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spring goals report

Although it has felt like summer for a month already, spring is technically just ending today. I liked doing seasonal goals and feel that they are appropriate for me this year. Here’s how I did with mine this spring:

>Finish sewing my quilt top: Completed! Also sewed the back and obtained batting.

>Add 5 new easy weeknight meals: Well, I added three. Baked BBQ taquitos, slow cooker taco chili, and taco chicken bowls. The taco chili and the taco chicken could easily be adapted for paleo (since that’s the lifestyle I’m aiming at), but the BBQ taquitos will have to be a splurge every once in awhile.

>Complete Couch to 5k: Done, and ran a 5k race too.

>Finish the 12-week Bible study: Check plus, and have been continuing daily Bible study (most days) following along with She Reads Truth.

>Go on a family outing or adventure: We went to the zoo as a family! We have also been doing a lot more walks to the park which are like little mini-adventures.

I’m finalizing my summer goals and will share them with you next week!

June 20, 2014
where do you live?

photo credit

Where do you live, and do you like it? Sometimes during the long, hot summers of Houston I get to daydreaming about a milder climate. I even decided to take a quiz to tell me what my ideal U.S. city would be. It gave me the top 24, but the first five were:

1. Tulsa, OK

2. Greenville, SC

3. Clarksville, TN

4. St. George, UT

5. Hampton, VA

I didn’t know much about any of these cities, so I took some time to read about them and I decided Greenville, SC is my favorite! If I could just up and relocate though, I’d have to visit and really feel the “vibe” before deciding.

As it is, for the most part I do love living near Houston. I actually live in a suburb, and I like the conveniences of a nearby large city (top medical center, lots of culture, shopping options, restaurants) but there is more space, better schools, and it’s affordable. And although it’s super hot in the summer, we have awesome springs and falls, and our winter is very mild. I can handle hot better than cold. We also have a really low cost of living here!

The number one reason we are probably in Houston to stay, though, is that both of our families (including all siblings) live here. We are all pretty close and now that kids are involved it’s become even more important to us to be very involved in each others’ lives.

What about you? Where do you live, and do you like it? If you take the quiz, what are your results?

June 19, 2014
bullet journal update
I’ve been using my bullet journal for about three months now. If you haven’t heard of this method, you really should check out the website and the short video there. It’s a really neat method for organizing daily and monthly tasks, events, notes, lists, and pretty much anything else you can include in a notebook.

For my journal I’m using a Moleskine Cahier Squared Journal because that’s what I had on hand. I think, though, that I might need more pages if I want it to last for an entire year. If I continue, next time I will also probably purchase a notebook with a hard cover. The squared pages are perfect though.

One of the most important parts to this method is the index page at the front. That allows you to easily find whatever you’re looking for without having to include tabs or sections or waste any space. I love the index! However, I like to put spaces in between items for readability’s sake, and I think I’m going to run out of room on my index page. Next time I will make sure to leave the first few pages blank.

If you watch the video overview, you’ll see that the bullet journal can be a great method for a daily task list. I tried that for awhile, but I found that I simply don’t have enough tasks to list most days, and the ones I do have are mostly routines. Plus, I am deeply entrenched in and rely upon my Things app. I do try to be super productive on the weekends though, and usually I will write out a weekend task list in my journal and leave it out on the counter during that time. I like having it there in a visible spot and it does help me to write everything out by hand.

Some other ways I am using my bullet journal are:
- church sermon notes
- weekly meal plan
- brainstorm sessions
- home decorating project & idea list
Overall I really like the system and its flexibility. The idea of numbering pages and using an index is genius! I’m definitely going to keep using it for all my random lists and notes.
June 18, 2014
liam at five months

He:

>Has become pretty vocal! I guess he realized that he has to make himself heard around here.

>Had a pretty bad diaper rash for about two weeks before I finally realized it was fungal and the new cream kicked in. Now it has improved a lot but is still stubbornly hanging on. (Side note: ask for recommendations for diaper rash on Facebook and you will get more comments than all of your other posts combined. It was awesome.)

>Grabs himself (you know what I mean) constantly during diaper changes. At first I just thought he was itchy, but now I think it’s a boy thing.

>Loves his feet. And I love the adorable little bundle he becomes when he’s holding them.

>Kind of plays with toys now; at least he will grab at them and put them in his mouth.

>Has no problem being passed around from person to person. As long as he’s being held, he’s usually happy.

>Probably wants to go to sleep earlier every evening than he gets to. We can’t juggle two different bedtimes though, so he deals with it.

>Isn’t very good at sitting up yet. In the Bumbo he still slumps to the side and his legs get stuck and he just doesn’t seem to enjoy it in general.

>Doesn’t always care for these photoshoots.

I:

>Get really overdramatic and anxious from time to time that I’m missing his babyhood when Meredith is in her needy moods. There are times when I feel like I barely hold him for days except to nurse. But she’s been better lately about letting me hold him, and I am glad that her phases are usually short-lived.

>Have learned the secret to drinking more water, and it’s a cup with a straw. I’ve really been able to get nearly 64 oz a day down easily since making this discovery, and I think my milk supply has increased too!

>Feel incredibly accomplished every time I trim the kids’ fingernails. Doesn’t matter if everything else is a wreck, I feel so much better whenever they’re cut.

>Really hope to cut back on Meredith’s sugar intake and not make the same mistakes with Liam. Now that I know more about it, we are going to phase out the sugary, carby snacks and eat more real food at home.

>Am still in denial about our whole sleeping situation aka the family bed. It’s fine, we all sleep, but it can’t go on forever and I don’t even know where to start to change it.

>Can’t believe that Liam is bigger than Meredith was at this age. The stats say so, but in comparing the photos she just looks SO much chubbier.

For reference:

0 months
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months

Meredith at 5 months

June 17, 2014
around here // father’s day weekend

Around here messes were made. While I was in the shower Meredith decided to empty all of the drawers and shelves of their contents. Miraculously though, she helped clean up!

I took my last splurge weekend seriously.

We did a little crafting for daddy.

“Take us a picture!”

I was able to work on a few things around the house, including styling our dresser. More books were needed (an obvious solution, I thought) so I stacked a Stephen King illustrated companion (my husband’s favorite author) with some House Beautiful magazines and a pretty copy of The Hobbit. I never could get a clear photo of it since it’s right in front of a window. But I do hope to share this finished wall of our master bedroom soon!

I made a serious grocery trip. It took forever because I had to read all the labels and pick out produce that I have never bought before! Kind of sad, but I’m making positive changes so no feeling guilty about the past allowed.

For Father’s Day we met my family at a sports bar…my dad is a huge soccer fan so we watched a World Cup game and ate delicious appetizers.

Then we we had a big dinner of fajitas with David’s family! Meredith looks unhappy in this picture but she was actually in a great mood all weekend! I was so proud of her, she didn’t take a nap because of all the activity and was still SO well-behaved, even when it came time for bath and bed. This is definitely not usually the case so it was a gift all in itself.

And finally let’s talk about how I have the greatest in-laws ever. They saw how much I wanted this advent calendar and completely surprised me with it!! So now there is a chance that I can have it finished by December!

What a great weekend. And now…it’s whole30 time! I woke up several times last night with nerves but no turning back now! I’m sure I’ll be mentioning my progress here and I’ll definitely do a wrap-up post at the end, but if you want to follow along more closely I’ll be posting pics of some of my meals on Instagram.

Have a great week!

June 16, 2014