My New Year's Resolution: It's So HARD

It's January 2nd and I've decided what my New Year's Resolution will be for 2014. I've made it much more specific this year other than my past more generalized resolutions like 'Try to organize more,' 'Do less procrastinating' and 'Be more patient' (we know how that one turned out).

Tonight, Daddo and the oldest were on a hunting trip so as expected I was feasting on my chips n hot sauce dinner and enjoying some last minute end of the bag crumbs with CL. I noticed the Julio's hot sauce was a bit hotter than usual for some reason tonight and I finished up the bag with a runny nose and cleared throat. No, my resolution is not to end my snacking or bad foods. (But maybe my Baptist-but-wanna-do-Lent-anyways sacrifice will be my precious chips n dip. Who knows.

After she and I had finished our 'meal' I noticed all the chip crumbs on the kitchen counter and the floor below her little chair she had pulled up to the counter. So I happily went and retrieved my annual nerdy mom Christmas gift that I asked for that my equally nerdy mom graciously bought for me; my new Black and Decker Elite Dust Buster (last year it was the marvelous label maker). Thanks Mom! Rhett and CL had never seen the Elite in action as I had to complete its 24 hour initial charge-up today. That would explain my excitement as I came swooshing out of the laundry room into the kitchen revving up its loud (a little louder than I expected) suction noise. 'SHOOOOOOO!!'
CL who was still picking up the tiniest chip crumbs with her wittle wet fingers turned to me with a look of shock, then quickly with an equally excited and HUGE grin. Rhett came running into the kitchen asking 'What's that Momma?!' The cat Cleo even made a cautious appearance before running under the couch. I effortlessly sucked up the crumbs on the counter and below then continued on through out the foyer not able to contain my excitement and stop myself. CL chased along behind me saying over and over 'oooohhhhh, aaaahhhhh!' I allowed her to hold the handle as I guided the Elite across the floor. Then of course Rhett wanted a try but he demanded to do it by himself. I cringed. Its first 45 seconds of cleaning life and I was letting my 3.5 year old control it. It hurt but it was quickly over in a matter of seconds when Rhett heard the Mickey Mouse theme song come on for a new episode in the den tv. I replaced the Elite in its charging dock and came back out. It was 30 minutes past their bedtime. I had done my usual things of procrastinating their bedtime ritual.

I know I'm not alone when I say this but bedtime routines kick my HINEY (as we say in our house). Routine is good because it gets them to bed easier blah blah blah, but that routine is exhausting. A couple of kids ago I unconsciously booted out the bedtime story part of the routine. I don't remember exactly when it was but I remember specifically that with the oldest it was 3-4 of the same books every night at the same time. With the second kid it was the same amount if not more because the older one had his favorites. By the time the 3rd one was a year old I was pregnant again and tiiiirrrrred, but I also now had a 6 year old who could read by himself and perhaps to his younger brother. The 1 year old LOVED the Mickey Mouse show or 'Me Souse' as he called it and that happily prepared him for his bed. Daddo and I never argued. Warm milk, a 25 minute episode and the kid was out like a light. Then the 4th one came along and her older brother was still happy with his  cartoon episode before bed so it continued. Yes, our two youngest know what books are. We have them in bins in our family room and in their room. But our time of reading with them is embarrassingly very little. We've gone through stints of a lot of nights in a row of the same books, but those times usually came after a well-check when their doctor asked how often they were read to. The guilt ensued and lasted a good long while until the exhaustion and excuses started back up.

So here is my New Year's Resolution: For the next year, and hopefully beyond,  I will read to my two younger children (the non-readers) every single night that our family is home at bedtime. No excuses.  If you're reading this and saying to yourself 'Wow that's an easy one. We already read to our child every single night.' Then please graciously keep your comments to yourself. This is my difficult parent thing. Well I have SEVERAL, but this is the one I feel is the most important and capable of being corrected now. No excuses. Who cares if we have a full-time out-of-the-house job, multiple after-school activities, daily stressers, exhaustion from working out early every morning..... no excuses.  Daily reading to your growing toddler and pre-schooler is so important for their cognitive development and early education. Their little brains are like sponges, soaking in everything around them that they can see, touch, and hear.
The lists of websites supporting this idea are never-ending. Google the words 'statistics of reading to your children' and you'll see all of them. Click here for one and just read the first few paragraphs. Its startling at the least.

"According to the Literacy Connections website, “U.S. Department of Education analysis found that children who were read to at least three times a week by a family member were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent in reading than children who were read to less than three times a week. Just like physical exercise, there are cumulative benefits when you do something regularly.”
Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=968&sid=15431484#7FrK2U1elXCmUGFB.99

Even more startling is: "86 percent of all juvenile offenders have reading problems, and 60 percent of prison inmates are illiterate. -firstlady.utah.gov

And our convenient cartoons that will prepare our children for kindergarten....  "with the mounting research that shows the value of reading aloud to children, many don’t have this experience. Instead, The Reading Tub states, “The average kindergarten student has seen more than 5,000 hours of television, having spent more time in front of the TV than it takes to earn a bachelor's degree."

Will television be gone in my house? Heck no! I still believe that some educational cartoons are perfectly ok, just like the super large sip lock bag of M & M's sitting in my pantry...... IN MODERATION. And well, tv is just plain relaxing and even our kids need time to 'veg out' just like we do.  My older boys watched all of the popular Disney cartoons as toddlers and they are both above-level readers. And they both still enjoy after-school tv and cartoons.  I think the statistics are reflective of those children who watch above and beyond way too much tv and are NOT READ TO. That's the kicker.

Just from my own experience of reading to my kids (as rare as it has been in the past 3 years) it is an opportunity to bond, tell your own stories and make memories. Just like tonight as I was reading to my two youngest for the first night of my New Year's Resolution, they both were making me smile during an otherwise boring, routine kind of night. While reading a Mickey Mouse book (yeah we're fans), I found out that Rhett likes to count reallllly fast to the number 5, no matter how many objects we're counting. By the end of the book his '1-2-3-4-5' as fast as he can say it, had CL just a giggling at her big brother.

Then our second and last book for tonight (it was an hour past their bedtime), Rhett again had me laughing at his words. We were reading 'Goodnight My Duckling' and counting the number of the ducklings on every page because the one duckling gets left behind and then Momma Duck only has 7. An old turtle swims along and rescues the lost duckling, safely taking him to his Momma Duck At that point I asked Rhett how many ducklings does his Momma have. We named out his brothers, then CL, then I said 'one more' and he pointed to himself. And I said, 'So your Momma Duck has four ducklings!' Rhett then proclaimed, 'And Daddo's the tuwtle.'

I love my kids and I love doing the best things for them. It's so hard and it's so tiring and none of us are the perfect parent. But if I can know for sure that I'll continue to have funny, precious moments like these at least a few times a week, and I think that's a definite certainty in my life, then that's enough motivation to get me going in the right direction!

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Goodnight.