New Years Resolutions

So I've been thinking a lot about my New Years Resolutions. Don't roll your eyes, I'm sure it crosses everyones mind at least ONCE.
Anyway, I was thinking about all these things I felt I shoud DO...... work out more, eat better, be more organized, do my laundry more often (I loathe laundry), start waking up at least an hour before my earliest riser (Dylan, crack of dawn). These are all things I really do want to do, but I started feeling overwhelmed with my "TO-DO" list for the New Year. I was already starting the year off BEHIND and OVERWHELMED, and it's not even the first yet! I was sabotaging my plans of "being a better me" by thinking of everything I should DO in the new year. I already felt I had failed b/c it was all just too much to DO. y/k?
So, I have a new New Years Resolution. To do less. I know, it sounds opposite of what my original plan was, but really, it help me achieve those goals for myself I think. I spend a great amount of time online (mornings mostly), talking on the phone (all day), and watching tv (late at night). I also spend a lot of time worrying. I realized that these things take up a LOT of my time. Time that could be spent preparing better meals, excercising, actually doing laundry on a regular basis, organizing my closets..... everything I WANT to do, but don't have time for. I think that is why it felt overwhelming to think about....b/c I already feel like I don't have a lot of time. So, by doing less, I hope that I will just naturally do all those things I want to do. If not, no biggie, it will still give me more TIME.
Doing less of those things that suck the life out of my brain and my time. I want to give my kids more time too, and I don't want to spend that time staring at a screen or talking into a phone, or worrying about the countless things I worry about. So that is my resolution this year, to do LESS. I hope it works.

Brat Attack

*copied and pasted from my myspace blog yesterday*
10:20 PM - Brat Attack! Current mood: tired
Okay so maybe calling it a brat attack is a little harsh.....
Today I took Dylan and Mckenna to their first birthday party with their "friends" from their preschool class, all 5 of them, not including Dylan and Mckenna. I was the only parent to hang back and stick around. Seriously, WHO leaves their 3 and 4 year old kids with total strangers? And no, all of these parents DON'T know eachother. They just know that their kids go to preschool together. I was not comfortable leaving my kids at someone's house that I did not know. So, I hung around. Good thing too b/c Dylan was NOT having it..... it took him about 45 minutes to melt off of me, and then it was only for cake. Mckenna on the other hand was gone the minute we walked through the front door! LOL She is such a busy little social butterfly! The party consisted of 4 girls and 2 boys so the main theme of afternoon was princesses and dolls. Not much to participate in for the boys except tossing balloons around, which Dylan was more than happy to do.
When it was time for cake all the kids were sitting around the table and the parents were in the kitchen getting the cake ready. I was sitting in a chair off to the side. The little girl whose bday it was has a 10 year old brother and he had two friends over. She started calling her brother a STUPID POO POO FACE and laughing and before I knew every other kid (besides my two) was doing the same thing. I was relieved that mine weren't following suite. The dad came in with a video camera and was taping all of the kids saying STUPID POO POO FACE and he was actually LAUGHING. I was not happy. I also felt uncomfortable b/c I wanted them to stop b/c I KNEW it was just a matter of time before Dylan and Mckenna would feel pressure to join in. I didn't feel it was my place to discipline the other kids though and that the parents of the bday girl should have put a stop to it.
Just as I had expected I heard Dylan say "POO POO FACE!" and I immediately snapped "DYLAN." and looked at him and shook my head with my most serious face. Next was Mckenna, to which I did the same thing. Both of them just sat there with these stone cold looks on their faces. The other kids were all laughing and STILL saying it. They thought it was hilarious. Dylan and Mckenna both tried it ONE more time and I finally said "we don't talk like that OR call names, UNDERSTAND?" and I never heard another POO POO out of either one of them. I felt bad for them though, they were totally under the peer pressure sitting at that table and were probably a little embarrassed that I called them on it right there, but I just did NOT want my kiddos behaving like that. I was slightly disappointed that they did, but at the same time not surprised....they are learning still.
The little girl that this party was for was SO SELFISH too. No one could play with ANYTHING at all and her grandma and mom just sat there watching her boss everyone around and take toys from them while saying "no, you can't have that." She said it to Mckenna when Mckenna picked up a doll to play with and Mckenna of course got upset and I made a point to say in front of the grandma "Mckenna honey, if she doesn't want you to play with her special toy then I guess she needs to put it away where it can't be played with, and I want you to remember not to be selfish honey (hint hint to the bday girl)." I was SO IRRITATED.
Needless to say, it was QUITE an experience for sure. I left there thinking "oh my gosh, these two are MUCH BETTER behaved than the kids in their class. I am so surprised at how well behaved they were compared to the other kids!" I really think somedays that I must have kids that are tyrants b/c I see them ALL the time and at their worst and I worry that they show their "tantrum" side when I can't see them all the time. Well I was pleasantly surprised today. I called my mom and said "Dylan and Mckenna are FAR better behaved than the kids they go to school with" and she told me that their teacher (a close friend of my moms) tells her that all the time..... they are the youngest kids in their class, and the best behaved. I was one proud mama today, that's for sure.
Note to self: never let them attend a bday party alone!