June Monthly Goals 2017

This year I have been setting goals each month using four themes: balance, purpose, health, and organization. These themes have helped me focus each month on specific steps towards creating positive changes and growth.

In June these themes still apply, but my focus is a little different. This month is a bittersweet one for me, as for the first time in over 10 years, I am preparing to change schools. On top of the normal craziness that always comes at the end of a school year, there is extra emotion, need for organization, and anticipated change.

May Monthly Goals 2017

I keep thinking that we're into spring: the warm, t-shirt and shorts, pretty flowers spring that we are all desperate to see — and then another cold snap comes through and everyone gets a little bummed out again. Which all just reminds me that this time of year takes a little patience. Those warm spring days will come, but in our part of New England it takes a little longer.

Similarly March was pretty crazy, and while I felt like I kept waiting for things to even out a little in April, I'm realizing that too will take a little patience. Even now, I'm over a week into May without posting my monthly goals. 

My Four Year Long Themes:

Balance - Find balance across all areas of my life.

Purpose - Reflect on the purpose of the things I own and my time.
Health- Spend time focusing on improving my own physical and mental health.
Organization- I am always striving for better organization, everywhere.

As these are big goals, I'm working on approaching them in manageable chunks. 

April Monthly Goals 2017

March wound up being a crazy month, which made getting to my goals harder. But, it also made me think about the importance of the goals too.

My Four Year Long Themes:

Balance - Find balance across all areas of my life.

Purpose - Reflect on the purpose of the things I own and my time.
Health- Spend time focusing on improving my own physical and mental health.
Organization- I am always striving for better organization, everywhere.

As these are big goals, I'm working on approaching them in manageable chunks. 

March Monthly Goals 2017

February seemed to fly by, which meant getting to my monthly goals and my four year-long themes was not as easy as it might be in longer months.

My Four Year Long Themes:

Balance - Find balance across all areas of my life.

Purpose - Reflect on the purpose of the things I own and my time.
Health- Spend time focusing on improving my own physical and mental health.
Organization- I am always striving for better organization, everywhere.

As these are big goals, I'm working on approaching them in manageable chunks. 

February Monthly Goals 2017

This year I'm continuing to keep my monthly goals based on four year long themes. Each month, I try to work on these goals in a new direction.

My Four Year Long Themes:

Balance - Find balance across all areas of my life.

Purpose - Reflect on the purpose of the things I own and my time.
Health- Spend time focusing on improving my own physical and mental health.
Organization- I am always striving for better organization, everywhere.

As these are big goals, I'm working on approaching them in manageable chunks. 

January Monthly Goals 2017

In the past few years, I've enjoyed participating in a Monthly Goals series with several other bloggers. Each month bloggers share their goals and update on the progress they've made. By posting my goals here, for all of you to see, it's made me feel much more accountable to meeting the goals.

After a few months off from goal making I've decided to refresh the practice for the New Year. This year I've decided to do year long goals, with monthly check-ins.

Focus: September Monthly Goals

I've always considered myself a pretty amazing multitasker - I've even prided myself on how many projects I can have going on at "once." When brain research came out a few years ago claiming that people officially can't multitask, I completely didn't agree with it. Of course people can multitask- moms and teachers do it 100 times a day. 

Coming out of a summer season where I purposefully tried to keep parts of our summer simple, I was a little bummed to have it end with a big rush of busyness into the new school year. The residual effects of relaxing summer moments amped up into the constant routine of trying to balance too many things and feeling stressed. It's made me realize something: I need to get a little more proactive about "focusing." 

Connect (August Monthly Goals 2016)

Anyone who is with a long term partner and has children knows that connecting amid parenting is hard. This coming month my husband and I will have been married 8 years, although we've been together much longer than that.

There is not another person in the world I would rather share this journey with. We met as teenagers, grew with each other for several years, and in our mid-twenties eagerly took on the challenges of creating a home and family together. We both acknowledge that marriage is a journey that requires commitment and flexibility. With all the requirements in life; (Kids, jobs, household needs, volunteer commitments, etc.) it can be easy to prioritize something else and let our partners take the back burner.

Traditionally the eighth year anniversary gift is pottery or bronze, but this month I'm hoping we can give each other a little extra time.

Keep Summer Simple (July 2016)

We're almost a week into July, and just posting our monthly goals  . . . but that fits perfectly with our focus for the next month: Keep Summer Simple.

For whatever reason, this summer I'm feeling the need for us to keep it simple - slow it down and just enjoy the best parts of this season in our part of the world. The temperatures are warm, the world is green, the swimming is perfect, and the gardens are begin to burst with fresh veggies and fruit. It's one of the best times of year to live in New England. 

Enjoy the Backyard (June 2016 Monthly Goals)

This spring a big focus for us as a family has been getting the backyard ready for summer. We're pretty blessed to already have a large backyard, but this spring it's gone from a fun place to play to a pretty kid focused yard.

One of our motivations has been that this summer (in addition to visiting some of our favorite local spots) I really want to spend time just relaxing, at home in our yard. 

Remembering to Celebrate Mom Wins (May 2016 Monthly Goals)

So today I forgot my boss' birthday . . . 

I should mention that I was supposed to be his "birthday buddy" and bring in a treat for the whole staff to share . . .

I should also mention that I work in a pretty small town, with one small store, and no bakery  . . .

So forgetting meant no treat for a happy staff to share. Forgetting meant totally having to own up to it. And, for me, forgetting the birthday treat completely ties into my monthly goals I'd hoped to set for May. (Only those too, like the chocolate cake currently baking in my oven, are coming a little late this month.)

10 Classic Ways to Enjoy Spring (April 2016 Monthly Goals)

Whether it's the unusual winter we just had, the sporadic temps we're still experiencing, or just a touch of late cabin fever - I am so ready for spring, a real spring, to arrive!

Something about this spring also has me thinking about those classic activities that families and kids get to experience during the warming spring months and I find myself just wanting to slow down and enjoy those experiences as much as we can. I'm sure some of this comes from the fact Big Brother turns 6 this month and officially is in the world of BIG KID. A time is going to come when we're more focused on sports, school, and friends and have even less time for these family focused moments.

So for my April Monthly Goals I've come up with 10 classic ways we can enjoy spring as a family. (Although of course I'm still chipping away at my January goals of organizing household clutter, my February Goals of using the crockpot more, and my March Goals of fitting in more exercise for myself.)

March 2016 Goal: Fit in More Exercise

This year our monthly goals have been focusing on specific tasks rather than multiple goals each month. In January we tackled more decluttering throughout the house and in February we worked on using our slow cooker more to help offset busy nights. We found several recipes to enjoy this past month, and even started tweaking several to create our own recipes. (You can look forward to seeing those sometime in the near future.)

This month we're moving on to something that is definitely more personal to me individually: Get more exercise.

Since college exercising has been one way I de-stress during the week and clear my head. Not to mention all the other pivotal health benefits that come from exercising by staying fit and active. And although the intensity decreased, for many years after having kiddos I still found ways to exercise regularly.

February 2016 Goal: Use the Slowcooker on Busy Nights

So somehow January flew past me. Even though I chipped away at my January Goal of Decluttering and Organizing, the busy pace of a usually quieter month meant I just didn't get as far as I wanted to. (Although happily we did make some progress  with cleaning out toys, clothes, and several cabinet spaces.) As I've discovered in the past with this goal, sometimes this is one that takes a few months of focus to really make a difference.

When times get busy though, it helps to focus on ways I can find some balance in an otherwise chaotic spell. For February I'm deciding on one simple way I can create a little more balance within our busy weeks: use the slow cooker more.

In the past I've loved using our slow cooker, especially in the winter. But for some reason this winter we haven't been pulling it out as often. Yet I know that when we get home from a busy day at work or I find myself headed out to an evening meeting the slow cooker can be a true sanity saver. 

January 2016 Goal: Organize the Household Clutter

Last year we joined the Monthly Goals series and found it to be a great way to keep us motivated during the year to tackle a variety of resolutions. Rather than kicking off January with a whole list of resolutions, each month we selected a new goal and worked towards meeting that goal.

This year we're again excited to be joining in on the Monthly Goals series. I quickly realized last year that it was best for our family to focus on just one set of goals at a time, so each month we'll have a specific theme.

For January 2016 we're actually returning to a 2015 goal: 

Organize the Household Clutter

We spent the early part of the beginning of 2015 focusing on the goals of organizing and decluttering. I loved the changes we were able to make in our house. We redesigned household spaces, donated or gave away unused items, and in general had less clutter laying around.

December Monthly Goals: Be A More Proactive Blogger

Hard to believe that almost a year ago I started setting out monthly goals. Throughout the year I feel like the goals have helped me to focus on a variety of house and family related realms. I've loved seeing and feeling progress over the course of the year. With progress in a lot of areas, one area I still need to focus on is blogging.

I love writing this blog and I can't believe that this spring it will have been three years since I began. But it's amazing how quickly time can go by and some of the things I'd hoped to do still haven't happened or become routine. So for the last month of 2015, I've decided to make my focus stay here, on Kitchen Floor Crafts.

Monthly Goals: November 2015

With new schedules and new routines this fall things are definitely feeling different, and a little more frantic than they were in the past.

For some reason at the end of the October I really started to feel the new changes to our family routine and weekly schedule. 

Monthly Goals: October 2015

I'm not going to lie, I didn't do so well with my September Goal of Getting More Sleep. In fact, I probably should just continue it into this month. But, I knew this would be a hard habit to break. So, I'm going to try and keep it going this coming month.

However, with our new school year routines this month, it's become pretty clear there's another monthly goal I need to tackle: make our school mornings less stressful.

My husband leaves pretty early, well before the kiddos get up, so that gives me the task of getting myself and two kiddos out the door before 7:15 am. With two schools to drop off at, and a third one I'm rushing to myself, just getting out the door isn't even really the end of the mad dash. 

Monthly Goals: September 2015

Okay, now that the fun of summer is over and my oldest kiddo has started kindergarten, I know it's time to face up to the monthly goal I've been avoiding all year: Get More Sleep.

For most people, the idea of getting more sleep would be a welcome treat . . . and for me that is true. But there's also a part of me that goes into a true panic at the idea of taking on this goal. 

Monthly Goals: August 2105

As a teacher there's something about August 1st that has always left a slightly bittersweet feeling in the air for me. It means there are a few more weeks of summer to go, a few more relaxed days before the busy days, a little bit of time left to squeeze in a few more things from our summer bucket list.

But there is also that beginning anticipation and excitement of a new school year ahead, new students to expect, and all the plans to be made.

Only this year, as August 1st rolled around there was a new feeling: the realization that at the end of this month my big guy will officially be a kindergartner. And as soon as I think about that, I just want to slow summer down as much as possible.

When people ask me how our summer is going, I feel like I can honestly answer that while it's been busy, it's been good. We've been enjoying our Summer Bucket List, Simple Summer Themes, and our attempts to Plan to Unplan. We've spent time with friends and on our own, we've created and played, we've explored and just hung out too.