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spring goals

This year, with a new baby and a new job, monthly goals are a little much for me. However, there are obviously a lot of changes happening in my life and I’m feeling really motivated. I’m going to try doing seasonal goals and see how I like it! Last week was the first day of spring, and here are the things I want to accomplish in roughly the next three months:

>Finish sewing my quilt top. I’ve done 7 out of 14 rows right now, then I need to press and sew them together.

>Add 5 new easy weeknight meals to our rotation. Stuff like tacos, spaghetti, or burgers. Can be crockpot as long as it can cook for 8-10 hours on low. Give me all your suggestions!

>Complete Couch to 5k. I’ve done this program a couple of times and really like it, and I’ve actually already started. There is a 5k race the women at my church are entering in May, and I’d love to run it instead of walk.

>Finish the 12-week Bible study I started a few weeks ago. As long as I can keep on waking up early enough before work, this shouldn’t be a problem and I’ll have established and much needed habit.

>Go on a family outing or adventure. I’m thinking the zoo, but it could be anything out of the ordinary that includes all four of us.

I’m limiting my goals to five right now because I want to see how life with a new job and two kids goes!

March 24, 2014
project life 2014 : weeks 7-8

I’m so close to being caught up with these posts! Bear with me and then I’ll only have them for you every couple of weeks. :) This one is from February 10 – 23.

I had to include that handmade Valentine’s card that Meredith brought home from school. I’m sure she didn’t really make it herself but she probably helped, and it was too cute. I wasn’t sure how to put it in since it was an odd size, and I wanted to be able to pull it out and open it easily. After much thought I decided to attempt to sew a custom sized page protector from an 8.5×11 and it was actually really easy! I hadn’t touched my sewing machine in ages but luckily it was still set up correctly.

Left hand side:

I thought the death of poor Cleo needed a little extra journaling:

Right hand side includes Liam’s one month photo and stats:

I’m using these cards from the baby edition core kit to do his monthly updates because they’re so easy.

That’s it for this one!

March 22, 2014
liam at two months

He:

>Weighs 14 lbs, 4.5 oz and is 23.5 inches long. A good 85th percentile chub. :)

>Still holds his hands in permanent fists.

>Hasn’t really started cooing yet, he’s still just grunting like a little gremlin.

>Smiles!

>Has auburn hair. For awhile I thought it was just light brown but it’s gotten lighter and definitely has a reddish tint to it, especially in the sun.

>Outgrew the size 1 disposable diapers we had on hand so is now wearing exclusively cloth diapers (small Fuzzibunz during the day, Flips with an extra hemp insert at night) but we don’t have that many so it’s daily laundry for me.

>Really doesn’t care for the pacifier.

>Pretty much goes to sleep at the same time as Meredith and I do (around 8:30 or 9 usually) and wakes up around 3am to nurse, and from there it’s a toss up whether or not he’ll truly settle back down again.

>Is a good baby and goes with the flow, which is nice because the poor guy is sometimes neglected in the face of toddler tantrums.

I:

>Start my new job on Monday! I think I’m totally ready. House and craft projects are wrapped up for the most part, I have all new scrubs, I visited my old unit to say goodbye and turn in my key, and I have my orientation instructions.

>Have been considering how to fit exercise back into my life, and talked to my friend Lauren about doing Couch to 5k together, and then at the last minute decided to do day 1 yesterday. I took Liam in the jogging stroller around 4:30pm and it went great despite the fact that I’m super slow. But I think I should be able to do some form of exercise every day as soon as I get home from work.

>Don’t have as much milk pumped and frozen as I intended, but there’s enough to get by.

>Know that it was the right thing to have another baby when I see how Meredith dotes on Liam and helps take care of him. (My favorite is how she helps give him a bath by washing him with her own washcloth and pours water on him to rinse. She takes it so seriously.)

>Am grateful for the warmer weather because it gives me so many more clothing options.

>Have been really into yogurt parfaits lately, which never used to appeal to me.

>Am trying to finish up a book for book club this weekend.

>Am in season 2 of Parenthood and obsessed.

>Have been thinking about bedtime and sleep for the kids, wondering how I can get Meredith to move to her own bed and maybe move Liam out of our bed also. I think that this will require a lot of rearranging of furniture and rooms and a huge amount of effort…but it also might be worth it.

>Feel really good about the place we’re in right now. I’m not nervous about sending Liam to daycare or going back to work even though I know there will be hard parts. I’ve got some routines established and some in mind to try and have created space in my life and in my home so that I feel calm.

***

For reference:

Meredith at two months

Liam at one month

March 20, 2014
project life 2014 : weeks 5-6

This is a quick Project Life spread for you! It’s from the weeks of January 27 to February 9, which was just me on maternity leave and also included my birthday.

Left hand side:

Right hand side (the black and white striped card is from Big City Quiet):

That’s it! My favorite thing so far is the week in review cards. Typing them up is super easy because I already write down the events of each day in a journal, and I can include most of what happens this way. If I want to write something more in depth then I will use a whole journaling card to do so, but usually this does the trick and I can just let it and the photos tell the story!

March 18, 2014
quick takes

We’re doing quick takes on a Monday today because I have a lot to discuss. Let’s go.

one

This is my last week of maternity leave. On one hand I can hardly believe it, but it also feels right. What I’m most nervous about is getting myself and two kids ready to go in the mornings and getting to work on time. (What I’m most dreading is being away from Liam for so long and pumping at work, but I know it’ll be okay.) So this week I’m doing a practice run and acting as if I had to work. This morning went smoothly and I was able to wake up in time to do my Bible study and have my breakfast, get everyone ready and dropped at daycare by 7:30am, and then I practiced the drive to work and it took me eight minutes. I still want to budget twenty minutes for the commute so I can figure in parking and anything else that might come up. Also, this morning Meredith was unusually cooperative and even got herself undressed and her outfit picked out while I got myself ready. So we’ll see. I’m also not allowing myself to do things during the day that I normally wouldn’t be able to do, like house chores or starting on dinner. I want to see how my new routines are going to work, because in my mind everything is perfectly timed. Once I figure it all out I’m sure I’ll do a post just on that.

two

I am sooo inspired by the Bullet Journal system. Even though I have several other systems in place (my iPhone calendar, Things app, and a 5-year journal) I am still giving it a try. After using it for a few days I can see that it definitely won’t replace my digital calendar or to-do list (the automated repeating tasks in the app are too amazing) but I think it’ll be a great addition.

three

The greatest thing ever happened last week! My best friend Becca came to visit! We went to high school and college together, but now she lives in Kansas so I get to see her once a year if I’m lucky. She has three awesome kids 5 and under and came by herself, so we did some serious relaxing. We watched a whole lot of Parenthood, she taught herself to crochet (with help from my mom) and I made a ton of progress on my autumn sampler, which I should be able to finish this week. We also tried making soy candles using this tutorial and it was super easy! I’m thinking I’ll make a huge batch of them for ourselves and to use as gifts during the holidays.

four

Becca also helped me fix the tension on my sewing machine and I was able to sew a row and a half of my quilt that I started over a year ago. I intended to complete it last year, but pregnancy and the fact that I couldn’t sew a piece together without the fabric bunching up derailed me. I’m way into it now though, and loving it.

five

Let me just talk about Meredith for a second. Remember how I said I weaned her from nursing? Well the week following that (the one before Becca’s visit) was a complete nightmare. She bit five times at daycare, had nightly meltdowns, was blatantly disobedient, wouldn’t eat for us, and I was legitimately scared that I had made a bad kid even though rationally I knew it was a phase. Then suddenly, last Saturday, a switch flipped and she was her sweet self again. Well-behaved at school, fun to be around, cooperative, big appetite, and way less tantrums. We had made some adjustments, like cutting out most treats for her, being more rigorous about a nightly routine, and thankfully the weather cooperated and we got her outside to play and for walks. But I don’t think those things (although good, and we will keep them up) are what did it. I think it’s just that she is two. It’s a crazy age.

six

Liam is two months old today, so look for his update later this week!

seven

David and I were super productive over the weekend. We fixed the headlight on my car, installed new blinds in our room, and did some rearranging of car seats. These were mostly new things for us, and there was some frustration and some words were had. But we survived, and we were successful, and our marriage is intact. :) Now that those things are out of the way, I can spend this week focusing on decluttering and crafts. Trying to make the most of this last week!

March 17, 2014