Goals to Achieve Before Baby #2 Blows My Mind

Birthday Cake! He calmly shoved handful after handful into his mouth.

-By Amy
 
Sometime in the next year or two, my husband and I plan to become pregnant with numero dos. (Well, Patrick won't be pregnant, just me...Ha, that would be awesome, though..."Hun, it's your turn this time.")

I am excited--Hayden is so cool, we gotta have another!  :)  We've always talked about having 4 (Patrick's number) to 5 kids (my number--well, before Hayden came, then for a couple months I decided that 1 was good--but now I am good with having more again!)  We want Hayden to have siblings and since I'd rather not be having kids into my 40's...sooner is looking better than later! 

I've been thinking a lot about how life will change when a new baber comes (I will call the babe a "her").  Taking care of a newborn as well as a toddler looks, um....challenging.  (That's my positive word to replace "terrifying").  I am excited to grow our fam, but I fear for my sanity during the first year after she is born.

I realized when Hayden was a few months old, that NOW is the prime time to accomplish some of my life goals before baby #2 rocks my world.  Therefore, I wrote them out and I proudly display them on the bulletin board in my kitchen, where I can see them often. (Though, now and then I get funny comments from guests...ha!)  These goals have really helped me to stay productive during Hayden's sleep times.  And, I'm not the only momma to use this strategy!  My friend, Sarah, posted on her blog about "the mommy slump" and lots of ladies shared their techniques in the comments for overcoming the "slump"; many use goal setting, just like I do!  I know that for me it is SO energizing and emotionally satisfying to accomplish things outside the realm of my everyday routine, which are tasks that always need to be done over and over. (take care of baby, clean the house, prepare food, repeat, repeat..and repeat.)  So here are my goals and my progress on each one, in no particular order:

GOALS TO ACHIEVE BEFORE BABY #2

• Potty-train Hayden: Yikes. 

• Decorate my house to a state of awesomeness: CHECK!  Woo!  I'm sure I'll do little projects here and there, but for the most part I'm done.

• Get fit (back to the weight I was when we got married): Kinda Check.  I reached that weight (for about a day...haha!) but, I keep going from that weight to about 4 pounds heavier, back and forth.  Really, I'm fine with that.  Fluctuation is real life, sometimes I have more time to exercise, sometimes I eat more (holidays).  I'm just gonna keep trying to be active and eat healthy, and not get too hung up on the number. 

• Teach art lessons: (This may seem like a random goal if you don't know me, but I have an art ed. degree and I taught Jr High and High School art before Hayden was born.) CHECK! Going well!  I teach neighbor kids in my home twice a week.  It's been fun, and I don't have to worry about faculty meetings and bus duty like I did as a teacher in a public school.

 

 

• Take a dance class:  Haven't done this since getting married.  I danced all growing up as well as taking many dance classes in college...I MISS it!  Though, I do dance with/for Hayden everyday...and he claps!  Love that kid.

• Find and learn how to make at least 15 new recipes: I have three new ones so far...I'm a really crappy cook.  I get so A.D.D. with all the instructions and steps and timing that have to go on simultaneously, then add a crying baby into the mix...and heaven help me if I'm making a side dish to go along.  Oh, man, cooking makes me stress; 15 new recipes is actually really pushing my comfort zone.  And, no I'm not counting 15 different kinds of quesadillas.  Ha, I wish. 

• Do 15 works of art:  Um, I've done one, a painting for my living room.  I have anxiety about this one.  It is hard to get myself to do something that I once was really good at, cause I am scared that I will be super rusty and make some crappy piece of art!  Also, it's hard to get out my supplies when I never have much uninterrupted time to work, and little space to spread out all my stuff.  Yada, yada...enough excuses.  I could just do some drawings for heaven's sake!  I will do better.  I can, and I will!

The sketch...

• 

  In progress...

Voila!  Eet ees feenished! (spoken in a realllly bad french accent...)

• Make my own collection of cards to sell on Etsy:  I have a ton of research I need to do.  This is a lofty dream-of-a-goal, but I already have lots of sketches for cards and a business name.  I just need to figure out logistics and get to it!  (I'm nervous that I will fail...I just need to quit being a coward and COWBOY UP!...to quote my high school welding teacher...)

• Start a blog: CHECK!  I'm not very techno-savvy, so this has been QUITE challenging, but I'm slowly figuring things out, and it's been super fun!  I love all of you who are reading my silly stories along with the amazing posts written by other swaggin' ladies.  I love these women; they've bravely opened their hearts to us, even when they're nervous about their writing abilities.  Over and over, I am filled by hearing your experiences.  I feel honored to create a platform for others to share the stories they yearn to tell, and it's been so fun to connect with all of you through your comments!  It's meant so much to me.

• Run a 5K:  Not yet. Oy.  I don't really want to, but I'll have to train to achieve this goal--basically, this is a way to turn "stay active" into a measurable goal.  I'm thinking I'll do a turkey trot at Thanksgiving. 

• Hike Table Rock: Not yet, but it's planned for August!  Now this, I will love, though it will be a challenge.  I love hiking!  The scenery, the slower pace, the uphill slope, which works my muscles, (the M & M's I pick out of the trail mix...) and the picnic at the end...what's not to love!? :)

• Read the New Testament and the Doctrine and Covenants:  Not done yet.  I read scriptures every day, but sometimes I slack and just read a verse or two.  This goal is to get me moving and consistent!  I am almost done with the Doctrine and Covenants, and will start the New Testament next. (The Doctrine and Covenants is another book of Scripture, more words revealed by God to prophets.  Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints read it along with the Bible and Book of Mormon.)

• Sort all my photos, and get current with photobooks: This is kinda a chore for me.  I am getting close-- I am only one year away from when Patrick and I met.  I took SOO many photos in college.  Good grief.  I am burnt out on traditional scrap-booking (too much time and too expensive-- and digital scrapbooks are spendy too) so I use the fancy photo sleeves!  Ha!  They aren't the most aesthetically pleasing, but at least they'll be organized and easily accessible...that's the important thing, right?  I don't want my pics stuffed in boxes for years while I put off scrap-booking them.

Notice that these goals are ALL things that I can check off.  I purposely didn't include goals that are ongoing (like my resolutions: exercise 3x a week, go on two real dates a month with hub...those are never finished, till the end of the year), because I wanted to feel the accomplishment of being able to check an item off the list as "finished".

Also, I have different goals that are daily, weekly, or monthly things I need to be doing to take care of my family and others...maybe I'll share them at some point.  But my list above is mostly about my own interests and hobbies. (aka--my fun-and-kinda-selfish goals.) And, though I may not achieve everything on this list, I've already reached more of these than I expected!  So, when you set goals, write them down!  Use cool colors or type them in sweet fonts, but make them noticeable and put them where you will see them often.  Even if you only accomplish 80% of them, that's probably 60% more than you would have done without any goals to work towards!  These are solid, mathematically researched statistics, by the way.  (Check out my cousin Tracy's cool goals.  She inspires me!)

Well friends, there's my goals.  Looks like before I'm taking care of two awesome babes...I got a lot of work to do!   Cause I'm sure that when I'm caring for a newborn while keeping Hayden from climbing the bookshelf or drinking toilet water--I'll have one goal: Survival.  :)
-Amy

How about you!? What goals do you have?  Do you find goals motivating or discouraging?
And, moms of two or more, how was the transition?  Am I right to fear?

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