April 2015 Goals

Time for new goals!  I love the start of a new month.  Especially April.  I know April officially starts tomorrow, but I need to post Maddox’s 9 month update tomorrow.  The weather is so nice outside, plants are blooming, and it’s time for Spring cleaning (my favorite time of the year).  First up, I took a look at how I did with my March goals.

I definitely think I’m over planning my goals each month.  I’ve always been like this.  I keep forgetting how time consuming just taking care of a baby is.  But I’m okay with not getting everything checked off my list…well, I’m making myself be okay with it…mom first, work second.  On that note, I’ve really been struggling with balancing my desire (and responsibility) to be a good mom and blogging/designing.  I love them all and I’m really trying to grow my blog and shop, but it’s been tough to find the time and energy.  I think that’s my main focus this year.  To gain more balance as the year progresses.  I know it won’t be perfect, but I’m not satisfied with my days right now.  Anyways, I kind of went off on a tangent.  Back to March goals.

Spiritual Goals – I continued my Jesus Calling study, but found myself doing it at random times of the day.  I don’t like that.  I want to do it first thing in the morning.  I read 50 Shades of They by our pastor, Ed Young.  This was a good book and I think it would be even better for high school students, or younger, who are frantically trying to find friends.  I decided to not host a Bible study this Spring.  I haven’t started the Scripture Memory verse system yet, but I still plan to do this.

Marriage – Woops.  I had to look back on my calendar to see if we went on a date.  Ryan was gone the first two weekends, we were sick the third weekend, and didn’t go last weekend.  We are definitely due a date night.

Motherhood – I was definitely more intentional with Beckham and I notice a HUGE difference in his behavior when I am.  Three years old is definitely the toughest age so far.  I was talking to a girl friend and she said two emotions that surprised her about motherhood were anger and annoyance.  I look up to this girl, so this was a relief to hear.  Parenting…the toughest job on Earth!  I did pump another month, but plan on weaning this month…it may take all month, but I’m okay if I stop pumping.  I created a behavior chart and hung it up yesterday.  I’ll share more about it later…hopefully it works.

Health – Didn’t make it to gym and no eating sugar after 7pm was a joke.  Considering I don’t even eat dinner till after kids are in bed some nights, this goal was not smart.  But I improvised and didn’t eat any sugar late at night when I was working (I actually used to do that).  Health is one of my main focuses next month as you’ll see below.

Relationships – I focused on relationships through many play dates this month vs. a GNO.  We were sick a lot this month so this was actually a good achievement considering the facts.

Business – I added a lot of signs this month.  And did a lot of work on my shop.  Etsy changed some things up a bit so I had to do a lot of research and editing to bring my sales up.  Another blogger will be featuring a sign this week.  If you have a blog and would like a sign, contact me and we’ll talk about getting one to you.  I did complete my taxes, but we have to formally file them this month.

Financial – Updating our budget nightly makes it SO much easier to keep track of expenses.  I also read Living Well Spending Less by Ruth Soukup and I highly recommend it.  She is spot on with her advice and fundamentals.  I also did really good on groceries this month (stayed within our $400 budget).  You can read what we bought this month HERE.

Personal – We didn’t find the exact car (although I’m loving the Honda Pilot), but I have a list of a few of them that I need to go test drive.  I’m dreading this as I hate going to dealerships and dealing with car salesmen.  And I had a me day that was nice and refreshing.

In April I’m going to focus on 6 things:

1. DE-CLUTTER – I honestly believe the key to keeping a clean, organized house is to de-clutter.  My husband and I differ greatly when it comes to this, which makes it difficult, but I’ll at least de-clutter the things I can.  Spring cleaning will also occur!

2. SLEEP – I say it every month, but I think this is the one thing holding me back from getting things done.  Must.Get.More.Sleep.  I figured if I can get in bed by 12pm, I can wake up at 7:00 (an hour or so before kids usually get up).  This means starting my nightly routine at 10:30pm (yes, it’s long because it involves pumping, washing parts and any dishes in sink, making lunches, shower, cleansing face regimen, and reading in bed). My goal is 7 hours.

3. HEALTH – Summer is around the corner.  Even if I don’t get into a swim suit in the next couple of months, smaller clothing is starting to happen and I must get more fit.  Ideally, I’d love to go to the gym (and plan on it), but if I don’t make it consistently, I at least plan to drink water galore.  Here’s my plan – Drink 16oz first thing in the morning. Drink 16oz before bed (I’m really thirsty at night).  And 4 glasses during the day…I should be able to do this at lunch and dinner.  This is not including any time I work out.  This should also help my energy.

4. READ MORE OF THE BIBLE – I love Christian books, but I need to be careful how often I let them replace reading my Bible.  I have a great Bible and always learn so much when I read.  Ideally, I’d read it after my Jesus Calling devotional in the morning, which is short, but if I don’t, I also like to read at night. 

5. RELATIONSHIPS – Whether this be my husband, my family, or my friends, my goal is to do something…get together!  I LOVE socializing, but really young kids can make that pretty hard, at least doing it frequently.  My most important relationship (other than God of course) is my husband, so this month we are going to intentionally hang out…alone and with our kiddos!  I see my family often and we already have some things lined up this month.

6. MY BLOG – I love blogging!  It’s harder and harder to do these days as a stay at home mom, but I still enjoy it.  Every now and then I debate whether or not I should keep doing it, but then every time I think that, I get an email the very next day telling me how much someone loves my blog (which is always so flattering).  They are random, but something keeps telling me to continue writing.  And I’m glad it do, because I love doing it!  I’ve decided to be intentional with my blog and really grow it, organize it, improve it…make it something you want to read everyday, while still staying true to myself and writing about what I love,
A few specific goals I have for my blog are:
-Add Adsense (look into affiliate marketing)…don’t worry guys, I won’t get “advertise-y”
-Research WordPress and see if it’s a good move
-Organize my Pinterest (Pin daily)
-Revisit old posts (at least once a week) and update the info and add a good graphic if needed.
-Write one financial post a week (I have so many post ideas that need to be written and published)

On that note, thank you guys so much for reading my blog.  And commenting and emailing!  As a blogger, it’s really all about the readers and the community built.  I enjoy this little space!  Speaking of readers, I would love to hear from you and what posts you like seeing or if you have any questions/ideas you’d like me to blog about!  Just comment below or email me (snydersteallall@yahoo.com).