5 Months

Christmas Cookies

I realize Halloween hasn't even come and gone yet, but I'm already excited about this idea for packaging Christmas cookies. If you're a neighbour of mine, beware - your cookies are coming to you in much nicer packaging this year!

Babies Are Expensive

We have just started doing a bit of research on adoption. We are literally only a few days into what will probably be many months of research and I've already lost count of the number of times my jaw has dropped. I realize adoptions involve a ton of legal fees, paperwork, and other expenses, but holy crapoly I had no idea how crazy costly they can be. Adopting has always been one of my dreams, but it sure is hard to stay focused on the dream when you're reading an email describing one adoption route that can cost between $30,000 and $50,000!

Dreaming Big!

Inspired by my friend and fellow blogger, Sara, I decided to spend some time thinking about my big dreams. I really like to just scribble ideas on paper, so I grabbed some blank sheets of paper and a pen and just started writing all the things I've ever dreamed of doing as a career. I didn't let any details hold me back. For example, if I dreamed of being a doctor, I wrote it down. The fact that I would have to go back to university for many years and incur a lot more student debt would be irrelevant. At this stage, I was just brainstorming dreams. In the end (although there's never really an end to dreaming!) I found a business idea that fills me with excitement and eagerness every time I think about it! I wanted to apply the same process to my personal life as well. But I already knew what my big personal dream was, so I didn't even bother getting out the pen and paper.

At this point, I'm not quite ready to share my big professional goal with the internet world, as I'm still just getting a handle on how to go about pursuing it. As for my big personal goal, I want a big family. It sounds simple enough, but we would like to adopt, which is a bit of a process. Expanding our family through adoption will require a lot of planning, paperwork, time, etc.

Both of my goals are big, big dreams. But by taking each of them one tiny step at a time, I feel like they are goals I can definitely accomplish. And each day that I work a little bit on them, I feel completely energized! It's a wonderful feeling!

It's October Already?!

It seems like September passed in a blur of activity and we've somehow wound up several days into October without even realizing it. Yikes! I guess it's time to see how I did with my September goals and set some new ones for October. Here's how I did last month:

• Take an overnight family trip. Done! Major success ~ Ellie travels well! She actually started consistently sleeping through the night during our trip!
• Eat more veggies. Done! I found a yummy slow cooker meal that's nearly all veggies and I've also been having a green smoothie everyday for the past week or so.
• Continue to exercise regularly. Not so much. I've walked with Ellie, but not as much as I did in August when the weather was nicer. 
• Give Ellie even more tummy time and independent time. I still have to remind myself to do tummy time everyday (I often remember right after a feeding, which means we don't do it because it would only result in mass quantities of puke), however, she does get a decent amount of independent play time.
• Go to a mom and baby group with Ellie. Preparing for our overnight trip meant skipping these groups and now they overlap with swimming lessons so they might not happen until November!
• Take the car in for an oil change and to replace our cracked windshield. Done!
• Get my bloodwork done to check my thyroid. I "forgot"? Haha... who likes bloodwork anyhow?!

Not so bad ~ although I'm noticing a trend where the things that are least likely to get accomplished are the things that relate to my own overall health. Not good. I need to try to rectify the habit of placing my well being on the back burner!

Now here are some October goals:

• Take Ellie to swimming lessons.
• Continue to eat more veggies.
• More tummy time for Ellie!
• Get Ellie to nap without being held. I know this is possible because she's done it a few times and because she naps in the car seat or stroller sometimes too. Now I just need to get her used to napping in the crib. I've been avoiding it because I appreciate the cuddles, but it would be nice to also be able to nap or to get things done while she naps.
• Apply for jobs. I am able to work at the hotel, with my husband, however, I would like to find some part time work where the pay is a little better. At the very least, I would like to pick up a few more hours at the hotel to supplement our income since I don't get any maternity leave pay.
• Encourage Adam to use the sauna or steam room a couple times a week to take better advantage of the perks of living here and to relax!

Hmm... Other than eating more veggies, I seem to have a lack of goals related to my own well being, again! So maybe I'll top the list off with one more:

• Do something (anything!) once a week that contributes to my own overall health. Whether this is a yoga class, a session in the sauna, some time in the fitness room, etc. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it makes me feel good and is good for me! I like the sound of this goal already! :)