In Search of the Card

When I talked about my simple goals, I talked about practicing my photography to get a picture for our Christmas card. I set up the boys many times throughout the season, outside, on the couch, in front of the tree, by themselves, with us. Nothing seemed perfect. Until a picture of the two of them the first morning the tree was decorated. I still have a lot more practicing to go (as we are heading into the new year), but I love the photos that I was able to get.

The Elf Strikes Again

In 2013, we had our elf decorate our tree as a surprise for the boys. As Christmas approached this past year, Munchkin kept talking about how the elf was going to decorate our new house. He did not disappoint.

We did try to keep it simple, using most of the decorations in the one part of the house. And when the boys woke up in the morning, we allowed them to explore the tree. While most of our ornaments come from a set that we got at Costco a few years ago, Munchkin loved finding the few that Hubby and I had on our first tree together. Peanut's favorite ornaments were the photo ones, especially the one of the two of them together from the year before.

It was a simple goal with some of the best results.

Into a New Year

Original image by Carol VanHook, on Flickr

Christmas has come and gone, and so has 2014. It is that time of year where we make empty promises that we'll keep for a month, a week, maybe less. I'm hoping that I'll do better.

Last year I talked about the changes that I wanted to make, yet come December, I was having the same friends over (now we are up to six littles), and was basically in the same position. It wasn't as bad as last year, although I think that the move was more responsible for the purging that we did than my urge to declutter. I spoke about a few programs to help organize our lives, and I am still using two of them. Motivated Moms is what I have found the most useful, and I've continued to use it this year (although not as much as I should). I like that it is a list of things for me to get done, and I have to get into the habit of checking it at the same time every day. I want Spring Cleaning 365 to work for me so badly, but so far I am just too much of a procrastinator. I am trying again so fingers crossed that I can hold it together.

Back in November, when I set up my four simple goals (which I will update about soon), one of the items was to practice photography. This is something that I want to continue, and to help with that, I've signed up for Shoot 2015. I am really looking forward to seeing what I get out of this program.

And here, I am hoping to take things forward and make the changes that I've been talking about for what seems like forever.

Happy new year, here is to a productive 2015.

Sweet Thanks

Thanksgiving is my mother's holiday. As Munchkin said the other day, it isn't dinner, it's a feast. She makes two full dinners, a turkey dinner and a ham dinner, with all the sides that you expect from both and then some more. For the past few years, I've assisted with dessert. Before Munchkin was mobile, I would make multiple pies from scratch. With two very active children, I have not been able to do that. This year, I had a helper.

I still did not make the number of pies that I used to, we stuck to one pumpkin pie and two corn breads. But Munchkin was thrilled to be helping, he's been talking about making the pie for weeks. In fact, he got very upset last week when we bought a pie to have for dessert, because he was going to make one.

The corn bread is new this year, not something that my mother has ever served before. We'll see if it is something that we'll make again. Although I do like the idea of starting this as a new tradition for us.

And as fall is quickly coming to an end (as evidenced by the snow we had), I was glad to do two more items from our fall list as well as one of my simple goals.

Four Simple Goals (Before 2015)

Last year, I wrote about my four simple goals. I know how busy this time of year can get, so I like the focus that this project gives. Just four items that are important to you. I am definitely trying to live simpler, more in the moment as opposed to for the moment, and I am hoping that doing this again will help me with that.

The rules are the same as last year (as explained by a beautiful mess), goals should be simple, personal and activity oriented. Choose a reward for each accomplishment and blog about the results.

Before we reach 2015, I plan to:

1. Decorate for the holidays - In our last place, we would have our tree, but that was really it as far as decorations go. This year, with the new layout and the fact that Munchkin is older and more interested, I want to do more. I want this time of year to be magic, and the boys to grow up remembering the joy that decorations can bring.
2. Practice photography - I am actually very excited about this one. I have a dslr camera that I don't really know how to use, and would love to figure out how to take great pictures. And as we approach the Christmas card season, I really want to get some new photos of the boys, and of all four of us (with the help of my tripod).
3. Cook/bake with Munchkin - Munchkin is starting to be interested in what I'm cooking for dinner. As of now, he helps me fill the slow cooker and is pretty excited that he "cooked dinner". I want to continue that as well as let him help with some other things like breads, pies, cakes.
4. Read a book for fun - I know I had this one last year, but I have not been reading as much as I would like, and I'm hoping that this will give me the push I need to spend that time on myself and unwind.

Getting Things In Order

I am definitely a procrastinator, as evidenced by my lack of posting, but I am serious about trying to get our lives in order. Right now, I am focusing on cleaning and clutter. Part of the problem is that I get so overwhelmed and I'm not sure where to start, so I never get started. I do not want that to happen this time. After searching the Internet for inspiration, I have come up with three options.

The first is Spring Cleaning 365, which I found through Just Jilly. I love that it is simple tasks that only take 15 minutes a day, and that there is an accountability group. Even though I am a month late starting, I feel that I will be able to slowly work on the January tasks while moving forward with the rest of the group. This is the option that I think will work the best for me.

I'm also trying Motivated Moms as I definitely do better when I have a plan to follow. Right now I am testing out the lite version, but I think I will be upgrading soon.

Finally, there is Fly Lady. I have an IRL friend who uses this, and there are definitely parts that I really like, but I think that I am going to try Spring Cleaning 365 first, before I feel that the catch-up would be too much to handle.

Do you use a system to keep your home clean and organized?

Before September

I have a goal.

I wore this dress to my cousin's wedding in September 2011. I loved this dress, and I felt great in it. I have a wedding to go to in September 2014, and I want to wear it again. Right now, it does not fit, but I am probably only about 15ish pounds away. This is definitely an obtainable goal. I am still looking for a workout program that works for me, so I am going to try Barre 3. While there are no studios close enough for me to attend classes, I have signed up for the online program. I am hoping that having something to work for with an end date will help me actually do the work.

But for now, I have a goal.

A Year of Changes to Come

Over the holiday season, we hosted a small gathering of friends for a fondue party. We started doing this years ago, and have since added four small, yet very mobile, people. It was a lot of fun, and I in no way regret doing it, but prepping to have all those people in our small apartment showed me how much stuff we have. We had every intention of having the apartment in perfect company order and keep it that way through the holidays and beyond. Instead, my husband and I were shoving things into our bedroom last minute to get it out of sight. We have more stuff than we have places to put it, and I am tired of living this way.

I know it is so cliche to say you are going to make such a change at the beginning of the year, and I'm even over a week late, but I definitely feel like this is long due. The holidays are over, the out-of-town family has gone home, and right now is the calm before the next company storm with birthdays right around the corner. I am not making resolutions, since I so rarely seem to keep them anyway, but I do want to make changes. I want to live simpler, declutter and spend more time in the now. I need to focus a little more on me, since this past year especially I have been focused on others.

In this season of new goals, what are you focusing on?

Simple Goals

I love making lists, I am just not very good at the follow through. Kristin recently wrote about her four simple goals, and I knew that it was something that I had to do as well. We are already almost two weeks into November, and this year is slipping by so quickly. I started off the year with a long list of things to do, and for the most part dropped them when Peanut was born. I love the idea and rules of this challenge (as explained by A Beautiful Mess), and think that this is a great way to end the year on a positive note.

Before we reach 2014, I plan to:

1. Do holiday crafts with the boys - I had huge plans for this last year, and it all fell through due to me being tired and pregnant and then sick and pregnant.
2. Build on our holiday traditions - I've always been a huge fan of Christmas, and I really want the boys to feel the same way. I'm hoping to take some of the traditions of my family and my husband's family and make them our own.
3. Create a night time routine - With not sleeping I haven't had much me time, and I need to figure out how to take care of myself and do what I need to.
4. Read a book for fun - This is something that I used to do all the time, and it's been seriously lacking recently.