May Goals

I did my PowerSheets and goal refresh over two days at the end of April/beginning of May. This planning session it hasn’t been as clear what my goals should be. In April I did so much reading, processing of information, and working on all of my goals that I wore myself out mentally. It’s that same feeling you get right after finals at the end of a college semester. Your brain is plumb burnt out, even though it’s been working on good things. And my body! I’m dealing with lots of third trimester exhaustion, insomnia, and not being able to do lots of things that were okay up until a week or so ago. It’s kind of lovely how your body forces  you to slow down, enjoy the toddler snuggles, and wait quietly for the arrival of the new little one. Just what I need.

I kept this month simple, focusing on what needs to happen before Secundus gets here. In my mind, I’m acting like he or she will arrive at the beginning of June, while not stressing about having everything done and perfect by then. As long as we have a car, carseat, and a place for him or her to sleep, the rest can happen little by little.

Here are the month’s goals, once again broken down by monthly, weekly, and daily.

Monthly

• Finish Fierce Women // Carried over from April. I love this book. Looking forward to finishing it and applying it to our marriage. So much good has happened already from following the advice in it.
• Buy a car // My car cannot fit our two carseats in the back, and have the front seat back far enough to drive safely. I don’t know that it could fit two carseats in the back, period, unless both were forward facing.  I did all of the research on it last week and we have our top three cars chosen. Now we just have to go do all of the test driving and stuff.
• Read and Journal through a Montessori Book // I really want to finish the Absorbent Mind before Secundus gets here. Journaling will help me retain what I learn, like longhand note taking in school. We’ve been cobbling together what we know about Montessori methods for Prima. I’m ready to dig in deeper and know more!
• Clean out and organize our thinking room // This is also known as a study. Or computer room. We don’t use it because it’s full of stuff that needs sorted, donated, or put away. Ahem.
• Clean and organize the bedrooms // I do not want to think about how much cat hair/dust/dog hair/dander/gross stuff is hiding under the bed in our room. But it really is time to. And we have to rearrange all of the furniture so that we can room share with Secundus for the first couple of months. That means trading some furniture between rooms. And cleaning out all of the closets, etc. etc.
• Print and hang wall art // I’m such a bad interior decorator. I’ve got stuff I’ve been meaning to hang for ages. And more stuff. And anyway, it took us (the Norseman and I) awhile to find our joint decor style. But now we’ve got some sources for some awesome botanical prints, engineering schematics, and more.  No more procrastination!
• Buy or make a topponcino – besides being a very “Montessori” thing to have for a new baby, I want to see if having this helps with the transition between bedrooms later. And also gives Prima some stability when holding Secundus. And also maybe, maybe, will keep Secundus asleep if he/she has to endure lots of being passed around and around by adoring fans (i.e. loving friends and family.)
• Get ahead on blog posts // Trying to get ahead so that everything keeps running while I’m enjoying snippets of sleep and baby snuggles the first couple of months.

Weekly Goals

• Check in with friends // Loved this one and plan to keep it up. Make it a habit that sticks!
• Meal Plan // especially important this month and next. Otherwise, hangry mama and no meals prepped for quick bites
• Get Outside// I’ve had zero energy for this the past few days, but maybe later?
• Learn & Practice illustrating – for fun! // Maybe even as a family? I need a relaxing activity.  I decided this wasn’t really something I want to invest in right now.
• Disconnect More Often – from the phone, Instagram, from everything. Work on finding a balance in how much vs. how little time should be spent online. Staying intentionally focused on Prima and the Norseman and the people around us.

Daily goals

• Journal // Did not make this a weekly. I figure I will end up doing it more daily than weekly. It’s okay to not check off all of the boxes.
• Bible // Keeping it up. Read as soon as possible in the day.
• Prayer Time // Structured time would be nice, but pausing for prayer whenever is the main goal.
• Gentle stretches // Because everything hurts.
• Tidy // I can’t do big projects or all the things every day any longer. But we can tidy the table and main living areas at day’s end. I want to do a big purge, but that needs to wait.
• Make the Bed // It makes a huge difference in how calm and tidy our room feels. Something simple can be powerful.
• Practice Direct Communication // Getting vulnerable for a moment. I am much more likely to sit on my opinions or use passive aggressive communication than to express what I want or think. I’ve been practicing with the Norseman over the past week and it’s been great! He thinks it helps lower the stress in our marriage, and I agree. I want to use this more and more as I get comfortable (and tactful.)