Things you do that you don’t want to do anymore. Things you aren’t doing that you would like to start doing. And things you are currently doing that you’d like to continue doing. Resolutions.
Only, are we not calling them resolutions anymore? As Owl proposed a rissolution, or was a Rabbit? So do I. This year I resolve to:
Eat healthier
This list includes the usual suspects. Go to bed earlier, drink more water, eat less sugar. More specifically, I’d like to be in bed by 10. Drink one bottle of water a day. (If this sounds pitiful, that’s because it is.) And as far as sugar is concerned, I would like to try eating no refined sugar Monday through Saturday, and enjoying a little something after our Sunday dinner. This might look as elaborate as baking an apple pie, or as simple as a scoop ice cream on a hot summer day, or a hot chocolate on a cold winter day.
I’d also like to build healthier traditions around food. For example, over Christmas a tradition that we stumbled upon is chocolate dipped oranges. Now that we have littles, we have added to this tradition by putting oranges in their Christmas stockings. In the quiet days after Christmas, Ill pull out the crockpot and melt some chocolate. I envision us all gathered round the table, reminiscing, as we dip orange slices.
Pomegranates tend to go on sale over the holidays too. Do I love my family enough peel a pomegranate each week between Thanksgiving and Christmas? I do. I want my children to look at back at their childhood and remember having fresh squeezed orange juice for special breakfasts, homemade whipped cream on their pumpkin pie, and pomegranates every Christmas. None of these things are hard to do, they just take a little thought and preparation.
Lastly, to eliminate seed oils and food dyes from our diet completely. I’ll update you at the end of the year.
Clean Laundry detergent
I would like to clean up our laundry detergent. We have a greenwashed, soothe-our-conscience, a-little-better-than-not, unscented, hypoallergenic, laundry detergent. Clearly, I need to look into it.
Budget/Finances
Enough said? Enough said.
The lawn/garden/yard /things that grow outside – invited, or uninvited
Our yard has been a sticking point in our marriage. Up until now I have just filed it away under one day I’ll have boys to help with the yard, and that will solve it. (Not that one day I’ll have boys, I have boys now, but that one day they will be able to help with the yard) But that’s a long game. This year we are going to tackle this yard. And keep our marriage intact. See below.
Marriage
Who doesn’t want a thriving marriage? Who actually has a thriving marriage? We are going to have a thriving marriage. For our children. Shall I say thriving one more time? No? Well, okay then.
Rest
I would like to build consistent pockets of rest into the rhythm of my days. There are a few ways that I have already been working on doing this. Some are small, like lying in on Saturday mornings. Which is not small at all, ask any mom with littles that are up in the night, that’s huge. Others take more planning, like having a biblical day of rest on Sundays. This is quickly becoming a part of our family culture and is something we look forward to each week.
Homeschool
I have started homeschooling our three-year-old, but gym class hasn’t quite fallen into place yet. I’d like to pass gym class on to my husband, and have him run the kids around in the evening. Perhaps while I’m getting dinner ready.
Teach our Son to Pray
I have noticed that our toddler doesn’t know how to pray. I would like to take this year to teach him to pray. Not only through our example by slowing down and praying real prayers (as opposed to quick, the children are melting down, pray so we can feed them prayers) but also by praying through the psalms together as a family.
Bible Reading
It would not be a new year without an attempt at reading through the bible in a year.
I have noticed that my weekdays are steady and predictable, and then the weekends are… well, they’re not. My plan is to read through the New Testament, one chapter a day. Fun fact: there are 260 chapters in the New Testament, and 261 weekdays in 2025. I would also like to read through the Psalms and Proverbs. (Did you know in Afrikaans every letter in Psalms is pronounced? Go head, try it. P-s-a-l-m-s.)
My current routine is to read the bible and pray while rocking the baby to sleep for his first nap of the day. I don’t think I’m the wake up before the children kind. So I am not even going to add that to the list, but I would like to have consistent time alone in the word – and I suspect this might need to happen before the children are up… See my conundrum.
This list is going to be found on the Rogulich Family Fridge, and revisited daily.
What would you like to change, improve upon, or start new this year?
