Goals Reconsidered #7QT

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I have (nearly) a million posts sitting in drafts.  Some half finished, some just waiting for photos, some that are nothing but a title to remind me of that amazing post idea I cannot forget.  Those will all have to wait.  (Some may wait indefinitely.)  During the last few weeks, my life has changed drastically.  Well, the things that matter most - my family, my faith - those are the same.  But everything else - where we live, what we do - those have been greatly altered. 

Moving here was not our first choice.  It may not have been our second or third choice either.  But it certainly wasn't our last.  We've lived here before.  We have friends here.  However shallow, we have roots here.  Our daughter was born here, after all.  There are good memories.  Things we missed when we left.

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I'm coming to realize though that we can be happy anywhere.  Different degrees of happiness, sure, but happy nonetheless.  I doubt we'll be quite as happy here as we would be back in Colorado, near our parents and grandparents, siblings, and our niece-on-the-way.  But we'll be happy. 

Are happy.  Already.

We're slowly acquiring the furniture we need to make our town house a home.  (Thank you, Craig's List!)  Piece by piece it's coming together and box by box we're settling in.  But the truth is, it's already our home.  It is.  We don't own it, and we may not live here past this year (or we might, though we have images of buying a house floating when we close our eyes) but this is our home.  Our family is here.  A small family - mama, daddy, and Lulu - but a family full of love.

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While I may need go get creative about making some money here and there, it seems that I'll be able to stay home with Lucia full-time.  What I've always wanted!  But what I've been fearing for some time now.  Last year, I stayed home a few days a week, but five days.  In a row.  Without help from David?  Could I do it?  Home all day with my little one?  What would we do all day?  Would I get bored?  Would I go crazy?

We've survived a week and a half so far and there have been a few really tough moments (Lucia is teething and hasn't been sleeping well, and is having trouble adjusting to her new home and missing family and... and... and...).  There have been some great ones as well and I feel so connected to my sweet (and sometimes spicy and sometimes sour) pea.  Her vocabulary is expanding so much and we can have conversations now. (Her half of the conversations amount to no more than a few words at a time, but they are still possible!)  She has such a personality and I can't help but feel like I would be missing out on a huge portion of all of that if I were working and she were at daycare.  Plus, I can't imagine how much worse the move might have been for her if she had new caregivers thrown in the mix as well.  Being home with mama helps.

And the good news is I'll be watching the kids of David's fellow teachers a few days a week.  If you're not a parent, you may think that an extra child doubles the workload.  Not so!  Giving Lucia someone to play with relieves a lot of the strain on me (and is so, so good for her).  It will be on Thursdays and Fridays and I am really looking forward to it breaking up the monotony after three days in a row of just the two of us.  Lucia loves mama (and mama loves Lucia) but it will be nice to throw in some fresh, fun, Lucia-sized people.

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We miss David terribly during the days though.  He's never worked a regular 9-5 job since we've been married so it's hard to say goodbye to him before a long day away five days in a row.  I never used to understand why that was so hard, I mean, the man is supposed to work outside the home, right?  Well, not really.  Men used to work on the farm or in a shop below their home and have constant interaction with their families throughout the day.  Men working far from home is a mostly new phenomenon.  I'm a history major and I knew that but it just didn't sink in.  Anyway, we're adjusting but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm already looking forward to Christmas break just a little bit.

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David's loving his job so far.  Today is his first teaching day (so throw a prayer up for him, will ya?).  We went to a family potluck with all his coworkers on Friday and I was just blown away by all the children there.  It's so nice to know that he'll be working in an environment where having little ones is the norm.  A Catholic school shoot exude a culture of life and I can't imagine with so many teachers with young children that it would do anything but.  

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The title of the post refers to my goals.  I guess the previous five "quick" takes (not so quick, were they?) were an explanation of why my goals have changed so much, in the short term anyway.  (Not that I owe anyone explanations.)  So here is what I'm going to be working on...

• Get out of the house everyday, even if it's just to walk down the street to the park.  Going out back to put clothes on the drying rack does NOT count as "getting out of the house".
• Writing no more than three content posts a week.  My little blogging break, while not a complete hiatus, has been a breath of fresh air and my family life has definitely benefited.  My current plan for the blog is to put up content posts regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with additional reviews, giveaway, guest posts, etc. appearing as they crop up.  
• Work on budgeting and natural living.  Now that most of our belongings have a place (save for wall decor, which currently resides in nearly a dozen boxes pushed to the living room perimeter - how did we get that many pictures? I know we don't have wall space for all that!), I can devote some time to making cleaning supplies and food staples from scratch. 
• Finally read all those books.  I've been collecting books.  But not reading them.  Especially religious books.  And parenting books.  We also realized that we accidentally brought an extra box of books that we meant to leave at my parents'.  We don't have room for it, so time to get reading!  And then let go.  (The letting go is the hardest part for me. I already have boxes and boxes full of books - sitting in my parents' basement - that I've read and want to keep in my "library" someday.)
• Develop a more disciplined prayer/spiritual life.  Let's just say my spiritual life has been close to non-existent between Sundays.  Not acceptable.  Time to step it up.  (Maybe start by reading the bookshelf worth of religious books?)

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Just a reminder that I'm hosting my Lilla Rose Grand Opening Party (remember that little thing about creative with the money making?).  I'll be having a live event through the facebook event page on Sunday at 4pm EST, sharing hairstyle ideas, answering questions, etc. (and maybe even giving away a Flexi or two).  If you are unfamiliar with Lilla Rose, this is the perfect opportunity to learn more, potentially win a free item, and take advantage of the buy 3, get one free deal (ask me about it for more details).  RSVP to the Facebook event now to get updates or shop directly through the party link anytime between now and Monday night!

Oh and as an aside/8th quick take: I am planning to start a Novena to St. Dymphna (patron of the nervous and those suffering from mental illness) and several others showed some interest in doing it along with me.  I'm planning to start on Tuesday, will be posting the novena prayer that day and then reminders each day through twitter and facebook, so if you would like to follow along and are not currently following me on social media, might be time to start.  Or, if you would rather, send me your email through any means (comments, email me, facebook or twitter message, etc.) and I will add you to an email list to receive a reminder each day.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!