Reflection & Rejuvenation: April

April kind of snuck up on me!

Honestly, March was a bit of a blur between presenting at two different Montessori conferences (one in Houston and one in Orlando--so happy that I got to meet the lovely blog reader and kindred spirit behind the company Montessori 123), dealing with vomiting/diarrhea/achiness among all three human members of our family--excluding the fourth who is in utero--and trekking to eight different meetings.

But there were so many memories to savor, too. A group of families with babies/toddlers from our new church gets together for a monthly potluck, plus we took a family trip to a small Texas town, went to a birthday party, participated in Outdoor Environment Day at Henry's school, and went to an Easter party. And we've had a ball visiting our new house every weekend and checking out the progress.

I'm officially entering the third trimester of my pregnancy. I'm feeling good but not as great as I felt the first time around with Henry. Most people are quick to say it's because I have a toddler now, but I honestly don't think that's it. I've been really good about rearranging my schedule to fit in a nap nearly every single day before I pick up Henry. It helps a ton. However, I have not been as good about walking every day and eating a pristinely healthy diet. I think those two things go a really long way toward warding off a lot of the discomfort of pregnancy.

Let's see how I did with respect to my intentions for the month:

1. Fully immerse myself in this round of Purposeful Conception: Yep!
2. Work on the publicity I need to do for 2000 Dollar Wedding: I was not able to prioritize this item.
3. Organize our recipe binder: See response above.
4. Finalize Henry's baby binder: Almost!
5. Make a binder for the new baby: Almost!
6. Organize Henry's clothes: Yes!
7. Find summer daycare: I have a plan in place; I just need to finalize all the details.
8. Enjoy our vacation: Argh. We had to cancel it due to the aforementioned sickness (plus the fact that the temperatures were too cold to fully enjoy the beach). 

Hmm. I'm not feeling very proud of my results for the month, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. When I'm working really hard in other areas of my life, it's hard to make space and time (and, frankly, hard to find the energy) to focus on other things.

I also need to focus on the things I did accomplish: I finished sewing Henry's duvet cover (which I'll share when we move and I can do a home tour) and completely updating his floor bed from a crib mattress to a twin (complete with a water proof mattress cover and pillow protectors). And, honestly, I was very close to finishing three more of the above items. 

This month, I want to do a better job of referencing my monthly goals when I sit down to plan out my week. 

Here are the items on the docket this month:

1. Update our scrapbook
2. Organize the garage in preparation for moving
3. Plan our baby shower
4. Organize our closet in preparation for moving
5. Finalize Henry's baby binder
6. Make a binder for the new baby
7. Finalize summer daycare
8. Read Barbara Kingsolver's new book

I need a plan for being sure to follow-through with these goals this month. It's going to be kind of a tough month between a trip to Dallas + many days off for Henry due to school conferences and curriculum planning days + Matt traveling more than usual for work. I think I'll try to capitalize on the time I have with Henry after school (at least for getting the garage and closet organized).

Oops! I almost forgot about my cumulative resolutions:

1. Drink Enough Water: Yes!
2. Read Before Bed: Not this month...I've been waiting for my turn from the library with the new Kingsolver book!
3. Practice Gratitude Every Night: Yes! 
4. Let Matt parent his way as much as possible: I'm doing better! 

Photo Courtesy of the Nikki McClure Calendar

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