Well, December was a bit of a whirlwind. Between being on strict bed rest and then having a newborn, it’s amazing anything got done at all. And you wanna know why it did?
Because I didn’t have to do almost any of it, ha ha—between my mom and my husband, a lot of my nagging to-do items were crossed off (and then some!), so that all I had to worry about was resting up, trying to keep the new baby fed, and reading (when I felt up to it).
It was the quietest December we’ve ever had, yet somehow also the most constant (that’s the #newbornlife for ya). I’m so thankful that the two oldest kids are playing together so well now that Mathias is a bit older because otherwise, I think we’d all have gone stir crazy. As it is, they play happily for hours together in the playroom downstairs, and I’m keeping my sanity mostly intact.
Here’s how everything shook out with my goals last month:
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December Goals
Set up car seats- It only took Matt about 7 hours to do this (car seats are seriously the bane of his existence) because one of ours was really not wanting to cooperate with the new minivan, but all three car seats are now in. And Matt didn’t even break the car seat in his frustration! #winning
Meet with chiropractor- So I put on my big girl pants and took a big breath and went to the chiropractor for the first time (something that’s always kind of freaked me out). And you know what? It’s been a bit expensive, but it IS working—for the first time in many, many months, I actually have hope that I’ll run again! That my back won’t be ruined forever! It’s been a big relief, though I’m still far from “normal.”
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Install hardware on mud bench- With my mom staying with us so much between the bed rest and the new baby, she got a LOT of our projects done. She and Matt spent one morning tackling this project, and it has been THE BEST THING EVER to have such a convenient place to stow all our coats, bags, keys, etc. Plus, Matt’s beautiful mud bench finally looks truly “finished” now, and I’m convinced he should one day start selling these! (P. S. We splurged a bit and got these hooks, in case you’re interested.)
Install hooks in downstairs bathroom- Another project taken on by my mom and Matt. Ever since our $100 bathroom makeover, I’ve been fully converted to using towel hooks rather than towel bars, so we put some in our basement bathroom, too. (We got these ones, in case you’re curious.)
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Wash comforter- The eternal rollover goal that was finally crossed off thanks to…my mom! #surprise
- Get Mazda title
- Alas, even my mom couldn’t get this one crossed off (though that’s not for lack of trying). I keep hoping we’ll magically find the original title somewhere, but it’s looking more and more like I’d better just go the long route and go through all the steps to request a new one…again.
- List Mazda
- The other forever goal that’s contingent on the forever goal above.
- Celebrate Winter Solstice
- Hmmm…kinda? I wanted to make a much bigger deal out of this, but Matt and I kinda sorta celebrated with sparkling cider, chocolate and cheese and artisan bread, and a couple episodes of our favorite shows. Does that count?
- Write thank you cards
- I did at least start this…and wrote one. Hey, progress is progress!
Read two books for Backlist Blowout Challenge- I forgot how much nursing a baby majorly enhances my reading life! I ended up knocking this one out pretty early. I read The Stone Diaries, which met my Pulitzer Prize list item (and it made it to my Top 10 Reads List of 2019!), and I finished Nurture Shock, which was a book recommended by one of the five readers I chose to complete my 101 in 1001 list goal. I also read Bel Canto, which was one from my reading bucket list (which you can access here by signing up for my email list).
January Goals
I’m trying to not set *too* many goals while we’re still adjusting to the whole now-we-have-three-kids thing, but it’s like I don’t know how else to be (#truly). I wasn’t going to set any New Year’s resolutions (since I’m already doing my 101 in 1001 list), but…I set some anyway (which I’ll post about in a few days). And I wanted to keep my January goals to a handful, but…I set a few more than that. Granted, it’s still not a crazy list, but it’s a bit more than a handful. Ah, well.
- Figure out insurance for Hyrum
- I tried to do this for about an hour and a half one day about a week after he was born and just kept getting transferred from department to department. This one has a hard and fast deadline of needing to be done within 30 days of his birth, so I should be completing this one fairly early on this month.
- Open up savings account for Hyrum
- I opened up two savings accounts for the older kids this last year at our credit union, and even though the interest rate isn’t fabulous (about 2%), it’s still something, and I want to make sure we teach our kids good money habits early on.
- Finish writing thank you cards
- I’m terrible at procrastinating stuff like this, even though I always love the opportunity (after I’ve done it) to let people know how much I appreciate them. I’ve at least created a list of people who I need to write one for, so at least there’s that.
- Get Mazda title
- Ooof.
- List Mazda
- #pleaseletthishappen
- List 8 things on Ebay
- I currently have 3 ginormous garbage bags full of vintage clothing taking up space in my office that I need to list and get rid of already. Time to start knocking this out.
- Create a rough blogging editorial calendar for January + February
- My blogging inspiration has always been up and down, but lately, it’s actually quite high (go figure, since I have less time than ever before to devote to it). However, half the battle for me is just deciding what to post about in the first place, so coming up with a calendar should ensure that any time I do find to blog, I spend wisely.
- Switch over Matt’s Roth to the company who does my investments
- I’ve been tracking our net worth for over a year now, and at the end of 2019 (aka, yesterday), I decided to do a more in-depth look at our finances to make sure we’re on track. I’ve been using Personal Capital to track our spending and investments for years (it’s free!), and they recently put out this super handy Fee Analyzer you can use for your investments. In checking out our retirement accounts, I discovered that it makes WAY more sense for us to switch Matt’s Roth to the company who’s currently managing mine, as it’s doing better overall AND has way lower fees. (P. S. If you sign up for Personal Capital’s free tools through my referral link, I get $20 and you get access to some pretty awesome resources AND $20 yourself. Win win!)
- Make 4 recipes from The Best Simple Recipes
- I’ll talk more about this in my 2020 Resolutions post, but in addition to continuing to cook my way through a whole cookbook (The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner), I’m wanting to give my other cookbooks a little more love this year. (Related Post: How Not to Be Closed-Minded About Food: Thoughts on Cooking My Way Through a Whole Cookbook)
- Go to the temple
- For the majority of 2019, Matt and I were in the habit of going weekly to the temple. Since being put on bed rest and the arrival of Hyrum, it’s been weeks since I’ve been. I don’t think I can pull off weekly yet, but I should be able to squeeze in at least one trip before the end of the month. For more info on my faith and why I attend the temple (which is different than my Sunday church services), click here.
- Decide on dates for Hawaii + start researching prices
- Matt’s parents are currently serving a mission in Hawaii, and we’re determined to visit them before they return home at the end of this new year. If you’ve got any great travel hacks for how to get good prices on flights or how to deal with the whole car seat situation (do we rent them? check them as luggage?), pass them my way!
- Finish Backlist Blowout Challenge
- I’ve read 4; I still have 5 left to go.
- Create second family photo album
- This is a 101 in 1001 goal that will only get knocked out if I do about one album every month or so between now and my deadline in October (since I upped the original goal to do ALL the photo albums until we’re current).
Welp, that should keep me busy (as if I needed anything else to help me do that right now!). And seriously, if you have travel hacks—pass them my way!
