Mother's Daybook - 1st week of January

Reading - All my new reads! Well, not all at this very moment, but a good portion of them. Still loving Norms and Nobility although I'm taking it very slowly. Middlemarch is still a bit of work to pick up but I am going to persevere.

Playing - Marrying Mr. Darcy. This was Craig's Christmas present to me and its a really great game, and not just for Austen fans like myself. Craig and I played a couples times just the two of us (yes, a good two person game, those are hard to find!) and then we played with my family when they came. I can't say that my younger brother is a big fan of Jane Austen but he seemed to enjoy the game as much as the rest of us.

Watching - Uhm, Jane Austen movies! While playing the game, Craig must have noticed that I seemed to get some of the jokes of the card more than he did and was naturally curious so casually mentioned he might be willing to watch the movie. I don't think he expected me to demand he follow through quite as quickly as I did but really, he should have seen that coming. We went with the 2005 (Keira Knightley) version since I own that and doesn't require quite the commitment that the 1995 BBC mini-series, that I also own, does. Then we watched Emma (1996 - Gwyneth Paltrow). Not sure what I'll force upon him next.

I also finally got around to watching Mom's Day Out. It's not going to win an Oscar but I did find it hilarious. I watched it when Craig was out for the evening and I kept wishing he was there. Laughing at a parenting thing is more fun with your co-parent.

Eating - Cabbage and Bananas! Not together of course, that would be gross. But I'm starting to add in,  one at a time, all those foods (except gluten) that I took out last May and those are two I've gotten to so far.

Resolving - I was about to say I felt abnormally resolve-y this year but then I saw my post from last January and I said the same thing then. I guess I just like making New Years Resolutions. Which, considering my personality, really shouldn't surprise me but for some reason still does. Maybe because its seems like such a normal things to do and I find I rarely do normal things. They still aren't all worked out but I'm almost there and I want to go back and look at last years too.

Planning and Preparing - Table Time. This was our favorite part of last year but then it got dropped this fall. But back in November I listened to several Circe Talks, most importantly The Long Haul: Morning Time by Cindy Rollins, and it really motivated me to try again. Because this is a habit I want to keep going for the long haul. So I planned a Christmas specific table time arrangement for December and not so shockingly, we loved it. I was able to see a bit easier what was working and what wasn't. So I've regrouped a bit and we are trying again. The only issue we might have is that we did a chocolate advent calendar at our table time so now Jonah seems to think we get candy each time and he'll be needing to lose that idea quickly.

Doing - Our regular routine. It was a fun few weeks of celebration but it really feels good to get the kids back into their regular rhythm. I think the post-grandpa recovery period has ended and things (read - behavior and attitudes!) will start to improve more and more as we get back in the swing of things. This morning we are working on the thank you notes and the letter K and this afternoon is swimming lessons.