March basically consisted of two things: potty training and sickness. Almost all plans had to be cancelled (including a highly anticipated trip back up to Northern Utah to our old stomping grounds) because of one or both of those things, and the major sickness affecting everyone in our house meant that potty training kind of got all messed up, too. It wasn’t exactly a fun month. On top of that, we had the coldest and wettest/snowiest March I can ever remember, with temperatures being a full 20° less on average than usual. That meant that all the prep work we normally get done in March has now had to be pushed to April, which is when we also (in theory) should be starting to harvest the first of our spring flowers. It should make things…interesting.
Matt was able to go away on a trip with his brothers and dad at the very beginning of the month, which was really fun for him. The kids also had their spring break at the very end of the month, and since we’d finally made some measurable progress with potty training by that point, we felt comfortable taking some (very short) excursions with the kids to the park, library, and McDonald’s. Everything else will have to wait until we have a little more confidence in our youngest son’s trustworthiness in telling us he needs to go 🙂
Here is how the goals officially shook out in March:
March Goals
Potty train Hyrum- Like I said when I initially posted March’s list, if I got nothing else done in March except potty training, keeping the baby in one more month, and not falling totally behind on flower farming stuff, I’d call the month a success. So the fact that I can confidently put a thick line through this item means I’m calling March a successful goals month, even if it did take about the whole month to get us to this point.
- Get a haircut
- Nope. This is always one of my most-procrastinated to-do list items because it’s hard to coordinate a time when I can actually go, mostly because I haven’t found a hairstylist down here and so therefore only get it done when we’re up further north. We’ll attempt for this again in April.
Order compost- This ended up being much more complicated than we’d initially planned for because we decided ultimately to split a semi truck load of compost with some friends rather than just order the four huge totes we were originally planning on. While it cost us a lot more than we were originally planning to spend, it did mean that we should be set on compost for at least the next 2-3 years, which will be amazing. Plus the stuff we got is the best of the best that we’ve found, and now we don’t need to be stingy with it, so I’m hoping we can turn around the soil health in some of our poorer patches much faster now.
- Prep garden beds for planting
- We couldn’t do this due to poor weather. However, the first day of April was finally sunny and warm, and we’re now finally making headway here.
- Put down silage tarp on new perennial area
- We didn’t put down the tarp, but we did make progress here (and in fact, we might nix the tarp idea altogether if we end up being able to weed thoroughly enough). I didn’t think out this line item too well because a lot actually has to happen before we even think about whether we’re laying down a silage tarp or not, the most notable of which is taking down the existing (old) raised garden beds, which Matt started on the very last day of March. I keep going back and forth about how much we’re actually going to be able to work on this new perennial area this year (because it’s quite a big job and a decently large area), but Matt’s super gung ho to get going on it, so that means it very well might get done after all. The biggest thing at this point is just taking the time to plan it out before we get too caught up in the busy-ness of the flower farming season starting this month.
- Make one trip to the donation center
- We didn’t do this, but we do have plenty of donations to make–we just didn’t end up leaving the house hardly at all in March, and our nearest donation center is nearly an hour away. Hyrum’s doing well enough with potty training now though to go forward with all our plans for April, so this should get done for sure then.
- Finish going through the basement storage room
- Nope. It would have been a great month to do it since we were constantly stuck inside, but potty training really took it out of me. This likely won’t be revisited until well after the baby comes at this point.
Call plumber- I had originally taken this off of March’s list and planned to add it back on in April, but then one of our leaks got worse, so I finally just bit the bullet and called around until I got someone to commit to a time to come over (which has been a real challenge in this area, lemme tell you). It wasn’t in the budget for March at all, but sometimes, ya gotta do what you’ve gotta do. And when all was said and done and we got the problems checked out and fixed, none were nearly as bad as we were thinking, which meant that we didn’t need to spend as much as we feared AND we now don’t have to worry about it 🙂
Get oil changed in van + brakes checked- Easy win. I scheduled this for the beginning of the month and had it done just a couple of days in.
- Finish three books
- This seems like the new impossible goal, though it really shouldn’t be. I only finished one: our family read-aloud of the final installment in the Fablehaven series. I made decent progress on several others, but nothing that could officially be crossed off.
April Goals
- Go through newborn clothes + wash what we’re keeping
- Sure can’t believe we’re already at this point, but I figured I’d best get to this now while I can still do most of the work I need to do without too much trouble. (Plus, if this baby comes as early as Hyrum did, we’ll have a newborn before May is half over!)
- Pick up bassinet
- Our good friends offered us the use of their super nice bassinet for this baby, which will be much more convenient than the regular Pack ‘n Play we’ve always used in the past.
- Order and engrave Raven’s scriptures
- Our oldest daughter is getting baptized in May, and it’s often a tradition to get children their own set of scriptures on that day. (To find out more about our faith and beliefs on baptism, you can click HERE.)
- Throw friend party for Raven’s birthday
- I am not one of those moms who enjoys throwing elaborate birthday parties for my kids, and I definitely don’t usually do friend parties at all. However, Raven’s been asking me for years if she could have a friend birthday party, and I finally told her that for certain key birthdays, I would allow that. Since age 8 is the age that many in my faith choose to get baptized, it’s considered more of a “milestone” year than most, so I told her that this year can be one of those “friend birthday party years.” I know it’s ridiculous how much I’m dreading this, but all of us have our strengths and interests, and hosting a party for a dozen second graders is definitely not in my usual wheelhouse 🙂
- Take baptism portraits of Raven
- We’re hoping to get some decent family pictures on the same day, if the boys will cooperate. I figured I’d just do these myself on Easter Sunday since we’ll all be dressed up anyway for the occasion.
- Get a haircut
- Not super likely to happen, but I need to at least have it on my radar so that I can seize any opportunities that might come up.
- Give boys and Matt haircuts
- Preferably before family pictures are taken.
- Give Raven a haircut
- I personally adore Raven’s long dark hair and would gladly just trim it once a year or so, but she has been begging me for a much shorter hairstyle for awhile, so I told her I would once the weather warms up a bit.
- Get bookshelves for kids’ room
- This might be a gift for Raven’s birthday or just something we pick up secondhand at some point in the month, but either way, they really need one.
- Buy and install new dishwasher
- Matt and I finally decided which dishwasher we want to buy and I definitely know I want to install it ASAP since I’m really struggling to stay on top of hand washing all the dishes at this point in the pregnancy, so this is one of our top priorities for April.
- Finish prepping garden beds for planting
- Rollover goal. And this HAS to get done before halfway through the month or we’ll be behind our whole flower farming season.
- Tear down old raised beds
- Even though the new perennial/garden area isn’t at the top of the priority list, both Matt and I are really excited about the idea of having a space in our yard that’s just for us to enjoy, so we’re going to try and push ahead with this. First order of business? To finish tearing down the current (old, falling apart) raised beds that are there.
- Plant lily bulbs and roses
- Always excited about planting more perennial focal flowers 🙂
- Transplant out all hardy annuals
- I’m shooting for this to be done by the 20th of the month, which is also when I anticipate that we’ll start sending out the first of the subscription bouquets.
- Buy + plant apricot tree and flowering shrubs
- The apricot tree we put in a couple years ago died, so time to try again. We also want to plant some shrubs specifically for use on the flower farm, like ninebark and viburnum. I’d also love to know any flower shrubs you have that you particularly like, especially if you live in a similar climate as me!
- Make a trip to the donation center
- This should be an easy win since we have a doctor’s appointment right by our nearest donation center anyway (an hour away).
- Finish three books
- Fourth time’s the charm?
Please send all your good vibes and fabulous ideas my way to get through this friend birthday party next week 🙂 And let me know – what are you up to in April?
