23 Goals for 2013

I spent most of December focusing on Christmas. I loved it. But I didn't get much else done. I've mentioned a couple of times that we only did one official week of school last month. My conclusion is that I am always going to throw myself into Christmas, so I should plan for it. This year there will be two new, very specific goal categories for me: Christmas and Knitting. Little by little, I will knit the things I want to have done by Christmas. Little by little, I want to accomplish Christmas goals so that I don't have to scramble to do everything in December. (Knowing myself, I realize I will still get busy in December, but hopefully I will have most of the important tasks completed ahead of time.)

Starting in November and going through the present moment, I read several books that changed my thinking about my goals. Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy was one of them. The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker was another. I am cautiously enthusiastic about Raising Happiness by Christine Carter. I also browsed What Color Is Your Parachute? again. It's not a great fit for me right now, but there were some interesting details I gleaned from it in my, what is it, third reading of that book? I am currently reading Today Matters by John C. Maxwell, and I really like it. I don't know how much it's going to influence me in the future, but it is definitely worth the read.

Financially influential were the books Money Saving Mom's Budget and The Total Money Makeover. I had read Money Saving Mom's blog for years and The Total Money Makeover before, but this time they are proving gems as I try to put them into practice. The books go well together because Crystal Paine is a big Dave Ramsey fan.

My homeschooling goals haven't changed much in several months. Thanks to Charlotte Mason Help's Higher Up and Further In (HUFI), I have a curriculum already planned out that does not make me work all day teaching and planning but is full of quality books and subject choices. I still love this curriculum, but there is one thing that is not working for us. (Not unusual that there would be at least one thing!) Aesop's Fables, the version that is recommended and that we have, goes right over Xander's head. It is also rather negative for Xander. He feels pressured very easily and when bad things happen to people (like Icarus falling, for example), he does not reflect. Instead, he kind of panics and feels bad.

Outside of HUFI, Xander loves watching Wild Kratts for factual knowledge about animals. He really likes any kind of book for children that gives him facts that he can memorize. I've heard from at least one other person that boys can be like that. Also outside of HUFI, the Core Knowledge material works well for him. We do Singapore Math and use a lot of Spanish picture books and Oh Noah! time on pbskids.org for Spanish, among other things. Both of these fit into HUFI just fine but are not specifically listed in the curriculum. We have lots of science games, toys, kits, books, etc., that we use, board games and computer games that Xander is getting good at, presidential and state flash cards, and other materials that I intend to use during Grace Weeks.

Well, I doubt anyone has read all of that, but here are my 2013 goals as of today:

Christmas

Follow along with Rudolph Day tasks each month to get Christmas tasks accomplished.

Save up money throughout the year to fund Christmas gifts.

Save up money throughout the year for traveling to Chicago for Christmas.

Knit 12 Days of Christmas figures.

Knitting

Knit as far as I can through The Knit Stitch.

Knit 20-30 striped dish cloths for gift packs.

Parenting

Work on Raising Happiness concepts: Put on my oxygen mask first, teach mindfulness, use turtle steps to reach a big goal, make a community for my children, teach emotional intelligence, improve my marriage to improve my parenting.

Try not to move away from this area.

Continue to slowly train children in life skills a la The Parenting Breakthrough.

Continue to homeschool.

Start a playgroup for Xander once a week.

Financial

Pay off at least one debt.

Follow The Total Money Makeover and Money Saving Mom's Budget advice.

Marriage

Use Gottman's five hours a week plan to become closer: 5 minutes in the morning finding out what my husband has planned for the day, 5 minutes a day cuddling or giving friendly touches, 15 minutes or so at the end of his work day decompressing and listening to each other (couch time!), and 2 hours once a week spending quality date time.

Go outside the house on a date once a month.

Personal

Run almost every day. If I can't, use the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video.

Try to do additional exercise, like strength training, Pilates, or just stretching every day.

Take care of my hygiene - don't leave myself for last.

Give some type of service each Sunday.

Attend church.

Cleaning

Stay fully on top of laundry, meals, and training/being there for the kids, every day.

Stick to routines that keep our floors reasonably clean, surfaces uncluttered, objects dusted, sheets changed, spills cleaned up, rooms tidied, and cars cleaned.

Try to keep cleaning tasks to less than two hours per day.