101 Goals in 1001 Days, Take 2

For those of you who have been around for a while, you're probably thinking, "Oh no - here we go again!" My original 101 Goals in 1001 Days list ran from December 30, 2008 - September 27, 2011. (YES - it was that long ago!)  I completed 90 of the 101 goals...and 90% felt pretty good!

After an 18 month break from my daunting goal-setting adventure, I'm ready to tackle it again. The first several are the ones that did not get completed last time around. The other 90...well, some are repeats and some are brand new. The first 88 came quickly to me, the rest needed a little inspiration.

My 1001 days will be over on December 8, 2015. That sounds SO far away!  Here are my 101 goals, in no particular order...

1. Hang curtains on the office window (finally done 12/26/13)

2. Fix the frame of the collage above our bed (finally done 11/1/14)

3. Buy a new-to-me van (done - better late than never - 1/2/16)

4. Get new bedroom furniture (dressers, not necessarily a new bed) (done 6/20/14)

5. Get Lasik eye surgery (done 2/6/15)

6. Take Mike and the kids to Hawaii/the Caribbean/someplace amazing with my Tastefully Simple commission (done 1/8/14)

7. (Dare I say...?) Have another baby OR totally come to terms with the fact that we are complete as a family of five. (done 5/29/14)

8. Rid the house of all baby and toddler toys...if we're done having kids (done 5/28/13)

9. Organize the linen closet (done 3/15/13)

10. Get rid of the swing set in the backyard (done 5/25/13)

11. Teach Jason to ride a bike (done 4/6/14)

12. Sign Jason up for football (done 5/20/15)

13. Teach all three kids basic Spanish

14. Go to New York City with Mike (done - better late than never - 9/20/16)

15. Label my Tastefully Simple supplies and baskets (done 3/15/13)

16. Take Kaylin to Make Meaning for a Mommy/Daughter date (done 11/16/14)

17. Go roller skating as a family (done 11/23/14)

18. Make a snowman with the kids (done 3/4/15)

19. Take a beach vacation with another family

20. Pray for Mike every day for a month (done 8/6/15)

21. Pray for my kids every day for a month (done 8/6/15)

22. Get a media cabinet for under our t.v. (done 4/21/13)

23. Go to a concert/comedy show (done 6/15/13)

24. Pre-plan our homeschool schedule for a month and stick to it (done 7/28/13)

25. Teach Kaylin to make a full dinner with minimal assistance

26. Teach Ryan to read a recipe and make it without help (done 4/7/14)

26. Plan a girls day with my mom and Kaylin (done - better late than never - Mother's Day 5/8/16)

27. Take Kristi's crazy spin class at the gym...without leaving early (done 4/19/13)

28. Take either weights and/or kickboxing class every week for 3 months (done 5/3/14)

29. Jog for 30 minutes straight

30. Take an international trip with Mike

31. Go to bed at 9:00pm every night for a week (done 8/10/14)

32. Wake up at 6:00am every weekday for a month

33. Read before bed every night for a week (done 7/16/14)

34. Read the Bible every day for a month (done 5/10/14)

35. Surprise Mike at the office for lunch with the kids (done 6/18/15)

36. Build a firepit in the backyard (done 12/14/13)

37. Cross off everything on my to-do list every day for a week (done 4/7/14 and 6/14/14)

38. Pre-plan my three most important tasks for the day every evening before bed for a month (done 11/9/14)

39. Take a short vacation with another couple, no kids allowed

40. Do a three-day media fast (done 7/6/14)

41. Kidnap a friend's kids to give them a day off

42. Transition the boys' room into an "older" theme (currently trikes, scooters and wagons) (done 8/3/14)

43. Find an amazing hair stylist who can do my hair the way Kristi did (done 3/26/13)

44. Let the kids make most of the decisions for an entire day

45. Leave Ryan home alone with the younger kids (done 8/25/14)

46. Have Ryan be the teacher for an entire school day

47. Have Kaylin be the teacher for an entire school day

48. Teach Jason to read (done 3/28/14)

49. Don't raise my voice at the kids for seven days straight (done 4/7/13)

50. Teach Kaylin to curl her own hair (done 1/2/15)

51. Train Jason to be completely diaper-free (close enough 12/6/15)

52. Get a small pet for the kids (done 10/12/13)

53. Buy reading lamps for next to the kids' beds (done July, 2015)

54. Pay the kids their allowance (personally) every week for a month (done 4/12/14)

55. Plan something fun every family day for a month

56. Take the kids to Orlando for a Disney vacation

57. Clean out the paperwork in my file cabinet (done 11/24/14)

58. Have a $6,000 month in sales for Tastefully Simple (done 3/27/14 after my highest-ever party)

59. Build my Tastefully Simple team up to 100 people

60. Teach Jason to unload the dishwasher (done 5/1/14)

61. Teach Kaylin to fold the laundry independently (done 2/28/14)

62. Clean out the kitchen cabinets (done 3/13/13)

63. Declutter the coat closet (done 5/28/13)

64. Visit the Wildlife World Zoo (done - better late than never - 4/29/16)

65. Touch up the paint spots all over the house (done 11/18/15)

66. Hang the glass flower vase thingy somewhere where I'll appreciate it (done 1/5/14)

67. Find an age-appropriate book/series that Ryan enjoys reading for fun (done 1/10/14)

68. Go through books in bookshelf and donate what we'll never read (done 12/29/13)

69. Say three encouraging things to Mike every day for a week

70. Say three encouraging things to Ryan every day for a week (done 7/5/15)

71. Say three encouraging things to Kaylin every day for a week (done 7/5/15)

72. Say three encouraging things to Jason every day for a week (done 7/5/15)

73. Take 2 weekend getaways with girlfriends (done 5/4/13 and 5/30/14)

74. Make use of the compost bin in the backyard (aka turn the scraps into compost!)

75. Take a month sabbatical from Facebook

76. Make a new recipe off Pinterest twice a week for a month (done 5/18/13)

77. Invite neighbors over for a meal (done 10/22/14)

78. Go out to dinner with another couple six times - no kids allowed (Done: 3/8/13, 12/27/13, 3/7/14, 3/17/14, 6/26/14)

79. Go to the gym five days a week every week for a month (done 3/14/14)

80. Organize the laundry room (done 5/28/13)

81. Take the kids to a water park (done 6/22/13)

82. Do something crazy with my hair - crazy for ME (done 11/24/15)

83. Get caught up-to-date on my scrapbooking

84. Take a cake decorating class with Kaylin

85. Take the kids to the railroad park at Christmastime

86. Clean out my bedroom closet (done 1/1/14)

87. Clean out Mike's bedroom closet (done 1/1/14)

88. Donate the tv in our play room (done 3/23/13)

89. Buy AppleTV and downgrade our cable package (AppleTV purchased 3/31/13, apparently we can't downgrade or we'll lose our HD channels)

90. Get a new kitchen table (done 6/8/13)

91. Take a trip back to Kansas City (done 7/24/14)

92. Go on a special date with Jason twice (1/2 done 5/11/13 and 7/18/14)

93. Go on a special date with Kaylin twice (done 7/6/13, 8/9/14, 9/23/14 and 10/21/14)

94. Go on a special date with Ryan twice (1/2 done 3/22/14 and 9/28/14)

95. Lose 15 pounds (done - better late than never - 8/18/16)

96. Buy all new towels for the bathroom (done 12/25/13)

97. Buy new dishes (done 5/25/13)

98. Go to a firing range and shoot a gun (done 3/29/15)

99. Toss the schedule and sporadically be completely unproductive all day (done 5/3/13)

100. Prepare 30 new recipes (done 7/31/13)

101. Complete "Experiencing God" Bible Study

 

July Goal Update {no t.v. for a month}

It's hard to believe that we're in the second half of 2012. Does it make me sound old to say, "Where has the time gone...?"

I have been doing pretty well on my 12 monthly goals for 2012 and am particularly proud of this month's goal. For July, I intended to, "Keep the t.v. off for all but 2 hours per week." I fully expected that the 2 hours would be Mike and I watching 30 minutes of t.v. a few nights a week or sitting down to watch a movie on the weekends. I checked this goal out with him before committing it to paper, and he agreed, but wasn't nearly as pumped up about it as I was.

As it turns out, I've had many more moments of "weakness" in the past 11 days than he has. There have been nights that I've said, "Want to see what we've missed on the DVR?" and he's replied, "Nah, let's go to bed early," or "That's okay...I have some stuff I need to do on the computer."

Not "unwinding" every night in front of the t.v. has gifted me with several hours of "extra" time this month. No one is more surprised than I am that I had gotten into the habit of flipping on the t.v. each night to zone out. I've had more time to meal plan so our afternoons aren't rushed, more time to tidy up the house and start our mornings fresh, more time to organize our new school room, more time to plan our next day's school activities, more time to implement ideas I've found on Pinterest, and, as of last night, I've finally found time to start scrapbooking again. (I am almost two years behind, but was able to bust out five layouts last night)

The biggest surprise is that I'm not necessarily going to bed earlier (because I'm filling the time with other things) but I'm waking up much, much more rested in the mornings. I'm not as groggy and there have been several times that I've woken up way too early and my body simply didn't need to fall back to sleep. Today was the earliest by far: My eyes popped open at 5:15 (I went to bed at 11:00 last night) and I couldn't drift back to sleep for the life of me! So I sit here now, someone who needs a minimum of eight solid hours a night, wide awake with only six hours of shut eye. And this is not the first time this has happened this month. Coincidence? I'm thinking not.

And how are the kids doing? Incredible. Once I told the big kids that the t.v. was staying off for a month, they haven't asked to watch it even one time. The "two hours per week" that the t.v. has been on has all been shows for Jason. Every other day or so, I'll need him to be captivated so I can focus on helping the big kids with schoolwork, uninterrupted. But even he's become bored with the t.v. I had Ryan put a show on for him yesterday and he didn't last 10 minutes before meandering back into the school room and pulling out some books so he could be part of the action.

Every time I do a "no t.v. challenge" like this I am amazed and relieved at the results. The kids play together more nicely, their creativity flourishes, their attitudes improve, and now that I've jumped on board (for the first time), my productivity is through the roof. Mike has been going to the gym more consistently. My house is less cluttered, our school day is smoother and I am ending my days in front of a quiet book instead of a blaring t.v. Last weekend, Mike and I even dusted off our Scrabble game.

If you've never intentionally turned off the t.v. for a period of time in your house, I highly recommend trying it. If you can't get your spouse on board, just start with you and the kids and take it one day at a time. The first day might be tough, but if you stick with it and help the kids expand their imaginations, you will likely find yourself as thrilled as I am.

So who's with me? Are you willing to give it a try?

2012 Homeschool Goals

Every time I get a blog notification or jump on Pinterest, I feel like I learn something new about homeschooling. Well, maybe not every time, but it feels like I am constantly evolving in my knowledge of this little adventure of ours.

For instance, someone somewhere wrote a post about having goals for your kids. Each year, this mom picks a character trait to focus on for her kids, then makes a short list of educational goals for each child.  Simple, intentional, deliberate, focused. I liked it.

Here's my little list of how we will spend our time for the rest of 2012. I'm not even sure these are in line with their grade level, but it's what I foresee them learning over the next 6-10 months. These goals will act as our compass, pointing us toward North, when we get off course.  In addition to these things, we will continue to cook and do our History lessons, plus we'll begin learning basic Spanish and are excited to incorporate in Science for the first time, in a weekly co-op (to share the burden of planning experiments and buying supplies) with our favorite homeschooling friends.

Ryan - age 7 (almost 8)
- Reading: learn to read quickly and fluently, learn to enjoy reading, read a book aloud to Kaylin and Jason daily.
- Handwriting: improve printing, learn cursive.
- Writing: independent writing increases in creativity, consistently using proper punctuation and capitalizaion, focus on the six traits of writing - conventions, ideas, voice, word choice, organization and sentence fluency. (Thanks, Alison!)
- Spelling: better understanding of rules, decreased errors in writings.
- Grammar: able to easily narrate stories, comfortable with basic parts of speech.
- Math: faster with addition/subtraction facts, double/triple digit adding and subtracting, learn multiplication, begin managing money.
- Other: patience with siblings, better ability to mediate sibling conflict unemotionally, learn to cook meals independently, complete chores without reminders.

Kaylin - age 5 (almost 6)
- Reading: read level 1-2 books independently, learn rules of sounds.
- Writing: proper direction fo strokes, use continuous strokes to prepare for cursive later, focus on correct capitalization, begin independent writing.
- Math: basic addition and subtraction, telling time, basic money, skip count for 2s, 5s and 10s.
- Other: break competitive spirit with brothers, develop short periods where she works with/"teaches" Jason.

Jason - 2 1/2 years old
- Reading: letter recognition, sitting still during stories, beginning letter sounds.
- Writing: drawing pictures in counter-clockwise motion, write letters with his finger using different media. (sand, pudding, paint, etc)
- Math: color and shape recognition, count forward and backward.
- Other: sit still during school time, listening and obeying the first time, taking instruction from Ryan and Kaylin when they're "in charge" or with safety issues.

As for me, I am SO excited about the simplest little thing...I bought a $5 teacher's daily planner (week-at-a-glance) from the teaching store last week and it has serisously helped me corral everything that's swimming around in my head. Silly things like focusing one theme for each month to do seasonal crafts with a common thread for learning purposes.

The months with holidays are easy, but for months like May, instead of focusing on Mother's Day (like the schools usually do), we're going to do crafts that center around flowers, gardening, caterpillars and butterflies. I'm saving summer/beach stuff for June and fun apple crafts that I've found for September...you get the idea. It's not rocket science, but it makes sense why public school teachers organize it that way.  There are just SO many possibilities...it's overwhelming!

My April Goal Didn't Go As Planned

My April goal on my monthly goals for 2012 didn't necessarily go as planned. With our trip in the middle of the month, I did my best to meal plan with a meatless meal and a new recipe each week, but I hardly stuck to the meal plan, so I really don't think that counts.  

Oh well, I'll try again for May. My May goal is to stop eating each meal when I'm satisfied, not when I'm "full."

We'll see how that works out for me. 

No More Yelling

Happy Ash Wednesday!  Last night, Mike and I were talking about what we could give up for Lent (no, we're not Catholic and yes, we still do Lent) and Mike couldn't think of anything for himself. I asked him if there are any bad habits that he'd like to stop. If it takes 30 days to make a habit, certainly he could get out of a habit during the 40 days of Lent!

He suggested that he'd like to stop yelling at the kids.  And by "yelling," he really means "raising his voice."  Mike hardly ever actually yells, but speaking impatiently to the kids and raising his voice to get his point across is more frequent now, with the daily stresses of his new job.

I liked the idea so much that I decided that we'd do this together as a family. This morning, we laid out the plans for the kids...when Mike or I raise our voices or argue, we will pay $1 to the person who X's us.  When the kids raise their voice, argue or make a request (our new focus of contentment), they will give $.25 to the person who notices it.  This includes the big kids catching each other.

As the morning wore on and quarters were traded, I thought of a positive spin on our 40 day challenge: when the kids do chores without being asked and I catch them, they get $.25. And when they obey the first time, doing something diligently, they get $.25.  That has been another issue we've been struggling with: with our new loose homeschooling schedule, there's been a lack of a sense of urgency around here.  It's been nice to have a more relaxed environment, with the exception of the fact that when the kids are asked to do something, they turn into Pokey Little Puppies.

It's only lunchtime and I already have $5.25...and I'm a little shocked/proud that I haven't given up any money yet. I figured I'd be giving back their money little by little, but apparently not. I did kind of shout for Jason who was in the playroom when I thought he was upstairs, but I immediately stopped myself. (even though Jason isn't involved, I still pay $1 for raising my voice at him) This accountability thing is working!

I'm really hoping this new little game of ours helps change the tone of our home again.  There has been so much going on in the past five months: Mike's layoff, his new job, starting to homeschool, the holidays, tons of travel...we all need to get back on track.  And I, for one, am so ready.

What are you giving up for Lent?

January Goal Update

photo credit

My goal for January was to end the month at the same weight as when I made my list of 12 Goals for 2012.

In short, I failed.

To be honest, I didn't expect to achieve this goal. But I couldn't bring myself to write, "Only gain 5 lbs by January 31st." 

The goal was set on the 6th, then I proceeded to spend 12 of the remaining 25 days of January on vacation.  First, on a business trip for a FOOD company and most recently on a pre-paid, all-you-can-stuff-into-your-face cruise.  Not gaining weight was a lofty, but unrealistic, goal.

I ate and drank to my heart's content on my business trip, returning home 4 lbs heavier after merely 4 days. That week, I worked out like a crazy woman and ate modestly, losing all 4 lbs before leaving for the cruise.

Then the first few days of our family vacation were a joke: I didn't drink any alcohol (I can't imagine how many calories that saved me, considering my drinks of choice are all sugary, fruity concoctions) but I helped myself to more than my fair share of second helpings and desserts. By day 3, my pants were already snug and I felt disgusting.

So the latter half of the cruise, I was much more careful. I ordered egg-white omelets with veggies and oatmeal for breakfast and stuck to fish and salad for dinner. But I couldn't resist the desserts...they were heavenly! And I knew I was going to deprive myself once I was home, so I indulged.

I found a scale in the ship's gym toward the end of the trip and it said that I gained 15 pounds. I almost choked until my brother in law said that the scale weighed him as 20 lbs heavier than his pre-cruise weight, so I didn't take it too seriously.  Regardless, it made the actual 5 lb weight gain much easier to accept when I got home to my own scale.

I hope to get a pound or two down under my January 6th weight by the end of next week, just in time to go on yet another business trip, where we'll be taste-testing all of the new food products for our upcoming catalog. That way, maybe I'll be even when I get off the plane on the 12th.  It's warped logic, I realize, but it's keeping me from ballooning up from all of this travel in a short period of time.

I've already lost a couple pounds of water weight since Sunday, so I'm not too depressed about not meeting January's goal. I will end the month 3 lbs more than I'd hoped, but my diet is already substantially better than it has been and my body is craving more healthy food and regular exercise again.

Someone asked me recently how I don't fluctuate in clothes sizes. I gain and lose a few pounds here and there all the time, but the truth is: I only have one size in my closet.  I'm comfortable in my own skin when I'm a size 10, so I got rid of all of the size 8s (I can dream, but I have to work too hard to stay that small) and the size 12s and 14s (oh yes, I was busting out of 14s during my college days).

The bottom line is this: if I only have size 10 clothes in my closet, I am forced to get serious about my food choices if they become snug.

So there you have it!  I failed to meet my January goal, but I'm totally fine with it.  Now to reset my body clock to begin getting up early to successfully accomplish February's goal tomorrow.  No more vacation mode for me!

12 Habits for Twenty-12

I've sort of missed my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list since it expired in September. I like having goals to work toward and I haven't quite figured out what a good next-step would be after tackling that whopper. Certainly not another 101 in 1001 list...yet...

Then I stumbled across the idea of creating 12 new habits this year. I'm not so much into resolutions, but I'm loving this one-per-month idea! 

So here's my list. Much better than resolutions! More attainable. Time sensitive. Focusing on one at a time for 30 days, which is how long it takes to make a habit.  Love. It.

January - End the month at the same weight (or less, which is unlikely) as I am today.*

February - Get up early each day.

March - No Facebook for the entire month.

April - Meal plan, including one meatless recipe and one new recipe each week.

May - Stop eating each meal when I'm satisfied, not when I'm "full."

June - No eating after 8pm.

July - Keep the t.v. off for all but 2 hours a week.**

August - Create a homeschool schedule for the new "school year" and stick to it each day.

September - Read the Bible daily. No exceptions.

October - Workout five times per week.

November - Compliment Mike and the kids at least once each day.

December - Take virtually the whole month off from work. I'm allowed to have one party (to fulfill my quota) and spend no more than one hour a week on follow up.

* This is NOT a number I am proud of, by the way. Not to mention that I've lost virtually all muscle tone in my body because I'm out of the habit of working out and I have no self control around sugar! This is a huge goal for January since I'm going on a business trip next week for a company that sells FOOD, then we're going on a week-long cruise later this month. I know it will be hard to lose weight this month, so my goal is to not GAIN weight. Not one. single. pound.

** July is before college football starts, so this just might be possible...for ALL of us. I'd better inform Mike of this one, since I included him without asking him!