Goals for May

Well, hey there new month! I am SO ready for you. Y'all, April was hard, and I am SO excited to have it behind me so we can move on to better, less sad things.

Let's look back first...

March 30th, we got our first referral call.

March 31st, we learned this little boy's file had errors in it resulting in us not being qualified to adopt him, so the file was moved to another family.

April 1st, our precious dog, Emma, jumped up on to my bed in the morning and let out a huge squeal in pain. This injury would ultimately lead to her loss.

April 13th, We had to let Emma go. She was just in too much pain, so she peacefully left this world late that afternoon. 

The remainder of the month, I was just not really fun to be around. The kids were difficult, I was missing Emma and mad about our lost referral, work was hard, and I got really out of the habit of taking care of myself. Everyone suffered, so I am THRILLED to have a fresh start in May, and I am determined to do better.

So, here are my goals for May: 

1) Get back into the habit of waking up BEFORE the kids.

This was one of my New Year's Resolutions, and I was SO GOOD about it until about March. We went through a rough patch, and I just didn't make my morning quiet time a priority. This will be difficult in May because Carter is now getting up with the early sunrise between 6 and 6:30 (thanks daylight savings time...except NOT...). We are going to get him blackout curtains to see if it helps, but he's coming downstairs by 6:30 which means I need to back myself up to about 6am. Ouch. 

2) Run twice a week.

I've been running every weekend for the last month or so, but I really want to find at least one week night to do it, too. I walk and do some yoga throughout the week, but I need that one good cardio session mid-week to clear my head. It just makes me a better mom and wife to get a good 30-minute run in when I can. 

3) Turn my phone off at 9:15pm.

A couple of months ago, I set an alarm on my phone for 9:15 to remind me to give Blake some of my attention at night because I was finding myself totally absorbed in work/social media/the DVR/anything BUT HIM in the evenings. This alarm has helped tremendously, even if just means we sit together on the couch. He feels like a priority, and I know that's important to him. BUT, I am SO guilty of getting back on my phone after an hour or so and staying up until 10:30/11 on it. I can't get to sleep or sleep soundly when I finally turn it off...so, if goal #1 is going to happen, this needs to happen, too. 

4) FINISH one book. 

Who else is in the I-start-all-the-books-but-never-finish-one camp? I have about eight on my bedside table that I've started and not finished. I WILL finish one this month!

5) Change my outlook.

This is the biggest one that (I hope!) makes all the others fall back into place. I think the second half of April was rough at our house because of ME, not our circumstances. Was it really hard to lose both a referral AND my precious sidekick in two weeks time? Of course. But should I have let those circumstances totally dictate my attitude toward everything else? NO! That was totally on me. I am in control of how I look at my days, so I can't blame our circumstances for that one.

I'll recap at the end of the month and let you know how I did. 

And check back tomorrow...my big boy is turning FIVE, so I'll be taking a trip down memory lane. (Hold me.)