diy mama

lifestyle blog sharing diy, family, travel, organization & disney tips

goals

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November Goals

October has blown through our lives like the wind that fall brings. It’s crazy how much we did this past month. I really focused on having fun with Sophie and making sure to spend more time with friends and family. We’re still doing nightly projects on the house but there is a lot more ‘fun’ time scheduled in. Unfortunately, we’re ramping up to do a few big house projects before winter (and snow) comes. Hopefully having these November goals written out will help keep me on track because I know this and next month will be pretty anxiety inducing.

November

On that note, let’s check to see how flexible I’ll have to be with my November goals by looking back on my October goals (or as I like to call them ‘accomplishments’.)

Conner Prairie is so beautiful in the fall
We did well on our family goals for October. Like I said, my focus was Sophie, so we got a play area set up for her in the basement since the weather is starting to get rainy. We did not do well at getting her bedtime routine set. I could blame it on a number of events we did but in reality, it’s all on us to make sure we’re home to give her the routine she thrives on. We’re running into her having a hard time waking up in the mornings and refusing school again so bedtime routine will be a must this month. We did not go to a pumpkin patch but Soph went with me to pick out her pumpkin and we carved them as a cat and Frankenstein. We also went to several local Halloween attractions like The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie, The Children’s Museum and Octoboo Trick or Treating at the Hamilton East County Library.

Sophie at the park
I only accomplished 50% of my life goals this past month. We got the bathroom painted with help from my sister and got the shelves up in the master closet this past weekend. We were able to visit both sides of our family for lots of Birthday celebrating, however, I did not work out 5 days/week and we only did Whole15. The good news is that I’m now in PT for my shoulder and neck so I will be able to do more regular workouts (and vacuum the house!) I rocked my blog goals and completed all three! I did several paid posts, wrote both Sophie’s Birthday party post and a Disney post (coming this week) and finished our final book for Page Turners, George.

Hayride with toddler
We have had a wonderful start to the fall season. During Sophie’s fall break we were able to visit with lots of friends and family and really spent quality time with everyone (without a ton on the agenda). She seems to really like fall and all the activities that come with it (other than the rain because she can’t go to the park every day).  Now for my November goals.

November Goals:

Family:

  • Focus on Sophie’s bedtime routine
  • Start swim lessons
  • Meet up with another mom or mom’s group

Life:

  • Do one personal organizing session
  • Read 4 nights/week
  • Build a shed

Blog:

  • Post three times/week
  • Use hashtags more effectively on Instagram (higher likes)
  • Schedule content a month out

I’m excited but also nervous for November and December. I like having a few things on the calendar but it’s already looking quite full. One day  at a time. By the way, what is one of your biggest goals for November? Please share it with me. I’d love to have an accountability buddy.

By the way, if you’re liking my photos, you can follow along with what we’re up to on my Instagram page:

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October Goals

I’ve come to the realization that things may not slow down in my life until my kids have graduated High School. Monthly goals are an important part of my mental stability in keeping my priorities in order through the madness that is the 21st century. The most important thing to remember when goal setting is to know that it will be alright if each goal is not fully complete by the end of the month. To be flexible in goal setting is the key to not feeling stressed or frustrated with your accomplishments. If you don’t accomplish one of your goals, it’s no problem, if it is still an important task simply push the date back. It does no good to get down on yourself for not accomplishing goals.

October Leaves

On that note, let’s check to see how flexible I’ll have to be with my October goals by looking back on my September goals (or as I like to call them ‘accomplishments’.) By the way, September rocked in all areas of my life.

fall pumpkins and october goalsWe started Sophie in an all day Montessori school just a  block from our home. The transition has been rough for all of us. There are tears every morning but each day is a little bit less of a struggle. She loves being at school once she’s there but leaving me is really tough on her (and me!) Sophie and I had many mini Mommy/Daughter dates after school. I was sure to focus entirely on her after school rather than cleaning the kitchen or running errands. We’re on a great track to making our home Montessori friendly with adding low tables/chairs, hooks and a spot for all of Sophie’s belongings that she can easily access.

Lexi dog from the shelter and October goalsWe also are on a roll with potty training. I know that things can digress after a while but as of now she is doing a wonderful job and is very excited about being more independent. We got two more rooms of our home painted and I was able to work out at least 4 times per week. I also accomplished most of my blog goals. I was able to join another Pin 70 group although I’m not seeing much of an increase in numbers this time. I got one recipe post up on the blog and have another that will be coming out soon. I talked to my blogging buddy Misty about some ideas on social media and was re-inspired with writing.

Family photo at Disney World castle and October Goals
We had the best family vacation in Disney World (of which I’ll post about soon) as well as a date night out celebrating our 5 year anniversary with dinner and Inside Out. We had some fun fall adventures including apple picking and a bon fire at my sister’s and a cook out with Jeffrey’s new job. I’m excited about the month ahead with lots of Birthday’s (Sophie turned 2 today!), fall break and Halloween! Now for my October goals.

October Goals:

Family:

  • Get a play/craft area set up for Sophie in the basement
  • Focus on bedtime routine for more successful sleep
  • Go to a pumpkin patch

Life:

  • Finish bathroom closet and paint master bath
  • Visit both sides of the family
  • Work out 5 days/week & Whole30

Blog:

  • Complete shopportunity
  • Write one party post and one Disney post
  • Read final Page Turners book

I’m excited for October and the change in seasons (despite it being dark sooner.) I’d love to know if you make goals. How do you keep track of them? A running list, post-its, an app on your phone or do you just remember everything? What is one of your biggest goals for October?

By the way, if you’re liking my photos, you can follow along with what we’re up to on my Instagram page:

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September Goals

The date on my phone says September 18th too, don’t worry, I’m a little behind. That’s just how things go sometimes! I didn’t want to skip over making goals this month because there are still things I want to work towards these next couple of weeks. Because I started late, my September goals will be a bit lighter.

September Goals

Before jumping into September’s goals, let’s take a look back to see how I did on August’s goals. (To be honest, I did not look at them once this past month. With the move transition, my focus was getting our home in order and spending quality time with Sophie, making sure her transition was as smooth as it could be.

Indianapolis BricksJeffrey and I went on a couple dates in August, including GenCon where I dressed up in steampunk attire! I highly recommend GenCon if you’re near the Indy area and like board games. I also took Sophie to several different Indianapolis attractions. Her favorite is Conner Prairie due to her love of goats. As far as completing her room, we are far from that goal, but her uncle painted her room white while we were gone on vacation and I’m slowly decorating her space to feel like her own. My life goals were not as successful as we did not get everything unpacked, however, all of the important things are unpacked so we feel much more stable. All of our accounts have all been switched over and we’ve had two rooms painted!

15.8.17 224Unfortunately, despite applying for multiple shopportunities, I was not accepted. I’m stuck on whether I should pursue Collective Bias as a partner or try someone else. I skimmed the Princess Bride for book club because I’d read it within the past year. I was able to post at least once per week through August. I put forth a lot of effort to keep up with posting through the move.

Daddy daughter at the lake

September Goals:

Family:

  • Start Sophie at a local Montessori School
  • Have a Mommy/Daughter date
  • Make home more montessori friendly

Life:

  • Start potty training
  • Paint 2 more rooms
  • Work out 5 days/week

Blog:

  • Join another Pin70 (Facebook group for Pinterest)
  • Write one recipe post
  • Talk to Misty and start a monthly game plan

Have you had those kind of months where you’re just catching up half way through? Any tips on transitioning a toddler through a movie and starting school at the same time? The tantrums have been rolling in! What better time to also introduce potty training?

 

 

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August Goals

Happy August to you all! As you know, I’ve announced our Super Secret Surprise of moving to Indiana. This past month has been all over the board and I’ve learned a lot about patience and trying to not be so anxious without a routine. We started the month with a vacation of camping in my parent’s yard, filled in the middle with buying/selling houses and finished up the month with temporarily living with my sister in Indiana. We’ve had a lot of fun august

Before jumping into July’s goals, let’s see how I did for August. Although I still haven’t completed Soph’s friends/family board book, I did have two dates with Jeffrey and took Soph to the water park four times! I failed miserably with my written life goals. Reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower for Page Turners got pushed aside since I’ve read it in the past. Not only did I not do three arm workouts per week, I also stopped running. My workout regime is laughable. Completing this move with minimal headaches is negotiable. There have definitely been tears and tension headaches but I’ve been proud of how we’ve handled the move in general.

sky

Surprisingly I’ve done well on my blog goals this past July. I completed my first Pin70 but haven’t seen any improvement in my traffic regarding my Pinterest account or blog. I’ve not worked on finishing the re-design but am ok with not making that a priority. Posting once/week has been fairly easy and I’ve surpassed that goal. I was also able to go to a Social Fabric University On the Road conference in Chicago where I learned a ton.

bridge

August Goals:

Family

  • Have a date night with Jeffrey
  • Take Sophie to another Indy attraction
  • Complete Sophie’s room

Life

  • Unpack
  • Switch over all accounts (Dr, credit cards, mail etc.)
  • Paint two rooms

Blog

  • Be accepted for a shopportunity
  • Read The Princess Bride
  • Post at least once/week (it will be a stretch)

I feel like this month’s goals are so simple yet will be so tough to accomplish! Knowing how tough it was to pack while Sophie was home during the days helps me realize how long unpacking, cleaning and painting will take. What are your goals for this month?

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July Goals

Happy July to you all! Last month I talked about how incredibly fast May was, June was faster, but July will be a complete blur. This July we start out with three trips and round it out with a super secret surprise that we’ll share with you later on. July goals

Before jumping into July’s goals, let’s see how I did for June. We completed Soph’s kitchen tower helper (a post I’ll share later) but I haven’t received all the photos for her board book. Jeffrey and I didn’t have a date night but were intentional about making sure we hung out a few evenings together to just slow down. Swim lessons were awesome! Soph loves swimming and I’m excited to get her in the next level. I really sucked at life this past month according to my goals. I wasn’t able to reach 10,000 every day nor did I do arm exercises 3x/week. I did get a new routine and I’ve started a ‘Don’t Break the Chain’ app on my phone. I finished Ready Player One, of which I LOVED but didn’t make the time to read The Fringe Hours this month.

IMG_9614

I rocked my blog goals this past month! I attended BlogU where I met several awesome people (even joined a tribe!) I’ve implemented one task (focusing on Pinterest). I’ve done 1/2 of the redesign adjustments to get closer to how I want this blog to look.

IMG_6308July Goals:

Family

  • Complete Sophie’s board book
  • Have June date night with Jeffrey
  • Visit the waterpark

Life

Blog

  • Complete first Pin70
  • Finish re-design
  • Post at least once/week (it will be a stretch)

The key to goal planning is to make sure they’re achievable. I know that this month’s goals needed to be slightly easier because of all we have planned. I’ll be away from home the next two weekends and will be going on vacation the first of the month. The week days in between are speckled with appointments, lessons and play dates. I’m looking forward to all of the fun ahead but also really excited about the scheduled reading time for mandatory relaxation. What do you have planned this month? I’d love to know your goals!

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