October Goals

It's monthly goal time again!

Personal:

Read more. I have made this a goal before but always slip back into mindlessly browsing various social media sites instead. I really do enjoy, and more importantly miss, reading. I think one of the biggest reasons that I keep straying away from it is my current novel reached a long, drawn out scene that lost my interest. I just need to set aside sometime to get through that and I should be sucked back into the book. 

Veggie snacks: I have a rather large sweet tooth and I tend to reach for fruit constantly. There's absolutely nothing wrong with fruit but I would like to make more of a conscious effort to snack on more vegetables too. To set myself up for success I plan on getting plenty of sweet peppers, carrots, snap peas and other quick and easy veggies. Prep it all ahead of time and pair it with hummus and I think I'll be much more likely to reach for them when hunger strikes. 

Ayden's Halloween costume. He is going to be a dinosaur and I am going to use my crafting time this month to turn a little sweat suit into a Dino suit!

Family:

Have our families over for dinner. We want to warm our little cottage home by hosting dinners and making some family memories here. 

Pumpkin patch fun!  We need some hot cider, pumpkins, mums, corn mazes and other fun fall stuff in our lives!  We will be making plans with some friends to scratch that itch very soon. 

Last year at the pumpkin patch

Household:

Decorate for Fall. I have a few things out but I have a mantle project that I'd like to do as well as some porch decorations. 

Hang stuff!  We have cabinets for our laundry room, curtains for the windows and artwork for the walls.  All we need to do is set Ayden up on a grandparent play date and get busy!

Finish unpacking boxes. We finally moved the rest of our home decor and such out of storage so I think it is time to get them unpacked and get fully settled in. 

This month's goals feel very doable and I am ready to tackle them!  I hope everyone has a great October!

What are some of your goals for the upcoming month?  Did you meet your September goals?

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Hands Up"

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September Goals!

Another month has come and gone already!  August was a great month and I am looking forward to what September holds.

It is time to make some plans for the days ahead so here I am with my monthly goals post. 

Personal:

- Get my nails done. David and Ayden gave me a gift card to a nail salon for mother's day that I still haven't used.  I plan to steal away some time to finally get them done. 

- Make the wreath for which the supplies have been sitting on my craft table for MONTHS. It involves burlap roses and I plan to do a step by step tutorial post!

Family:

- Continue to take time for down time. We did really well with this last month and I want to keep it up. It has been so good for us!

- Be more active. We have ordered Focus T25 from Beach Body and David and I are excited to work out together and 25 minutes a day is right up our alley. 

Household:

- DECORATE!  We moved our remaining boxes out of storage which included all of our home decor. We will finally hang artwork, fill shelves with pretties and have curtains. It will make a cozy cottage that much better!

- I'd like to continue with my current daily routine. I think I have finally found what works for me. Dance starts back this month so I'm sure that will change things a little bit but I'll adjust. 

I don't feel ready for Fall yet. I'm ready for the Mosquitos to begone but I am not ready for less daylight and having to bundle Ayden up every time we leave the house. One good thing about Fall is that it brings on the holiday season which is always such a wonderful time of year for me. Let September begin!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one month ago today: "Good Friends, Good Fun"

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August Goals!!

Is it really August already?!?  Where did the summer go?  We've only been swimming 3 times!  At least we are headed to our vacation on a lake in WI as I type this so hopefully we'll have plenty of opportunity to make up for lost time.

As I am looking back at my July goals post I am realizing that this is the first time I have looked at them since I wrote them...  I must have picked good ones, though, because I met all of them but one.  We still haven't had a garage sale (though I did go through and purge a lot of clothes).  Part of the list making process for me isn't so I'll have a list to constantly refer to or just for the satisfaction of crossing things off (though both of those are helpful... when I remember to do them.)  The thing lists help me with most is just thinking about what needs to be done.  When I write it down and then talk about it to someone (usually David), it's like it moves those to do's to the forethought center of my brain. I should add, that this is the first time since I've been writing these monthly goal posts that I actually accomplished most of the items on the list.

 

The reason I like to make monthly goal lists is because I think it is important for one to constantly be on a quest to better themselves.  None of us are perfect, and we never will be, but I think it is wise to take some time for self reflection and to make changes that make me feel even better about myself and the life that I live each and every day. Without further ado, her are my goals for August:

Personal:
-Read more.  I have several books, both non-fiction and fiction that I would like to read but always seem to choose social media browsing over reading when I have quiet downtime.  I enjoy it while it is happening but at the end of the day, I'm not any better off and feel like it was wasted time.  I'm going to put forth effort to put down my phone and pick up my Kindle (unless I am using my Kindle App I suppose...).

- Take better care of myself.  Nightly skin care routine, floss regularly, paint my nails once in a while, get to bed by 11:00 and exercise at least 4 days a week.  When I do these things I feel so wonderful.  I cannot for the life of me figure out why I resist doing all of these regularly... When mama is taken care of she is better able to take care of her family!

Family:
- Make more time for down time.  Time where we are just all sitting on the floor or outside playing together.  It is hard to find balance during this transition in our lives.  We are kind of living two lives...  Taking advantage of those memory building moments is not being lazy, even though our ever growing and changing to do list may make it feel that way.

- Ride our bikes.  We have a nice bike trailer and great bikes. This summer has been so mild and perfect for bike rides! Maybe one day we can pack a picnic lunch, ride our bikes around the county park and enjoy the day!

Household:
-Get ready for chickens!  Perhaps even getting the chickens themselves?  Oh to walk out the back door and collect fresh eggs for breakfast.  What a cool thing that will be!  Not to mention, Ayden LOVES chickens.  I can't wait to see what he thinks of it all.  Since he loves feeding the pets so much, perhaps he can help with that chore.

-Purge and sell anything that we don't use.  I'd like to stop keeping everything for "what if we need it again purposes."  If we need it again, we'll just find it again (preferably gently used).  No need to store things that we just *might* use again someday.  

Given any thought about what you'd like to accomplish in August?

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Let the Rough Housing Begin!"

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May Goals!

Today was a really fun day!  After breakfast we headed to the park.

Ayden fell asleep in the stroller while I took a 30 minute jog and then I went and meandered around our local public library while he finished his nap.  Since I had gathered WAY too many books for my pile to check out, I thought it would be best to stop meandering. I logged in to write this post at one of their computers.

Of course, Ayden woke up right when I typed the title.  He really has impeccable timing...  I clicked save, made sure I signed out since it was a public computer, checked out the books, went down the slide at the park a couple of times and then headed home.  It really was a fun and relaxing day!

I wonder if I'll ever get my monthly goals up on the 1st of the month as I usually plan...  The days leading up to it, I always think to myself, "better remember to post your new monthly goals on the 1st." Then the first comes and goes and I completely forget to post the new goals.  Oh well, at least I make them every month.  I suppose when I share them doesn't *really* matter...  Let's recap April's goals, shall we?:

Personal:
- Continue to work out at least 3X per week.
This has been hit or miss but overall I'd say it was a big fail.  
-Enter a picture I have taken in a photo contest
I also didn't do this.  I think I'll scrap this one until I happen to take another picture that inspires me.
- Stay "on task" and work efficiently during the day.
This has been a great success.  I will write a post about my new systems and what is working for me at the moment.
- Do something with home videos and photos! (AKA, better data management!)
Also didn't get around to doing this one but they aren't going anywhere so we'll carry this one over.

Family:
- Get bee hives built, painted and bees moved in!
Done!
- April Veggies planted
Also done! (thanks to David).  We are buying the early May transplants tomorrow.
- Go camping
Rescheduled, yet again.  Now we plan to go next weekend.
- Go to Kite Fest
We decided to go to another park and ride our bikes that day.  Equally as fun, and a lot less crowded.
- Sandbox for Ayden
We don't have the big one up and running but I did make a small sensory sand tub for him and he's really been loving it!  I'll work on getting the big one ready this month.

Household:
- Get a new/updated filing system in place
I have everything I need and ideas gathered for this.  Just have to find the time to actually do it.
- Vacuum car
That is on my list EVERY Friday but everything else just seems more fun or more important.  It's been over two years though, it is time.
- Keep up with laundry (one load of clothing laundry everyday, diapers every other day)
I did great with this until the sump pump issue.  Our entire living space in the basement looks like our dressers and such exploded all over it (we had to move them out of the room and took the drawers out so they'd be lighter).  Hopefully I'll be able to whip things back into shape over the next week or two.  

Now for my May goals!

Personal:
- Use my DSLR camera more. I am actually doing a 30 day photo challenge this month to get me in the habit of grabbing it. So far so good! I will write a post about the challenge including all of the pictures at the end of the month.
- do some sort of 5k training program (tip: if you have trouble meeting a goal, perhaps it is too broad?  "Exercise 3 times a week wasn't working for me so I found a smaller, more specific goal to work towards). I'm pretty sure I could run a 5k now, distance wise, but it would take me a while. I also need someone to tell me what to do so that I'll actually follow through with exercise. I found a podcast called 5k101. It is an 8 week program and a guy walks (or runs) you through every step of the training program. I did the first run today at a very hilly park. It was a decent workout and having a "coach" made a big difference.
- Work on something creative at least once a week. Sewing, crafting, painting, etc. It is very good for my soul during this season of my life.

Family:
- The goal I wrote a couple of weeks ago in this spot was to make a decision on a house. Well, we bought our house plans (!!!!!) yesterday. Instead of crossing a goal off this early in the month, I figured I'd expand it. We need to get all of the material lists, quotes, location, etc squared away so we will be ready to break ground as soon as we get our deed in June.
- GO CAMPING!! This is on the schedule for next weekend. Hopefully we won't get rained out or have an awful night's sleep the night before.
- Big sandbox ready for some summer fun for Ayden and his cousins.

Household:
- Sell some of our STUFF! List nicer items on Craig's List or Kijiji sell to consignment stores and organize a garage sale for the rest. Perhaps the garage sale itself will be a June goal. Simplify, simplify, simplify!!
- Get our files (digital and paper) organized.

Alright. I have my work cut out for me this month but that is how I like it. I primarily make these monthly goals just to keep me aware of priorities and things I'd really love to see happen. At the same time, there's no pressure. If life gets in the way, I just scrap the goal or bump it to the next month. No big deal!  It's still good to have something to work towards.

Have you thought about what you'd like to accomplish this May?

April Goals!

Morning walk!

Sooo..... I have kind of dropped the ball on the monthly goal resolution that I made this year.  February was spent getting settled and March was spent finding a new groove and now I am ready to get back on the wagon!  Let's revisit January's goals:
Personal:
- Write blog posts during the day (already having a hard time with this one since it's 10:15 and I'm still writing this post...  Old habits die hard I suppose. 
Overall, I did better with this.  On the days that I didn't get it written early I at least made them short so that it didn't take away from David's and my evening together.
- Exercise 3x per week. I want to do this because it will make me feel good!
This has been hit or miss but exercise is definitely back on my radar.  I'll call it a successful work in progress...
- Use my new sewing machine for a Pinterest project.
Haven't even plugged it in...
- Enter a photo that I took into a contest of some sort just for fun.
Nope.

Family:
- Start using cash envelopes for our grocery and household budget categories.
March was our first month with this.  We aren't using actual cash envelopes but rather the App "EBAA" and it is working wonderfully!  If you are wanting to give cash envelopes a try but don't actually want to carry lots of cash around, this App is for you.
- Ayden's birthday party! We need to send out the invitations ASAP. 
His party was a great success!!
- Get Ayden to bed as close to 8 as possible so David and I have more down time together.
We did get better with this during the month of March, but now we are trying out an experiment where we keep him up a bit later and all go to bed at the same time.  We've been doing it for two nights and so far he is sleeping better.  Perhaps I will dedicate a post to this experiment...
- Start daily *intentional* activities and projects with Ayden (finger painting, ramps/balls, sensory tub, etc.
Now that we are settled, I have officially started doing this and he loves them!

Household:
- Pack up Christmas decorations and get house back to "normal"
Not only did we pack up Christmas, but we packed up and moved our entire house!
- Go through and organize 12 month hand me downs from my sister/re-organize Ayden's closet.
Not applicable due to the move
- Organize garage so we can both park in it again. 
Not applicable due to the move

Okay, now it is time for new goals!
Personal:
- Continue to work out at least 3X per week.
-Enter a picture I have taken in a photo contest
- Stay "on task" and work efficiently during the day. 
- Do something with home videos and photos! (AKA, better data management!)

Family:
- Get bee hives built, painted and bees moved in!
- April Veggies planted
- Go camping
- Go to Kite Fest
- Sandbox for Ayden

Household:
- Get a new/updated filing system in place
- Vacuum car
- Keep up with laundry (one load of clothing laundry everyday, diapers every other day)

Okay, I think that should keep us busy!  April is my favorite month. Everything warms up and David and I both celebrate our birthdays at the end.  Let's all make it a great month!!

Our sous chef is growing up so fast!

~Sarah

January Goals!

Last night's par-tay was great! We ate good food, played fun games with friends and brought in 2013 as a little family.

Ayden was a little trooper. He fell asleep around 10 or so, though it was hard to stay asleep in a house with so much fun being had, and decided to wake up for the ball drop. We were glad he did because he got to be a part of all the fun and didn't get scared awake by all the noise makers. We got home around 1:30 am and had another rough night. Ayden woke up crying inconsolably a few times between 5 and 8 and, though he didn't have a fever, he had us pretty worried. We called the on call pediatrician and he told us that as long as he wasn't running a fever and was able to be calmed eventually that he was probably okay. From a combination of teething, his cold and exhaustion from our New Year's fun he ended up taking 3 naps today, one lasting FIVE HOURS! We were hoping for a lazy couch day as Ayden cooperated more than we ever thought possible. He napped on me while we watched movies and took naps ourselves. I loved every second of his warm, snoring little body sleeping on mine (though I was pretty stiff once he finally woke and I was able to get up). When he woke from his monster nap he was back to his sweet self so I suppose he really had some sleep to catch up on.

Our day summed up in one picture.  Awesome!

Since it is the first of January it's time to list my goals for the month!

Personal:
- Write blog posts during the day (already having a hard time with this one since it's 10:15 and I'm still writing this post...  Old habits die hard I suppose.
- Exercise 3x per week. I want to do this because it will make me feel good!
- Use my new sewing machine for a Pinterest project.
- Enter a photo that I took into a contest of some sort just for fun.

Family:
- Start using cash envelopes for our grocery and household budget categories.
- Ayden's birthday party! We need to send out the invitations ASAP.
- Get Ayden to bed as close to 8 as possible so David and I have more down time together.
- Start daily *intentional* activities and projects with Ayden (finger painting, ramps/balls, sensory tub, etc.)

Household:
- Pack up Christmas decorations and get house back to "normal"
- Go through and organize 12 month hand me downs from my sister/re-organize Ayden's closet.
- Organize garage so we can both park in it again.

I think that with David's help, the above list seems super doable!  I am excited to see how this first month turns out.  I won't be too disappointed if we don't meet all of these goals, we will use this first month as a tester to see how many we can realistically strive for. What are your goals for January?

~Sarah