Getting into the spirit of things...I resolve to:

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. Most of the time (for most people), they end up being big promises that one dreams up and quickly forgets about. Often, this would then bring a wave of guilt for not seeing it through - taking one more cigarette meant you might as well give up on quitting, eating a donut means you've wrecked your plan to fit into your red bikini, etc. I fall in with the vast majority of resolution-makers  here. I'm looking at things a little differently this time around though, so here is my list. I'm not even going to bother calling them resolutions. They are major life projects, but here is what I am jumping into this year.
1. Get back to healthy self. I know, everyone starts dieting on January 1. My dear friend Heather loves to discuss how much she hates her gym in the month of January because of all of the people that flood the place due to their resolutions...by February, they are mostly gone ;) BUT - to be fair, I started this project long before the first of this year, and in earnest about a month ago. I am not saying I want to "weigh this much" or "be this size". I just want to feel good. I don't want to be a toothpick, and pretty sure I would look like a freak if I ever ended up that skinny ;) I plan on tackling this life-change by continuing to visit the Y at least 4 times each week - making sure the other friends that go there are harping on me to go, pushing myself to do harder things/workout longer, etc. And yes, chocolate in moderation - HA!
2. Get back to happy self. In the midst of all of the chaotic punches thrown at me in the past couple of years, the past 6 months in particular, I've let myself get caught up in the stress of it all at times, instead of rolling with the punches and staying in a place of peace. My oldest child is handling this transition with great difficulty, and I am matching his stress level instead of showing him how to calm. I read a great blog a few days back (thanks Vanessa!) about how we can choose to let our kids steal our joy - or not. I can choose to respond to a freak-out by matching the frustration level and freaking out myself, OR I can choose to remain joyful, calmly talking him down from this and getting us both back to using our "nice words" to figure out why he is actually upset. Also, as his mom, I am well aware that this is not "him", and therefore should be confident that this is only temporary - so, I should be able to hang on to that truth and respond to the boy I know he is rather than who he is acting like. Make sense? And yes, I do have two babies at home. Thats stressful, sure. BUT things are getting much better (thank you for praying!), and I am learning to be constantly reminding myself to breathe first, and then respond. I am getting much better at tooning out the toddler that is screaming because she didn't get her way and letting her get over it on her own - amazingly enough, she does every time! At any rate, this change will be accomplished through a number of things. I am currently reading "The Busy Mom's Guide to Spiritual Survival" by Kelli Trujillo. I HIGHLY recommend this book, for many reasons, but the biggest is that it is proving to be an honest, practical book that actual has deep biblical truths - not one of those frilly "mom needs chocolate books" that don't teach you anything. At any rate, I plan to finish and then re-read it, implementing as many of the practices of spiritual discipline that I can. I cannot be a healthy/happy mom without the One true source of strength - and scheduling time to foster that relationship is part of my agenda now. Another thing that is going to be key is getting OUT! Getting out with the girls at least monthly (thanks girls!), getting out with my husband, by myself, whatever. As often as is possible, I will have breaks and allow myself to be recharged.
And I think the last thing on my list is going to be to waste less time. Now, I am not about to jump on the wagon of folks who say vegging on the couch with a mindless tv show is bad for you. I actually would beg to differ - I think its healthy to veg out now and then. BUT it seems that we have fallen into a pattern in that by the time we get the kids tucked in, we are exhausted and just pass out on the couch and get sucked in by the tv. There are so many other things we should be using this time for - not every night, but finding a good balance between various things. Reading good books, finally putting together Eden's caringbridge book, compiling home movies, scrapbooking, playing games with my hubby, the list goes on. My brain will be a little less mushy, and I will feel better about things knowing I am being more productive -sometimes. I will still allow nights to veg - because lets face it, there are days when that is pretty much all you can do ;)
Less major things I will tackle this year: a spa weekend (already in the works - so maybe two?), trips away by myself (ie NYC, Magic City, etc!), I may try running (sounds gross, but I'm debating!), take my kids camping/hiking at least 3 times (sounds puny, but I'm thinking its going to be quite a task to get three kiddos loaded up!), take more pictures, PRINT more pictures, get scrapbooks up to date, and learn at least 20 new recipes (only good ones count!).... The list is totally editable, of course, and I'm not about to feel guilty about the progress of these come 2012. I suppose, perhaps, the best resolution of all is just to commit to making the year ahead better than the last. Committing to choose joy... I'm in.