Perspective: Revisiting My Yearly Goals

I am not a super mom.

I don't sit down and play with my children as often as I should.

But I am trying.

 (Don't you love how they have the EXACT same nose that scrunches the EXACT same way?)

I have been wanting to do a mid-year goals post so that I can stay accountable to my New Years Goals that I made at the beginning of the year. I don't see the point of making goals if I'm not going to reread them and stick to them year round so I have been faithfully trying to make myself a little better and I am actually succeeding!

The words I am focusing on this year are organize and prioritize. If you read my blog consistently then you've seen some of the organizing work we've done. It has been really hard because I hate cleaning(!) but I'm really almost done organizing my entire home. I just need to tackle our closet and we need to finish the garage.
My priorities have been in and out of check. I've focused a lot more on my children and a lot less on getting pregnant and that has helped me to appreciate what I have. But I still have rough days and I know I need to have more gratitude.
As far as attending the temple monthly, I got the first four months of the year done and then completely forgot about my goal until this week! Time really does fly by and I can't believe it's already July. So Boss and I made plans to go this weekend to get back on track.

 One of my goals that wasn't really posted has been to make more time for my kids. I guess this could go along with prioritizing and appreciating them. I've tried really hard to sit down and play with my kids and read more books to them.

 I really don't succeed in that department and it actually takes a lot for me to stop doing what I'm doing and just play dollhouse with the kids but when I do, we have so much fun!

 I can tell by the looks on their faces that my kids appreciate me playing at their level with them.

 Getting down to their level gives me so much perspective on my kids and what their lives are like. As much as I struggle, I want to be a hands on mother and lately, my goal has been to spend 30 minutes just doing whatever my kids want each day. Eventually, I hope to make that time even longer.
I want my kids to have memories with me. I don't want memories to just be fun trips or special things we've done. I want memories to be every day things that their mom did with them.

I want them to have that perspective that I do when I am with them. I love my children so much. I stay home because I want to be their number one teacher and cheerleader. I want them to always know that their mom is here for them and not just in the other room on the computer and too busy to pay attention to them.

As much as I need them, I know they need me too.

And that's how Suze sees it.

2012 Words and Goals

This past year was a tough one for me. Many times, I felt stuck in awkward or tough situations. I had good days, heartbreaking days, angry days, and thankful days.
So I've decided that in order to make 2012 a happier year, I'm going to have to do a lot more work to start appreciating the things I have.
I wanted to pick a word to help me in 2012 but I ended up picking 2. My husband says they are almost the same word but I need them for different reasons.
---Organize and Prioritize---

I picked organize mostly to appreciate and utilize the space we are living in. It may be small but it is our home and will be for a long time. There are so many ways in which I can organize my home life. Keeping my home clean is definitely the top of this list and is something I've been working on for months. I'm determined to make 2012 the year that my house can stay clean for more than 2 hours. :) I also want a more organized schedule and budget so that I can stay one step ahead, instead of feeling like I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Prioritize is actually my bigger word for the year. There are so many ways in which I need to use this word in my life.

• What is more important in 2012? Focusing on having another baby or appreciating the two that I already have?
• Make time for myself and care about the wonderful body God has given me.
• Make scripture study and temple sessions important and not just something I can do if I end up having time.

Going along with these two words, I wrote down some specific goals that I'd like to keep in 2012.

• Hold regular teaching sessions with my children. This week, we are focusing on the letter Y, the number 1, and the color red. Petey is working on the number and letter while Spidey focuses on learning the colors.
• Do a monthly budget and find ways to save money. I have made many budgets for our family but I think writing one down monthly to see where we are will help us save even more and make sure we stay on track.
• Take care of my body and exercise regularly.
• Learn more and care about my PCOS. In the past months, I've been pushing PCOS into the back of my mind and trying not to remember that I have it but that isn't the right thing to do. I want to learn more about it and focusing on getting myself healthier.
• Make it to the temple every month, with or without Boss. I know this sounds mean but that isn't how I see it. Boss gets very busy with school and often, I'll use his school excuse as an excuse for me not to go to the temple. But I have plenty of babysitters and I can get to the temple every month, even if he can't.