Outside my window… even more snow. It was really hard to get places this past weekend, but with the wedding there wasn’t really much of a choice. We took our time and made it to all the important places.
I am thinking… about being back to work this week. I’m trying to remember that this is just a stage of life, that soon I will be able to work less and be with my family more, make dinner every night of the week, create more art, play music for myself rather than for teaching related reasons . . .
I am thankful for… my family, but in particular my siblings. Everyone came together for our sister K.’s wedding and in spite of the rushed circumstances everyone was there to hold her up and show their love for her, her new husband and their soon-to-arrive son.
Always Learning… I’m loving the Ruth Beechick book I received last week! I’ve already been through it once, and now I’m reading it through again. THIS is the book I’ve needed to read to make me feel more prepared for our first year of homeschooling, and confirms a lot of the feelings that I was having about a lot of curriculums asking for too much in a Kindergartener. I’m feeling more and more confident as I read.
From the kitchen… LOTS of soup. Best way to keep warm I think.
I am wearing… Jeans, a camisole, black long-sleeved tee, and a red t-shirt on top. Two pairs of socks. I’m considering adding a hoodie.
I am creating… space. I spent free time over my Christmas break de-cluttering toys in the boys’ rooms and cleaning out closets. I earned my sewing table back from the piles that had grown in November and December.
I am going… to stay home as much as possible this week. We all just need time at home after the wedding craziness last week for some quiet and normalcy. Plus it’s WAY too cold to try to venture out!
I am reading… The Host by Stephenie Meyer, Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman, and The 3 R’s by Ruth Beechick.
I am hoping… that Superman starts getting calls on some of the resumes he has been submitting.
I am hearing… Vivaldi- the Four Seasons.
Around the house… The Christmas tree is down, along with the nativity. My plans for January include finishing up the closet re-organization I started over the holiday break.
One of my favorite things… left-over treats from New Year’s Eve. They are all the things we never buy that we are snacking on for just one more week . . .
A few plans for the rest of the week … getting back to a routine, starting with regular bedtimes- Mama included!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010 Goals
I wrote goals for myself last year and that list gave me much need focus for the year. I thought I'd do it again this year- please feel free to weigh in on my goals or link to your own in the comments!
1. BE PRESENT. This is my theme for the year. We have a lot going on in our family right now while Brian is finishing school, and it is very easy for me to spend all my time multi-tasking. I find my mind always half on what is going on around me and half on the things that need to be accomplished elsewhere. I am working very hard to be present with the people I love and saving the worry for later. One of the ways I'm trying to do this is to make a list for myself of when I will do things (work related tasks, house keeping, etc.) so that when those "I should be doing xyz" thoughts start popping up I can dismiss them easily because I've already planned a separate time to accomplish those tasks. Cleaning can wait. My children will not be this age forever.
2. Commit to Daily Scripture. I've been reading and re-reading posts by Ann Voskamp about the way Scripture is a part of the daily life of the family, and praying about ways to make changes in our own family concerning Scripture. I grew up in a practicing Christian home. Both of my parents became believers in high school and are the only believers in their families to this day. My husband came to Christ as an adult, so he doesn't know all of the Bible stories I learned as a child and the practice of daily Scripture reading and prayer is still not completely habit. One of the goals we share for this year is daily Scripture reading and prayer with the boys, developing this to be a habit for our family so that our boys grow up to know that Word is meant to be read, prayed and processed daily. It is a habit I learned early on, and one that Brian is still developing. My own personal goal to go along with our family goal is to commit to Scripture memory this year. I'm still working out specific plans (whether it's to memorize a whole book or separate verses I haven't quite decided yet) and I'll let you know when I settle on something.
3. Track the non-fiction I read this year. I read a very large amount of non-fic each year and I'm curious to know just how much. We'll just say that I check out an average of 100 books per month at our local library, and about 30 of those are for the boys. The rest are for me, with the occasional audio book for Brian to listen to while he drives for work.
4. Raise my fiction goal to 24 fiction books this year, 2 per month. I read more fiction in 2009 than I read in all of 2006, 2007, and 2008 combined. I chalk that fiction deficit up to having two babies! Non-fic was a ton easier to pick up and put down, plus I went on a parenting/mothering book craze for about 2 years.
5. Plan time to re-charge during the week, especially January-May while Brian is finishing school. Brian will be in class 2 nights per week this semester, and will have 2 online classes as well. Because he's taking an overload he will have to be even more diligent about his study time, which means that I will have a good amount of free time on my hands. I need to be sure to use at least some of that time to do things that bring me energy and refreshment so that on the nights he is home I will have energy and attention for him.
6. Keep up with great eating habits. Last year we worked really hard at changing our eating habits, and implented a few things that helped tremendously- we now buy and eat seasonally for our fresh ingredients, and we do not purchase items that are not good for us. No junk food in the house means no "surprise" midnight eating. We also did away with a lot of pre-prepared foods, which also saves us quite a lot on our food budget. Brian has lost and kept off the weight he wanted to take care of, and I feel a million times better these days. I want to continue the things we learned last year, but also to take it into the new year with a few improvements. I need to keep up consistently on meal planning and because of our odd dinner time schedule I need to make more use of my crockpots to provide healthy meals on the nights I have to work through the dinner hour.
7. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items per day for 30 days. I did this challenge last year in January/February and it felt like a gigantic breath of fresh air for our house. I'm doing it again, thinking of specific places- the hall coat closet, the linen closet, the boys' toys . . . the house certainly feels full again and we need to find white space.
8. Move systematically through the house to declutter. I'm working through this again this year, because it really helped to devote one month to each room of the house so that by the time November hit I didn't have to do any mad dash holiday cleaning. I got a lot done by working just a little bit each day- I think that is the system that just works best for me.
9. Improve my crafting skills. I'm ready to learn some new skills this year!
Learn to do cables.
10. Re-evaluate my goals every 3 months to stay on task. These goals are not set in stone; if something isn't working I reserve the right to make a change! I tried to set goals that I have control over, considering whether or not they are actually possible and if they serve our family or myself well. Checking in and an occasional re-evaluation is definitely necessary for me.
2010 Goals
1. BE PRESENT. This is my theme for the year. We have a lot going on in our family right now while Brian is finishing school, and it is very easy for me to spend all my time multi-tasking. I find my mind always half on what is going on around me and half on the things that need to be accomplished elsewhere. I am working very hard to be present with the people I love and saving the worry for later. One of the ways I'm trying to do this is to make a list for myself of when I will do things (work related tasks, house keeping, etc.) so that when those "I should be doing xyz" thoughts start popping up I can dismiss them easily because I've already planned a separate time to accomplish those tasks. Cleaning can wait. My children will not be this age forever.
2. Commit to Daily Scripture. I've been reading and re-reading posts by Ann Voskamp about the way Scripture is a part of the daily life of the family, and praying about ways to make changes in our own family concerning Scripture. I grew up in a practicing Christian home. Both of my parents became believers in high school and are the only believers in their families to this day. My husband came to Christ as an adult, so he doesn't know all of the Bible stories I learned as a child and the practice of daily Scripture reading and prayer is still not completely habit. One of the goals we share for this year is daily Scripture reading and prayer with the boys, developing this to be a habit for our family so that our boys grow up to know that Word is meant to be read, prayed and processed daily. It is a habit I learned early on, and one that Brian is still developing. My own personal goal to go along with our family goal is to commit to Scripture memory this year. I'm still working out specific plans (whether it's to memorize a whole book or separate verses I haven't quite decided yet) and I'll let you know when I settle on something.
3. Track the non-fiction I read this year. I read a very large amount of non-fic each year and I'm curious to know just how much. We'll just say that I check out an average of 100 books per month at our local library, and about 30 of those are for the boys. The rest are for me, with the occasional audio book for Brian to listen to while he drives for work.
4. Raise my fiction goal to 24 fiction books this year, 2 per month. I read more fiction in 2009 than I read in all of 2006, 2007, and 2008 combined. I chalk that fiction deficit up to having two babies! Non-fic was a ton easier to pick up and put down, plus I went on a parenting/mothering book craze for about 2 years.
5. Plan time to re-charge during the week, especially January-May while Brian is finishing school. Brian will be in class 2 nights per week this semester, and will have 2 online classes as well. Because he's taking an overload he will have to be even more diligent about his study time, which means that I will have a good amount of free time on my hands. I need to be sure to use at least some of that time to do things that bring me energy and refreshment so that on the nights he is home I will have energy and attention for him.
6. Keep up with great eating habits. Last year we worked really hard at changing our eating habits, and implented a few things that helped tremendously- we now buy and eat seasonally for our fresh ingredients, and we do not purchase items that are not good for us. No junk food in the house means no "surprise" midnight eating. We also did away with a lot of pre-prepared foods, which also saves us quite a lot on our food budget. Brian has lost and kept off the weight he wanted to take care of, and I feel a million times better these days. I want to continue the things we learned last year, but also to take it into the new year with a few improvements. I need to keep up consistently on meal planning and because of our odd dinner time schedule I need to make more use of my crockpots to provide healthy meals on the nights I have to work through the dinner hour.
7. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items per day for 30 days. I did this challenge last year in January/February and it felt like a gigantic breath of fresh air for our house. I'm doing it again, thinking of specific places- the hall coat closet, the linen closet, the boys' toys . . . the house certainly feels full again and we need to find white space.
8. Move systematically through the house to declutter. I'm working through this again this year, because it really helped to devote one month to each room of the house so that by the time November hit I didn't have to do any mad dash holiday cleaning. I got a lot done by working just a little bit each day- I think that is the system that just works best for me.
9. Improve my crafting skills. I'm ready to learn some new skills this year!
Learn to do cables.
Knitting Goals:
Learn to do color work.
Attempt lacework.
Sewing Goals:
Get going on the hexagon quilt I've been thinking about for 6 months!
Branch out into some harder patterns for myself. I have my eye on a certain dress.
Become more confident in the skills I already have instead of holding myself back.
Make the boys' Easter shirts and ties for this year. Superman's tie too. :)
Cut into some of the "special" material I've been hoarding!
10. Re-evaluate my goals every 3 months to stay on task. These goals are not set in stone; if something isn't working I reserve the right to make a change! I tried to set goals that I have control over, considering whether or not they are actually possible and if they serve our family or myself well. Checking in and an occasional re-evaluation is definitely necessary for me.
Friday, January 1, 2010
7 Quick Takes
Want more Quick Takes? Go visit Jen.
~1~
I'm working on goals for next year, and I'll post them on Monday. Want to join me? Write your own goals for 2010 and be sure to come back on Monday to share them with us!
~2~
After reading quite a lot in the last month I am feeling pretty comfortable with our Kindergarten plans for next fall. I think Superman and I have reached a compromise on materials, budget and level of "Schoolishness" that will make us both happy and most of all includes things that I think Ender will love. I also have some new work to introduce to Ender in January to help accomplish some of the things he's been asking to work on lately.
~3~
I received my amazon order on Wednesday- in it: The New Way Things Work for Ender along with a beginner's atlas, a tracing book for Ezra, a few chapter books to read with Ender, and for me: Knitting Without Tears, The Knitter's Almanac, and the Three R's. I'll be busy reading over the weekend!
~4~
I'm trying to figure out the best way to stay warm in a skirt this winter. I'm an absolute chicken about being too cold, but I do want to wear skirts during the winter. Suggestions? Thoughts? I'm thinking corduroy, or some kind of special slip- I've heard tales about using flannel-backed satin to keep a bit warmer. I do need a better jean skirt too- that's definitely on the sewing list for January.
~5~
Ezra has decided to be a dragon for the past few days. He asks what kind of dragon he should be and our job is to answer "scary" or "nice" so that he can roar in just the right way. He has such an imagination already! Ender didn't really develop that kind of thinking until after he turned 3- he's always approached the world in a very thoughtful fact-based way (even at 2 1/2), and to have a brother to imagine with has really helped him to branch out a bit and use the facts he knows in a playful way. It never ceases to amaze me how two brothers raised in the same house by the same parents can be so very different.
~6~
Last night we had family over for a New Year's Eve game night filled with Balderdash, Trivial Pursuit, Settlers of Catan, Canasta, and Pit. Ender and Ezra made it until 9:30 before Ender actually asked to go to bed. Tonight will be another late night, as Ender and I are going to the rehearsal for my sister K.'s wedding!
~7~
Today my jobs are to clean up after last night's party and to find a pair of shoes for tomorrow's wedding. I've looked a few times this week and can't find anything that isn't REALLY expensive. I just need them for one day- I don't want to spend a gazillion dollars!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Ender
In the last few weeks . . .
:: He decided that dressing himself from head to toe is totally easy. Putting on his own shirt is now a piece of cake instead of a big wrestling match.
:: He has been eating a TON these days. Like if we're having sandwiches for lunch he is eating three. THREE! Two bowls of oatmeal for breakfast, a second breakfast about an hour later . . . he must be turning into a hobbit.
:: Ender ventured into 100 piece puzzles. He received two for Christmas and it's been fun to watch him work on it for awhile and then wander back several times through the day to continue his work.
:: He followed the directions on a new set of trio blocks to complete the project on his own for the first time. In the past he has asked for help around step 2 and this time he finished it completely on his own. When did that happen?
:: Ender has been helping Daddy around the house this month. He is rarely to be found without a measuring tape, a pencil and paper in his hands writing all kinds of numbers.
:: Since Ender first saw his bike on Christmas morning I don't think he's taken his helmet off except to sleep, and that's only because we made him.
:: Ender, you are sweet and affectionate, caring for your family and taking good care of us. You make sure that we read every day, remind us to laugh, you make great jokes, and think through everything. Four-years-old looks good on you, Son. You are such a blessing to me and I love you more than I can put into words.
:: He decided that dressing himself from head to toe is totally easy. Putting on his own shirt is now a piece of cake instead of a big wrestling match.
:: He has been eating a TON these days. Like if we're having sandwiches for lunch he is eating three. THREE! Two bowls of oatmeal for breakfast, a second breakfast about an hour later . . . he must be turning into a hobbit.
:: Ender ventured into 100 piece puzzles. He received two for Christmas and it's been fun to watch him work on it for awhile and then wander back several times through the day to continue his work.
:: He followed the directions on a new set of trio blocks to complete the project on his own for the first time. In the past he has asked for help around step 2 and this time he finished it completely on his own. When did that happen?
:: Ender has been helping Daddy around the house this month. He is rarely to be found without a measuring tape, a pencil and paper in his hands writing all kinds of numbers.
:: Since Ender first saw his bike on Christmas morning I don't think he's taken his helmet off except to sleep, and that's only because we made him.
:: Ender, you are sweet and affectionate, caring for your family and taking good care of us. You make sure that we read every day, remind us to laugh, you make great jokes, and think through everything. Four-years-old looks good on you, Son. You are such a blessing to me and I love you more than I can put into words.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Goal Check
Last year I set up 10 goals for myself to accomplish and secretly told myself that if I did even half of them it would be a good year. Here's the end-of-year check-up:
1. Plant a garden this year and hopefully end up with edible produce. We tried strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, spinach and loose leaf lettuce. We ended up doing pretty well, but I battled a few squirrels over those tomatoes. I'm already looking up ways to keep them away from the tomatoes next year. The peppers did really great, and I have a few bags in my freezer full of sliced jalapenos. This spring I think we will only plant 1 of each kind of pepper so we won't be over run, and I think I will better know how to care for the tomatoes this year.
2. Eat at-home prepared meals only for a week. Thanks to a tightening of the belt this fall we've done this quite frequently in the last few months. My goal in this was to get used to being in the kitchen every single day again, and thinking of our meals differently. My views on food and meals have changed so much this year.
3. Read 20 fiction books this year. Because of my mad dash in October and November I think I'm going to end up with 31 for my final total! Superman argues that the Laura Ingalls Wilder books shouldn't count since they are so short, but at least nine of the books on there were over 500 pages, so I think it balances out. Next year I'd like to keep better track of my non-fiction reads as well.
4. Start Bible memory with Ender and build it into a habit. We started out well, and we're ending well, but the middle months left a lot to be desired. That is my fault, not his, but we're making this into a family event for next year and I think that will be the key to consistency for me.
5. Keep my nightstand area completely clear for 30 days except for vitamins, Bible and 1 current book. This hasn’t happened yet. This may never happen in my lifetime. But it's important to Superman, so I keep trying. Maybe next year.
6. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items each day for 30 days. I finished this in January/February. It felt so good to get some of those little things out of the house and it didn't take long to do each day. I may need to keep this one for next year as well.
7. Move systematically through the house to declutter and re-organize. I did well, but it's been a few months since I completed this and already I need to go through again. The boys have outgrown toys and clothes, we have acquired some things without making the room for them . . .
8. Drink water. Make juice an occasional thing and soda a rare thing. I did well with this a lot of the time, but awful at certain points too. It is better though, and I'm trying to hold onto this habit.
1. Plant a garden this year and hopefully end up with edible produce. We tried strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, spinach and loose leaf lettuce. We ended up doing pretty well, but I battled a few squirrels over those tomatoes. I'm already looking up ways to keep them away from the tomatoes next year. The peppers did really great, and I have a few bags in my freezer full of sliced jalapenos. This spring I think we will only plant 1 of each kind of pepper so we won't be over run, and I think I will better know how to care for the tomatoes this year.
2. Eat at-home prepared meals only for a week. Thanks to a tightening of the belt this fall we've done this quite frequently in the last few months. My goal in this was to get used to being in the kitchen every single day again, and thinking of our meals differently. My views on food and meals have changed so much this year.
3. Read 20 fiction books this year. Because of my mad dash in October and November I think I'm going to end up with 31 for my final total! Superman argues that the Laura Ingalls Wilder books shouldn't count since they are so short, but at least nine of the books on there were over 500 pages, so I think it balances out. Next year I'd like to keep better track of my non-fiction reads as well.
4. Start Bible memory with Ender and build it into a habit. We started out well, and we're ending well, but the middle months left a lot to be desired. That is my fault, not his, but we're making this into a family event for next year and I think that will be the key to consistency for me.
5. Keep my nightstand area completely clear for 30 days except for vitamins, Bible and 1 current book. This hasn’t happened yet. This may never happen in my lifetime. But it's important to Superman, so I keep trying. Maybe next year.
6. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items each day for 30 days. I finished this in January/February. It felt so good to get some of those little things out of the house and it didn't take long to do each day. I may need to keep this one for next year as well.
7. Move systematically through the house to declutter and re-organize. I did well, but it's been a few months since I completed this and already I need to go through again. The boys have outgrown toys and clothes, we have acquired some things without making the room for them . . .
8. Drink water. Make juice an occasional thing and soda a rare thing. I did well with this a lot of the time, but awful at certain points too. It is better though, and I'm trying to hold onto this habit.
9. Move to using as many fresh ingredients as possible in our cooking. I am so happy with our diet changes this year. We aren't allowing much junk food in the house because Superman and I can't resist the temptation if it's here. So we're making healthy snacks plenty available so there is no late night "oh-no-what-did-I-just-eat?!?" moments of panic.
10. Re-evaluate my goals every 3 months. I didn't check in on this at all this fall, but we seem to have made it okay. I'm working on my goals for 2010 and praying for guidance in this coming year.
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