Setting goals and finding our new rhythm

I hope all of you are doing well. We have been enjoying the most glorious weather the last few days. The sun has been shining bright, sunrises and sunsets have been amazing, star-gazing has been wonderous, the woods have been calling morning, noon and night and we are being often visited all our feathered friends, some sooner than usual due to the warmer climate. We have also started Little Man’s therapy and we couldn’t be happier. He has been responding very well to all the stimulation. We are currently receiving 4 hours of in-home care a week, which should increase to 6 to 9 hours a week come March. More and more, his therapy is a part of our daily life and I’m grateful for the support and the learning opportunity.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you my new year intentions. I had given myself the month of January to come up with a real plan in my new desire to create a more “me friendly” space in this busy life I lead. I know most of you will understand how it may take up to a month for a mother to lay down a real plan for something as simple as carving up free time. And although I’m still figuring stuff out, I have narrowed down basic guidelines to how I would like my year to unfold and I thought I’d share what I have so far :

Health :

Although I consider myself pretty active, my kind of activity revolves around running after my kids and carrying a 35 lbs toddler around most days. It does keep one on her toes, but I’ve found myself craving something more structured. So I’ve decided to start doing yoga again. As much as I would love to join a yoga studio and leave, mat on my shoulder with peace of mind and a song in my heart, lets face it : It won’t happen this year. So my husband and I have decided to give an online membership a try. I’m signing us up for the free trial this week-end. And I know my husband will keep me in check. I have also decided to cut down on caffeine. I had become pretty horrible with coffee towards the end of 2015 and I have reduced it to One Good Cup a day, but only if I drink my 16 oz of lemon water before. It’s been amazing how much more energized I’ve felt. Now, we have allowed ourselves the luxury of a second cup on week-ends when out and about, but those have been pretty rare.

Reading List :

Believe it or not, I only read 4 books last year. Actually, I should say I read 3 books because one, I read twice. Now, I read plenty of magazines and a few books relating to my online herbal studies course, but for leisure, that was it. And for a girl that used to read one book a week, I find it rather pitiful. In addition to not reading, I’ve also amassed a fairly important collection of books I am yet to read. So, I’ve given myself a 10 book challenge for the year. I figure those, plus the books on my course reading list should be a great way to get me out of my reading funk.

I’ve decided on 6 non fiction (I love a good non fiction book), 2 fiction (I’m open to suggestions, I’ve already started my first one) and 2 re-reads. Why re-reads? Well, one of the few books I did manage to read last year was “The Life-changing Magic Of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art Of Decluttering And Organizing” by Marie Kondo. Through a series of purging efforts, I was able to reduce my book collection by about 60%. As I was going through my books and asking myself what these books meant to me and if they sparked joy, I promised myself that every book I was keeping, I would at some point over the next few years read again. So what better time to start than now?

I also promised myself to read the books I had yet to read and kept. So no new books for myself for a little while. I have enough on my shelves.

Journaling :

As I had mentioned as well, I wanted to start journaling. I’ve always wanted to, but never got into it. Always something better to do, you know? But I am determined now. I will be building my Bullet Journal and setting it in motion come February 1st (Don’t you just love when a month starts on a Monday?) and the same with my Yes Book, inspired by Mara. I’m planning on using my Bullet Journal for my more official “to-dos” and tasks, but I’m allowing myself to make my Yes Book a free-flowing writing adventure. A place to not only write down my ideas, but also to keep a record of everything that inspires me.

One last piece of writing I want to start is about our Little Man’s journey. I think that setting goals as a family and with his therapists, keeping track of what works and what doesn’t, taking time to acknowledge that fact that this work needs to be put in and the results that follow will be a wonderful tool. Because I know I will remember a lot, but I can’t remember everything. I found a wonderfully simple weekly planner online that I want to use. Taking the time to sit down at the beginning of each week, figuring out my feelings, addressing different issues and planning the week ahead I think will make me feel less stressed out. I think everyone will benefit greatly.

So that is my plan for now. I’m sure more will pop up as days move along. But for now, I think that is a good start.

I hope that all your new year intentions are going well and that you are finding time for yourself in your busy life. Have a wonderful week-end my friends.