This year, along with my word of the year, I am focusing on a theme each month and creating goals around that theme. Similar to my happiness project last year, I hope to cumulatively build on the habits I create with each monthly theme. Every month I’m sharing my goals, along with a few wins and things that brought me joy from the previous month, since joy is the word I’m focusing on in 2019. In April, my goals centered around parenting, while in May I’m tackling my closet.
{april parenting wins}
– Went to the parenting class offered by Violet’s daycare. It ended up only being three classes because of a cancellation and one conflict on our end, but I do think it was beneficial to go. More than anything it gave Aaron and I a chance to sit and talk about current parenting struggles, something we think about while we’re in them, but often forget to reflect on later.
– Read Ignore It! and How to Be a Happier Parent. I’ll share more in my reading recap post soon, but overall I liked Ignore It! okay and loved How to Be a Happier Parent. Both were full of practical, helpful advice, but the latter resonated with me more.
– Experienced many potty training wins with Violet. She’s doing really well in one aspect, but is clearly not ready in another, so we’re just continuing to cheer her on and not push her to do anything before she’s ready. It’s not the most fun, but she’ll get it eventually.
– Enjoyed some 1-1 time with both kids. I took several opportunities to spend time with Jona and Violet individually when I could, and it was really nice to have that time.
– Found some parenting strategies to help Violet during her cranky times. For example, giving her jobs to do (like putting silverware on the table) and giving her some healthy food (tomatoes, apples, red pepper slices) while I make dinner.
– Successful 2.5 year doctor visit for Violet with no tears! In the past, every visit to the doctor has been a stressful situation–she just doesn’t like going to the doctor. However, this time starting a few days before, we talked about what would happen and how he doctor would check her ears and heartbeat, etc. I think that really helped, because this time she did really great! Of course, it also helped that she didn’t have to have a shot.
{what brought me joy in April}
– Read 8 books. I’ll share reviews soon!
– Had a night out with good friends (sans kids). We enjoyed good food, great conversation, and excellent cocktails.
– Enjoyed a relaxing Easter with family, and attended the Saturday Easter service at our church. Usually we go to the “sunrise” early service on Easter, but the thought of getting everyone ready and out the door by 6:30 am on a Sunday sounded less than appealing this year. Instead, we decided to go to the Saturday Easter service, and it was wonderful! Very kid-friendly and way less crowded than the regular Easter services.
– Jona started baseball. Weekly practice and Saturday games make our weeks busier, but it’s so fun to watch because Jona just loves it.
– Got my hair freshly trimmed and colored.
– Enjoyed a relaxing day off. It was so nice: I went to a coffee shop and read with coffee and a snack, did a little shopping at Target, and then got a manicure and pedicure. Such a treat!
– Celebrated turning 36 with a picnic and a family ice cream date. The weather was beautiful and the ice cream was delicious!
– Started a Miracle Morning routine and daily yoga. This month I read The Miracle Morning and decided to try Hal Elrod’s morning routine of silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and writing. This routine isn’t all that different from what I was doing before, although with a few more elements added in. I’m really enjoying it, especially (surprisingly) the “exercise” part. Since I started the routine, I’ve been doing yoga every day and loving it. Sometimes I only do a 12 minute routine, but when I can I try for 30 minutes. It has been wonderful, and as someone who formerly thought yoga wasn’t for me I am a total convert.
{may closet goals}
– Sell or donate all unwanted clothes, shoes, accessories. I have a large bag in my closet full of clothes that I need to get rid of, but because they are nicer items I was hoping to sell them. Of course, instead I’ve just left them alone in my closet…
– Find a better way to display my necklaces. Right now my necklaces are stored in a clear hanging organizer, which is good in a way because I can see them all. However, because they’re not hanging, they often get tangled.
– Organize my shelves and shoes. I have a decent amount of space in my closet, but I’m not really using it well.
– Find a way to make my closet prettier. Of course I would like my closet to be organized and functional first, but after that I’d like it to look good.
– Fill closet holes for spring/summer. I can’t have a month focused on my closet without taking some time to think about shopping!
– Organize and update kids’ clothes. I’m mostly focusing on my own closet this month, but I definitely need to do something about Jona and Violet’s closets as well. I need to put their too-small items in bins, and find out what they still need for summer.
What are your goals this month?
