Fall Goals

Sometimes I feel like I need to set goals for my every day life so that I can actually stick to them. (Remember my one grocery store trip a month goal?)  :)  When I take a step back and look at a few portions of my life, there's room for a little improvement.  So here, written down so I need to be held accountable, are my goals for this fall.

1.  Feed my kids healthier food.  
I think that we eat fairly healthy at home, but there's always room for improvement.  Both kids have become super picky and dinner time then turns into a bit of a struggle.  My plan is actually stolen from Hedy.  I am only going to feed them the vegetable or fruit portion of their meal.  When that is gone, they can have the rest of the food.  I tried this last night and learned that Carter loves green beans. Why didn't I know this???  He ate two full servings of green beans and then was able to have his pasta.  So this plan means that I need to have more fresh produce in the house.  I'm going to start with just things I know they will eat (cucumbers, carrots, corn, green beans, broccoli) and then ease into introducing new foods.  We'll see how it goes.

2. Spend time with the kids first, THEN go on to the chores.  
There's always a ton of stuff to do....laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.  I notice that the kids are better behaved and less clingy with Cary.  And I'm thinking that may be due to the fact that his routine with them is different than mine.  When he brings them home, he immediately plays with them.  He gets down on the floor and wrestles or takes them outside for a walk or to shoot hoops.  THEN he goes about his own business and they are perfectly content not having him right there.  My routine is the opposite.  We walk in the door and I put away dishes, unload bags from the car, get the mail, start a load of laundry, etc.  All the while, the kids are cranky and asking for my time.  I'm wondering if just giving them 30 minutes of time right when we get home will make a difference.

3.  No more spending. 
With a new house comes bare walls and empty shelves and things that I just HAVE to have.  I've been spending too much of my free time at Target and TJ Maxx trying to find the perfect accessories for this and that.  (And you should see my new teal entry table!!).  :)  But it's time to put a halt on it and spend my mornings off at the park with Brynn rather than in consumer-heaven.  My only allowed shopping trip is to the grocery store...I've gotta get fresh produce, remember!!?!  :)

These guys are so funny.  Here's what was on my camera from the week:

Lol.  This is from that talking cat game.  I wonder if he meant to save this to my camera roll.  

Last night's bike ride through the neighborhood.  Our buddy Will was joining us.  It was so fun to see every other house with kids in the yard.  

Brynn didn't want me to leave for school today so she stood in front of the bedroom door to block me from leaving.  Her new phrase is "Mommy, you're the best mommy EVER!"  I love it! :)

Last night we had to have a celebration for Carter's toy frog's birthday.  Yes, you read that right.  He made us skip, gallop, and hop for 2 minutes each, followed by candles in muffins.  It was quite the celebration.