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Month in Review and July Goals

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I had very simple goals for June, but I didn’t quite accomplish them. I did make one more maternity skirt (and was very happy with how it turned out), but I only made one pair of shorts for Johnny instead of the two I was supposed to. I do love the pair I made, and Johnny wears them all the time after an initial meltdown that I’ll attribute to trying to get him to model at bedtime. The good news is, my absolutely wonderful 14-year-old sister will be staying with us on the weekends from now until the end of the month (another sister gets her during the week). I’m excited to get to spend some time with her – and since, to quote Emma, “Kids love Aunt K.”, I’m thinking I might be able to get a little more sewing done.

The fact that my 18-month-old owns only two pairs of shorts would be more of a problem if we were having proper summer weather instead of near-non-stop rain and highs in the low 70s. I turned the heat on at least four times in June, and we never set our thermostat above 67…

Anyhow, on to annual goals:

  • Find places to keep all those odds and ends that get stashed in random places: Didn’t do much on this, but my house was clean for most of the month.
  • Potty train Emma: Another great month in this department. In fact, Johnny used the potty four times, but it seems to have been a temporary interest. I wasn’t too keen to potty train him this close to a major family event (addition of a sibling) anyhow.
  • Get Johnny to eat more solid food: He’s doing really well in this department, eating most of what the rest of the family eats. And his stomach issues seem to have resolved themselves, hooray!!!
  • Be more patient with cooking/baking that involves a rolling pin: Thoroughly ignored this month.
  • Take the kids outdoors more: June was a month of rain, rain, and more rain in Massachusetts. We did go outside, but my silly children dislike getting muddy for some odd reason, so they don’t like going out in the rain. We’ll have to work on that, particularly if summer weather doesn’t appear soon!
  • Get the kids to sleep through the night better: They are doing great at bedtime, but naptime has become rough… They only napped every other day for the past two weeks, and they didn’t nap Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Anyone have brilliant suggestions for getting toddlers to nap? They will lie down and rest, but they aren’t sleeping – and they frequently get into mischief instead of resting! I’m really missing my “at least one child is unconscious so I have a little more freedom to do what I want” time.

    July goals:

    • Make some newborn cloth diapers (I may have designed and sewn my own wedding dress – including the satin and lace bits – but I’m terrified of sewing cloth diapers and procrastinated that task this month by serging baby wipes instead)
    • Make Johnny at least one pair of shorts
    • Wash baby clothes
    • Pack hospital bags

    July “bonus” goals:

    • Organize some activities to keep Emma and Johnny busy once the baby arrives
    • Have the baby – definitely not a given, but something I would love to see happen this month!

    What are your plans for July?

    • MaryAnne at Mama Smiles
    MaryAnne Kochenderfer
    Website

    MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

    17 thoughts on “Month in Review and July Goals”

    1. sunnymama

      I see from your more recent post that you're already working your way through this list! You are so organised :)

    2. Lisa

      My advice about the diapers is to just get started! Seriously. They seem hard and intimidating at first, but they really aren't. Trust me. I am a pretty new sewing mama and if I can do it, so can you!!! :)

    3. Andrea @ The Train To Crazy

      I think if you can get them to rest you are successful. Half my days I can't get my toddler to lay still to even rest, let alone sleep. We do the put her back in bed routine over and over and over until I want to crack my head against a wall to make it stop! My 4 year old has never had a problem just resting but that 2 year old is strong willed! She needs naps, mind you, but if she won't lay still they don't happen.

      Great goals. I'm right there with you hoping the rain will end!!!

    4. Kitten Muffin

      Go MaryAnne! You are kicking ass in the organizing whilst heavily pregant department! Looking forward to hearing about the arrival of your latest "crafting project" (not the diapers, the baby!)

    5. Life as a Greenstreet

      Well done on monthly goals…as for getting kids to sleep? I let Andrew sleep in Emma's bed for naptime (He LOOOVVEES this) and Emma gets to sleep in my bed. They're both happy. Emma generally doens't nap (once or maybe twice a week) but Andrew always does. Emma has to stay in my bed for an hour….Sometimes she gets out but I tell her if she gets up before naptime is over (unless she has to pee of course) I have to add on 5 minutes to the end. Works for us….but good luck. We also have some killer room darkening shades. Love a dark room

    6. MaryAnne

      Thanks for all the nap advice! My kids actually both took naps again yesterday and my son napped today, so hopefully we're getting back on track. Ironically I had them napping simultaneously four days in a row before the whole no-napping craziness started…

      @Ally – I do want to try out the RRP diaper you recommended, hopefully I'll get at least one made and posted on the blog this month!

    7. Katherine

      My daughter stopped napping when she was two. She just didn't need as much sleep as I wanted her to need… we got to the point where if I forced her to nap, she would sleep less at night than I would, and that was totally not cool. We just work on the solo playtime instead.

    8. Mama King

      I think it is wonderful that you set monthly goals and reassess at the end of the month. Something I should do! Thanks for the inspiration :-)

    9. josh, erica, nora and wells

      Wow MaryAnne, Did i read correctly that Lily is due THIS month!!? How time flies. I feel like just the other day you were informing us that she was on the way. Maybe she'll be born on Wells' 1st birthday. What a great day that would be! We would still love to have you to dinner sometime soon. It's been way too long! Are you guys free on the 5th?

    10. Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog

      Way to go! I would also love to see the cloth diapers you make… I bet they would turn out great!

    11. Amber Liddle

      I would love to see your diapers if they get made. I think it would be cool to do that, but I'm not nearly as crafty as all that…I like reading your goals, it inspires me to make some of my own :)

    12. Beth

      Keep with it on the naps – my son tried to give his up but after some major persistence (on both our parts) he eventually got back in the routine.

      Our July – lots of fun!! We're going to Lake Michigan for a week, and Boston for a week.

      And I want to see the wedding dress! My mom made mine. Pretty impressive feat!!!

    13. Ally

      MaryAnne, you are SO organized!!

      At least you made the sewing cloth diapers a goal, thats one step closer! Are you interested in the RRP and using pins?

      No advice for naps, I've lost that battle with older boys!

    14. teachingyoungchildren

      Wow, July looks like a busy month in your house. We are struggling with naps lately too. Anna is still in her crib, so it's somewhat easier. We try to get her to "rest" for at least 2 hours, and this gives me and my husband some time to recharge as well. I know that my SAH husband is really not looking forward to the end in naps :)

    15. teachingyoungchildren

      Wow, July looks like a busy month in your house. We are struggling with naps lately too. Anna is still in her crib, so it's somewhat easier. We try to get her to "rest" for at least 2 hours, and this gives me and my husband some time to recharge as well. I know that my SAH husband is really not looking forward to the end in naps :)

    16. Kathryn

      Sometimes there is a reason why they are not sleeping. My little guy can't sleep if the room is too bright. I hang a blanket off the side of his bunk bed and then he will sleep. If they are not active enough to be tired you might need to make them play outside earlier in the day. I have a rule that they can't get off their bed unless they have to potty or are sick or hurt. I had to sit in the hall a couple of naps and place kids back on beds with a firm "no getting down" until they figured it out.

    17. blissful_e

      Hi MaryAnne – I think you're doing awesome with your goals!

      I saw an idea about naps on another blog that really helped me out. See point number 6 here. She credits Dr. Marc Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child with the idea.

      I'm thinking of you as we both near the end our pregnancies. :) Look forward to hearing your birth story!

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