My New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year again! After a long holiday season of celebrations and indulging in way too much good food and libations, we take down the tree, pack up the decorations, and spend a week checking the dog’s poop for that roll of tape we lost on Christmas Eve.

Oh, and resolutions! I’m pretty inconsistent with the making of the resolutions part. Some years, I don’t make any at all. Some years, I forget about it until mid-January and then write down a token list of ideas just so I can say I did it. But the keeping part of it-for that I’m nothing if not consistent. You could set your watch by me. I have never kept a resolution past March in my life.

But you never know. This could be my year! Just in case, I’ve written a few goals for me to keep or not keep.

  1. Continue filling the blogosphere with witty banter every week. (Because I know you all couldn’t live without me!)
  2. Finally figure out the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit.
  3. Learn to speak Korean so I’ll know if the ladies at the nail salon are gossiping about me and my grossly-calloused feet.
  4. When people look at my family in shock and ask if I’m planning to have more children, come up with a more polite answer than, “Is your mom going to have any more children?”
  5. Speaking of which, I think my next goal should be: Do not give birth to any new children this year. (I know what you’re thinking! If I can just keep myself un-pregnant until April, this goal should be in the bag. But I’d like to think of myself as somewhat of an over-achiever in this category. Why don’t we stretch the un-pregnancy out a little more?)
  6. Create more opportunities to shout “Boo yah!” during arguments.
  7. Spend way less time cleaning up other people’s poop. Amiright, ladies?
  8. Convince Donald Trump that he’s desperately needed to lead the first human colony on Mars. (You’re welcome, Earth!)

 

OK, it’s possible that at least one of those goals may be unachievable by me alone. I mean, what mother of 4 has time to study a new language?

Do you have any resolutions for the new year? I’d love to hear from you!

The Princesses are Back!

Our princesses are back and up to their usual mischief! Looks like last night they were watching tv and sneaking some candy. Naughty girls!

  

http://nicoleroder.com/2014/12/01/the-princesses-are-coming-the-princesses-are-coming/

When Story-Writing Comes in Handy

reindeer pic

 

You know how sometimes you make up a small lie and justify it because it serves a good cause? This is not one of those times. Perhaps the cause was good, but the lie was definitely not small. This is a story about how I made up an entire Christmas legend out of whole cloth, just to win an argument with my dad.

My father likes to have these “contests” where he emails my kids questions, and they can answer them for a prize. He’s actually kind of well-known as the family “Game Master.” Until this year, he ran popular Annual Christmas Game Contest (ACGC) filled with almost any kind of Christmas trivia you can imagine. It had some good prizes too.

After the 9th annual contest, he decided to call it quits. He’s not quite ready to hang up his Game Master hat, though. Hence, the questions for my kids. His last email contained these questions: Continue reading

The Princesses Are Coming! The Princesses Are Coming!

Last year, right after Thanksgiving, I woke up early before the kids and found this ridiculous mess in my kitchen.

Princesses chocolates

I was suspicious, of course. Had the kids been up already? Sure enough, I could hear them moving around upstairs, so I went to the girls’ room and asked them to explain the mess in the kitchen. Continue reading

Sister Love

Emma and Sophia reading

Emma and Sophia reading

 

This really just happened.

Emma and Sophia were playing in the basement when the swell of some sort of roar-scream hybrid came rushing up the stairs. Surely, someone had lost a toe or discovered a dead body in the bathroom. I went running to rescue my babies. No one had lost a toe. It was worse. Way worse. Continue reading

My Favorite Gift This Year

Just wanted to share with you all what my wonderful husband gave me for Christmas this year. He actually gave it to me weeks ago figuring (correctly) that I’d probably buy it for myself immediately after its release. Continue reading

My Dog’s Christmas List

Alternate Title: The Christmas Wish List of Lucimus Goosimus Varcinius Maximus Roder (Lucy to her friends)

This is Lucy.

Image

As you can see, she is quite adorable. That ridiculous nickname above is courtesy of my husband. She also goes by Lucy Goose, Snorty McSnortferson, Stanley the Grumpy Old Man, and Puppy. I’m pretty sure I gave her at least one of those names. You’ve heard dozens of stories about my kids, but honestly, Lucy is my first baby, and the first person to whom Santa brought presents in the Roder household. I’ve long believed that she was a human trapped in a dog’s body. Since that ten month-old baby got to dictate a letter to Santa, I thought I’d send out the wish list I’m sure Lucy would write herself, if only she had opposable thumbs. Continue reading