The start of a new life (Hayes’s) makes me feel even more like I need to do what I can to get on track. And I have a lot of areas where I feel like I am off track. Don’t get me wrong, please. This is not a pity party that I’m trying to start and I am really very happy. But adding a new member to our household and trying to keep up with everything else we’ve got going on has kind of thrown me for a loop when it comes to actually getting stuff done.
I have a lot of things I’d like to accomplish or add to my daily and weekly routines. I’m just thinking that maybe if I put it all in writing I’ll have some more accountability. The list is in no particular order– these are just the things that are weighing on me right now.
1. Begin and complete Couch 2 5k with two fun friends.
2. Train for and complete a half marathon with the same two fun friends. (I cannot believe I put that in writing. I put it at the top of the list because I figured if I put it at the bottom I may chicken out and leave it off the list completely!)
3. Do all of my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon for the week. Getting out of the house with two babies is hard. Getting out of the house to go to the grocery store with two babies is even harder. Gotta grocery shop when TC is home.
4. Menu plan on Saturdays. You know, to be ready for Sunday’s grocery adventures.
5. Come up with a great menu planning/organizing system for the house. I’m thinking a monthly calendar in a binder along with a grocery list and menu references.
6. Develop a weekly routine for the boys and organize my calendar before the week begins. Hayes has a great daily routine, but for the rest of the summer I want there to be things that Hudson gets to do every week like trips to the museum, the zoo, or even just the Chick fil A playground.
7. Go to yoga twice a week. I miss yoga so much and I know how good it is for me. Now that Hayes is sleeping so well, nightly activities like this are more of a possibility.
8. Set aside time every day to complete my quiet time.
9. Purge. We have a lot of stuff around here that we don’t use and that, frankly, we forget that we have. I want to get rid of it!
10. Take more pictures. I need to be ready to take cute pictures of the cute things that happen around here!
I didn’t put “lose 30 pounds” anywhere on the list because I just don’t want to put that pressure on myself. I want to be healthy and eat healthily. I want to look great in my clothes. But I’m not attaching a number to those things right now.
So what’s on your list of goals?
You have a great list of goals! I would also like to complete the C25K…I have started so many times but have never finished the training. I would love to be able to run a half-marathon with my husband. One of my other goals is to finish packing our house up in the next three weeks and purging all unwanted items. We are building a new home and I don’t want to bring clutter into it.
Hi! We’ve never met, but I found you blog through a friend..
Anyway; I found your “to do” list pretty inspiring, thought I’d share something with you for your #5:
a calendar/family home organizer! I love this one from Thirty-One… it’s Super cute, and all right there are the wall in front of you and the fam! Just an idea 🙂 http://catalog.thirtyonegifts.com/page10_11.html
P.S. UM, this is the correct address of my blog, not the other. Sorry!
I have your solution for menu planning. No really, I do! It is recommended by Dave Ramesy so I thought hey, it can’t be that bad-right? The web site is http://www.ezmeals.com and it’s only $5 a month. They do all the meal planning, grocery list…all you have to do is print off the grocery list and shop for the items. It is SO much less stressful for me and the meals are really good. I realize that I sound like an infomercial! Haha. I’m not at all. Just wanted to pass along some info that could be helpful for you!
I do all of my menu planning in Excel, complete with a grocery list. Then, on weeks when I don’t feel like coming up with a “new” menu, I just open that file on my MacBook and print one out. I’d be happy to email you a template or a few examples if you want. 🙂
I think that’s a great list! If you end up with a good menu planning system will you share it? I’ve tried things before that ended up being even more work than not having a system. Would love to see what other people do.
My list is pretty simple right now. We just moved to a new house, so we’re all about setting things up, unpacking, and getting ready for our second baby due in November 🙂
Any chance you could give an overview of Hayes’ new nighttime routine? I’m intrigued how you’re changing things from the BW schedule!
Great goals, by the way!
Great list! I’ve done a few half marathons and even two full marathons. When I started my training (I did a full first- I am crazy.) I couldn’t even finish two miles. YOU CAN DO IT. I swear if I can, anyone can! Let me know if you need any thoughts on training programs. There are a lot out there!
Good for you! Setting goals is so much fun and it gives you things to work hard for and enjoy when you accomplish. I, like Erica (comment above) use my MacBook Pro and set up monthly meals. I often flip through my favorite cooking magazines and cookbooks and write down page #’s for favorite recipes. I enter these into my “database.” Then when I am menu planning, I have a tried/true list to pull from and I have tons of choices. This takes time up front to go through all of the magazines and cookbooks but saves TONS OF TIME in the end.
My goals for now include:
I will work out every day. If I don’t make it happen, it doesn’t.
I want to get away from wearing yoga pants and tank tops all day. I want my children to remember their mother as pretty and put together. I have a closet full of cute stuff, if I work out daily, everything will fit beautifully.
I am joining Bible Study Fellowship in the fall to get in depth study in each day. I NEED THIS to have the right perspective on life.
I will love myself. I do not look the same as I did before children. Having that 2nd child made being thin a tough thing for me. But whether I am a size 6 or a size 12, I can be pulled together and I can love myself. (this goal is by far the toughest for me)
Awesome set of goals. I’m thinking of starting (and actually finishing) the couch to 5k program myself.
I love a list of goals. Yours is great. I want to do better about taking Amelia out to do things…but it’s so stinkin’ hot – I want it to be indoors! 🙂 Meal planning is something that I do really good at and then quit for a few weeks and then have a heart attack when I look at how much we spent eating out – maybe a binder of ideas would help me too.
I hope you’re having a great summer…love seeing pics of those two boys!
Good for you! I just started the C25K program last week, for the 2nd time. I really slacked off the first go-around, probably because I was doing it by myself. It’s a good thing you’re doing it with two friends – you’ll really be there to help motivate each other ! I’ll be interested in which organizational methods you come up with for menu planning, etc. I’m always tweaking my system, so a few new ideas would be great!
I use a meal-planning website to plan all of our meals, and our monthly grocery list is only $200 for the 2 of us! By planning and only buying what I KNOW we’ll eat, we eliminate waste, I don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner that night, and I can control what we eat (we’ve both lost weight!). I use plantoeat.com, which has a yearly subscription of $40. Sounds annoying to have to pay for, but it’s worth more in my opinion. You can import recipes directly from the web, drag and drop into the calendar, and print the ingredients list for any window of time (weekly, monthly, etc.). Now that I have all my favorite healthy recipes imported, it takes me 10 minutes to plan 2 weeks’ worth of meals and grocery list. I can’t rave enough about it! 🙂
Hey!! Add winning a contest to your goals 😉 Check out the giveaway I am hosting for a chance to win some awesome Boudreaux’s Products: http://kellyandlincoln.blogspot.com/2011/07/boudreauxs-butt-paste-review-and.html
We share some of the same goals. I have just recently tried to be better at meal planning. I have been terrible in the past, and I am trying to be better this summer. That’s exciting about your running goals! Adam and I finished our first half-marathon in April, and I’m planning to do another one in December. You can definitely do it!
Sounds like a great list of goals and definitely attainable ones! Good for you for being ambitious!
A little goal setting is always good for us!
For meal planning, there are some great pdf’s I’ve seen on pinterest. Serach meal planning and I think you might find some helpful stuff. I’ve linked to some cool ones before on my blog. I don’t use them, but they might just work for you! The links are at the bottom of the post: http://lilacsandavocados.blogspot.com/2010/01/meal-planning.html
Great list. I’m with you on a bunch of them. I have heard really good things about emealz (e-mealz dot com). I’m a mess with the meal planning…thinking about trying that out. I’m doing the c25k right now…or at least, I started last week. Should probably do that tonight!! 🙂
I’m really interested in hearing more about this monthly meal plan idea you have. I use to love trying new recipes and spending an hour or so getting new ideas together, but now that I have a baby I just don’t have that time. Maybe if I was more organized I could get in the kitchen more. I hope you share whatever you come up with!
You can totally run a half marathon! I did my first two summers ago and plan to train for another next spring after Peanut is here and we’ve adjusted to our new routine. Also, yes, I am so on board with you in regards to menu planning and weekly trips to the grocery store. It makes life so much easier!
Wow! You just encouraged me! I am a stay at home mom to Madison 4 and Shawn Jr 2. We have another son due in September. My daughter will be starting Pre K in August. This will be my first experience being away from her in 4 years. She has never even went to MDO or a babysitter besides my mom. I am having alot of anxiety about this step in our lives with three kids and one starting school. I am in constant prayer to just relax and not make such a big deal about all the transitions. I’m curious to know of any advice you may have to offer from when you sent Hudson to school. My goal is to remain calm and carry through the rest of the summer without panicking. Not sure how successful i’ll be LOL!
Great goals! I can’t wait to see what you kind of system you come up with for menu planning & home organization. You can never be too organized or have too many great ideas!
Great list! I am in awe of the half marathon on there. I keep wanting to do it but I think the fear it holding me back. I also use Excel to menu plan and have the plan and grocery list in one folder on the computer. The hardest part for me was to try and find a flow of recipes that use all similar ingredients so I am not wasting food or money. Now it’s a fun challenge!
I did e-mealz for a couple of months several years ago and I didn’t really love it. Some of the recipes were good and some not so good. Maybe I need to give them a second chance as I’m sure they’ve improved over the past few years. Generally I have a few tried and true favorites that we eat 2-3 times a month, then we usually have grilled chicken and veggies once a week, and I try to use the crockpot once a week too. If I make something like chicken spaghetti I usually make enough to freeze a batch as well.
I have a lot of the same goals, but I didn’t start on them until my youngest was almost 1 year old. So good for you, getting started this soon after Hayes’s birth! I have signed up for the half marathon in Memphis in December…we’ll see. And it all started with the Couch 2 5K. Good luck!
what a great post! have you read “the happiness project” by gretchen rubin? i just finished it and it is definitely an inspiring way to get your act together. it’s all about making little changes to your life to soak up as much happiness as you can.
I’m feeling you on the weekend grocery shopping. My problem is that I HATE when the produce goes bad by Wed or Thurs (especially if it’s something I need for that night’s dinner!) Good luck girlie! You got this!
I have very similar goals to yours. First would be to keep a cleaner house. We have our house cleaned every 2 weeks (just the basics: floors, bathrooms, dusting), but I struggle to keep it clean in between. Trying to keep clutter picked up and everything clean with 2 babies is VERY HARD. I also want to purge alot of unused things…I see a yard sale in my near future. We have a 4 bedroom house with an extra bonus room and are still out of room. How does that happen? 🙂
Love your postings. The days you don’t post I feel like I have missed out!! 🙂
Oh yeah…another important goal….to eat at home more. We eat on the go constantly and since I am home there is no excuse for not cooking (except I really hate to cook, but that is not a GOOD excuse)..haha
I would amend #2 to be… run a Rock n Roll series half marathon 🙂 They are awesome! And so many to choose from.
Menu planning is hard – usually I’m too tired to be created. I plan 3-4 meals for a week. There’s left overs and/or something in our plans changes and we eat out or whatever. To jump start me I use Meatless Monday, Todd’s Taco Tuesday (my hubby LOVES tacos), and Pizza Friday. It’s just enough of a kicking off point for ideas to fly. I’m not rigid on this – but it’s pretty nice – and there can be as much variety as you’d like 🙂
Purge is also high on my list. But I can barely find the time for the everyday grocery shop, cook, clean, laundry, workout on top of working full time with an 11 month old — there’s no extra time for purging. I’ve heard of taking a month and getting rid of one thing every day. Maybe I’ll do this in August.
Whoa, man. This is a lot of stuff! Be careful not to set too many goals and then feel disappointed. I know I did that soon after I had our second baby boy and I overshot it 😉
Amen to grocery shopping being so hard with two kids. It is insane and I hate it. But I guess I hated grocery shopping even before I had kids, lol.
Getting organized in general is basically my whole problem.
I don’t have any kids, so I know my life isn’t as busy as yours, but I always plan a weekly menu, and then make a grocery list based on it. I always do my shopping on either Friday or Saturday for the following week. I love this plan! It makes for a long grocery trip (usually takes me at least an hour), but I only go once a week. Good luck with your goals! I was training for a half marathon when I found out I was pregnant. I’m ready to pop and get back to it! 🙂
I have seriously just made those top 2 goals myself. My husband and I want to run a half marathon together sometime next year! And I also just had my second baby, well 8 months ago, but I’m still getting used to having 2 kids, and the organization, meal planning stuff is a continual goal for me. Some days I do good, other days, it all goes out the window and we eat out. It’s so hard for my type A personality to calm down enough some days to just enjoy these moments right now. They’re not goint to be 2 and 8 months forever!
Great goals and I’m with you on about all of them! You’ll do great with the 5K and half-marathon! I know 13.1 can seem intimidating when you start training, but you’ll definitely get there. (My friend mocked me when I first signed up for cross country in high school because I was not athletic at all, but that was the start and now I have dozens of races behind me- including 2 marathons.)
I have been dragging my feet about meal planning/house organizing for a loooong time. I’ve used a lot of tips from http://www.flylady.net/. If you can look pass all the bad graphics, there’s a lot of good cleaning/organizing schedules there.
For meal planning, I’ve kind of been thinking about trying http://www.e-mealz.com/. Dave Ramsey (I think you mentioned reading some of his books earlier) endorses it and it makes meal plans based on the foods that are on sale at whatever grocery store you pick. My husband has so many meetings at night though that I don’t know if it will be worth it for me.
You have just inspired me to set some new goals for the rest of the year! What type of jogging stroller do you have?? I really need to get my tush in shape 😉
XOXO
Alot like my own list !! With the exception of the marathon.
Martha Stewart has useful lists for round the house on her website.
I just bought a brilliant cookbook by Clodagh Mckenna and am basically working my way through it.
Early Sunday/ week days are good when shopping with babies.
The schools here are already on Summer Vacation. Saturday in the supermarket was like a warzone !
I just about managed to get the pram back to the car in one piece !!
Am seriously looking into grocery stores on line that deliver to the door.
Don’t forget your ‘mom agenda’
you can totally do the half marathon. i have always run-not because i loved it but because it is the bet way for my body to get in shape. however, i only would do a couple miles. then i found a great training buddy and completed my first half in december (7 weeks preggo). it was a great accomplishment and i said i’d never do another one. well guess what, i’ve already signed up for one after the baby’s born. the key is a partner! good luck
Good Luck with your goals Erin! I need to make a list like this too!
Ooo great post. I completely agree with you. I started #1 but never went past week 2. Maybe with friends it would help. I need to get going on meal planning so your #5 seems to be exactly what Jen is doing over at Our Life Accounts! Check out her post… its inspiring. Now if Only I can get on that : http://www.ourlifeaccounts.com/2011/07/menu-organization.html
I feel like I always have a list like this going. I think it’s harder in the Summer for me to get organized with travel and Big Bear not in school.
I love yoga and running! I do yoga because it helps my running and makes me a better person. Running is just my therapy!! Check out my blog…I talk about how both have helped my life!