march 2015 goals

the cutest, most important (and only complete) goal for this month. a tent for this little one year old. 

i was in serious need of some better order and organization in our house at the beginning of 2015. so, it was a real good thing when the fresh start of a new year, a cleaning and organization burst from nesting and a really powerful sermon series at church all came together for the perfect storm of motivation. its also possible that the NPR program i listened to about hoarders and their tendencies may have added in a healthy dose of fear (as in, maybe i don't need every receipt from my 9th grade ski trip.) 

we threw out and gave away more bags of stuff than i thought was possible and it felt really great. its amazing how much easier it is to not be constantly overwhelmed with papers and toys and stuff, when you have, well, less papers and toys and stuff. 

i am trying to move away from just having a clean house that looks clean from afar but is a wreck behind every door and drawer. a big theme for this year, knowing it will busy and we'll add another baby to our family, is that our lives and our home would be life giving. and its hard to do that when everything is just sort of a mess under the surface. whether its inside a closet or inside my heart, i don't want things that look better on the outside than the inside. 

so, in the spirit of trying getting my house and heart in order, i started making monthly goals for myself at the beginning of each month. i've just written them down in my journal the last few months, but its been really helpful to have something on paper to work towards. 

and now, half way into this month, with lots of knowledge and grace that many of these things may not get done, here are some march goals:


life

- clean out the nursery closet and finish organizing the room.
- get baby monitor/car seat/etc. down from the attic and make sure things are working/replace what isn't.
- special one on one time with each girl before we add another baby girl into the mix.
jared is really great at taking our girls out, but sometimes i forget that i can do that, too. i'm with them most of the time, but i really want to plan something that's special and intentional just for them. 
- finish our taxes
- potty train olive
we'll see about this one. she is so uninterested and anytime i use the "big girls go on the potty" line, she just tells me she wants to be a baby. so much for the second one does it quicker than the first. 
- get coming home outfit for baby girl #3.
we have a little pair of pants that both winnie and olive wore home, so thinking we'll keep with that tradition. 

littlekind/business

- post 5 blogs this month
two down, three to go. 
-make teepee for florence's first birthday! Done!
our niece, florence, turned one this past weekend! can't wait to see them next month!
- get office completely organized.
i'm almost there. its been a long process, but i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 
- create a small inventory of products to be able to send out in the months after baby #3.

sisters, part two.

just because i can't get enough of these two. 

nyfw and homework from a former life.

sometimes it feels like a separate life when i studied fashion in school. and really even while i was in school, i knew the route in fashion i was going to take wasn't going to be super traditional (two kids in the two years after graduating, not the most traditional "fashion route.")

we spent a lot of time researching for upcoming projects by watching runway shows and pulling out trends and design inspiration. and since this past week was fashion week in nyc, I decided to pretend like I was back in school and do a little homework.

i pinned a few of my favorite looks from some of my favorite designers. (side note: pinterest would have been really helpful in college. and that sentence alone makes me feel old.)

nyfw/littlekind pinterest board

15 books in 2015.

as soon as i could muscle my way through a chapter book, i usually had two or three going a time. i spent a lot of time with my nose in a book and while i still love to read, i've done a lot less of it in the last few years. a good bit of it has to do with having kids and having a lot less time to myself. but then there's a more embarrassing part of it that has to do with dumb television and 235 levels of  game, two dots. 

so in an effort to not let another year pass by wishing i had read more, a book list for 2015. 15 books in 2015. a short enough list that i can actually achieve it with a new baby on the way, but long enough that i can have an alternative to spending countless hours rocking a baby and playing candy crush. some i've already started, some i've heard great things about, and some that i'm hoping the reviewers of amazon won't let me down for. 

parenting/marriage.

- desperate: hope for the mom who needs to breathe
- the highly sensitive child: helping our children thrive when the world overwhelms them
- the story of marriage

spiritual growth.

- becoming myself: embracing god's dream of you
- grace for the good girl: letting go of the try-hard life
- bittersweet: thoughts on change, grace and learning the hard way
- the circle maker

littlekind.

- make it happen
- the fringe hours: making time for you
- quiet: the power of introverts in a world that cant't stop talking
- bird by bird: some instructions on writing and life

fiction.

- divergent
- this is where i leave you

memoirs and tina fey.

- in the land of blue burqas
- bossypants

snow day!

today is cold, real cold. we had a few snow days this week. well, more accurately, we had a few ice days this week. but when you only get a few days a year when it's somewhat white outside, we call it snow ;)

 

we keep our blankies close. 

                       

and wear our pajamas.

valentine's and the mom that i'm not.

i'm reading a book with a group of moms that have young kids called "desperate: hope for the mom who needs to breathe."  we read a chapter recently that was about what kind of family you were and what kind you wanted to be. 

truthfully, it's a lot easier for me, when I think about our family or just me as a mom, to think about what we're not and what I'm not. and while a good bit of that is wrapped up in comparison or being overly self critical, there can be a measure of good that comes from knowing what you're not. 

like maybe if you aren't great at baking and it stresses you out, don't sign up to bring the baked goods to the school party (that would be me.) or if you're drained after spending time out or with people and need alone time to recharge, then its okay to not try and be friends with everyone, to really invest in the few people you can (that would be me, too.) and if your family isn't made up of "outdoor" people, it's okay to spend family time together watching movies (okay, okay, you get it..;)

i think its when you stay in that place of what you're not and use it to make excuses or comparisons or as way to beat yourself up, that it can be harmful. when you let what you aren't define you more than what you are. but if we can acknowledge and embrace what we aren't, we can use it to help point us to what we are. 

i thought about this as i was pacing the aisles of target last week thinking about valentines for winnie's first school valentine exchange. because, being aware of the things that i am not, i do know that our family is big on holiday and traditions. and on top of that, as a family built by two art school graduates, we really love to create things ourselves when we can. 

so, we gathered up the supplies to make some "wild about you" valentine's day cards last week. and as we stamped some cards and picked out some plastic animals, i thought about who we were as a family. 

the things that we are and the things we are not. 

 homemade valentines and store bought cookies. 

sisters.

i didn't grow up with sisters of my own, so getting to experience the bond between the two of them is something special.

valentines or opposite day.

we have a long running joke now that goes something like this...

we'll be talking or i'll think of a show/movie/band that i was really into in, say high school or college and every single time i ask jared if he liked them, he'll say something like "oh, yeah, they were my favorite in 6th grade." we're only a few months apart age-wise and although he has older siblings, he's also seemed to be one (or ten) steps ahead. 

we met in college, art school to be exact. it probably wasn't until the end of high school that i realized i wanted to do something in the art field. up until that point i had thought about social work or something that fit better with my "i like to memorize facts" mind. jared had been drawing since he was little boy and making videos with his friends all through school. he's always known what we wanted to do. 

i really like to follow rules and get a little panicky if i know i'm breaking one. even those small, probably shouldn't be a rule rules (i know, it's annoying.) jared has more of a rules are guidelines approach. he's honorable and does what is right, but doesn't let the rules of how things are supposed to be done stop him from what he has his mind set on doing. 

i tend to be careful and analytical and in my own head. i like to think through the 352 ways something could unfold (go wrong) before i move forward. jared is quick to respond and react and doesn't get worried or stressed over most anything.

and sometimes it feels like it would be easier, if we started out more on the same page, if we were maybe a little more similar. 

but the Lord knew what he was doing, imagine that. because i know that i've grown so much more as a person and a wife and a mom because of the way that my husband does things differently that i do. he challenges me to see things differently.

so, today, i am thankful for my early adopter husband that let's me pretend i have any clue what song/band/movie he is talking about (also, thanks Jesus for google, i can pretend i know what movie or person he's tweeting about.) i'm thankful the Lord knew that maybe he'd need a little help grounding himself and i would need a lot of help getting out of my shell and my head. i'm thankful that the Lord can take two really different people and make something beautiful.

and jared, your four girls think you're the best. thanks for making my life and their little lives an adventure.