The Mom List ~ Last Day o' September

• You've ever been relieved to catch a red light on the way to work, even though you're already beyond late,  because it gives you a chance to throw on some make-up before you get to your office parking lot where someone might see you.
• Follow-up to last week:  You've instinctively caught someone ELSE'S kid's vomit, chewed up food, or other regurgitated matter in your hand.  Force of habit.  (True story...I caught an entire handful of chewed-up Cheez-Its as I was substituting in the 3 year old Sunday School class last Sunday.  Then I thought to myself, "Why?  Why did I do that?!)
• You feel a little guilty about the whole processed foods thing, but wonder if it's feasible to eliminate corn dogs and Kraft singles from the family diet.
• Mealtime is always an adventure thanks to one kid who won't eat meat and one who only eats meat.
• You know that the secret to getting out of a bad mood is a single glance of your sleeping angels.  Never underestimate the healing power of an innocent, peaceful, snoozing baby.
• You have conquered fears of your own, so that you wouldn't transfer them to your children.  Like when you tell them it's *not* scary to go to the dentist as you try, with all your might, not to have a look of horror on your face.
• Sadly, you truly don't know how to answer when people ask you what you do for fun.  So, with your best joking face on, you not-so-jokingly reply, "I don't have hobbies.  I have kids."
• There is no stain you can't remove.
• You had no idea you'd ever get so excited about bodily functions.  "Aww, that was a great burp!" and "You tee-tee'd in the potty?!?!  YAY!" and "Hooray for poop!!!"
• Sometime between bedtime last night and breakfast this morning that tiny person you gave birth to turned into a little boy.  (Or it feels that way anyway.)
• You have cried more since the birth of your child than in your entire life before them.  You cried when you dropped them off at daycare for the first time, when they got their first shots, when they fell down and you weren't able to catch them, when they just wouldn't go to sleep, when you dropped them off at elementary school, when they went through the lunch line all by themselves, when they wrote a story all alone just by sounding out the words.  It's not just things they do though.  Commercials, movies, snippets from Chicken Soup for the Soul, news stories.  They all move you to tears.  Daily.
• You have become an old lady when driving through residential neighborhoods because you are uncannily aware of small children and their affinity for following balls out into the street.  Conversely, it takes all the restraint you have to resist the urge to throw toys/trashcans in front of cars that whiz by your home without regard to the speed limit. 
• Wizards of Waverly Place is quickly becoming one of your must-see television shows.

Might as well face it, I'm addicted to lists.

So....I was reading a friend's blog when I read about the Day Zero project. Immediately, I was intrigued. A to-do list with an expiration date!? Right up my alley. The premise is simple: you have 1001 days to complete 101 tasks. You pick the start date. You pick the tasks. For the past several days, I have compiled my list. I'm already excited about this. In following suit with the theme of 101, I will begin my tasks on October 1st (10.1.09). This means my finish date will be 6.28.12.

I am hoping to use this as an exercise for improvement, in myself, in my relationships. I see it as an opportunity to do some good and have some fun, while forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone (even if only slightly). Wish me luck! And I hope you will join me!

Without further ado...

My List

Completed
In Progress
Not yet started

For the Sake of being a Responsible Adult

1. Get up when Sam gets up for one month.
2. Join a committee at Ben's school.
3. Write my will.
4. Vote in all city and county elections.
5. Take the Professional Engineer Exam.
6. Pass the Professional Engineer Exam.
7. Write a letter to my Congressman.
8. Write a letter to the Editor.
9. Don't let people's beliefs (political, religious, moral) affect the way I feel about them.
10. Be on time for one whole week; to work, church, Mission Friends, and childrens choir.

For the Sake of the House
11. Sod the backyard.
12. Repair or replace the tire on our riding mower.
13. Plant an herb garden.
14. Make my bed every day for two weeks before leaving for work. (15+/14)

For Money's Sake
15. Organize a community/court-wide yard sale.
16. Set up an ING savings account for Ben, Abby, and Sarah.
17. Eat every meal at home and bring my lunch to work everyday for a week.(21/21)
18. Sell something on Ebay.
19. Save more than 50% on a grocery order at Kroger.

For 100% Selfish Reasons
20. Have my teeth whitened.
21. Have my eyebrows waxed.
22. Highlight my hair.
23. Have more confidence in myself.

For Health's Sake
24. Run a 5K.
25. Drink nothing but water for a week.
26. Cook a vegetarian meal.
27. Reach two new "tens-places" in my weight.  (For instance, if I start at 480lbs, I need to get to 460.) (0/2)
28. Complete a 30 Day Challenge on EA Active. (30/30)
29. Convince my mother to schedule her mammogram.
30. Play tennis with Sam at least ten times, no matter how horribly he kicks my tail.(1/10)
31. Take my vitamin every day for a month. (31/31)
32. Convince my kids to eat carrot sticks.
33. Take a mental health day.

For Spiritual Growth
34. Share my faith with at least one person.
35. Read the Bible in 365 days. (Day 1: Jan 3, 2011)
36. Support CBC's Singing Christmas Tree.
37. Make it to Church AND Sunday School for an entire month in a row. (6+/4)
38. Attend a couple's retreat with Sam.
39. Pray with my children. 
40. Begin and maintain a prayer journal.


For Others
41. Send a note of cheer to someone twice a month.  (36/66)
42. Pay for the person behind me at a toll booth.
43. Pay for the person behind me at Dunkin' Donuts.
44. Donate blood at least three times. (0/3)
45. Fit into or give away all of the clothes in my closet.
46. Buy something on Etsy.
47. Take dinner to a friend who has just had a baby.
48. Anonymously do 10 acts of kindness. (7/10)
49. Take treats to the kids' teachers once a month. (33/33)
50. Compliment a stranger once a week.
51. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com. (45,790/100,000)

For the Love of Family
52. Make Abby and Sarah matching dresses using my grandmother's sewing machine.
53. Breastfeed Sarah on her 1st birthday.
54. (With Julie's help) Send my parents on a bombin' retirement trip.
55. Read the entire classic works of Dr. Seuss to my children. (63/63)
56. Print my favorite digital photos from April 2009-present.
57. Organize all of my loose photos into albums.
58. Teach Ben to ride his 2-wheeled bike.
59. Play catch with Ben using a real baseball glove and baseball.
60. Teach Abby to swim.
61. Take the family to Hershey Park.
62. Leave the dishes in the sink, the laundry in the hamper, and just spend time with my family.
63. Enroll Abby in dance.
64. Make Callaway Gardens an annual Christmas tradition. (3/3)

For the Sake of Making Things
65. Make my own pizza dough.
66. Make Abby ten new hair bows. (10/10)
67. Make 10 homemade gifts. (2/10)
68. Keep a journal of my favorite quotes.
69. Duplicate a restaurant favorite at home using Copykat.com.
70. Make an advent calendar at Christmas. (3/3)
71. Make homemade play-doh.

For Fun
72. Learn to use my DSLR in manual mode.
73. Host a party at the homestead.
74. Read 10 new ("grown-up") books. (10/10)
75. Come up with an idea for my very own children's book.
76. Travel to a state I've never visited.
77. Patronize the local book store.
78. Plan a surprise party.
79. Learn to use my French press.
80. Eat breakfast with Santa.
81. Sleep outside.
82. Ride a jet-ski.
83. Go kayaking.
84. Grow my own pumpkins.
85. Eat something different from my "usual" at least once each at Carrabba's, Chili's, and Zaxby's. (3/3)
86. Eat at 10 new restaurants. (10/10)
87. Meet at least 2 more WOHMs & 2 more LSMs.  (2/4)
88. Fix something instead of buying a new one.
89. Set up the aquarium for the kids.
90. Get lost in a Maize Maze.
91. Swim in a river.
92. Ride a horse...or at least sit on one.
93. Laugh to the point of tears.
94. Commit 10 jokes to memory. (1/10)
95. Give more hugs.
96. Say "I love you" more often.
97. Learn to hula-hoop...Wii Fit doesn't count.

For the List
98. Donate $5 for every task not completed.
99. Blog about each task as it is completed. (46/101)
100. Write a letter to myself on Day 1 to be opened on Day 1001.
101. Inspire one person to make a list of their own. (1/1)

Making It Happen Monday!

In case you can't tell, I'm a little excited for October 1st to get here.  I'm VERY excited to get started on my list.  It is about pushing my limits, raising the ceiling, doing good, learning more about myself.  In the words of my good Irish friend (who isn't really my friend, but it would be fun if he were),

"I'm tired of dreaming.  I'm into doing at the moment.  It's like, let's only have goals that we can go after." ~Bono

Okay, Bono.  I will.  And I do.  (Starting Thursday.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
And I was going to end there, but I have this issue with brevity.  It's impossible for me.  It's just that I was suddenly reminded of a self-esteem assembly we had in elementary school.  Now, I know I'm not ancient or anything, but it was long enough ago that I don't think I should remember the lyrics to the songs we learned.  For some reason, though, they always stuck with me. 

There were two songs.  The first one was called, "I Like Myself".  It's great and all, but the one I want to talk about was more of a chant, called, "Yes I Can".  The lyrics are REALLY tough.

I can do it if I plan.
Yes I can, Yes I can.
I can really make it happen.
Yes I can, Yes I can, Yes I can.

(I guess we've figured out why I haven't forgotten these songs.  There are a total of 11 different words in it.)  At any rate, what a great song to have playing in your head through the years! (I'm certain I've sang both of these for Sam at some point....embarrassing.  Anyone from JES remember these?  Or is it just me?)  I think the assembly people would like to know that it had a lasting effect on me. 

I have planned.  And I can do it!

Flashback Friday - September 25th

Birthday season is coming to a close soon in our house, and shortly after that comes Halloween.  One of the weeks in between, however, is reserved for the Georgia National Fair, which has become an annual tradition for our little thrill-seekers.

If any of you watch the weather channel, you may have heard that we've gotten "a little bit" of rain here in Georgia in the past week or so.  It's somewhat localized.  My poor in-laws have gotten almost nothing and we're flooding.  Go figure.  Anyway, that seems to be how it goes with rainfall in Georgia.  It also seems to go that you'll have had NO rain at all...until the Georgia National Fair is in full force.

This was the case for us last year.  We had just enough time to eat a hot dog and buy our wristbands before the heavens opened and the deluge poured down on us.  I would say it was a record, but there are some serious rainfalls down here.  I'm just usually not standing outside in the middle of them.  We waited it out for almost an hour, and we finally got weary enough of waiting that we were going to make a run for the car.  But!  Not before we crafted some rain gear for the children on the not only wet, but unseasonably cool day. 

You might think that we got some strange looks.  You'd be wrong.  The only looks we got were those of envy.  (Okay, not really.  I'm sure more than one person criticized our parenting skills for wrapping our kids' head in plastic bags.)  At any rate, we made it home and life went on.  And if my memory serves me correctly, they didn't get a cold after this!  That was the fear that prompted crafting the raingear for our snotty-nose prone children.  Parenting success!  Kind of.  Or we could have brought an umbrella. 

And to think, all I wanted was a funnel cake.

Which fruit reigns supreme?

Apple 2 (13%)
Pear 2 (13%)
Banana 5 (33%)
Orange 2 (13%)
Some kind of berry 4 (26%)

Banana?  Really?  You're wrong.  I'm so not a picky person, but that's one of about 5 things I just cannot bring myself to eat.  (Fun fact, I know.)  The correct answer is Pear.  (Oh, you thought this was a poll?  It was actually a QUIZ.)

Obviously my sample size makes this statistically insignificant.  Will that stop me from immediately posting a new one?  Heck no!  Vote on!