Last year, I started to get into the habit of making goals. I shared with you my summer goals and now that summer has flown by it is time to review those goals and make new ones for September.This month is actually my favorite month to work on goals because after all the less organized, playful days of summer and with the kids return to school, I am ready and energized to tackle some of the needed areas of my life.

My main big goals do not change but my mini-goals change depending on the areas I need to work on the most. This summer although I did not accomplish everything I had planned, there was enough real progress to feel like a made some big strides. For one prone to procrastinate and spin her wheels in the ground, that is muy bueno! So here is a summary of my progress and my mini goals for September.

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Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.

Summer Mini-Goals Reviewed

• 15 minutes of prayer/ journaling in the morn. – This was a little hit and miss. Not great but not terrible. I could definitely use more work on this area.
• Turn my mind to God through the day, even if only for a brief moment. – Yes, I have worked on that and have spent more time turning my mind to God.
• Memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer – Yeah, this did not happen.

September Mini-Goals

• Continue with the 15 minutes of prayer in the morning until it becomes second nature.
• Print out and memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer.
• Re-focus on my phrase of the year Be Still by finishing the book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life.

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Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.

Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed

• Plan weekly at home date night or an hour long outing on the weekend. – Done and done. 🙂
• Once a month, plan a longer date with a babysitter. – Yeah, baby. Done. (Thx to visiting family who made this much easier!)  🙂
• Have the kids do a quick clean up before Brian comes home so the place doesn’t look like a war zone when he comes home. – Proud to say, Yes!
• Bite my tongue and let Brian come home to a kiss from his wife instead of a tirade of all the drama he missed while he was away at work. – Hmmm… maybe 75% of the time. So, it could still use some work but has been better.

September Mini-Goals

• Continue to plan weekly date nights and monthly out of the house dates.
• Continue to work on having the home picked up and my attitude in check so Brian comes home to respite and not chaos.
• When Brian gets me upset, still treat him with respect and not like he is another one of my kids.

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Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.

Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed

• Plan a daily time for the kids to read and work on a little school work so they don’t forget everything they learned. – This went okay but not great. Some progress made.
• Have screen-free times during the day when the kids must be outside playing or doing something constructive (ie Legos, puzzles etc). No iPhones, iPads, tablets or computers allowed. (Mom included! Gasp!)) – This one was HARD for all involved but it worked. The kids spent way less time on screens, mama included.
• Weekly outings – beach day, picnic, library, aquarium etc. – For the most part, yes.

September Mini-Goals

• Revise the kids chore charts now that school is back in session.
• Do what dinner prep I can in the early afternoon so I can spend an hour in the late afternoon helping the kids with their homework.
• Incorporate three feast days into the family life to help the kids better appreciate the fullness of the faith. This month it will be Mary’s birthday on the 8th, the feast day of St. Matthew on the 21st and feast of the Archangels on the 29th. (This one may be a little ambition but I’m going to add it anyway.)

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Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.

Summer Goals Reviewed

• Make a master TO DO list broken down by each room in the house. I have a tendency to work on too many projects at once and I don’t complete any of them. This way I can pick one item on the list, get it done and mark it off. – I never made a master list because I did not have a lot of free time this summer to work on projects. I sorta forgot that summer also means having kids underfoot 24/7! Okay, maybe not at night but by then I am too exhausted for anything other than vegging on the couch!)
• Update my freezer and pantry inventory and plan my weekly meals around the items that will be expiring soon. –  I never updated the list but I have been eating out of the freezer and using up forgotten food.
• My menu planing has grown stale so this past month I have been trying one new recipe a week. (Preferably using my about to expire food.) So far it has worked out well. – Not each week but every couple weeks, yes.

September Mini-Goals

• Fill in my new planner for Sept 2015 – Aug 16.
• Spend some time in the evening working on Mystie’s course Simplified Organization. (By the way, if you are interested in this course, sign up for her email first. There is a discounted price through the email.)

* * *Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.

Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed

• Daily hydrate, take vitamins and walk for 20-30 min. Use my Fitbit to keep track. – I’ve been decent on the water, sometimes lacking in the vitamins but rocked the walking. I made it 55 days straight hitting my goal of walking 10,000 steps a day. However, this week I was sick and needed some rest.
• Track my eating otherwise I keep underestimating how much I’m eating each day. – Major fail. Lack of weight loss was the proof.
• Plan a blogging schedule that allows me time to enjoy what I love each day without going to extremes – spending no time on the blog or getting sucked into a posting rabbit hole. – Postponed. Family life and summer took over any thoughts of blogging.
• Plan some girls day out with local mom friends. – Not as many as I had hoped BUT I did co-host a Blessed Brunch so that was awesome. 🙂
• Buckle down on my Goodreads’ 2015 Reading Challenge. I pledged 12 books this year. I am in month six but only on book 3. Time for summer reading! – I am in month 9 and have read 7 books so I have a little catching up to do.

September Mini-Goals

• Track my eating.
• Plan a blogging schedule.
• Spend a few minutes a day just writing and getting thoughts down on paper. It doesn’t have to be for a post but just to keep the process flowing. Use the Listers Gotta List challenge for inspiration.
• Record more scopes on Periscope.

It may seem like too much but in the season of life I am in now I have a little more free time and I can focus on these things. (I remember a time when I rejoiced if I simply was able to shower and not do bodily harm to myself or anyone else before Brian came home.) Each season looks different!

What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this month?

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