It's that time of year again. December is here, and it's time to make your New Year's Resolutions. How did you do with last year's resolutions? "My what," you ask? You remember New Year's Eve. You, dressed in your finest, holding up that glass of champagne.  "THIS is the year I will..."

Maybe you vowed to quit smoking. Did you swear off cookies? Perhaps you promised to exercise every day. Spend less? Save more? Whatever your New Year's Resolutions, I'll bet they were big.

Looking back on it, I guess my resolutions were a little unrealistic. I did get a little caught up in the new years hype.

I imagined myself rising each day at 6:00 am to a cup of home-ground coffee. I would go out onto the patio and savor my coffee while consulting my day-planner. I would stroll into the kitchen and make my daughter a healthy, nutritious lunch to take to school. I would prepare her homemade pancakes with warm, maple syrup. I would then cheerfully wake up my two happy children with a song.

After dressing my children in their matching outfits, I would take my older daughter to school slightly early so she could visit with her friends. Upon my return home, I would exercise while playing with my baby. I would clean house while she napped; dress in cute L.L. Bean clothes. I would prepare gourmet meals with fresh ingredients I picked up at the Farmer's Market. Fine wine would perfectly complement my meals, and I would have a pretty nightgown to wear to my freshly laundered bed each night.

Was I dreaming or what?

Yesterday I woke up at 7:45 to the sounds of my 8 year old screaming, "Mommy! The alarm didn't go off!" Her screaming woke up the baby, who in turn, began to cry. I leapt from bed and dashed to their room with one slipper on.

In my rush to get everyone fed and dressed I skipped the home-ground coffee. I gulped some re-heated coffee leftover from the night before. I couldn't find my day-planner, so I wasn't sure if we had any appointments or not. Oh well...

Instead of homemade pancakes, my daughter feasted on Oreo cereal. Well, the box says it has vitamins and minerals, right?? Not only did my children's clothes not match each other, they didn't match themselves. Madison was wearing blue, flowered leggings and an orange striped shirt. I didn't care--she was dressed. She had brushed her own hair, and it resembled Phyllis Diller's hair. I didn't care--it was brushed. I was afraid to check her breath.

The baby didn't look much better. I hadn't had a chance to put away the clean laundry so she was wearing a polka-dotted shirt with red and green striped pants. Together, my children looked like rodeo clowns. I didn't care--they were dressed. We were good to go.

"What's in my lunch box?" asks rodeo clown number one. LUNCH! I knew I was forgetting something. "You are so lucky," I say convincingly, "because today we are driving through Jack-in-The-Box for your lunch. Your classmates will be so jealous!." The look she gave me told me she didn't buy it for a second.

After dropping her off armed with her Kids Meal, I raced back home. My exercise for the day was hauling the car seat up the stairs as fast as I could because the baby had spit up on the clown outfit. Instead of L.L. Bean, I was now wearing pukey K-Mart sweats.

I did attempt to clean my house while the baby napped. Unfortunately, I barely cleaned the dishes from last night's lasagna before she woke up. Will I ever get caught up?

Looking at my watch, I noticed that it was almost noon, and the only thing I'd had all day was the stale coffee. Time for lunch. My "healthy, nutritious lunch" consisted of canned Spaghetti O's and Diet Dr. Pepper, since I hadn't had time to stop by the Farmer's Market.

Thinking ahead to dinner I wondered, "What wine goes with Hamburger Helper"?

It was then time to go get Madison from school. The scowl on her face as she got into the back seat of the car told me that the Kids Meal didn't exactly go over too well. "I'm STARVING, mommy. The french fries were soggy, and all I got was a stupid Rugrats toy."

Racing back home, I tried to think of a healthy snack based on the ingredients in the cupboard. "OK, we have some canned peaches, some powdered instant breakfast drink mix, and some graham crackers. What can I make with that?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Mommy will make you a peach smoothie and some graham crackers when we get home." She shoots, SHE SCORES!!!!

Last night I laid down on my cookie-crumb filled sheets in my holey Laker shirt, and I thought about my New Year's Resolutions. Why do I do this to myself every year? Why do I set myself up for failure?

I guess it's because I like the idea of starting fresh. I think it's a good idea to re-evaluate one's life to change the things that aren't working. At this point it seems that what is not working are my New Year's Resolutions.

Maybe if I scale back my expectations it might just work this time.

I could try to get to the regular grocery store once a week. They sell fruit and vegetables there, right? I might even be able to make Madison's lunch the night before--even if it is only a sandwich. Folger's coffee is OK. I might even convince myself that climbing up and down the stairs to my apartment is indeed exercise.

So, this year I'm going to make some new resolutions. I'm going to lower my standards and try again. THIS time it will work.

Now where did I put that day-planner?

**

Traci Vujicich (pronounced Voo-i-chich) is the author of Motherhood, Apple Pie and Other Fattening Things:
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-20723-5

She is also a Life Coach, and a wife and mother. She lives in Redondo Beach, California with her husband Dan, daughters Madison and Lea, and her cats Maggie and Sofia. Traci produces a weekly internet magazine, writes content for several websites, and is the webmaster of Ask the Life Coach.com and Lead the Field Coaching.com. Since 1993, Traci has been providing management consulting services to clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Sun Microsystems, Texaco, Nortel, Kodak, Bell South, Weyerhauser, Lockheed Martin, Union Pacific and Exxon. In addition, she conducts internet seminars on a variety of subjects.

This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com