2017 Highlights and Mapping out 2018

Parenting

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Out with the old, in with the new, right? The only thing that makes the end of Christmas
bearable is starting fresh for the new year. Check out what we have planned!

Happy 2018!  I took a good long look at life this past week and made sure to take plenty of (screen-free) time with my kids; it has been wonderful.  Having a big family and especially homeschooling (and running a home business and everything else we moms might have going on!) is exhausting and I’m constantly looking for ways to better use my time.  Unfortunately that sometimes means being less attentive to my kids and so I made sure we got a big reset during this holiday season!

Here are a few of the highlights of 2017, as well as some of my plans for this fresh, exciting new year!  I kind of dislike the term “goals”, because it makes my intentions seem kind of lofty, far off and unattainable.  Instead, I like to look at these plans as a “map” for the new year, a way to determine what direction I’m heading.  In the words of the Cheshire Cat, it doesn’t much matter what road we take if we don’t know where we’re going!



2017

February: I went to Alt Summit (while ridiculously pregnant) for the first time.  It’s an amazing big-girl blogging conference and I fan-girled over some of my blogging heroes.  I learned a ton and can’t wait to go back!

Alice’s birth was the scariest birth I’ve had yet (after Liam’s emergency c-section) and she was a really hard baby for her first 6-7 months.  But she’s making up for it with darling smiles, happy giggles and being the best little crawler.  Thank goodness for finally finding a great sleep routine!

April: Our family’s second trip to Disneyland was kind of ambitious considering we took all 8 kids (and Alice was 6 weeks old!).  While I won’t do that again, we did have a crazy fun time!

I headed to Utah for another blog conference (Snap Conference) which I’d been to once before.  This is where I’ve really connected with other sewing and craft bloggers and been ridiculously inspired by other creatives.

July: We road-tripped to Utah again for a family reunion and for the Cricut Mountain Makeathon where I learned all about the Cricut Maker machine and began an awesome partnership with this amazing company.  Check out all this year’s Cricut posts!

August: I flew to California with Alice to celebrate the life of my uncle and my grandfather’s 95th birthday.  My mom’s oldest brother passed away of heart failure much too young.  It was a bittersweet trip and celebration.

This was also the year of confronting my mortality.  I began coloring my hair just to cover grays (yikes!) and had skin cancer removed from my nose.  It was scary and frustrating to have to go through that but I hope my experience will help educate others on the importance of skin care.

October: I competed in Project Run and Play and got second place!  It was a ton of work but super fun and challenging.  I was so inspired by the other women’s designs and handiwork.

I traveled alone to North Carolina and Tennessee to visit some college girlfriends.  We’ve made a tradition of getting away for these girls trips about every 18 months or so for the past 8 years and it’s my favorite thing ever!

November: We flew to Montana for Thanksgiving to be with Luke’s family and enjoy some cooler weather.  We took our family pictures there with some of the most beautiful mountains.

 

2018

I just love fresh starts!  I’ve broken my best intentions for this year into simple daily habits as well as big projects.  I’m excited about looking at things a bit differently this year!


Daily Habits:

• Exercise 3x week
• Read scriptures daily (alone)
• Read scriptures with the kids daily
• Alone time with each kid weekly
• 3 servings of veggies daily
• In bed by 10:30

The one on one time with each kid is SUPER simple: I just play individually with a child doing whatever he or she wants for like 15 minutes.  Ideally I would do this every day with each kid but it just doesn’t work out with our crazy amount of kids.  So this is a place to start!  The only rules are that they have to choose something around the house and that no other child can interrupt.  The kids love it and the hardest part is sticking with just 15 minutes!

The only thing I’m considering changing is the bedtime.  I recently chatted online with another homeschool mom who goes to be WITH her kids at 8pm and gets up at 4am to get her projects and alone time in.  I think this is just BRILLIANT.  I’m not sure how the logistics would work for our family but I’m determined to try something similar.  Late nights are my weakness and I think they’re prematurely killing me 🙂

Last note about these daily habits: None of these are new to me…I don’t want anyone to think that I’m that ambitious!  I’ve been working on all of these for years and I’m pretty close to most of them on my good weeks.  They’re just nice reminders of how important these things are.  Remember, nothing kills ambition like ridiculous goals!

Personal Projects:

• Quarterly (small) vacations with family.  Day trips are our favorite!
• Read 25 books.  This year I had a few weeks where I read 4 books and then months with nothing.  I’d love to read a book every other week!
• Go through Bikini Body Guide one time.  I love fitness plans but often give up halfway through.  I know I can commit to 3x a week!
• Compete in 1 triathlon.  It’s been several years since my last tri and I really miss them!  I can’t wait for another.
• Go through, backup and print family photos.  The plan is to organize all of our pics and print at least 2 years worth of photo books.
• 12 trips to the temple (read about our temples here)
• 12 selfish sewing projects (i.e. clothing projects for me)





Work Projects:

• Release 5 new sewing patterns
• Youtube magic (can’t tell you exactly what yet!)
• publish a short e-book (super excited about this too)

My work projects are the most exciting to me right now.  I spent 2017 (and much of 2016) trying to follow all the advice of the big bloggers and just plain wore myself out.  After Luke and I talked and made some personal plans together, I asked him his thoughts about my blog and work priorities and you know what he said?

“Do what makes you happy.”

Oh, yeah.  Duh.  I’m lucky enough that I don’t have to make a living with my blog and pattern business; I do it mostly because I love it.  So why am I doing so many things I hate to do?  What a mind-blowing thought, huh?  Those husbands – I think they’re worth keeping around!

I’d love to hear what your goals and dreams are for 2018; I’m always inspired by others and their plans to improve!

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Emmers
    January 4, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    I love Luke’s advice and can’t wait to chat about what you’re keeping and dropping! Great post, great year for you…can’t wait to see what 2018 brings:)

    • Reply
      Bonnie
      January 4, 2018 at 9:55 pm

      Me too! I’ll be calling to get more of your great advice too. Love you!

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