2023 Goals.

 A few weeks ago we reviewed our family goals from last year - we met some and we didn't meet others - and we began making a list of new ones for this year. I listened to a podcast recently about helping your kids set goals for themselves - spiritual, educational, physical, etc. - and have been talking to both boys, but especially James, about that recently. The podcast basically said that if you help your kids learn to set their own goals, THEY have invested in what's important to them and then you won't nag them to do things that YOU want them to do, but encourage them to work toward what THEY wanted to do. This one hit home because there's been a lot of nagging at our house. I'm not going to share theirs this year, because as they get older I feel like a lot more of what they tell me is just meant to be for us, but I am going to share mine. These aren't resolutions (or "revolutions" as Will has been accidentally calling them - and I haven't corrected), but goals and things I'd like to work toward this year. If I work toward them but don't hit them, ok! But I'm still making forward progress!

Read 100 Books

This seems to ALWAYS be my goal and I have yet to hit it, but I am so determined to do that at some point. I've actually already finished one book today! WOOHOO! James and I were discussing grades last night with another friend and I encouraged both of them to do hard work at the beginning of the semester rather than doing mediocre work until the midterm and then having to really work hard to pull out whatever grade they were hoping for. So I'm using that same advice for myself and I'm planning to REALLY work hard to read as much as I can in the early months of the year so that when the busyness of October, November, and December hits I'm not having to scurry OR face the impossible task of finishing. I keep up with all of my books on Goodreads and hit 63 for 2022. Nowhere near 100, but WAY more than the 10 I read in 2017! Wow! (I count all paper books, e-books, and audiobooks and also include anything I read to/with my boys that is over 100 pages.)

Move my body more!

Shouldn't we all strive to do this each day? 

Learn a new hobby.

Unsure what this one looks like. I'll keep you posted on what new hobby I find...

Travel more.

I'm so interested in finding new adventures, whether it's close by or hitting the road somewhere. We have a trip planned in a few weeks and then nothing on the horizon but a few ideas. I can't wait to see where this year takes us, though. Last year I visited two new states (a total of 9 states in the year) and I'm hoping to see more new states this year!

Spend more time with my boys.

They're growing up so fast!!! (The traveling also forces them to hang out with me!)

Grow my PaperPie business.

What's PaperPie, you ask? Usborne Books and More, of which I've been a consultant for a few years now, has rebranded into PaperPie. I LOVE books and selling these books has been a no brainer for sure. We've really enjoyed them and I've enjoyed pairing them with activities to share with families looking for a way to connect. I'd love to share it with you! Visit my website here or ask me anything!

Read the Bible in a year.

Again, this one I try every year. I need to stick with it!!!

So there you have it! My goals for the upcoming year! Let's do this!

Summer Bucket List

Every year for the past 8 years we have made and marked off our little summer bucket lists. The first ones were a little primitive, but they've expanded and gotten better each year. This was the year that it almost all ended. Y'all. To come up with this many things was a CHALLENGE in and of itself. I love to add new things and not try to list the same things over and over each year, but this one was hard to do without using previous lists' items. We have "out to eat" on it for crying out loud. In years past we went out to eat multiple times a week and NEVER put that on our list, but there it is! HAHAHA! Here's hoping that this list will keep us entertained until we are able to venture out again. And may that darn virus be gone SOON.

2019 Summer Goals

It's that time again! Another year, another round of our family's summer goals! I have done this for years and years and we always love to pull from it all summer long when we need something to do! Our summer doesn't officially begin until May 25th, but we usually run this from May 1st-September 1st so that we can squeeze as much summer fun in as we possibly can! Last summer we traveled to Washington, D.C. and Jamaica and while this summer cannot POSSIBLY top that, we still have some big plans for fun, sun, and all the family time we can stand! Here's hoping that you have an amazing summer as well!

2018 .    2017 .    2016 .    2015 .    2014 .    2013

May Goals.

Last month I wrote a list of goals at the beginning of April. I didn't mark everything off of that list (it was LONG), but I did focus on those things for the whole month and I'm so pleased with how it turned out that I thought I'd do it again! Because THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL (for Will and me), I'll have a little more time this month to get 'er done.

1. 100 miles logged on my FitBit.

2. Sign up and pay for the boys' camps.

3. Update teacher certification!

4. Organize master closet

5. Organize office.

6. EIGHT books read.

7. Two books read to boys.

8. Finish X-Files Season 3 & 4. (I have a little Netflix obsession going on.)

9. Finish Blue Bloods.

10. Read Bible in a Year through June.

11. Blog 15 times.

12. Cross 5 things off our summer bucket list.

13. Front porch makeover!

14. Get Jamberry and Keep businesses organized.

I love the accountability of making my lists. It has given me a TON of focus and clarity recently. If I have a few minutes during the day I focus on taking care of a few things on my list and it's such a welcome change! Eddie and I joke that I never got my feet back under me after I had Will. I was a very organized stay-at-home mom with James. I had a routine, supper was almost always cooked, I just had it together. For the past four years I've been flailing a little bit and he has COMPLETELY picked up my slack. I think it has a lot to do with the anxiety that I deal with, but I'm hoping this helps.

Summer 2016 List!

Every summer for a while now I have made a list of fun to-dos for our family. It gives us some ideas on days when we're so bored and it gives our summer a little structure. This summer is SLAP FULL {there's a Southern expression for you!} of structure. We are so busy we don't have a ton of time for anything else, but I HATE that and want to make the most of our days and enjoy the time I have with my kiddos. I'm working all summer long. It isn't REAL work, but I'm the director of our preschool's summer camp this year so we're busy five out of ten weeks of summer just with that! We also have several trips planned, a week of VBS, two weeks of kids' camps at a local museum, and a week of baseball camp planned. And then school starts back AUGUST 2nd!!!! Can you believe that nonsense?

Our summer list begins May 1st and ends September 1st because I like to try to make our summer longer than the school system thinks that it is. It's 105* here for six months so summer should last longer than two months. Anyway...here are the things we'll be marking off the list this summer! I'm happy to share the non-water-marked version of this, just shoot me an email and I'll send it your way. And I highly recommend making these lists for your family. It's always fun to hear what your kids want to do and it's a nice way to set some goals for the time you'll have off!

April Goals...

Doing some goal-setting to get things done around here. Life has just gotten busier and busier. I don't like being busy. I like being able to relax. BUT. We have a ton to do and it isn't going to get done with me relaxing. So here goes!

1. 100 miles on FitBit. Eeeek! MOVE!

2. Read 4 books.

3. Read 2 chapter books to the boys.

4. Finish Gilmore Girls.

5. Finish X-Files Season 2.

6. Finish Blue Bloods Season 4.

7. Read through April of The Bible in a Year.

8. Blog 15 times.

9. Make our Summer Bucket List.

10. Close SIX parties for Jamberry. {AHHH!}

11. Close THREE socials for Keep.

12. Get summer camps lined up for boys.

13. Sort through and remove ALL yard sale stuff from office.

14. Organize master closet.

15. Lose 5 pounds.

16. 64 ounces of water per day.

17. Front porch makeover! Get it done!

January Goals.

I planned to write this post on the first day of the month and share my "Word of the Year" and goals for January. But I can't figure out my word of the year. I've tossed around a ton of things, but I can't come up with ONE that fits all.

As a wife and mom I want to be more present, take it all in, not miss the big things, not sweat the small things, and enjoy it.

In my business(es) and big girl job I want to hustle, work harder, earn more, learn more, and grow.

In the health and wellness part of life I just want to do better, get stronger, get leaner, and go farther.

In my spiritual walk I want to jump in, cling tighter, trust more, and focus.

And in my every day life I want to be more intentional, move more, listen more, talk less, read more, get organized, and be kind.

So what's my one word? If you know it, tell me. ha!

I do have some January goals that I'll share here. One of my favorite bloggers shares her goals each month and then how she did before sharing the next month's goals. Maybe I'll start to do that here to get my focus and organization going. :) Y'all are going to laugh at some of these goals...

1. Read 4 books.

2. Finish my one year Bible through March. I actually started this back in November because I'm trying to read the whole thing by my 33rd birthday for 33x33. This would keep me on track.

3. Finish Gilmore Girls. Did y'all know they're redoing this for Netflix? Hoooray! Now I have to finish the series before that comes out.

4. Take down Christmas decorations. Ummm....I still haven't finished this. I've never dragged my feet like I have this year. I may never decorate again.

5. Start X-Files on Netflix. There's ANOTHER show that's being brought back. I can't wait. Haven't watched these since high school!

6. 200 miles logged on my FitBit. Ahhh! Can I do it? Step one, CHARGE my FitBit.

7. Business training for Jamberry and Keep. I have a few new girls joining me in Keep and I need to make sure I know my ins and outs.

8. Revisit the budget with Eddie.

9. Eat at home 20/31 nights.

10. Begin Round 1 of 21 Day Fix!

Summer Goals - July Update.

We are close to becoming Summer Goal List failures. We didn't mark off much in July. We've done a few things in August already and have a few more things lined up this week and next before SCHOOL starts back. Can't wait!

A Few Goals for 2012...

Because we're expecting Baby Brother sometime in the next six weeks, I feel like my ultimate goal should be to survive the year with two children two and under. Just survive! And maybe take a shower a few times a week. Ha! Other bloggers have been really big on their word for the year so I guess I'll join the crowd and say my word is survive. But I also feel like I should have a few bigger goals.

Obviously, I'm still working on my 101 in 1001. This entire year will fall under those 1001 days. I think it ends sometime during the summer of 2013. So I'll be working on all of those.

Eddie and I have decided to make some eating and exercising changes in March (giving myself a few weeks to recover and get out of the first few weeks of what Eddie calls the "Baby Haze"). I'd like to lose some baby, baby weight. :) And we'd probably be less tired and feel better if we actually quit eating so much junk and exercised a good bit more than we do now. I don't need to lose weight so much as tone up what weight I'm carrying around. 10-15 pounds of weight loss would be nice, but won't look good if that's all I do. I'm going to work on getting back into Couch to 5K and The Shred by myself every day and Eddie is hopeful we can start a routine on the Total Gym that just takes up space in the garage for now.

I'd like to try to start back on the Bible verse memorization train. I started that last year and lasted a few months before just becoming a major slacker about it. Two verses a month. I think I need it!

I really would like to see my Willow House business take off this year! I'm really pleased and excited with the company, I enjoyed doing parties to get myself out of the house on occasion, and it would be nice to help contribute (just a bit) around here. I have some big goals after April 1st for Willow House. Hopefully it will all pan out!

I'd love to take more time for my marriage. Eddie and I often seem to just float by one another. Mothering and fathering takes a lot of time and energy and by the end of the day we're just wiped out. We need to spend more time together, even if it's not getting out of the house!

I am hopeful that I can really dig my heals into becoming a Proverbs 31 wife. I've been a complete wife slacker since I've been pregnant. Eddie has been a champ and has picked up a lot of my slack, but that's not fair. It certainly won't be fair after this baby is born. We need a routine and we need some order in this house!

I also want to be a better mama for my boys. James is really reaching an age where he's soaking in everything and learning a ton and I need to take advantage of that. He's wild, but he's fun and he really, really, really needs a lot more activities during the day that will help him learn and grow. Bless his heart, we've watched a lot of television since June and the sickies began. Hopefully I'll feel a lot better soon and we'll be able to focus more on schooling him in a fun way!

I need to work on being a better friend. I have just fallen off the face of the earth in a lot of my friendships and that's not great. I miss talking to a lot of my girls and I need to work on that as well. Friendships are so important!

Our family needs to really make an effort to put God first. It is crazy how much James picks up and is learning from us and we really need to make a better effort to put Jesus first so he'll pick up on that instead of worldly trash. We have such a responsibility with our boys and I don't want to drop the ball - especially where it comes to our faith in the Lord.

Hopefully I'll be able to make a big effort in all of these goals for 2012. I think they're all doable and obtainable. And very worthwhile!