. 

Tonight is New Year's Eve.  As a family, we are setting goals tonight.  Wellness, family time, and whatever else we think of.  More on that later. 

For now, toodles!

Flying Monkeys (a.k.a. air travel with young children)

 Tips for toddler travel: lots of stuff to do. WAY more than you think they'll need. Headphones and a portable video device were a life saver when we traveled with Munchkin (3.5 hour flight to Jersey every year since she was 3). Color, read, play with dolls, look out the window, give them a disposable camera to play with, save a few things they've never seen (new coloring books, NEW crayons, Crayola Color Magic stuff, new story books, etc) for once you get in the air so you can capitalize on their curiosity with new things.

It was my experience keeping Munchkin up (trying to make them extra sleepy) backfired every time. Munchkin was so curious about the flight, even though she was exhausted, she would fight sleep. Then, she was a sleepy mess.  I made sure she'd had extra sleep (just the opposite) so, even if she didn't sleep she wasn't tired and cranky. (one less thing to fight with) Oh, and snacks. LOTS of snacks. 

WHEN they get tired of all your glorious efforts, walk them up and down the aisles periodically. They'll appreciate the movement.

ps. And if you are an adult NOT traveling with small children, try to remember when your kids were little and LIGHTEN UP. Little kids are GOING to be curious about their surroundings, a little fearful of all the strangers, restless about being pinned up and maybe even a little uncomfortable with the pressure changes.  MOST parents go through a LOT of agony preparing to fly with small children and YOU behaving badly because all their carefully planned efforts have failed is NOT helping.  
 

Dig Deeper!

Dig Deeper!

No, I'm not talking about Insanity workouts.  I'm talking about education.  This is a great article about the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress report.  I am sick to DEATH of people making surface judgements without really digging into the data and waiting until they actually know what they are talking about before they start spinning those headlines.  (or worse, knowing the facts and spinning those headlines anyway)

But really, this goes so far beyond education.  In our lives, how often do we make surface judgements before we've even had a conversation with someone?  Completely disregarded something because of a brief moment with it?  Passed along some dumb email without checking the facts our ourselves simply because it came from somebody we trust?  Smeared on some silly platitude based on selective scripture searches, rather than spending actual time getting to know the Word and, therefore, know what it REALLY says?

Dig deeper, people.  Demand the truth; not headlines.  NEVER accept what you read on the internet, in the newspaper or magazines as gospel.  Do your own research. 

The slant to the left or right in the media is not new.  Media bias is as old as the craft itself.  Why?  Because people write it.  That is not condemnation; it is fact.  I'm not telling you to get out the tar and feathers or begin a denigration of media, in general.  I'm telling you to recognize they are out to increase circulation, ratings and sell advertising.  Yes, there are MANY reporters out there with a commitment to telling the story accurately and without bias.  LOTS and LOTS and LOTS.  But do your own research.  Don't take their word for it.  EVER.  Don't take my word for it.  DIG DEEPER!