Posts Tagged ‘goals’

Mommy Resolutions

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

As I write this blog, it is the first weekend of a brand new year. At this moment I am pretty sore from the New Year’s Eve party with the kids and hours of dancing with the Wii. Who ever thought that a video game could be such a workout (and a lot of fun)! Although, I pray to not hear the song “Who Let The Dogs Out” until at least 2012 or beyond! The kids had me do that dance at least five times. We all had a fun night though. Today we got to sleep in and recuperate! Thank God I don’t have a morning bird. Brady surprised me and made it to midnight. He started to crash around 10:00pm, but gained a second wind. But he slept in until 11am – which is a few hours after his regular wake-up time.

The New Year always brings both reflections on the past and hope for the future. This year I have decided that both mama and Brady will do goals/resolutions. But what will they be?

Seeing that Brady is starting kindergarten next year, I figure it is about time that he gains independence in many areas: so that is my focus. My target is one goal per month for Brady. We are starting out small. In January, Brady will learn to put the toilet seat down. (Yes, we have been working on this goal for years. But I intend to start using the “ticket system” for toilet seats.) I am still working on the remaining months of the year. So far I also have included “taking dishes to the sink when finished,” “making his own bed,” “completely dressing himself,” and “learning to use the bathroom completely on his own.” I am dreading that final goal the most, but it is definitely a life skill that needs to be fully developed. For the remaining goals, Brady and I are working together and trying to figure out what he needs to work on and what his personal goals might be. It is fun to hear what a newly 5 year old has to say about his personal goals. I plan to videotape him talking about what he hopes to learn/do in 2011.

Mommy’s resolutions: where to begin?

My big resolution for 2010 was to survive and thrive. It wasn’t the easiest of years, being the first full year after my divorce was finally settled. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up with custody, insurances, taxes, etc.. But a lot of “good” happened. And I did survive and I definitely did thrive! For 2011 my goals are more focused, more concrete, and more rewarding. Yes, they will include the exercise more and eat healthier goals, but also some more personal (and easier to obtain). I intend to work on my list as soon as I finish this blog. So here we go – – Happy New Year everyone!

Setting goals

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

From Janelle – Wednesday Mom:
Recently, my husband and I have been explaining to Jack what goals are.  We gave him some examples, like being able to jump 10 times in 5 seconds or getting rid of his night-time pull up by a certain holiday (hint, hint).

Jack loves to draw and color.  I asked him if he could write any letters for me.  He was able to write a few.  Some were really legible and others… well… he put forth a great effort.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is a letter of the week at his school.  Last week it was the letter J.  He was so excited because it was the first letter of his name.  He would run to my car after school each day and hold up what he crafted that started with the letter J.  First it was a Jaguar, and then a coloring about the story of Jonah and his favorite was a candy cane which upside down is the shape of a J.  He consistently asks us to write his name and spell out the letters.   When we are out and about he sees it on everything.  It’s amazing how many products have the word “Jack” in them.

Together, Jack and I, came up with the idea or goal for him to write (or sign) his name on the letter we leave for Santa this year.  He thought that idea was just too cool and wanted to leave Santa a letter that very same night.  After explaining to him that Christmas was several weeks away, I told him we could use that time to practice writing every day.  He agreed to the challenge and was ready to reach his goal.

So far we have been practicing every day.  He is getting better and better and I know he will be able to do it.  It’s amazing how much Jack has learned and retained over the last several months.  It seems like just yesterday I was trying to get him to say “mama.”  I know there will be many, many other goals in Jack’s life that he will work at and conquer.  Writing his name for Santa will be just as wonderful (if not better) as the icing on the cookies we leave for the big guy.