Showing posts with label measure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label measure. Show all posts

1.06.2018

Around Here: Week One {2018}

























(after school... sigh...)
(baby selfies are my fav)






Enjoying... my parents visit.  They brought Christmas presents for the kids and Josh and myself.  My mom bought me Fiestaware bowls in two sizes, and I have to tell you that those rainbow stacks of bowls make me smile SO BIG when I open my cupboards! We completed a puzzle one night, the three of us (which was so much fun!) and they took the kids ice skating.  Best.grandparents.ever!

Celebrating... Christmas with a lunch at my sister's house.  We had a lovely day with her family and my parents.  The only bummer was that we're pretty sure Logan had another mini-seizure.  He was upstairs playing with his cousins when Jack told us Logan was hurt.  By the time we got upstairs, he was fine, but his behavior the rest of the day was off.

Watching... Sugar Coated on Netflix with Josh, and crossing "Watch 3 Documentaries" off my 100 small things list.  (The other two I watched: Naledi & Born in China, which I loved because it's narrated by John Krasinksi, aka Jim from The Office)

Cutting... sugar & carbs (in moderation) from my life.  Josh has cut them completely, whereas the kids and I are going at a slower rate making our changes.  That said, just cutting soda & candy for me has felt tremendous!  Our goal, really, is simple.  Eat real food. So far, so good!  (As in, I started out weighing 200 pounds and have lost five pounds already! What?! What?!)  The boys used to have cereal for breakfast every morning.  Now I make them eggs and sausage or bacon everyday.  Already we've noticed a difference in Logan's focus and last week he aced a reading test, his weakest area.  I hope it continues to change how we all feel.  We are working hard at not feeling deprived, just replacing our old favorites with new ones, and in that same vein, we have decided that homemade pizza + dessert for movie night will continue on Saturdays so we don't feel so restricted that we drop the diet in six weeks.

Ringing... in the new year in my bed.  I spent many years staying up all night for New Years Eve, and started many years feeling like garbage on January 1st.  So for the last ten years or so, we've gone to bed on New Years Eve.  This year I was really motivated to go to bed early cause I taught at 4:00am on the 1st.

Sledding... with cousins on New Years Day and having so much fun! (Blog post forthcoming!)

Videoing... Carly 1000x per day. I am just in love with her voice, her play and all her words.  She's so fun right now!

Receiving... a new (to us) dining room table from Josh's parents that I am loving.  It has an extra leaf that adds 18" and with that in there, it's so big.  It fits our family so much better than our older, smaller table.  Our old dining room table is in the office, though, acting as a desk/play space for the boys and it's perfect in there. Our life happens around the dining room table (breakfasts, play time, homework time, and dinners) and having this bigger one has brought me so much happiness!

Still... nursing Carly once a day, knowing the end is coming, but too sentimental to quit just yet. I am planning to sell my Ergo though, so that's something right?

Choosing... a word for the year.  "Measure" & making goals accordingly.

Taking... Wyatt to physical therapy to help stretch out his achilles tendons which are stretched too tight after a rapid growth spurt.

Shopping... together as a family for groceries.  It's a pain for all six of us to trek to the store, but it's a nice message to the kids that, as we journey towards healthier eating, we're all in this together.

Tracking... dinners and planning to share them with you all weekly as a means of accountability.

Sending... the boys back to school, and relishing in how quiet the house is without them.  That said, Carly and I are desperately missing her playmates.  She got a bit spoiled over break!

Committing... to "No TV" time while the boys were at school this week.  Before Christmas Break I was in a bad habit of turning on the TV as soon as I got home and not getting a whole lot done.  So I want to try a week or two of no screens in hopes that I will get more done around the house and get more reading in.

Reading... Winter Storms (#3 of the Winter Street trilogy), and when I'm finished I will finally read Hilderbrand's new Winter Street book, the bonus #4 Winter Solstice.  I am also re-reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (this is the third time, I believe) and it amazes me how every time I read it, it teaches me something new.  Two days ago I started Idaho, my January book club pick for my book club here in town, and oh my gosh, you guys, I cannot put it down.

Feeling inspired by... Ashley's Gratitude Journal List from December.  It's so cozy & lovely.

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Meals:
Chicken & brocolli
Burgers & sweet potato fries
Chicken stir fry
Steak & asparagus
Marinated chicken & cooked carrots



1.01.2018

Word of the Year: Measure

While contemplating what I wanted from 2018, I did a lot of thinking and list making. I read this quote by Tyler Knott Gregson and knew that he was spot on.  I want to give more.  I want to empty my heart everyday.  Into my friends, into my husband, into my children.  And I want to believe there is always enough time to become who I am meant to be. 

With those things in mind, I began contemplating what word I wanted to choose as my theme for 2018.  Last night it came to me.

The word is "measure" and I have to give Gretchen Rubin full credit for this being my word for the year. In her book, Better Than Before (which is a brilliant book to read if you are making lots of new years resolutions) she says that "We only manage what we measure".  I have seen the last few months how true this is.  When I started keeping track of my "not yelling" with stickers on the calendar in our kitchen, I suddenly became very motivated to see seven in a row.  I wanted a little smiley face on each day of the month.

It was with this in mind that I compiled my list of things I want to do (a few new goals, mixed with some of my 100 small things list that remains).  I am very excited to see what 2018 will hold for me!

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I have broken up my goals for the new year into different sections, using "measure" as the theme for each.  (see below)

We only manage what we measure:

  • Change our eating (following a semi-paleo diet), writing it all down!
    • try a new shrimp recipe
    • try a new fish recipe
  • Move my body (working out 3x/week)
    • get a bike for me
    • get a bike for Josh
    • buy family pool pass
    • hike with my dad
    • kayak with my mom
    • try some yoga
    • do 20 pushups/day
    • write out some body positivity mantras
    • walk to school as much as possible


Albert Einstein said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." And I want to be intelligent.  Therefore, I must prove to myself my ability to change.  Josh and I have talked for a while about changing our eating habits (for ourselves and our children) and this is the year we're going to do it. Personally, I am going to be making sure I exercise 3x/week.  I was successful in August, September & October, but the cold in November & December got the best of me. I'm determined for January to be better.

*****

How do you measure success?

  • Not yelling or swearing at my kids
    • add more hugs & snuggling
    • be present
  • Reaching out to/being there for friends
    • call!
    • write!
    • send mail!
    • plan small group get together
    • movies with my sister
    • keep track of birthdays/anniversaries this year


I measure success not in a clean house or a fancy car or a skinny body, but in loving those around me and being there for them.  One way I can be there for my kids is by being an example of a calm, loving adult (aka: one who doesn't swear or yell) and one way I can be there for my friends is by reaching out when I think of them, and being there for them when they need me. 

*****

Don't worry if you don't measure up:

  • Less Facebook, Instagram (phone lives on the counter, 2 check times/day)
    • Screen-free weekdays for my kids
    • 1 screen-free weekday for myself
    • try media-free mornings for me
  • Decrease TV consumption & increase reading 
    • Read 52 books again this year (one per week)
    • check in monthly with Inspired Readers
    • read random books with my kids!


The more time I spend with screens- watching TV, scrolling Facebook and Instagram- the more poorly I start to feel about myself and my status in life.  Despite the blessings around me, if I get more invested in my "online" life or friends than I am in my real life, I start to lose perspective.  So I am going to try and treat my cell phone like a house phone.  Let it live on the kitchen counter, out of sight & out of mind, so I can get more "life" lived (or at least more books read!) ha!

*****

How will I measure my life?

  • Slow, purposeful bedtimes with the kids
    • read 10 chapter books with the boys this year
    • continue journaling back & forth with Jack
  • celebrate Mother's Day for those around us
  • celebrate Father's Day for those around us
  • visit the library 1x/month
  • do a monthly 'crafternoon' for the kids
  • rotate consistently who helps with dinner
  • continue family grooming day Sundays (cut nails, haircuts, etc.)
  • cousin playdate with the Tucker's 

Time with loved ones is, in the end, all that will matter.  I want my daily life to show that.  I want to make this ordinary life special, by celebrating the little things, by carrying out traditions and being deliberate in where we spend our time.  

****

Loved Beyond Measure:

  • record my kids' lives (on the blog & in person)
    • create a family photo book
    • figure out a memorabilia system for the kids
    • blog 3x weekly
      • Do "a week in the life" post
      • Introduce "Alaska Living" page
      • Month-long blog writing challenge
      • Share favorite kid books
      • Finish my blog story
      • Share how we do chores
      • Empty dashboard of drafts (all.of.them!) by August 2018
      • 100 small things quarterly update
  • take care of myself, too!
    • Go To Bed!!! (Why is this so hard!?!)
    • meditate
    • read Happier At Home
    • reorganize the desk
    • reorganize the office (...again...)
    • write inspirational quotes to hang around the house
    • watch 3 documentaries
    • write out prayers to rid myself of anxiety
    • write one chapter of my novel each month

I want my family to know in the future that they have been loved beyond measure.  For me that means better record keeping, more blogging and more memory books.  But my kids aren't the only ones I want "feeling the love"-- I also want to take care of myself!  Because what they say is true: "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" It really isn't selfish to prioritize my needs.  When I am happier, our whole house is happier, and tends to run more smoothly.

And to remember always that I am blessed beyond measure!

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