June 4, 2018

Currently... June 2018

I can't believe this... It is June! JUNE! Already! I was seriously JUST working on my May update post (which I never finished... hehehe). The last few months have just flown by! Here's what I'm up to lately...

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WATCHING: 
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but our daughter is OBSESSED with Cars. She calls it Movie Cars. We actually don't watch it the movie that much, but she talks about it constantly. She sleeps with a little "Liting MaKeen" Tsum Tsum plush, pushes a little Duplo Tow Mater all over our house, wants to make everything a race, puts on a pretend seat belt anytime she sits down, and calls every single slick looking car that she sees on the road a "Movie Car." The girl makes me giggle so much. 


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READING: for my 18 for 2018 challenge
I re-started reading How to Talk so Little Kids will Listen and am finally finished! (I told you I was a slow reader!) I read the original, How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk. I highly recommend it - and have loaned out my copy already. This one is a great follow up that shows how to use the same skills with some younger examples. I'm not saying that living with a toddler is a breeze, but we get through some difficult times a little easier when we use these tools. 




LISTENING: to A to B Podcast
I recently discovered this podcast and listened to it straight through from episode one. I love that it is more like listening in to a fun (and sometimes frank) conversation between two friends, one who is a professional organizer and one who is the opposite. I wouldn't call her a hoarder, by any means, but let's just say that it is difficult for her to let go of many things - including some things that seem like trash. Lol. I love the conversations, because as I make my way through Konmari-ing my house, I feel like sometimes I am a lot like Autumn and other times much more like Bethany.


EATING: more chocolate...?
That sounds silly since the last time I did an update, I posted that I was eating LESS chocolate! LOL! Both are true. I am eating more Lindt chocolates than I was back in March, but I'm still pretty good about not eating out of the candy dishes that seem to be everywhere at my school. Now donuts... that's another story...


DRINKING: more water
I've been trying to stick to a goal of 2 bottles of water during the day at school and 2 bottles in the evening at home. Now I know that I'm still not getting nearly enough water... but at least I'm getting better about my water consumption. This coming from a girl who used to ONLY drink water... sigh...


WEARING: pants, or at least trying to
I'm still on my hunt for pants that fit and have been ordering various pairs that I find online. I still haven't found anything that I love. Who would have thought that finding pants would be such a challenge?!?


MAKING: progress on my 18 for 2018 list
I managed to set some pretty big goals for myself, most of them requiring me to toil away for a while, so I've been working and making progress! I can't wait to share more! 


PLANNING: our summer!
I suppose you could argue that June is just a tad too late to be planning your summer... lol. We only decided a couple of weeks ago that we would be traveling back to Ohio for the summer. Mainly to see our families, but also to see my best buddy's sweet baby girl! Our daughter is just mesmerized by her. She requests to call her almost every day and has been picking out her old toys and too small clothes to share with her. It's so sweet. We can't wait to meet her!


TRYING: to clean up my pins
This seems kind of like a slight procrastination tactic when it comes to my 18 for 2018 list, but I am actually feeling more refreshed and inspired as I clean out my pins. Its interesting to see how my style has changed so much since I first started pinning and which things I must REALLY love, since I've pinned them about 8 times. Hahaha. I also had this random secret pinboard that I just pinned anything and everything to. I've been working on organizing those pins and I love that my things are much more functional. Plus, I'm getting prepared for # 12, right?


WANTING: to sleep in
Our little girl is an early riser like my hubby. She climbs into our bed (which of course requires that she climbs over me because climbing into bed on her daddy's side, when he is already awake just doesn't make sense for a 2 year old) and sits in between us with a bunch of stuffed animals (which requires multiple trips up and down from the bed and over her snoozing mommy) and looks at her books. Her favorites right now are Elephant and Piggy books. She lets me sleep (or try to sleep) for a while, then gets out of bed when her daddy decides it's time for breakfast. I usually sleep for another hour until she comes back in and gently says "Mommy, it's time to wake up!" It's so sweet and I wouldn't trade it for a thing, but sometimes I do wish I could get that extra hour without being climbed over a dozen times. Hehehe.


FEELING: productive!
Work is so crazy that I have to be a master at productivity! I've been getting better at putting everything (including filing and organizing time) into my calendar. I've also been using Trello to keep track of my To Do, Today, and Ta Da lists. These three lists really help me focus on the main goals for the day, not get so overwhelmed with my ever-growing To Do List, and celebrate my accomplishments so I feel like I'm actually being productive even when my days are super hectic. Right now I'm working on trying to force myself to plan out the next day before I leave for the day so I can start my mornings ready to be productive. If you have any awesome productivity tips or resources to recommend, please share! 


ENJOYING: my quiet time
The good news is that next year, we are getting a second full-time counselor at my school of over 825 students. Bus, we will be sharing my office. My office isn't tiny, by any means, but it isn't huge either. I've had practice sharing it with my interns this year, and have had to share it once before with a second full-time counselor when we hired my awesome sidekick for half a year. I'm trying to be optimistic, and hoping that I'll get lucky to have another counselor that I can work so closely with and share my breathing space with for a second time. For now, I'm appreciating my quiet time and personal space. 



I'm sorry that I've been struggling to include pictures in these long posts. The posts are motivating for me to reflect on my life, as boring as they may seem for others... I'm hoping to have some better content soon!