Yearly Review

While I’m not in the habit of making a yearly review on everything, I am curious, and maybe you are too, of how this year ended up with all my plans. My 9 specific plans, to be exact. 

Let’s bear in mind here that there were a couple of life shifts this year. We welcomed our 3rd baby, a boy, in March of 2019. And a month later, we moved. These are not excuses, but that you know where the time went (and it went quickly, I might add).

So, let me get to it. I will outline the original 9 ideas, my plans to make them work, the pros, cons and how it actually worked with our growing family and life changes!

My 2019 Year in Review: Did I do my plans?

One of the things I really wanted to do was make like more simple and keep life inspired. I wanted to create a peaceful home and life and heart (above all, because that I can control)

To keep things simple, I have been slowly decluttering areas of my home more than once a year. If something starts to get too much, I take an hour or two and figure it out. To keep my life inspired, I read good books (you can see some of my recommended family books and faith books), put up quotes that keep my mind focused on Christ and the bigger picture of life, and breathe.

Year Review on Item #10. Brush My Teeth More ( + other hygiene concerns)

Well, I had found this Hello toothpaste with activated charcoal, coconut oil, and peppermint that is amazing. Then I told my dentist in June what I was using, and he chewed me out for not having fluoride in it. I buckled and bought four tubes of Hello sensitivity toothpaste with fluoride, but I will probably not be getting it again. I will not be bullied by my dentist, because fluoride is not safe for human consumption!

I also said I should:

Additionally, I could also do better at brushing my hair, putting on deodorant, and keeping my skin hydrated.

Unfortunately, putting on deodorant and brushing my hair didn’t get much better. I think I did put more lotion on this year, though! Hydrating Body Lotion in Citrus Mimosa from Beautycounter is one of my favs!

Plan #9. Drink More Water ( + eat healthier food)

I am sure that my water consumption stayed the same or even increased, thank these silicone straws (I bought these and love them!). It’s hard work chasing after two active toddlers and an almost walking baby! Good thing I like water 😀

We started using Azure this year (which delivers organic dry goods, produce, refrigerated and freezer items to a drop-off in a town near you.) It has made it easy to buy more organic products and make healthier choices for my family. Note that with my kids getting bigger, the grocery bill can be more than desirable.

8. Get More Sleep

Can I just say this one was a bit of a laughing idea? What was I thinking? Of course, with 3 under 3 and trying to run an online business I would get more sleep! (insert a huge bucket of sarcasm!) Some of the plans I had?

Go to bed before 9 pm.

That never happened after March.

Get up around 5 to work on my biz, and start the day with some peace and quiet.

This also never happened, I don’t think, all year!

Put my sleep health above other things

I did do this, but mostly above working and going out to do fun things. On the plus side, we just purchased a new mattress.

Let’s review #7. Play More

I know how much my kids are growing. It’s fast and crazy all the time. I can’t say that I was better about responding to their requests to play, but I tried. I tried to stop, validate them and then assure them that we would spend some time together either now or later.

We did:

• enjoy being outside in the country at our new house
• learn how to keep a good amount of toys out (but not too much)
• start doing crafty things like coloring, playing in the mud, and making box houses.

#6. Get One Toddler Out of Diapers

Hallelujah!!! It might have taken 11 months into the year, but my oldest finally ditched the diapers, even during the nighttime!

The week of his birthday the first week of November, he decided he wanted to try wearing underwear. After a few accidents that week and the next, he did really well going on his own without needing reminders! Then we got the fear of going #2 in the toilet tackled, and he is so much more amazing at being responsible with this than I would have imagined.

Success. Feels. Good!

#5. Wait With God (instead of on God)

This plan should make every year review because I must be a bit bad at learning my faith lessons. God is humbling me with these children. More and more I am needing patience and love and compassion for my children and husband and more and more I have to ask and trust.

As with everything, this is a work in progress. But I can say that I have learned some good lessons and been reminded of God’s faithfulness many times this year.

Related Articles:

• How I Work At Home with 3 under 3
• All I Have is His
• The Duties of Motherhood
• How to Create a Prayerful Morning Routine
• How I Downsized My Wardrobe from Teacher to SAHM
• 5 Reasons Why I Use Honest
• Ultimate Guide to Catholic Kids’ Shows
• 5 Reason We Hired a Midwife for Baby #3
• My Home Birth Story

#4. Read More

The only thing I can say that I’ve done better, in a review of this year, is reading the Bible readings for each day, and the Psalms for each Sunday. Now, that’s definitely not a failure.

And I am part of a book club at my church where we read religious-based books and talk about them once a month. This was so helpful to have a good book to read, but not a huge time commitment or pressure to get the book done quickly (we covered a couple of chapters a month)

#3. Eliminate harmful products and clutter from my home

This year was a huge learning curve for me in terms of health, harmful products, and cautions to look out for.

Things I learned that are not good for you:

• Flame-resistant PJs
• Some types of carpet and floss
• Christmas lights and ornaments
• Vintage Corelle, Pyrex, and Tupperware
• Baby food – on so many levels, and even organic!
• Chemical sunscreen

I have become a Beautycounter consultant this year for part of that reason but it is amazing what other things have come to light because of this journey.

I am making more fermented foods to help our gut health, so our bodies can help eliminate the numerous toxins that are around us. We are making homemade yeast-free bread, eating more veggies, and cutting down on sweets when possible.  Definitely not perfect in everything, but we do what we can when we can as money and time allow.

There is more organization in our new house but most likely because it is a bigger space with more places to put things.

#2. Love on my husband more

We didn’t do anything specific to help our marriage last year, except this awesome Advent Marriage Challenge from Surprised By Marriage.

My Christmas gift of monthly date nights was a bit of a flop since we have 3 kids now. Plus, the weather was all over the place leaving the farm schedule more unpredictable than usual.

The hard times come as the good times do, and I can say that I am closer to my husband, have more respect for him, and our communication is much better now than at the beginning of last year. Plus, I have learned what my husband enjoys and appreciates the most, and do my best to take care of him in that way!

We are planning on going to a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend this year! Fingers crossed!

1. Trust God With All My Heart

This was definitely the issue in my life that I need to work on most. Not my health, not exercise, not being more organized. Trust in God.

In October, I made the decision to get a spiritual mentor. This has helped me focus on prayer daily, and she has helped me identify obstacles, decrease distractions, and make daily prayer life a priority. Again, I’m not perfect on this and never will be, but I can tell the difference when I am intentionally spending quality time with God.

He has called me out big time on pride, anger, and other vices that I will continue to work on for the rest of my life, I’m sure. But, holiness is the goal, and I will do my darndest to get there!

If that is an option where you live, go for it! It has been a great thing, and through my parish, there is no charge, you meet once a month, and go from there! It’s always nice to have someone keep you accountable in your prayer life.

my Word of 2020

My new word of 2020 is FOCUS! I am going to focus on the 1) the things that matter and 2) the things that work, and do those things to the best of my ability that I am allowed (the rest will come with God’s help).

I tend to get distracted easily, and having this word in front of my face just might help me be more efficient, productive, and helpful. I’m going to do my best to focus, end this blog post, and get on with other things I need to do, right?

Successful Year

I can say, all in all, it was a great year, full of many successes. We did a lot, ate a lot of good food, and learned a lot about family, marriage, life, and faith. I pray that you had a wonderful year as well, and look forward to what 2020 holds.

It’s hard to say, but I have to lean back, trust, and go with the flow (God’s glow, because I have learned that my flow is not really flowy at all).

Bless you, in this new year 2020!