November 2015: Never say die! (And be grateful, bitch.)

The above is the title of the November 2015 PopClogs Bootcamp. If you're not on PopClogs, the Bootcamps are basically a set of monthly goals we set for ourselves. Largely fitness related, but not entirely. Each month has a theme. I'm particularly fond of this one, because it captures perfectly my current mindset.

I had big plans for October. Through no fault of my own, I did not accomplish everything I set out to do (or even most of it), but I am not giving up. I have refined my list and added to it (probably too much, to be honest), and am approaching November with a Goonies "give-'em-hell" grin.

Despite my big list, which I will refrain  from sharing so you can't laugh at me a few weeks from now, my main focus is to get my mornings in order. I've found that when my mornings go well, my whole day goes well. So it is my goal to achieve the following each morning:

• Get up at 5:30.
• Practice yoga.
• Meditate. (Even 2 minutes would be nice.)
• Write a blog entry.
• Write a paragraph on my book.

I have a weekend cleaning routine going, finally. The house does not get 100% clean every week, but I get the big chunks. The laundry gets done -- sometimes it even gets put away! Each Saturday morning I get up, practice yoga, and clean the house before we do anything else. Sundays are free days, or I repeat the Saturday process if there is still cleaning left to do. I've been doing this for a few months now, and it's finally become routine; even Anya is into the "clean on Saturday morning" groove. So now I just need to get my weekdays in order, in order to accomplish the things I want to before the work day starts.

This is my focus for November. Everything else is just gravy.

Speaking of gravy, some of my subgoals this month are to work on teaching Anya about gratitude and taking over some of the Turkey Day preparations. I'll talk more about both later. Should be interesting.

Do all the things!

Though my projects this month haven't necessarily been creative, and I have had damn good reasons for not accomplishing all I set out to do, I still feel like this right now:

I haven't been able to keep up with my webcomics, but I still heart Toothpaste for Dinner.

That green bit? That's this week. I have probably doomed us to fail with my overplanning, in fact. But sometimes, things go right. So here is the agenda:

• Tuesday: Hair cuts (though no color...I will just have to be sparkly rooted in our family pics) for Anya and I, also a quick shopping trip 
• Wednesday: Corn maze if it's not too muddy; pumpkin carving if it is
• Thursday: Flu vacs for the kids; family pics
• Friday: Corn maze if Wednesday was too muddy and the kids don't feel yucky; pumpkin carving otherwise
• Saturday: Cleaning; shopping for Poppy's birthday present; trick or treat; Halloween festival

Also, somewhere in there I will put in a few hours of editing for one of my clients. In addition, I will be starting my day job an hour early and taking short lunches to make up time for Monday's visit with Kai (I thought he might have an ear infection, but was just being paranoid :) and Thursday's shots.

So yoga might not be happening this week, either. I will have to work on that in November.

And the meditation. I only managed to squeeze in a couple of sessions all month.

I have kept the house relatively clean, though. And kept up with the blogging. I also may very well meet my (modest) step goal. Not all of the plates hit the floor. Just...most of them.

So this week will be crazy. And for what I do not accomplish, there is always next month.

Another cop-out post

Fair warning: This week may be full of 'em. And not just because I am in deep emotional denial about the past week.

So you don't leave empty handed, here's a cute pic of Kai flirting with his reflection at the doctor's office today.

They had quite the conversation.

Also, a fun tip: You can calm a restless baby, and keep a napping one asleep, with the smell of Mom. I am currently dashing this off while he naps clutching a sock damped with mama milk.

The things you do as a parent.

I meant to write a blog post this weekend

But life happened. I did bake some mini pumpkin pies, though.

I think whole pies would be less trouble, though these sure are cute.

Once again, I overestimated myself

Or perhaps I simply underestimated how tiring having kids is. I'd meant to write a blog entry when we got back from Illinois last night. Instead, I showered, settled into bed to nurse Kai and watch Reading Rainbow with Anya, and passed out cold. Nor did I manage to get up early this morning; I got up just in time to make a cuppa and start work.

Mea culpa. I'll do better next week.

Better late than never?

Just realized that I forgot to line up a post for today. As I've mentioned, the kids and I have been sick. I think Kai is nearly over it, but I went to the doctor for medication today (sinus/ear infection), and it's looking like I will be taking Anya in tomorrow. So hopefully that excuses me for dropping the ball just this once.

In the meantime, have a cute picture of a kissy baby.

Nom...er, smooch.