July 2018 goals

We’re back from our 17-day New England adventure!! It wasn’t necessarily my preferred way to take vacation (baby brother’s due date made the back-to-back nature necessary), but I’m so grateful we were able to squeeze in time with so many favorite people and places! More to come soon on our trips to Connecticut and Maine.

But now on to July… is it helpful to say my goals are to cross off everything on my “before baby arrives” list?? Just know that for every baby-related goal below, there are probably four more items I didn’t mention on a to do list somewhere :) Baby brother could very well make his debut this month, so we’re focusing on both preparing and soaking up our last few days as a family of three!

On my calendar this month:
— My dear friend from childhood and her husband are arriving today to stay with us for a few days, with the intention of seeing whether they like the Triangle enough to move here!!
— John’s birthday!
— The Fourth of July!
— Cow Appreciation Day!

What I’m loving right now:
— We were greeted with the above bounty upon arrival home from our trip, so we’ve been enjoying some of our favorite tomato recipes this week, including one of my favorites.
— The “Picnic in the Park” playlist on Spotify is perfect for summer afternoons and dinner parties!
— Not even kidding: THREE different readers sent me the link to this Atlantic article. Clearly, I have a soap box :) I loved it, of course, especially this line: “But that sort of separation is different from the inattention that occurs when a parent is with a child but communicating through his or her nonengagement that the child is less valuable than an email. A mother telling kids to go out and play, a father saying he needs to concentrate on a chore for the next half hour—these are entirely reasonable responses to the competing demands of adult life. What’s going on today, however, is the rise of unpredictable care, governed by the beeps and enticements of smartphones. We seem to have stumbled into the worst model of parenting imaginable—always present physically, thereby blocking children’s autonomy, yet only fitfully present emotionally.”

What I read in June:
— Saints for All Occasions: Kept me up later than it should have – a great summer read!
— Tell Me More: Even though the author and I seem to be polar opposites in some ways, I enjoyed her essays and found a few points in particular rang very true.
— A Gentleman in Moscow: This novel is long and took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I fell in love with the characters! The author’s style of writing is playful and fun, and I even learned a thing or two about Russian history :)

Revisiting my goals for June:
Prepare entertainment for our long road trips
Photograph our backyard to share with y’all!
Attempt to DIY some maternity photos (did not get to this… the extreme heat made it a daunting task)
Make a master list of things to do before baby boy arrives
Upload all random digital photos/videos and sort them into external hard drive folder system
Cull and edit all 2018 iPhone photos and categorize them in our external hard drive folders (made a lot of progress on this but not quite done!)
Decide on a blog series for after baby boy arrives and start working on it (still stumped! Ahh!)
Finish organizing baby boy clothing (progress here!)
Film June in June, Volume 3

July goals:
— Actually get the basics ready for a new baby: buy newborn diapers, pack a hospital bag, install car seat base, get out the Rock and Play, set up the changing pad…
— Make progress on nursery: have room painted, replace light fixture, plan curtains with Aunt Nan, buy crib, finish framing art, choose pillow shams for bed…
— Finish organizing baby boy clothing
— Edit June in June, Volume 3!
— Take an evening neighborhood walk any day we’re home and the weather is good
— Finish all outstanding areas on my 2018 Great House Declutter list
— Plan newborn photos (Graham is taking them again and I am so grateful!!)

On top of all of the work-related things that will be taking up my time and headspace between now and the end of the month, that should about do it for me, I think! If you have goals for the month (or something you’re loving right now!), I’d love to hear in the comments!

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