Terra turned to blogging at The Emerson Family as a quicker, easier way to chronicle her days of motherhood and she hopes it will be something her two young daughters will refer to for guidance and remembrance. Her candid posts are humorous, often interactive, light, and entertainingly appropriate for all to read and enjoy. She has always loved to write and aspires to write children’s books.

January 2009. Wow, it seems like just yesterday we were dreading the millennium and the computer crashes and all the other media hoopla that came with the end of 1999, now here we are in 2009. The scary thing is I can’t remember half of the last three months in 2008. October, November and December always end up flying by so fast, so busy – furious even, that I end up losing sight of the most important things in my life. I am not traditionally a New Year’s resolution kind of gal, especially if it is about anything personal, however this year…I Resolve.

I have to. I have so many things on my mind that I wish I was doing better. I have come to the simple conclusion that if I write them down, blog about them, hang them on the fridge and the bathroom mirror, hire a sky writer and ask for support from those around me, I might actually do what I need to do! OK, that might be a little much, but I am going to do the first four things and maybe the last one too – though I am not terribly good at that one.

Lots of things have suffered in our house the last few months and it is painfully obvious that most of the blame falls on me. Not, in a nasty “you rotten kind of mom” way, but rather in a “mom if you change just a couple small things, you might find more peace in your life” kind of way. So there you have it. Mom, it is time to change a few small things and find a little more peace in your life.

1. When Lauren was our only daughter, I had my only computer upstairs in the playroom. I got on it each morning before she got up, each evening after bed and very little in between. Now I have two computers (Yes I do) and guess where I keep them? One is on the kitchen counter and one is on the family room floor. I bet you know where I am going with this?

I am going to remove my pink computer from my kitchen (if it kills me) and my gray one from the family room. I know it is scary. With the pink one on the counter I am connected all day…and the gray one the floor I am connected all night. Both are moving back up to the playroom desk, so I will better budget my time and attention to them rather than hitting them every spare moment!

2. I am vowing to start a family game night and a family movie night. Friday and Saturday Nights are going to be “scheduled”! We all know the more “down” time kids have the more they find they to do that may not exactly please us. Hailey is finally old enough to participate in some board games and also use the Wii a little bit. I figure if we have a game night and movie night (complete with air-popped popcorn and a treat from Walgreen’s), then we all have something to look forward to each week and our Friday and Saturday nights should be a bit more peaceful with a little less running around the house like a couple of little hooligans (not that bad – but almost).

3. Drink more water and see a doctor. I need to start paying a little more attention to me. Bottom line, enough said, amen.

4. Continue with monthly meal planning and grocery shopping – this has worked out really well for me and the family especially on busy dance nights. I make a calendar for a whole month of meals…crossing off nights ahead of time that I know we just can’t cook, leaving room for flexibility in each week, with one “toss up” meal that can be subbed to another night if something comes up. I shop for a whole month of meat and staples on the 1st and only hit the store for the essentials and fresh stuff each week in between. We have done GREAT with this since August with the exception of Nutcracker week!

That is really it, I have lots of little personal projects that I would like to tackle and finish, but those don’t belong here. The above four things are important to me now, important to keeping the peace in the house and smiles on our faces.

So, even though I have never done it before, have always kind of laughed at it; this year….

I RESOLVE.

Maybe I am just getting old?

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Have you ever accomplished any in the past?