It's June!

Just in case you thought you'd missed it, there was no "It's May!" post regarding my New Year's Resolutions....  It can be summed up quickly though.  

Crafts: Beth's Save the Date cards... they turned out so cute, but were a much bigger pain than they were supposed to be!  Stupid template! =)

Books: Finished "Purpose Driven Life" and it was better than I expected! 

Intentionality: NONE!!!!  I was not intentional with my time.  I did not stay home.  I did not stay off the internet.  I was always on the go.  I was incredibly unproductive and a horrible stewart of my time!  =)

May was better though!  I learned my lesson during April and spent more time focused on being intentional.  I still struggled, however, to find time for both reading and crafting.  One of those areas inevitably suffers each month and during May, I didn't finish a single book.  I did complete several crafts though... Here are some pictures:

Tutus and Personalized Onesies for Gina's twin girls... 

I really loved how the tutus turned out:

Personalized Onesie for Finley:

Personalized Onesies for Emory Ayn:

Side Note: Beth and Aubrey, Who knew my personalized OSU basketball shirt making skills would come in so handy!!!!!!! =)

31 Days of Prayer for Finley:

This was my favorite craft and one I wish I would've done much sooner....  In a Bible Study I took last fall, they gave us a calendar of prayers to pray for our children and when I found these cute flower chip boards at Michael's, I thought it would be a cute way to display the prayers.  I absolutely love having them on her side table so that I can pray for her each time I put her down for a nap!

As for being intentional, I tried to gather things I needed during the weekend so that I could stay home during the week and focus my attention on crafts, shower planning, etc.  It worked really well for part of the month, but I still found myself falling into patterns of running a crazy amount of errands at times.  I have a very tough time once one thing interrupts my weekly schedule to get back on track.  I find it too easy to say "Well, this week is ruined."  I also am still finding it tough to get both Finley and I back on a routine after even one day off...  I find it odd since I am such a creature of habit, but becoming a stay-at-home mom has really changed some of my natural tendencies!  And I'm not sure it's for the better!

If you actually read this, I'm very impressed!  These posts regarding my resolutions are becoming very boring... even to me.  And yet, I still feel some sort of obligation to keep it up...  I guess that part of my personality has not changed!

It's April and I'm going on a diet... read to see why!

So time once again to look at those pesky New Year's Resolutions!

Crafts:  I haven't been very diligent on this...  I keep finding cute ideas, but then I can't find exactly what I need to make them.  I did, however, make this super-cute tutu for Finley!  (Featured on an Easter card and Easter blog coming your way shortly!) I also made her a couple of onesies.  I SHOULD have more craft stuff to show next month.

Books:  I may have fell down on my craft goals, but I've actually been reading a lot.  I read "The Passion of Mary-Margaret" that you can learn more about by clicking here.  I also read "Don't Make Me Count To Three" which is a pretty good and Godly book on discipline.  It was more of an introduction to discipline so I'm anxious to read more.  I also started Karen Kinsbury's new book "Take One."  

Being Intentional:  I saved this for last since it is by far the most difficult.  Halfway through the month, I just did not feel like I was getting anything accomplished.  I remember that Beth told me an idea from another blog that consisted of making a list of 5 (or 6... I can't remember) things to be done the next day.  No more.  No less.  The idea was (I think) that if you try to do more than that, you become overwhelmed and frantic or are unable to complete the list so it's hard to stick to the process.  If you have less than that, well, you aren't being as productive as you could be.  I have found it to be VERY helpful!  I love making lists and I love checking things off of it.  Plus by making the list the night before, I wake up with set goals and find it is easier to relax after I complete the list.  In other words, I do not feel guilty if I want to sit down for 30 minutes and watch my favorite TV show if I have accomplished what I wanted to that day.

Speaking of TV...  I can now totally see why writing down everything you eat in a day helps you lose weight.  For the last week, I have been writing down EVERYTHING I watch on TV.  Why?  Because we were chosen by Nielson (THE TV people) to keep a TV diary for each of our TV's for a week.  I had to record every single thing I watched (if I watched it for more than 5 minutes)... and all I can say is "HOW CONVICTING!"  I love TV as everyone knows, but seeing myself write it down made me realize that there are times when I am watching TV just to have noise on and not because I am actually focused on it.  I DVR everything so the shows that I REALLY care about watching, I can watch quickly without commercials... and these are the shows that I tend to watch when Finley is taking a nap.  I also am usually blogging or cleaning the living room while I watch them because I truly feel guilty if I'm not multi-tasking.  

So I'm going on a diet... a TV diet.  Though this is probably NOT what Nielson intended by sending me the diary!  Hee, hee!  I'm not cutting TV out of my life... though that probably wouldn't be the worst thing for me... I'm just being more particular about my portion size and the content.  No more TV just to have something on.  I'm not really enjoying it then anyway!  We'll see how it goes.   

BTW, Nielson paid me $30 for keeping the diary.  I was so excited about being contacted that I told Devin that they didn't NEED to pay me and he replied "Sweetie, you are probably the only person they've ever had that actually earned the $30!"  So funny and yet, so true.  

It's March!

Boy, is it March!  I am so behind on blogging about my resolutions for the month.  First of all, I absolutely LOVE March!  It is one of my favorite times of year.  Why?  Because of MARCH MADNESS of course.  My best friend, Beth, had the audacity to blog that the only reason why I am a stay at home mom is to watch endless hours of basketball this month.  Can you believe that?  =)

Actually, if I am honest, Devin and I were really hoping to have a baby during March so that we could be stuck in the hospital watching all the tournament action!  I guess there is hope that our next one will be a March Madness baby, huh?

Anyway, back to my resolutions update... 

Books:  I'm not doing too well on this one.  I finished reading the important parts of Baby Whisperer though I'm about to go back to it now that Finley is entering new stages.  I have also started (again!) Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and it is really good.  So I am reading, just at a really slow pace and haven't really been faithful to complete a book like I had been hoping to each month.

I made this shirt and bow for Valentine's Day.

Crafts:  I'm in a complete craft rut.  I LOVE to sew, but it is a very labor intensive craft and I simply haven't had time to go search out a pattern, find fabric, etc.  I also like to knit, but haven't felt my knitting projects have been all that successful. My knitted hats always stretch out... maybe if I checked my gauge that would help?  I don't know... I'm using decent yarn. Regardless, I'm not really motivated to knit right now.  I have, however, been making more hair accessories... including the one Finley is modeling at the top of this post.

  

Knitted Hat

So here is what you might be thinking.... How many hair accessories does one poor child need? And here is the answer... A LOT!  Why?  Because I am painfully frugal and obnoxiously practical.  If it weren't for Grammie and Aunt Beth, Finley would have very few excessively cute outfits and accessories.  I just have a hard time (not matter how cute) spending money on something she is going to outgrow so quickly!  Insert the love of hair accessories... one of the few things she won't outgrow anytime soon.  Of course, my obsession also stems from the fact that I didn't have hair until I was 4 so I would like Finley, unlike me, to have baby pictures where she doesn't look like a boy!  

Flower Clips

Intentionality:  Of course, this is my major goal and obviously an on-going one.  Time Management is an area where I can really struggle with being intentional.  Though I absolutely love finding inspiration from other blogs, I've discovered that I can spend a ton of time doing this without even realizing it so I've really had to limit the time I spend online.  It's hard to not check my email or my blog list when Finley is down for a nap, but I've found that I will spend her whole nap time doing this and then when she is awake I have to fold laundry, pick up the house, get dinner started, etc. instead of playing with her so I'm trying to only get online in the morning and then again late afternoon.  I'm also trying to be more intentional with my errand schedule.  I absolutely LOVE being home (it is truly my haven!), but I also LOVE running errands.  I find myself running errands every day which limits my time at home and causes me to be less than productive.  I've decided to run errands only two days a week and even though I may be gone most of the day on those two days, I will at least be able to enjoy my time at home and hopefully, also enjoy my errand days as well.  I know at some point Finley won't be so easy to take with me, but she is so good that it makes it hard to not want to go whenever I want to!

It's February!

It's February!  And therefore, time for me to blog about my New Year's Resolutions... if for no other reason than I need some accountability!  My main goal for the year is to be INTENTIONAL and probably the area where this is going to be the biggest challenge is being a parent.  Though Finley is young, I know that I'm still laying the foundation for the future and that mistakes at this stage are still mistakes and still have consequences.  

For instance, I recently discovered that during the holidays I engaged in some "accidental parenting".  During Finley's naps, I would run all the errands I needed to... we were always on the go looking for presents, buying groceries, etc. Well, after the holidays, I discovered that Finley would not take naps at home in her cradle.  She would sleep for 10-15 minutes whereas while in her car seat on the road, she would sleep an hour and a half!  

I've been praying for wisdom and parenting resources and recently began reading The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems.  It was such a blessing to find this book because I instantly felt that the author, Tracy Hogg, had the parenting philosophy that I was looking for. I've read other books, but this was the first one that I really felt good about.  I immediately began trying to apply the Baby Whisperer's (BW) methods to solve the nap problem...  the first few days were ROUGH!  Partially because I was trying to implement something that I hadn't thoroughly read through (She has a whole sleep routine that includes 4 steps) and partially because I wasn't being as consistent as I needed to be.  We had a major breakthrough when I discovered the importance of white noise!  Finley sleeps great at night with little to no white noise so I didn't think she needed this for naps (even though it was encouraged by BW).  Thankfully, out of sheer desperation and the fact that my blow dryer was in the middle of the floor, I turned it on and found Finley deep asleep in minutes.  Now naps are pretty much a breeze.  I guess she just needs the white noise to block out the extra distractions that occur during the day.  Anyway, I feel like I'm once again parenting with Intention and that is such a good feeling!  It's hard to explain how amazing I feel when I'm in tune with Finley and am able to meet her wants and needs.  It is so powerful to really KNOW her.  I love being a mom!

My other resolution was to read a big a month... obviously I'm reading the Baby Whisperer book, but I also finished Sunset by Karen Kingsbury. I love her!

As for craft projects, I finished a bolero sweater and hat that I had started for Finley before she was born.  Here's a picture of the back to go with the picture at the top of this post...

I also started and completed a pale pink hat for her though I'm not in love with it...  I need to work on the pompon on top.

Resolutions

Here we are already five days into the new year and I'm still trying to decide what I want to accomplish, what I want to do, what I want to perfect,  who I want to BECOME!  There is so much that I want to accomplish in 2009 that I'm afraid if I don't make it quite simple, I will become so overwhelmed that I do nothing....

Last year, my resolution was to not take things so personally.  And though I've made some strives in this area, I still have some work to do...  Maybe I ought to make it my Life Resolution instead of trying to kick the habit in just one year!  

This year, I've decided to use the verse Galatians 1:10 "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." as my guide.  I'm going to memorize it, meditate on it, post it on my mirror, in my car, etc.  I've always struggled with being a people pleaser.  I want people to like me, I want to make them feel understood, I want their approval, but at what risk, am I taking?  Have I really been living to please others over pleasing my Heavenly Father?  I want to please others only as it is pleasing to God and therefore, I must step way out of my comfort zone and realize that not everyone is going to like me, not everyone is going to want to hear the TRUTH, but if my goal is to live a life that is truly pleasing to Christ than I must seek His favor first.  So this is my goal.... to become less of a people pleaser and much more of a God pleaser!  I want to be a bondservant of Christ!

My other goals for this year are a little more trivial:

• To complete one craft project a month
  
• To read one book a month and alternate topics between fun and frivolous, parenting, and spiritual growth

This is where I would have ended my post had it not been for reading Traci's Motivate Me Monday post.  Here is an excerpt: I want to strive this year to be intentional in the things that I do. I want to be present, rather then distracted. I want to enjoy, rather then watch. I want to trust, rather then worry. I want to make the memories, rather then fuss over the mess. I want to be intentional in parenting my children, rather then just getting through the day; I want to mold them and teach them about our Father, rather then passing them off. I want to learn more and more about my First Love, rather then just merely attend a Sunday service. I want my life to represent my words, the words I say and the words I type here. I don’t want to preach it unless my character is truly reflecting it, or attempting to anyway. I want to water relationships and serve others. But I can only do any of that with planning and prayer and following through. I don’t want to walk through life just riding the waves as they come. I want to create the waves; rather I want to be open to allowing HIM to create waves in me.

So now I have a new resolution to add to my list because this one encompasses the ones above and more... I want to be intentional.  

Lord, please help me to be INTENTIONAL in 2009.  Amen.