Goals - June 2019
May was indeed hectic and full with the end of school and allll the things. I love the description on the episode of The Mom Hour about the last month of school being like "death by a thousand cuts." I thought of this phrase during the last week of school when, as I was already trying to complete end-of-year teachers gifts and manage a full calendar, sat down at my computer after school drop off, opened up my Google Calendar, and was reminded that it was Dash's day to bring class snack! Ah! But at the same time it was kind of fun (is that the right word? hmmmm) to experience our first real end-of-school craziness.
Also in May, Chris got the flu! (And yes, we get flu shots every year.) It knocked him out for a solid two weeks. So I was unexpectedly a solo parent for a while in May, which actually wasn't too stressful, but I hated for Chris to miss so many fun year-end events. Thankfully he's back to feeling 100%! The flu is no joke.
On the last day of school the boys and I had a park party with the other moms and kids that we became friends with at the park during the year. The gang of kids plays so well together (most of the time – you know how kids are!) and I am so thankful for the unexpected community I've built just by going to the park every day after school. I hope we'll have the same routine next year but you never know how schedules will change, especially as other families get involved in after school activities and such, so I felt a little wistful wondering if afternoons next school year will feel as idyllic.
A quick recap of my May goals: missed a handful of days of not eating after 7:30 p.m. but only when I was out to eat or after my High Fitness class (since I don't eat dinner beforehand); editing and scheduled a couple Girl Next Door podcast episodes but still have summer eps to finish; did not sew my tunic; have successfully switched to using a safety razor and love it; made frittata muffins twice for quick + healthy breakfasts; and still have those old hard drives. A mixed bag!
A big May highlight was our family camping trip! It was SO FUN and I'm left me feeling so happy/pleased/satisfied. I think I officially have the camping bug. We already have reservations to camp two more times this year and I've even been wondering if we could squeeze in one more trip this summer... I'd love to share more about what we packed and what I've learned in a future blog post.
June and July are all about summer with the boys. It's my first summer to be home with them full time which I feel excited about but also wonder how hard it might be. The first week home with them (the last week of May) was up and down with behavior and I felt a bit daunted. But last week we started hitting our groove and I've been enjoying it. One summer success already is our rest time – a glorious hour of no one talking or interacting. The boys haven't napped in a long time and would even fight a quiet time (although we tried for months!). But I knew that everyone would need a daily break this summer. What is working beautifully is a the basket of rest time reward snacks. We went to the store together and picked out all the coveted snacks that we never buy (granola bars with chocolate chips, Cheez-Its, gummy fruit snacks, Scooby Snacks, and even some saltwater taffy that it turns out they love) and filled a basket with those. After a successful rest time they each get to choose a snack and it's going great! YES. An hour of quiet for some processed sugar is a trade I am okay with. I'm so happy to have accomplished this win early in the summer.
Big things happening in June:
+ Father's Day. We'll get to celebrate Chris and the next day I'll get to be with my dad!
+ Austin! The boys are I are heading to Austin for three weeks! It will also be my first time flying solo with them but I think they'll do great. Spending significant time in Austin was a factor that went into my quitting my full time job. I'm thankful to be able to spend so much time with family and friends in a city I love.
June goals:
+ Stretch for 10 minutes each day. This is my June health challenge and the one I've been looking forward to the most. So far I've kept it up but I leave it to the end of the day which I don't enjoy as much. So I'd like to try to remember to stretch in the morning or midday.
+ Create time to write and edit podcast episodes. My days with the boys have been FULL. Two weeks into summer and I'm enjoying all our summer activities but missing time to create. I do have an hour rest time but it doesn't feel like enough time to disconnect and write. Plus I often take a nap! This week I found some time by getting up early two mornings to work at a coffee shop for a couple hours. And in Austin I think I could get a little more time (thank you Bootsie and GDaddy!).
+ Clean up my office. All our camping gear is stacked in my office waiting to be put away. Plus the end of school brought a flurry of papers and other things that need to be organized or recycled.
+ Catch up on the boys' artwork. I need to take pictures of the final stack of artwork from the past school year. I'm relieved that I'll have a break in the constant influx of papers coming home for the next couple of months!
Happy June!