A work date! him: working on his dissertation, me: working on this post :)
[December Update]
Work out every single day. I DID IT. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. (I work out often, but never every day for 30 minutes. And I can’t stop talking about it, sorry.)
Make an advent bucket list – Indeed, though we didn’t accomplish everything on it, we came close! Christmas this year was just the best. A four-year-old makes Christmas downright magical.
Blog 6 times. Yep, I blogged seven times. Sure, two of them happened to be baby updates and one was my goals post, but I’ve been struggling to find time to turn thoughts into blog posts, so I was glad to get some extra content out! (Including the post that made me nervous to publish.)
SURVIVE – Well, I’m here, aren’t I?
[January Intentions]
My overarching goal for 2015 is ROUTINE. By that, I don’t mean routine in the sense of boring stuff, but more routines in my day-to-day life with the kids, routines in my workflows and processes for Little Leaf, routines for evenings and mornings and working out and meals. Basically I want to have less decision fatigue and more good habits that come from routine. I’m going to tackle one area a month. It’s a struggle since I have a love of spontaneity, but I’ve seen how valuable it can be for all of us.
Sleep routine. Well, mostly help reform Theo’s sleep. I don’t want to get into the details lest someone judge me for how badly/where/how my baby sleeps, but I have goals. And they are for sleep. I’m going to be gorging on these sleep webinars to help. He slept SO much better at two months old than he does now. I have no idea what changed but, oh, I am tired.
Work on marriage. I started reading this book that Mike brought home from work (he’s a counselor) and love it. So we’re going to listen to the audiobook together. It’s not that our marriage is on the rocks or anything, but we just want to improve it.
Get ready for Puerto Rico. So, uh, everything but buying the flights. This means: booking hotels and a car, finally getting Theo’s birth certificate, borrowing car seat carriers to check them when we fly, and buying Theo a convertible car seat.
Work out three times a week. Working out became a routine, but I also found I had less time to squeeze in other things, so I’m scaling back. Hopefully soon I won’t even need to set this as a goal because it will become a habit!
Launch 1.75 websites. Before we leave for Puerto Rico at the end of the month, I have to design, code, and launch an entire website and almost finish another. This means a lot of work. Luckily I have a babysitter starting back next week. (Who just happens to be my sister! YAY.)
That book by Gottman is wonderful. I’m also obsessed with the Gottman blog and there’s a series that just wrapped up that you should check out. It’s called the Relationship Alphabet…a post based on a word that pertains to marriage, from A-Z.
http://www.gottmanblog.com/relationship-alphabet/
Oh, awesome! Great to hear that you liked it. And I’ll check that out. :)
Woo! Go 2015 January intentions! You got this!
PUERTO RICOOOOOOO! So excited for you. I had a dream last night that Chris and I are in Maui. I woke up…Not in Maui. Anyway, this is the second time in about a month that I’ve heard the term “decision fatigue” and yes! There are so many things (usually dinner: what we’re having/how it’s prepared) where I’m just like, I. DO. NOT. CARE. I literally do not care. STOP ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS. Decision fatigue.
Decision fatigue is such a real thing, and I have become so aware of how annoyed I am with it that it impacts where I shop. It’s so much easier for me to shop at Trader Joe’s/Aldi/Costco because there are just such limited choices! No decision fatigue!
YES!! Grocery store overwhelm is something I feel, too! (I first noticed it after my family had moved overseas and I came home and was like, “Why are there 10 different kinds of Oreos here!?”) So true. Didn’t even think of that!
I need to create more of a routine for me and my littles, too. I find it so much easier in the summer when there’s so much more we can do outside – but in the winter, a lot of our daily routines seem to go out the window. Everything is weather dependent, and most of Topher’s friends are in school during the day so we don’t have very many playdates and I always feel like I’m scrambling to come up with something fun for us to do. I might steal an idea from Topher’s old day home and do baking Mondays, adventure Wednesdays, and craft Fridays – or something like that, anyway!
Oooh, I’d love to read that book. Well, listen to. Audible has it for *eek* 24.99. I might just get the book.
LOVE that you mentioned not yet having a birth certificate for Theo…we don’t yet have one for Miss B and will be getting one (HOPEFULLY) this month. Just realized about four days ago that we didn’t have one…even though we both thought we did! Whoops! I’m SURE you will successfully complete these great January goals!!
I too LOVE the 7 Principles book. I think it should be required reading for all couples :)
Also, I like your focus on routine for the year. I followed Susannah Conway’s advice about choosing one word, and I chose “rhythm,” but I meant all the things you described. I need routine, discipline, less spontaneous decision-making, and less putting out fires. Good luck to you!
I love your theme for 2015! I’ve been trying to focus my intentions surrounding a theme, and man do I need to get back into routines!
You worked out every day in December and can’t stop talking about it? Rightfully so!! High five, lady!
I am also very glad that you survived… please keep it up ;)
I love your new goals and hope you have a fantastic time in Puerto Rico!
When you mentioned that ‘Routine’ would be your overall goal for 2015, I about shrieked. But then felt relieved after you explained what you meant by ‘routine’. My routine (due to the deployment) has slowly turned into a rut that I cannot seem to shake off.. or rather… that I am not able to shake off, obviously. My main goal for 2015 is to return home safely and live a normal life again!
Oh my goodness!! Yeah, my routine is nowhere NEAR as intense as military life! Hope 2015 is safe and normal for you. <3
Have a great time in Puerto Rico! Sounds fabulous to me.
I’m setting a similar intention on my workouts: I did so well until about October, so I need to get make it a thing that is tied to numbers (as in, 10-15 miles a week on the treadclimber & lifting weights 3 days a week) so that it’s just part of me again. I always hit workout burnout after the girls leave and before the holidays start so I’m determined to NOT do that again.