Categories
Adulting Holiday Life

New Year’s Resolutions – Goals for 2020

With the new year quickly approaching, we are likely all thinking of our New Year’s resolutions and coming up with ideas of how to be happier, healthier, or more successful in 2020. I know I am! Before coming up with resolutions for 2020, however, I wanted to revisit the goals I’d set for myself to accomplish in 2019.

Some of the goals I set, I know I met without a problem while others didn’t go as planned, unfortunately. I want to revisit those that I didn’t accomplish and think about WHY I wasn’t successful and to try and think of a new plan for that goal. There’s no reason to set totally new goals if you didn’t quite meet some of your 2019 goals!

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A Year in Review – My 2019 New Year’s Resolutions

To see the full blog post, click HERE. This is just a quick run-down of the goals I had set for myself to achieve in 2019.

  1. Follow a chore chart
    We actually did follow this, but I think it was a bit more complicated than it could be. I also planned on writing a blog post and including a free printable, but I never got around to that part simply because I didn’t take the time to simplify it.
  2. Start seeing a larger increase in our savings.
    I did accomplish this, but I think we can do better in 2020.
  3. Hire someone for the yard work.
    Didn’t do this… yard still needs work. LOL. Any lawn care companies reading this, I’ll give you free ad space on the blog in exchange for mowing, weeding, and leaf removal. JK kind of.
  4. FREAKING LAUNDRY.
    Nope. Definite fail.
  5. Dates with kids weekly.
    We did really well with this in the beginning of the year, but then life got overwhelmingly busy when spring sports season hit and we kind of fell off.
  6. Crunch numbers for vacations.
    I actually did this!! Worked out perfectly.
  7. New blog post once a week.
    So, I may have missed a couple of weeks. But I think overall I did okay.
  8. Make $150 on TextBroker weekly.
    I’m not even sure why I thought this would be possible, honestly. If I was a stay at home mom it would be possible but with a job outside of the home, definitely not. It is an awesome side hustle, though, and it made up a large portion of our “fun money” this year.
  9. Lose 40 pounds.
    Pretty sure I actually gained weight this year.
  10. Buy “clutter baskets”.
    Seriously, all year long I talked about buying these but I was never sure where to put them so I didn’t. I still want to though.

What I Will Do Differently to Achieve the Goals I Missed

My plan is to put those unachieved goals back on my list for the New Year, while also adding a few more New Year’s Resolutions. I still want to have 10 ideas for how to improve my day-to-day life, but I also plan on coming up with a specific success plan for each goal this time around.

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2020 New Year’s Resolutions

1. Simplify the chore chart.

I found that key things weren’t getting done as often as they should, and I had each little piece of a room written separately on the chore chart. For example; Wiping the kitchen counters and stove is worth $2, doing the dishes is worth $2, and sweeping the floor is $1.

When the kids were asked to choose one chore, they would always choose the easiest (obviously), and the entire rooms weren’t getting done. This still left me with an overwhelming amount of house work. I want to simplify it and make cleaning the entire kitchen one chore for more money.

Doing it this way would give more time for some of the other things on last year’s list like laundry and yard work.

2. Put $20 in the savings account weekly, and then an additional $100 at the end of the month.

3. Weekly dates with kids.

This is one thing I ALWAYS want to make sure we are doing. With 5 kids in the house, it’s so hard to find one-on-one opportunities, so scheduling them is the best way for us.

4. Lose 50 pounds.

I really just need to be more active and choose healthier snacks. Easier said than done, wish me luck.

5. Buy clutter baskets.

Seriously, I just need somewhere to put everyone’s crap when they leave it around the house so that I don’t have to take care of everything for everyone.

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6. Write in a journal regularly.

I used to do this and it was always so therapeutic. I just find excuses for reasons that I don’t have time to write in a journal now, and I honestly think it could help with some of my anxiety.

This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.

7. Pay off 25% of our total debt.

This is something my husband and I have been talking about. I don’t have a total number or plan yet, but I’ll be figuring that our in the next week or so.

8. Go on regular dates with my husband.

Like most parents, my husband and I don’t spend nearly enough alone time together. It seems like we hardly get to talk when there is so much going on every day. We want to start having date nights together at least every two weeks.

9. Use social media less.

I find myself scrolling aimlessly through my Facebook timeline, not even interacting with people. Sometimes, I wonder how much time I waste this way and while I have no idea the exact amount of time, I do want to lessen the time spent. One way I plan to do this is by not getting on it in the mornings.

10. Practice self care daily.

I want to start doing at least five small self care tasks each day or one big one. I just want to be happy this year and minimize the depression and anxiety that seemed to consume me this year.

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Final Thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions – Goals for 2020

You can’t just give up on your failed New Year’s Resoltions. Instead, figure out WHY you weren’t successful and figure out a new plan to achieve them in 2020. The key to personal growth is learning from your mistakes and trying again, so make sure your New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 reflects that!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions and were there any from last year that you didn’t achieve? Tell me in the comments!

Categories
Family Activities Holiday Parenting Printables

Fall Bucket List – 25 Things to do This Fall (+ a free fall printable!)

Fall is one of my favorite seasons… probably my most favorite if I’m being honest with myself. While I love all things summer, fall has a sweet place in my heart. It’s the first sign that the holidays are coming, there are so many fun things to do in the fall, and you’re not as likely to sweat your butt off doing outdoor activities. This fall bucket list will ensure you complete all of the wonderful fall activities you desire.

Cute clothes, warm drinks, family time, pretty leaves, football, getting cozy watching movies, pumpkin everything, apple everything else…. I could go on and on. I made a list of all the things I want to do this fall, and I decided to share my fall bucket list and printable with you!

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25 Things to do This Fall: Fall Bucket List

1. Apple picking

Find a local apple orchard and make a day trip out of it! Bring home all the apples you need to make apple pie, apple crisp, apple strudel, apple bars, apple sauce… be prepared to share with your friends and family!

2. Pumpkin patch

This is another day trip you can do with your entire family. Not only can you pick out your own pumpkins, some pumpkin patches offer tractor rides and corn mazes.

3. Corn maze

There is nothing that says fall quite like a corn maze. I let my kids take turns picking which way to go, and it doesn’t always turn out well. It sure is fun, though, no matter how long it takes!

4. Tractor ride

Our favorite pumpkin patch offers a tractor ride that takes you to the corn maze. Convenient, right?!

5. Jump in leaves

This is one of the most simple and easiest fall activities you can do. You’ll feel like a kid again.

6. Fall photo shoot

Get your kids cute one day (or make yourself cute… no one said it has to be a kid photo shoot), and take pictures in the leaves. Get beautifully colored trees in the background, put some pumpkins in there… get creative! Fall offers all the free backdrops.

7. Haunted house

It’s not Halloween time without a haunted house. You can’t skip out on this one.

8. Halloween craft

My kids and I love to do crafts. I like to decorate my kitchen with crafts that they’ve made. It might look cluttered, but they love to see their artwork on display, and it really gives a festive feeling to the house.

9. Thanksgiving craft

Think turkeys and thankfulness… you can’t go wrong there. Use Thanksgiving craft time to talk to your kids about the meaning of Thanksgiving and how it originated.

10. Carve a jack-o-lantern

You didn’t go to the pumpkin patch just to look around, did you? Use those pumpkins for something scary!

11. Watch a scary movie

Better yet, make it a marathon with all your favorite snacks. I like to make this a date night for the hubby and I after our kids go to bed.

12. Go for a scenic walk & look at leaves

We love to take quick walks around our neighborhood in the evenings to look at the leaves changing and falling. Sometimes we head downtown and explore, as all of the businesses look so pretty when the leaves start to change in front of them.

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13. Make home made soup

Nothing says fall like a bowl of hot soup. Find a new soup recipe, throw it in the crock pot, and have yourself a delicious fall meal.

14. Paint nails a fall color

Fall colors are so much fun and can really set the tone.

15. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

This is a favorite to do with my kids!! We eat our favorite fall treats and cuddle up to watch together.

16. Bake pumpkin bread

Share some with your neighbors, friends, or family.

17. Make apple pie

Don’t share this. Keep it all to yourself. Just kidding, kind of.

18. Drink cider & eat donuts

You can’t have cider without donuts. Well, I guess you can, but it’s not the same.

19. Chili & football night

I choose a day when my husband’s favorite NFL team (even though the Raider’s suck) is playing for chili and football night. I also make a few yummy finger foods and get a variety of drinks so that everyone enjoys it… even my hubby when his team is losing.

20. Caramel apples

I’m really excited to do this. I’ve never done it with my kids before, and I plan on slicing the apples into wedges, putting them on skewers, dipping them in caramel and offering a couple candy options.

21. Read “October” by Robert Frost

This made the list because of my love for Robert Frost. I read it aloud to my kids, hoping to instill a love for his work in them, too.

robert frost, illustrated poems

22. Have a bon fire

Fall is bon fire season. Not too cold, but cold enough to enjoy sitting next to a hot fire. S’mores anyone?

23. Create a craft using materials from nature

Our favorite thing is to gather leaves from our yard to use for fall wreaths, sensory bottles, and just gluing onto paper.

24. Go for a nature walk

We like to find nearby trails that we can explore. If your kids are joining, do a nature scavenger hunt with them. You can make a list of items and challenge your kids to collect these while walking.

Your list can include small insects, flowers, and even stones. Add an exciting twist to the activity by allowing the kids to examine what they have gathered, and discover what these are made of through an easy-to-use kids microscope.

This activity is a great way to enjoy the outdoors while learning and having fun at the same time. Also, using a kids microscope would guarantee a 100% wow-factor for the whole family.

25. Donate to a food bank

Fall is the time to really show how thankful and appreciative you are of all you have and to give back to those who are less fortunate.

Free Fall Bucket List Printable

Final Thoughts On Fall Bucket List: Things to do This Fall

Printing this fall bucket list and displaying it on my refrigerator has gotten me so excited about fall. Next up, pulling out all of my fall decorations!

What is your favorite thing about fall? Tell me about it in the comments!

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Categories
Adulting How To Parenting

6 Step Morning Routine that Will Make You Want to Wake Up Before The Kids

Mornings are hectic if you wake up at the same time as your kids. You won’t be able to have even a few minutes of quiet time before the morning craziness begins. Getting kids ready for school, daycare, or wherever you go that day can lead to stress. This is why it is important to follow a morning routine that will make you want to wake up before the kids.

If you take time to yourself in the mornings you can avoid feeling stressed during the day. You can have a cup of coffee and read, write, or check your blog stats before beginning the morning requirements. This will set you up for continued productivity, less stress, and just a better day overall.

With five kids, I need to make sure I’m taking this time in the morning to set myself up for a great day. My morning routine allows me to have some peace before the kids wake up, and I can get myself ready instead of scrambling around at the last minute.

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1. Wake up at the same time every day

There are many reasons why waking up at the same time each day will benefit you throughout the entire day. First, you will have time to get stuff done before your kids wake up (which is the point, right?). You will also have an easier time falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning, you’ll take fewer naps, and you will feel less sleep-deprived.

Some other perks of waking up at the same time include:
⦁ being more alert and focused
⦁ having better short-term memory
⦁ being in a better mood
⦁ feeling less pain
⦁ feeling an increase in your immune system
⦁ performing better at your job
⦁ driving more safely and alertly

2. Make your bed

The best reason to make your bed as soon as you wake up is that it will keep your mattress and sheets clean and only allow the outermost layer to become dirty. The second most important reason is to start your day off on the right foot. By crossing something off your list the minute you wake up, you’ll feel accomplished and motivated from the start.

Making your bed also makes your room seem cleaner and less cluttered, which can reduce your stress levels. This benefit at the beginning of the day can make a huge difference.

3. Drink a big glass of water

Your body will be pretty dehydrated after sleeping for 6-8 hours. Coffee may be your go-to, but it leads to further dehydration. Before you caffeinate in the morning, drink at least one glass of water.

Aside from hydration, drinking water in the morning can help you be more alert and focused. Additionally, drinking water first thing in the morning increases the function of your immune system and helps your metabolism kick in sooner. If you’re not fond of water because of the waste, that could be because of the pollutants in it, which is why having your water come from American Water makes sense – it’s much purer and great for your health. 

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4. Eat a nutritious breakfast

After fasting for an entire night, your body needs nutrients. Without nutrients shortly after waking up, you’ll likely feel groggy all day. Studies have shown that eating a nutritious breakfast in the morning leads to higher cognitive function and energy levels, helps maintain or reach a healthy weight, prevents heart disease and diabetes, and can also help you maintain or reach a healthy blood pressure level.

5. Get yourself ready for the day

It is so much easier to get motivated when you get cleaned up and ready for the day. Don’t sit around in your pajamas or you’ll be more likely to be lazy. When you feel good about yourself, you feel good about what you can do.

6. Plan your day

Get your thoughts organized, and write down when you need to do each thing on your to-do list. Having a plan helps you get focused and makes it easier to get things crossed off the list that day. This clears your mind for a more enjoyable day and ensures you have time for everything.

What to do Next if You Still Have More Time

Then, if you still have time left before your kids wake up, practice self-care. Do something you love or something that will help you relax a bit.

My favorite thing to do in the morning is to read a book. It’s my quiet time, and it gives me a chance to do what I love BEFORE beginning the real-life stuff.

Having quiet time or self-care time in the morning also helps me stay focused at work instead of constantly thinking about what I’d rather be doing at home. If I already did something that I’d “rather” be doing, I don’t think about it so much at work. It’s the perfect way to end my quiet time in the morning.

Unfortunately, I don’t ALWAYS have time for it, but I’m working on giving myself more time in the morning to ensure this self-care time. When I don’t have time, however, I make sure to get some self-care time before bed each night. Bonus if I get the chance to do it at both of those times. 😉

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Final Thoughts on a Morning Routine that Will Make you Want to Wake Up Before The Kids

A well-planned morning routine that makes you want to wake up before your kids is important in ensuring that the rest of your day runs smoothly. Every parent needs a chance to wake up, focus, and gather their thoughts before the craziness of parenting kicks in.

You will find yourself happier and in a better mood, too. So, wake up early, drink some water, and have a cup of coffee while the house is still quiet, plan your day, and do whatever else you need to get done to have a productive day.

What is your favorite part of your personal morning routine? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

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Categories
Big Kid Big kid fun Family Activities How To Our Family Parenting Teenager Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

Spring Sports Season: 5 Ways to Survive

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived… SPRING IS HERE!! Do you know what tiny little event most of us forgot about? Spring sports season AKA: THE BUSIEST SPORTS SEASON OF THE YEAR.

I am so serious… spring sports seem to be busier than any other season. This may all be in my head (and the yearning for a relaxing summer schedule doesn’t help), but it is a problem none-the-less.

This year has gotten even busier for me since my pre-schooler is signed up for t-ball. So now we have our oldest on the high school soccer team, our 11-year-old playing major league baseball, and our preschooler playing t-ball.

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How Will We Survive the Spring Sports Season!?

When I realized that we would have so much going on every single day this spring, I began to panic. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t pretty.

Then, after taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I have to do this no matter what, I started brain storming. We have done spring sports every year, the only difference is that this year will be a little (or a lot) busier. I realized I needed a plan.

To start, I started thinking back on our past spring sports seasons and then took notes on the following:

  • The items I commonly found myself needing but didn’t have
  • Our dinner predicament
  • The lack of time I had for anything else in my life (self-care, housework, quality time)
  • How to be in multiple places at one time (impossible, obviously)

From there, I was able to compile a list of ways to survive the spring sports season this year.

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5 Ways to Survive Your Child’s Sports Season

1. Keep an “emergency” bag in the car full of things you might need.

This bag should contain all of the things you find yourself needing, but you never seem to have with you. I always find myself in this predicament where I’m asking all the other moms for ibuprofen or a jacket. This method doesn’t always work for me, so this season I plan on being ahead of the game.

Some of the things I plan on keeping in my emergency bag are:

  • ibuprofen or Tylenol
  • bottled water
  • snacks (for the kids and I both)
  • a jacket (it gets chilly toward the end!)
  • sunglasses
  • sunscreen
  • small toys for the littles

I plan on keeping this bag in the car at all times, and my goal is to not have to re-pack it each night before heading out.

2. Plan ahead for dinner

I know I’m not the only parent who gets stuck hitting up a fast-food drive thru after practice most nights, right?! I can’t do that again this year! Not only does it leave me feeling like a terrible mom, but it also just makes me feel so unhealthy, bloated, and frustrated with myself.

This year, I plan on using my crock pot for the nights that I know we won’t have time to cook. For other nights, I plan on packing sandwiches and yummy sides to take with us to practice.

Another option is to cook meals that can be reheated the next night for a quick and easy dinner. I plan on using my meal planning printable religiously because sticking to the plan will be so much easier that way.

3. Squeeze in some “free time” whenever you can

OK, I know this might seem impossible, but it is SO important. Self-care is still important, even when your kids’ lives are extremely busy. You have to take advantage when your partner offers to handle all the running around once in a while, or you could ask one of the other moms to pick your child up for practice in exchange for a night where you do the same for her.

Figure something out so that you can get your housework caught up, read a book, watch your favorite TV show, or even take a long shower without interruptions. You can also use this time to spend some quality time with your other kiddos, because quality time can easily be pushed to the back of your mind during this busy time of year.

4. Become comfortable with saying “no”

You don’t have time for everything, and the sooner you admit to that the better off you will be. Be picky about what invitations you are accepting, and be comfortable admitting that you don’t have the time (or energy) to volunteer for a bunch of extra events.

5. Plan carpools with the other parents, or split forces

During the spring sports season you will be spending a large amount of your time with the other sports parents. Chances are, many of them are just as busy as you are this time of year. You can offer the other parents a deal that might just help you both out (and if it doesn’t help them, maybe they’ll just do it to be kind).

The deal:

You take the kids to practice one night, and the other mom does it the next night.

Now, if this doesn’t work for you, you can always split forces with your child’s other parent. Rotating who will be responsible for practice each night can help with your kids’ overlapping schedules. Parent one will be at baseball practice while parent two will be picking up the teenager from soccer practice, and then rotate the next night.

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Final Thoughts on Ways to Survive the Spring Sports Season

The spring sports season brings so many mixed emotions for me. While it is the busiest time of the year, so chaotic, and a bit overwhelming, it is so much fun to watch my kids doing what they love and making memories that will last forever.

My goal for this year’s spring sports season is to enjoy every bit of it. With these tips, I’m pretty confident it’ll happen. I can use all the help I can get, however, so leave a comment and tell us your best spring sports season hacks.

spring sports, how to survive spring sports, spring sports for kids, how to be less busy


Categories
Family Activities For the Home Holiday Home How To Organization Our Family Parenting

Achievable Goals For The New Year

The New Year is already here, and I just sat down this morning to figure out my New Year’s Resolution. I wanted it to actually be achievable goals for the New Year. It was a tough call because I can honestly say I won’t be going to the gym every day (or even once a week… I have 5 kids LOL), I also won’t ALWAYS eat healthily so I’m not going to restrict myself there, either. Every resolution that I considered just didn’t seem right. 

I instead thought about what areas of my life I wanted to improve in, and things that I wanted to learn about. It seemed that everything I desire fits into two categories:

  • Finances
  • Home improvement
  • Routine
  • Family
achievable goals for the new year

Why This Didn’t Work For Me

Instead of heading into the rest of the year with vague resolutions to improve finances, improve our home, and focus on family, I decided to make a list of how I can accomplish all of those things.

I didn’t go overboard. There are so many more things I could have added to my list, but I wanted to start with an achievable goal. I figure that I will be more likely to follow my goals through when I actually have a goal that seems possible, instead of a vague idea to work toward the goal.

I didn’t want this: Spend more time with family.
Instead, I wanted something specific: Dates with kids weekly.

Then, I even went further into it and wrote:

“Dates with kids weekly. One kid each week, rotating schedule. After 5 weeks of individual kid dates, one big family outing. Then start over.

Not all of my achievable goals for the New Year were that long, either. That was probably the most complicated one. (List of all 10 of my goals for the New Year will be listed at the end of the post).

Later tonight I plan on sitting down and making a concrete schedule of dates with the kids. I may make and print out a calendar of the whole year and write it on there. Then I can put it into a binder so that the kids can always look and see when their next date is.

achievable goals for the new year

Plus, it might be fun to put a memento from the date in the binder afterward. Then, next year on New Year’s Eve we can look back at all of our date memories from the year.

I wanted to figure out a plan to implement each of the things I wanted to achieve. Once I narrowed it all down and wrote out my detailed list, all of the fun ideas came naturally when I began typing up my plans. The “date binder” was one of those that just came as I was planning.

So – back to the achievable goals for the New Year. Instead of just choosing one or two vague ideas of which areas I wanted to improve in, I came up with 10 smaller achievable goals.

10 Achievable Goals For The New Year

achievable goals for the new year
  1. Follow chore/payment chart (blog post about that is coming soon so check back!!)
  2. Start seeing a larger increase in the savings account.
  3. Hire someone to do the yard work. (so serious. we can never keep up and I’m sick of stressing about it.)
  4. FREAKING LAUNDRY. (and yes, this is how I wrote it on my list. I guess this one might be vague but I will be typing a schedule for everyone in the house to follow.)
  5. Dates with kids weekly. One kid each week, rotating schedule. After 5 weeks of individual kid dates, one big family outing. Then start over. (We have 5 kids, hence the 5 weeks. If you have less/more, adjust the number accordingly).
  6. Crunch numbers for vacations for the year before January 14th. Come up with a savings plan and a plan of when to make payments by February 1st.
  7. Post a new blog post 1 time per week.
  8. Make $150 on TextBroker every week.
  9. Lose 40 pounds. 10 pounds every 3 months. First goal: Lose 10 pounds by March 1st.
  10. Buy “clutter baskets” for each person in the home. Put anything they’ve left lying around the house in those baskets and distribute accordingly after school.
achievable goals for the new year

Final Thoughts On Achievable Goals For The New Year

All 10 of these goals are achievable goals for the new year. I won’t have to make a HUGE change in my lifestyle, I’ll just have to plan a little better and look for ways to cut costs while also making more money. Plus, I just need a plan to contain all the freaking clutter that my family accumulates each day.

I never follow through with my New Years Resolutions because I never come up with a list of ways to actually accomplish my goals in life. This time is different.

It may sound crazy to have 10 New Years Resolutions, but if they really are achievable goals for the new year, you can hit your goal sooner and see all the progress you have made. Plus, when you do accomplish one, you can come up with an even bigger goal next time.

Did you set any goals for yourself for the New Year? Tell me about them in the comments!

achievable goals for the new year