While we still had a good number of things we had to work on and do in June, it was overall a much more laidback month than any of the previous spring months as the flower farm was mostly all planted out by the end of May (which freed up an enormous amount of time on my part). As such, I was able to stay on top of the housework a lot better (I’m trying to get myself onto the FlyLady method and turn it into a habit), as well as plan several fun things with the kids and with extended family.
The past couple months have also seemed to mark a shift back towards more “normal” living, complete with tons of time with extended family, endless parties (as everyone eagerly wants to see everyone else again), adventures out to new places, and then the usual appointments (dentist, doctor) that it was easier to put off during the height of Covid. I have absolutely loved all the fun things and hope I never take for granted being able to gather socially again, but I will say that I’m not quite as used to the crazy-full schedule as I used to be!
July also already holds many fun things (which I detail below), and we enjoyed being able to get together with some of our family over this last Independence Day weekend. As I know from many years’ experience, life tends to get extremely busy and filled up from the end of August through the end of the year, so I’m crossing my fingers that July will allow us at least *some* weekends to tackle big projects, such as finally putting down the new kitchen floor and trying to more or less finish up potty training. Matt’s not super eager to give up his weekends to do the floor and I’m not super eager about potty training (let’s be honest–it’s by far my least favorite part of parenting so far), but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.
Here’s how June’s goals went:
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June Goals
Celebrate Mathias’s birthday- Mathias turned 3 this last month! We pulled out the kiddie pool, invited the grandparents who live close enough to come have lunch with us, and spent the first Saturday in a long time just having family time and enjoying ourselves (rather than working tirelessly on flower farm and house projects). It was a nice break for all of us!
- Potty train Mathias
- I can’t quite check this off yet, but we HAVE made major progress. Now the next step is to train him to sit on the potty of his own free will (rather than just when we tell him to throughout the day) and then have him start wearing his new big boy undies. We’re getting closer, though!
Make well-check appointments for all three kids- Done and done!
Find dentist for the kids- It took me forever to get around to doing this, but I did find one here in town that took our insurance (which was the problem with the last one I tried to book an appointment at), and the kids just had their appointment this last week! So nice to check that off the list for the next 6 months. On the down side, I was unimpressed by our experience there and will be looking for a different dentist in 6 months, ha ha. You win some, you lose some!
Move playhouse out to backyard- We did this early on in the month, and can I just say how GREAT it feels not to have that in my front room anymore? (In case you’re in the market for a similar one, we bought this play house model.)
- Set up and fill sandbox for kids
- We bought this sandbox off of Wayfair, and it’s already been delivered, but unfortunately we still haven’t gotten around to assembling and filling it. Rollover goal for July!
Plan something special to celebrate our 10-year anniversary- It took us a few months, but we finally nailed down an overnight, two-day trip to one of the national parks here in Utah that neither of us has been to yet (Capitol Reef). Should be fun, albeit scorching hot!
Build and fill one more garden bed- DONE! And–wonderfulness–this means that ALL the raised garden beds are now complete!
- Resume work on kitchen floor
- Although June lacked the frantic busy-ness of the spring, we still ended up having a ton going on, mostly in the form of long-awaited family gatherings. As it was, we did not do a lick of work on the floor. Bummer.
Put rug adhesive downon all the rugs (we tried out this one)- We didn’t end up putting this down on all the rugs, but we have put it on the one that needed it the very most, so I’m counting it as a success. The rug still isn’t perfectly smooth, but it’s worlds better than before.
- Pack away winter coats and boots
- Why is it so hard for me to rotate out seasonal clothing and put away the kids’ stuff that’s too small? This is one of the tasks I procrastinate the longest, and this month was no different. Rollover goal!
Make a trip to the donation center- And it always feels so good!
Plant all containers for front porch+ clear off porch- Containers are all planted (though everything is struggling…but that’s another story), and I did clear off the majority of the porch, but not everything. Rollover goal!
Source black landscape fabric for expanding front bed- We ordered a huge silage tarp (which is essentially just black plastic meant to kill anything growing beneath it) from this company last month. Now we just need to lay it down so we can start the front bed expansion!
- Clear out all boxes from our bedroom
- I had 10 boxes sitting in our room at the beginning of the month, and I have 10 sitting there now, so…rollover goal.
Clear out pantry boxes from master closet- Our master closet is still a bit of a mess, but with those two big boxes out of there finally, it’s better!
- Read two books off of my Summer Reading List
- Each year, I post my annual summer reading list of titles I’m most excited about reading. While I didn’t quite reach my goal, I did finish this one (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and I’m about a third of the way through this one.
- List Buick
- Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha….of course I didn’t.
July Goals
- Finish potty training Mathias
- He’s made huge strides, but now I basically just need to bite the bullet and make the “no more diapers from hereon out” stand. Wish us luck.
- Look into swim lessons for the kids
- The city pool is literally about a block and a half away from our house, so I really have no excuse not to look into doing this sooner rather than later.
- Take a family day trip to the zoo
- One of Mathias’s rewards for going a certain number of poops on his potty was a trip to the zoo, so we need to cash in that reward and take him soon so that we can keep up the potty training momentum!
- Take our 10-year anniversary trip
- We’re excited!
- Set up and fill sandbox for the kids
- Rollover goal.
- Resume work on kitchen floor
- Rollover goal.
- Fix mailbox
- The mailbox has been off-kilter ever since the day the previous owners moved out, when we think that one of their moving vehicles accidentally hit it as it was backing out. It’s been hanging on ever since, but this last week it finally toppled all the way over, and our post office has informed us that it won’t deliver our mail until it’s fixed. Therefore, this project has become priority numero uno for the month.
- Finish clearing off the porch
- Rollover goal.
- Host a u-pick event for CSA members
- Many of my CSA members have expressed interest in wanting to see the farm, and I think it would be super fun to host a little u-pick event with desserts and a short demonstration for all those who have purchased a subscription this year. The gardens will likely look the best and be the most full from the end of July to the end of August, so I want to plan the event for some day in that time frame. It might not happen until next month (depending on how the flowers look), but we shall see.
- Put down landscape fabric to expand front garden bed
- This will about triple the size of the large rectangular bed we currently have in the front yard, which we’ll then fill this fall with several hundred spring-blooming bulbs. Should be fun!
- Start all seedlings that need to be overwintered
- Last year I didn’t have a chance to overwinter anything because we didn’t move in until the end of November, but this year I want to try and overwinter as many hardy annuals as possible, including snapdragons, rudbeckia, bachelor’s buttons, feverfew, bells of Ireland, and more. In order to do that, I need to sow the seeds NOW so that they’re ready for transplant by the end of August or so, which will give them just enough time to establish their root systems before we get hit with our first frost. That’s the plan, anyway!
- Clear out the rest of the boxes from our master bedroom
- Rollover goal.
- Make a trip to the donation center
- For real, I think *this* will be the final trip that completes my 1,001 Declutter Challenge (though I definitely won’t be “done” decluttering when I’ve completed that goal!).
- Read two books off of my Summer Reading List
- In theory, this should be a shoe-in, as I already have a significant head start.
- List Buick
- Because really…this is just getting a bit ridiculous…
Are things getting back to “normal” in your neck of the woods?