I can’t believe 2010 will be over soon!    Just one more day left in this year.  Wow.

So how will I be spending New Year’s Eve?  Well, tomorrow night I will be in the comforts of my own home, surrounded by seven of my nine children (Afton and Anthony have plans, and Rich will be on duty at the fire station)

I know what I will be doing tomorrow night.  The same thing I do every New Year’s Eve:  I’ll be writing down all my “New Year’s Resolutions” which will include all the things I have planned and/or want to get accomplished in the new year.

At the TOP of my list ever single year is always the same:

Now, why are these two things always at the top of my list?

I suppose it’s because I never am fully satisfied in these two areas.  I “always” feel I need to lose 5 or 10 more pounds (okay, in all honesty it’s more like 20-25 pounds now!  Yikes!  Being in your 40’s has it’s drawbacks!)  and well, I have all my “skinny” clothes from the 90’s still hanging in my closet and calling out to me.

But it’s always important to exercise, so I really should get more committed to that.

And as the mother to nine children,  I “always” feel that I am lacking in the one-on-one attention department.  I know they all need and want this from me, and I do try….but I never feel I do this enough.

**Although yesterday I had errands to run and I took Aislynn with me!  She had a lot of fun just sitting in the car with me, chatting away, and was thrilled when I took her to the Arbonne warehouse to pick up my order.  She said, “Wow…this is ARBONNE?”   LOL.  It was so cute.  She went inside with me and saw all the new make-up on display, and when we left she got to pick out a “weight loss chew” of her choice (chocolate)  and she thought that was just the greatest thing the the whole world.  Six year olds…so easy to please

So there was some one-on-one time with Aislynn.  Check!

But seriously, that is always at the top of my list because I’ve got the mommy-guilt all the time over that.

Another thing that’s always at the top of my list each year is…

3) to read more to the kids.

I will say that last year 2010 I rocked at reading to the kids!  Seriously, my BEST YEAR yet.  We read  so many books together.  I sat down in the middle of the living room at random times whenever someone held up a book and said, “Will you read this to me?”  and I just STOPPED whatever I was doing, SAT down, and READ.  I’m proud of myself for accomplishing one of my goals.  And now it’s become a habit.  I always stop to read to them, no matter what.  Reading is a major around here.  There are books in every corner of our house, in every room.

And another is…

and I usually fail at this because it’s not specific enough.  I need to write WHAT exactly I want to get organized.  That’s my problem right there.  I have so many things that I want to get organized that I usually just start spinning in place and I do nothing.  Hmmm.  I need to think more about this one and get it more exact.

Okay, because of the wonderful digital age…I am WAY behind on doing my scrapbooks.  I simply never, ever, ever, ever print out my photos anymore!  They stay on my computer and no one ever sees them.  What good is that? I was once an avid scrapbooker…but now?  Nothing.  And I miss it so much!  I know that now I can do digital scrapbooks…and I will make that jump one day, but for now I have so many scrapbooking supplies and paper and all that — way too much to let go to waste — so for a few more years now I’ll be doing it the old fashioned way.  (plus, to be honest, I really like the process of it all.  So I’m not all that eager to do digital scrapbooking just yet!)

again, something that always seems to stay in the top ten of my list.  Although I think that as the years go on, this area of my life seems to improve, even as we have added more children.  And I have to think it’s because we now have children that are of the age to babysit!  A big SHOUT OUT to teenagers!  Woot! Woot!   Seriously, we have the BEST “big kids” ever!  They are awesome, responsible, and love us enough to help out every now and again to give their mom & dad some much needed couple time.

So those things seem to always be at the top of my “New Year’s Resolution” list each year.  My list usually has around 20-25 “resolutions” listed on it.   I wonder what I’ll think to add to it this year?