2014 Goals: April Update

Wow, April. You came and went so quickly! I can hardly believe that just next week we will be saying hello to May, and with it the beginning of what feels like summer in many parts of the country, North Carolina included. Thankfully, the weather turned around this month, and instead of bringing more cold and snowy days our way, like much of the rest of the US got, we finally broke out of the 40s and 50s and saw sunny skies and warmer temperatures. Hallelujah -- it's about time!

April was a good month around our house. Although we found a few hiccups, and battled with a lot of ill feeling little ones, for the most part, things were great. We got outside to play. We bought a new {to us} vehicle. We celebrated M's 30th birthday. We found ourselves hanging out at the park many times, and we welcomed company to town for a visit. The kids got a new swing set, and new big kid beds. Easter was a blast, too. Overall, we cannot complain about April 2014. It was good to us.

But just because we kept busy, does that mean that everything went according to plan?

Let's see how our 2014 goals went for April:

March was hard to follow -- we had a great month. We got out and enjoyed life together, spent time together as a family, got away for a weekend, and saw a few changes to our routine around the house, too. Positive changes that really made an impact on the way we all were feeling, and how we were interacting. But I can definitely say April had no problem living up to the hype!

I continued to spend some much needed time focusing on myself. Doing things that I enjoy, and that I saw needed to be done. I painted my nails -- and changed them out on a weekly basis, making the time to do it when I wanted to change things up, instead of letting the color fade and chip, as the nails grew out. I bought some ice cream -- and although the store didn't have my favorite flavor, I bought the next best thing and enjoyed a bowl, all by myself, after the kids were down for a nap one afternoon. Not having to share something made it feel like that much more of a treat. I bought some of my favorite beer and a bottle of wine, and quite a few evenings this month I enjoyed a drink before bedtime. Heck, last night I even cracked open a beer while cooking burgers for dinner! I picked up a book at the library -- sadly, although it was a good sounding book, I have yet to finish it. I blame it on poor timing: between getting the house clean {super clean} for family to visit and then having that family here, I just didn't pick it up off the coffee table like I should have. Maybe I'll renew it this weekend ... or find something else that piques my interest. Either way, it feels good to set aside a little bit of time for me.

And because I was feeling great, and spending some time on myself, I turned around and spent more time and energy on the ones I love. I took the kids to the park, played on the equipment myself, ate snacks with them in the sunshine and remembered, even if only briefly, what it felt like to be a kid. I sat down with them to watch cartoons and tv shows. I started taking them outside daily, once the weather warmed up. Watching them run around, getting out energy while being creative and playing pretend really is magical. And good medicine for any ailment, let me tell you! M and I got out for a date. We had fun at a local junk yard pulling parts for our Suburban, spent some time catching up with friends, and enjoyed a good meal! And I was able to spend some time with my parents, as well, when they were in town. Which was very nice. We don't see them nearly as much as we would like.

The biggest change this month was just how much I was able to focus on the little things, and mainly the house! What a blessing it can be on a somewhat messy house to realize that company will be arriving in less than a week. Its amazing how fast you can get down to the nitty gritty and really CLEAN! Bathrooms were scrubbed, towels washed and folded, rooms were rearranged to make room. Toys were picked up. Floors were vacuumed and mopped ... and the craziest part of it all? I actually enjoyed myself! I didn't find the cleaning to be a chore ... or something I wanted to put off until another day. I actually looked forward to decluttering. To folding laundry. To vacuuming the whole house. {Just don't ask about the dusting ... that's something I will never look forward to!} We got ourselves back to church after a month off. I gave in and enjoyed a sweet tea or a glass of soda without feeling guilty. I bought myself some new nail polish and smiled every time I looked down at the happy color.

When it comes down to it, April was great. Not just for our homes and our attitudes, but also for our spirit. The sunshine brought out happy moods, the warm air our smiles and laughter. Sitting on the back porch together brought us together as a family unit. We took the time. The time for ourselves and the time for each other. We delighted in spring, and all that it had to offer. April -- you flew by, but you were good. Oh so good, to us. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you again next year!