Before Lent (January to mid-February)
- Rename and redesign my blog. Almost. I renamed and redesigned, but I still need to transfer to my own domain name.
- Make two photo books: one for the previous year and Maggie's baby book. Check! I love adding new photo books to our collection.
- Update my recipe binder and master grocery list. Halfway. Master grocery list done, but haven't touched the recipe binder.
- Work on a present for Claire's birthday. Check! We added some extras to the play kitchen - a window above the stove and a mailbox and corded on the side.
- Throw a Mardi Gras party. Check! We invited twenty-five people over for shrimp creole, red beans & rice, crawfish ettoufee, and king cake.
During Lent (mid-February to April)
- Completely deep clean and de-clutter our house. Almost, almost check. Everything's been deep-cleaned and de-cluttered, but I still have to finish touching up paint.
- While organizing the garage, add a workbench and an upright freezer. Nope. We actually didn't quite finish going through the garage shelves. And we decided to buy a sewing desk and an electric piano instead of a workbench and freezer.
- Celebrate Claire's third birthday. Check! We had some of her friends over for a Frozen-themed birthday and we took her on a solo outing to see Snow White at the ballet.
- Enjoy a girls' weekend in Portland with my sister. Check! Allie came to visit for Claire's birthday and while she was here we spent a really, really fun long weekend in Oregon. The next weekend, Adam and my brother, Scott, took a quick trip to Pittsburgh.
- Sew something for the girls for Easter. Check! I made a cape for Claire and a doll for Maggie. I also just finished making them some sundresses.
After Lent (April, May, and June)
- Really get to work improving the landscaping in our front and back yards. Getting there. We've made a lot of progress. We planted lavender, peonies, roses, gardenias, rhododendrons, ferns, and hostas in four previously empty flower beds. We turned one flower bed back into grass and put up a chicken wire fence to keep kids out of the backyard pit.
- Sew curtains for three of our six windows. Check! All of our bedrooms now have curtains.
- Start working on a bed/headboard for our anniversary. Nope. We haven't started on anything yet, but I think our next woodworking project will be some toy cubbies for the living room.
- Go on a week-long just-for-fun trip for the first time ever. Check! We had the best time in San Francisco. It felt so luxurious having a whole week to explore a new city.
Marriage
- Go on a date at least once a month. Check! We went to the parish valentine's dance and Cirque du Soleil. We saw three movies in theaters (The Imitation Game, The Women in Gold, and Far From the Madding Crowd).
- Wake up before our children. Nope. We have periods when we do pretty well at this, but its definitely not a habit. We love our alone time in the evenings so much that we always stay up too late.
- Watch Symbolon videos. Nope. When we don't have a tv show to watch, we've been reading aloud instead. We finished Brideshead Revisited and started Rod Dreher's "How Dante Saved My Life."
Parenting
- Wean Maggie and limit her to pacifiers only while sleeping. Sort of. Maggie stopped nursing at fifteen months and most of the time we're really good about limiting the pacifier to her bed. But it's always so tempting to pull it out when she's super whiny and sometimes we just cave.
- Transition Claire into a toddler bed. Check! Claire transitioned really easily to a toddler bed right after her third birthday in March. We've had the girls share a room every night since we got back from San Francisco in May. And Claire also potty trained really easily at the beginning of June.
- Start reading them both longer books. Sort of. Maggie has transitioned into real picture books, although she doesn't quite have the attention span of Claire at her age. I meant to read Winnie the Pooh and Beatrix Potter to Claire, but we've been listening to the audio books during lunch instead.
- Really ramp up the art projects when Maggie can participate. Check! It hasn't been happening every day, but we've already done play dough and finger paint a few times this summer. We've also been pulling out the markers and crayons more frequently.
Health
- Actually wash my face before going to bed. Nope. I'm still really, really terrible at this. I take a shower every other evening, but on the opposite days I hardly ever remember to remove my make-up before getting in bed.
- Lose fifteen pounds by the end of April. Not really. That time frame was significant because it's when our eighteen-months-before-more-babies restriction was lifted. I think we made a lot of good habits, like eating dessert a lot less often and getting some exercise every day (usually just pushing the double stroller around our hilly neighborhood) but I didn't quite see the results I wanted.
Faith
- Make Easter just as big a deal as Christmas. Check! We did a pretty good job celebrating the Tridiuum (we went on a church tour and had a "last supper" meal), we went to the Easter Vigil, and Claire helped make confetti eggs for our Easter egg hunt. We found lots of good Easter books at Goodwill, but I still don't have much in the way of Easter decor.
- Celebrate feast days, particularly Epiphany, Candlemas, and the Annunciation. Check! We had friends over for gallette de rois on Epiphany and crepes on Candlemas. I dropped the ball on making waffles for the Annunciation, but we did have a really cute May Crowing play date.
- Commit to abstaining from meat on Fridays. Getting there. We get thrown off a lot when we have visitors, but on normal Fridays we've done a pretty good job of remembering to abstain from meat at lunch. And we've switched our weekly pizza night to Fridays.
- Serve when I can. Check! Of course, I could always do better, but we made four meals for the homeless shelter and signed up to bring food boxes for low-income families over spring break. We're getting in the habit of scanning the church bulletin for service projects we can accomplish with small children and then actually signing up.
- Wrap up my first year leading mom's group. Check! It's definitely been harder than I thought and, honestly, I'm already looking forward to stepping down when Claire's in kindergarten. But I'm trying my best to encourage community among new moms at our parish.
During Lent (mid-February to April)
- Completely deep clean and de-clutter our house. Almost, almost check. Everything's been deep-cleaned and de-cluttered, but I still have to finish touching up paint.
- While organizing the garage, add a workbench and an upright freezer. Nope. We actually didn't quite finish going through the garage shelves. And we decided to buy a sewing desk and an electric piano instead of a workbench and freezer.
- Celebrate Claire's third birthday. Check! We had some of her friends over for a Frozen-themed birthday and we took her on a solo outing to see Snow White at the ballet.
- Enjoy a girls' weekend in Portland with my sister. Check! Allie came to visit for Claire's birthday and while she was here we spent a really, really fun long weekend in Oregon. The next weekend, Adam and my brother, Scott, took a quick trip to Pittsburgh.
- Sew something for the girls for Easter. Check! I made a cape for Claire and a doll for Maggie. I also just finished making them some sundresses.
After Lent (April, May, and June)
- Really get to work improving the landscaping in our front and back yards. Getting there. We've made a lot of progress. We planted lavender, peonies, roses, gardenias, rhododendrons, ferns, and hostas in four previously empty flower beds. We turned one flower bed back into grass and put up a chicken wire fence to keep kids out of the backyard pit.
- Sew curtains for three of our six windows. Check! All of our bedrooms now have curtains.
- Start working on a bed/headboard for our anniversary. Nope. We haven't started on anything yet, but I think our next woodworking project will be some toy cubbies for the living room.
- Go on a week-long just-for-fun trip for the first time ever. Check! We had the best time in San Francisco. It felt so luxurious having a whole week to explore a new city.
Marriage
- Go on a date at least once a month. Check! We went to the parish valentine's dance and Cirque du Soleil. We saw three movies in theaters (The Imitation Game, The Women in Gold, and Far From the Madding Crowd).
- Wake up before our children. Nope. We have periods when we do pretty well at this, but its definitely not a habit. We love our alone time in the evenings so much that we always stay up too late.
- Watch Symbolon videos. Nope. When we don't have a tv show to watch, we've been reading aloud instead. We finished Brideshead Revisited and started Rod Dreher's "How Dante Saved My Life."
Parenting
- Wean Maggie and limit her to pacifiers only while sleeping. Sort of. Maggie stopped nursing at fifteen months and most of the time we're really good about limiting the pacifier to her bed. But it's always so tempting to pull it out when she's super whiny and sometimes we just cave.
- Transition Claire into a toddler bed. Check! Claire transitioned really easily to a toddler bed right after her third birthday in March. We've had the girls share a room every night since we got back from San Francisco in May. And Claire also potty trained really easily at the beginning of June.
- Start reading them both longer books. Sort of. Maggie has transitioned into real picture books, although she doesn't quite have the attention span of Claire at her age. I meant to read Winnie the Pooh and Beatrix Potter to Claire, but we've been listening to the audio books during lunch instead.
- Really ramp up the art projects when Maggie can participate. Check! It hasn't been happening every day, but we've already done play dough and finger paint a few times this summer. We've also been pulling out the markers and crayons more frequently.
Health
- Actually wash my face before going to bed. Nope. I'm still really, really terrible at this. I take a shower every other evening, but on the opposite days I hardly ever remember to remove my make-up before getting in bed.
- Lose fifteen pounds by the end of April. Not really. That time frame was significant because it's when our eighteen-months-before-more-babies restriction was lifted. I think we made a lot of good habits, like eating dessert a lot less often and getting some exercise every day (usually just pushing the double stroller around our hilly neighborhood) but I didn't quite see the results I wanted.
Faith
- Make Easter just as big a deal as Christmas. Check! We did a pretty good job celebrating the Tridiuum (we went on a church tour and had a "last supper" meal), we went to the Easter Vigil, and Claire helped make confetti eggs for our Easter egg hunt. We found lots of good Easter books at Goodwill, but I still don't have much in the way of Easter decor.
- Celebrate feast days, particularly Epiphany, Candlemas, and the Annunciation. Check! We had friends over for gallette de rois on Epiphany and crepes on Candlemas. I dropped the ball on making waffles for the Annunciation, but we did have a really cute May Crowing play date.
- Commit to abstaining from meat on Fridays. Getting there. We get thrown off a lot when we have visitors, but on normal Fridays we've done a pretty good job of remembering to abstain from meat at lunch. And we've switched our weekly pizza night to Fridays.
- Serve when I can. Check! Of course, I could always do better, but we made four meals for the homeless shelter and signed up to bring food boxes for low-income families over spring break. We're getting in the habit of scanning the church bulletin for service projects we can accomplish with small children and then actually signing up.
- Wrap up my first year leading mom's group. Check! It's definitely been harder than I thought and, honestly, I'm already looking forward to stepping down when Claire's in kindergarten. But I'm trying my best to encourage community among new moms at our parish.
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You are awesome.