We’ve reached the tipping point month of our 2021! Having had another baby in July, I know firsthand the feeling of having your year bisected: there is before we’re a family of five, and there is after we’re a family of five. The weeks leading up to this point have not been the easiest (and they actually seem to be increasing in chaos as we draw closer to my due date…), but I am grateful for the little moments of peace we have had: eating dinner at twilight with friends, an uninterrupted hour of Lego play, a last date night, evening blueberry runs, porch dinners with plates balanced on our knees, reading in bed later than I should.
With everything going on, I haven’t dwelt too much on our newest family member’s arrival (beyond attending to practical concerns!). Therefore, as weird as it might sound, I am anticipating with joy checking into the hospital and having my focus 100% on one precious baby girl when her birthday rolls around. We will take all the prayers for a healthy baby and healthy delivery in the meantime! Here’s what else we have planned this month…
On my calendar this month: — Welcoming our new baby girl to the family! — Celebrating John’s and Shep’s birthdays — Celebrating the Fourth with our town’s parade and clearly some sort of patriotic dessert
What I’m loving right now: — I am at the point in this pregnancy where I have been wearing the same four outfits on repeat and am craving variety. A few things on my radar: this floaty floral dress, this jumpsuit with pockets, this pretty green dress (I know NOTHING about this company so order at your own risk, ha!), this pleated seafoam midi skirt, this punchy dotted dress, and this striped shirtdress (which would actually be good for nursing!). — We have tried out several phone tripods over the years, but never found one that’s both functional to use and convenient to tote around. Enter: the pocket tripod! It’s the size of a credit card (I keep it in my wallet so it’s always close at hand) and folds out into the neatest little tripod. Would make a perfect gift for your favorite photographer or gadget lover! — My love for everything Jenny Rosenstrach is well-documented. She and a friend (the also-illustrious Jodi Levine) recently started the sweetest Instagram account, This is Like Magic. It shares “endless ways to make someone’s day” and is exactly the kind of thing I want in my feed.
Bonus pick: you all!!!! Several of you have gifted us things off our registry for baby girl (what?!?!) and one of you offered to gift me an extra baby book you had lying around that was the exact one I was planning to order. And the rest of you leave the nicest, most thoughtful comments day in and day out. I am so grateful for each of you who chooses to be here, especially in a season like this one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
What I read in June: — Being Mortal | I have a handful of books that I evangelize about to anyone and everyone, and this one is now absolutely included. I may end up writing a whole post about it at some point, but in the meantime, just know it is SO thought-provoking and so very worth your time to read. — The Lions of Fifth Avenue | Eh, not my favorite. It was fine, but not of the caliber I’d recommend to a friend. Evvie Drake, which I read last month, was a much better pick in a similar genre! — A Column of Fire | This is the third in the Kingsbridge series that begins with Pillars of the Earth. All three books have been exceptional – so rich, so layered of a world to sink in to! – but this was probably my least favorite of the three. Still, I loved it and would recommend the series to anyone who enjoys historical novels with multilayered plots and characters!
My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along! I’m a little out of order but have read 10 out of 24 so far.
Revisiting my June goals: Print and frame a few of our maternity family photos(Done! June requested a duo for her room, we added one to baby sister’s dresser, and updated our main gallery wall.) Buy and wrap gifts for kids “from baby sister,” and shop with June for stuffie for baby sister(Done!) Execute and enjoy the garden party!(Done!! So happy we pulled this off!) Give info for our Meal Train to be set up(Done! Loved writing a post about meal trains, too!) Plan for newborn photos(Mostly done! We booked Graham, chose a date, I booked a hair cut for early in the day, and I know what I’m wearing.) Update older kiddo baby books (No progress here…) Plan ahead for John’s birthday and Shep’s birthday(Done! Gifts have been purchased and John’s ice cream cake ordered :)) Send our 2010-2014 family album to print (Not much progress here. Rolling it over!) Film June in June, Volume 6!(June is over, so filming is also over. I am definitely concerned about the quality and quantity of footage we got with all that’s going on in our lives right now, but if this year’s video is short and sweet, it is what it is.)
July goals: — Buy the last few things to get ready for baby girl’s arrival — Finish out our Big List for baby girl: wash and organize her clothing, dust off the stroller, set up the diaper changing station, set up the bassinet, pack a hospital bag… — Choose newborn photo outfits for baby girl and older kids (June was wearing leggings with holes in them for Shep’s photos, so I’d like to plan a little more ahead, ha!) — Lay out 2012 in family album (breaking the big goal down!) — Prep for kindergarten — Edit June in June, Volume 6 — Enjoy our first few weeks with our new family member!!
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
Thank you so much, as always, for being here, friends! I adore you!
You’re pretty well up to date on what’s going on at our house these days – let’s dive into where we’re headed in June!
On my calendar this month: — Father’s Day — Blueberry picking at our favorite local farm, hopefully many times. Not sure how we will manage this with John’s mobility, but we’re determined! — Swim lessons for June at our neighborhood pool — My parents’ 40th wedding anniversary! They’ll be with us on the big day, so, along with my sisters, I want to do something to make it special.
What I’m loving right now: — This article about pandemic memories in The Atlantic is my jam, focusing as it does on the narratives we form for ourselves and how they transform the ways we move forward from hard times. “We use our memory in part to create a continuous sense of self, she told me, ‘a ‘narrative identity’ through all of life’s ups and downs: I am a person whose life has meaning and purpose. I’m more than the subject of brute forces. There’s a Story of Me.‘” — This patriotic seersucker dress is so darling I bought three of them – one sized for June to wear this year, one sized for June to wear next year, and one for baby sister to wear next year. Obsessed. Also, June wore this blue eyelet dress for her preschool graduation last week and it is also darling! — I shared this printable summer calendar from Simply on Purpose on IG yesterday. Summer days are much less predictable than they are in the school year, and with all that’s going on in our family right now, I thought it would be fun and helpful for June to see what’s going on each day, and anticipate things that are coming up! We taped it up in our hallway and so far it’s been a hit.
What I read in May: — Atomic Habits | I am 95% finished, and it’s earning its 42k (!!!) reviews. As a professional goal setter and teacher myself, it’s neat to see how his ideas dovetail with Cultivate’s, but are explained in slightly different ways. Definitely worth the read! — Evvie Drake Starts Over | Very sweet! It immediately won my heart for being set in a small midcoast Maine town, but I think any of you would find it a perfect summer beach read.
Revisiting my May goals: Order custom roman shades for the Magnolia Room(Fabric has been delivered to the seamstress – I can’t wait to see how they turn out!) Clean out the Magnolia Room dresser and closet (About halfway done! Sold some things on Marketplace, too.) Order and hang curtains for our master bedroom (I chose the ones I want, but haven’t yet placed the order! Need to confirm measurements.) Plan (and maybe hold?) the garden party(Planning is well underway – fingers crossed for good weather next week!) Make my Big List for baby girl(Done!) Research EFM book options (No progress here.) Make EFM content plan through Q3(Done!) Camp in our backyard (Didn’t get to this in May, but June is very excited to do this, so I think we’ll aim to do it in June!) Prep for trips to Charlottesville and Connecticut (Charlottesville was wonderful! So glad we got it in when we did.) Try again with the meal prep/chopping nights (I did one! Then things got derailed :))
June goals: — Print and frame a few of our maternity family photos — Buy and wrap gifts for kids “from baby sister,” and shop with June for stuffie for baby sister — Execute and enjoy the garden party! — Give info for our Meal Train to be set up — Plan for newborn photos — Update older kiddo baby books — Plan ahead for John’s birthday and Shep’s birthday — Send our 2010-2014 family album to print (this is taking WAY longer than the 2005-2009 one!) — Film June in June, Volume 6! Will be challenging with John’s hands occupied, but it will certainly capture a memorable season in our family’s life…
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
You can see the next books in my stack at the top of this post – I’d love to hear what’s next on your list, what’s on your bedside table or in your library queue, or what you’re looking forward to reading this summer!
Occasionally, one of you will ask me how I come up with my monthly goals. Here’s the short answer: I choose the things that will move me closer to the person I want to be, the family I want to have, the life I want to live, and the legacy I want to leave. I try to make sure they make sense with the season, the sequence of where I am in the project or process (i.e. what is the next logical step), and what else I have on my plate and calendar for the month.
The breaking-it-down part comes fairly easily to me; what might be the better and bigger question is how I choose the direction I want to go. The short answer for that is my annual PowerSheets Prep Work, a series of guided questions that lead me to my yearly goals. Once I know where I’m going, the getting there becomes easier – and usually fun :)
P.S. A heads-up that I updated a few recent posts: my maternity planning post with thoughts on the dresses I ordered, and the road trip post with thoughts from our Jekyll Island trek!
On my calendar this month: — Mother’s Day! — Picking all the strawberries! Our local pick-your-own farm opened last week and we’ve already been for our inaugural after-school trip. — A weekend trip to Charlottesville with my brother- and sister-in-law, loved ones we haven’t seen in a year and a half. — June’s preschool graduation celebration, which my parents will get to attend!
What I’m loving right now: — This kids’ conditioner is cheap and has worked wonders on untangling June’s hair after washing! Highly recommended. — The Feel Good Classics playlist on Spotify (“happy tunes from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s) most definitely makes me feel good. — We’re using one of these acrylic frames to showcase a baby sister ultrasound photo, and now I’m imagining all of the other sweet mementos they’d be perfect to hold! Just what you need for those oddly-shaped or sized items that can add so much meaning to a mantel or table-top display.
What I read in April: — The Dutch House | Five stars, for exquisitely-painted characters and spaces alike. This is the kind of narrative that is all-consuming, in the sense that you almost forget where you are and the people around you when you dip into its pages. I’ve heard the audiobook, narrated by Tom Hanks, is absolutely superb. — Women of the Word | This short book is very practical and very needed if you’re someone like me, who was never formally taught to read the Bible. Her suggestions are easy to understand, but now I’m left trying to figure out how to apply them in my life, because they’re certainly more in-depth than I’m used to… — Olive Kitteridge | This Pulitzer-Prize winner promised to be controversial (people seem to either love it or hate it), and when I turned the last page, I still wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. I appreciated the small-town Maine setting and the carefully-drawn portraits of the townspeople, and thought it was neat how Olive’s influence was woven into each to all different degrees, but it is relentlessly negative. It seemed like the worst possible parts of each character were being highlighted (in most cases), and while the portraits didn’t ring untrue, that’s just not how I’m accustomed to viewing the world.
Revisiting my April goals: Make a new design plan for the Magnolia Room (Done!) Magic Eraser/touch up paint in Magnolia Room (In progress! Have the paint and planning to brush it on this week.) Plan maternity/family photos (Done! They actually happened last night and PRAISE for sunshiny weather!) Try twice a week meal prep/chopping nights, inspired by Lisa! (Didn’t do a single one – going to try again this month!) Have my Fearrington tea + pedicures date with June, one of her Christmas presents (Scheduled for later this month!) Assist with June’s bake sale (Decided to postpone this! She hasn’t mentioned it in a bit, and I’d rather it be driven forward by her :)) Proceed with garden party planning (Plans are underway!) Clean out our pantry (Done! Watch me work on Instagram Stories! :)) Order our 2010-2014 family photo album (I chose MPix and have laid out 2010 so far! There are a lot more pictures to choose from than with the 2005-2009 album, ha!)
May goals: — Order custom roman shades for the Magnolia Room — Clean out the Magnolia Room dresser and closet — Order and hang curtains for our master bedroom — Plan (and maybe hold?) the garden party — Make my Big List for baby girl (Basically, a Google Doc where I’ll list out everything related to baby that needs to happen between now and July – then, I’ll break it down month-by-month. Helps me wrap my head around what can seem like an intimidating list! I’ll make a separate one for work things, too.) — Research EFM book options — Make EFM content plan through Q3 — Camp in our backyard — Prep for trips to Charlottesville and Connecticut — Try again with the meal prep/chopping nights
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
Whew! That’s a lot, but it’s all things I’m excited for! Since I didn’t do a survey this year, and I’ll be working on content planning this month, I’d love to hear: is there anything you’d like for me to write about, or that you think would make a good topic here?
Every time I tell someone when I’m due (July), they respond, “oh, that’s so soon!” Until just recently, it hasn’t felt that soon to me, but looking ahead to the next few months — which are filled with more activities and adventures than we’ve had in awhile — it is feeling closer and closer! I’m getting both increasingly excited to meet our little lady, and just really enjoying these days as a family of four. There’s so much to look forward to, including everything we have planned for April!
On my calendar this month: — Celebrating Holy Week. For Easter, we’re planning to go to an outdoor service hosted by a friend’s church and do an egg hunt in the backyard since we’ll already have given our baskets! — Our annual camping trip with the Rays, at 28 weeks pregnant for me and about 26 for Nancy! Oh boy. — A trip to the WRAL Azalea Gardens when everything’s in bloom — The beginning of June’s second soccer season. We can walk to the field for the once-a-week game – it’s perfectly low-key for a five-year-old!
What I’m loving right now: — Most of us are not hurting for delicious pasta recipes, but I’ve got one more to throw onto the pile. Unique flavor and easy to add veggies (our favorite being cherry tomatoes!). — If you’re looking for a dessert to complete your meal, might I recommend a warm Betty Crocker brownie and a scoop of Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp ice cream, found in the freezer aisle of your grocery store? Gah, it’s SO GOOD. — I have worn these pearl stud earrings pretty much every day since my parents gifted them to me for Christmas, so it’s high time they made an appearance on the blog! They’re simple enough for daily wear but add just a little bit of extra interest with the gold. I have the small size. Love, love, love.
What I read in March: — Parenting with Love and Logic | Though it’s been years since I read this book, it’s still one of my most frequent recommendations to other parents, so when I was in between library requests I thought it might be time for a re-read. My review this time is still positive, though slightly more modulated. If you’ve never experienced or been exposed to the parenting ideas in this book – a consultant parenting style, teaching through consequences – it will likely be a revelation. That being said, our family certainly doesn’t follow it to the letter, and some of the writing and examples just come across as clumsy. — Heidi | Still waiting on library requests, I pulled this classic off our shelves. I’ve owned the Anna Bond version for years but had never actually read it! It’s very sweet and I can’t wait to read it with June someday soon :) — Homegoing | Like The Great Alone, it seems strange to say you loved a book that was so painful at times, but it also seems unfair not to! The writing was beautiful, the structure was creative and kept me racing along, and it helped me learn about and empathize with life experiences that are different from mine. I particularly loved the first half.
Revisiting my March goals: Finish culling and sorting the second half of 2020 photos(Done!!!) Book our annual camping trip(Headed to Pilot Mountain State Park!) Book our mountains trip(Headed to Black Mountain this fall!) Plan and prep for our spring break trip(Done!) Focus on small tweaks and refreshes in our guest room (Very small… bought a new pillow for the bed :)) Style our mantel for spring(Peek here!) Have our carpets cleaned(Probably shouldn’t have waited as long as we did, ha.)
April goals: — Make a new design plan for the Magnolia Room (a.k.a. our guest room), which will soon also function as little sister’s nursery — Magic Eraser/touch up paint in Magnolia Room — Plan maternity/family photos (photographer, date, outfits, eek). Thinking we’ll take these either late April or early May. — Try twice a week meal prep/chopping nights, inspired by Lisa! — Have my Fearrington tea + pedicures date with June, one of her Christmas presents — Assist with June’s bake sale. Once she realized this was a thing kids did, and surely inspired by all of her baking this year, she’s been asking to have one, and I told her she could once it got warmer. Wish us luck? — Proceed with garden party planning. Nancy and I have been discussing hosting a little outdoor soiree for a few friends to celebrate new babies, vaccines, and warmer weather! — Clean out our pantry (I do this thoroughly every few years!) — Order our 2010-2014 family photo album
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
I’d love to hear: do you have any good meal prep rhythms? Tightening up my meal planning/grocery shopping routines was a big focus last year, and I feel like getting ahead with prep is the last step!
