Personalities

Parenting is tough, no question, but for me the hardest part isn't the schedules, the homework, it's the challenge of being a family is existing and dealing with different personalities. I'm just talking about the people in your household, I'm not even going to get into extended family of parents/inlaws/aunts/uncles/cousins.  We  have 3 kids, Little Reader (8 years old), Little Hugger (6 years old), and Little Man (3 years old).

Little Reader is a smart kid, she obviously loves reading, enjoys school, is compassionate but also extremely hard on herself. She is generally a happy kid, but also a perfectionist. She knows she's smart and will beat herself up if she doesn't understand something, or makes a seemingly stupid mistake. She will brood about anything negative said about her. She relishes her role as the helpful big sister, but sometimes oversteps the boundaries and bosses her siblings around (which they do not appreciate). I try to be careful when I have to critique something she's doing, but at the same time not sugarcoat things so much that she never learns to accept criticism.

Little Hugger is a loving girl, enjoys more of the stereotypical girl stuff than her sister. She is extremely creative and finds the beauty in everything. She has numerous collections and is definitely more on the messy side.  Actually that's putting it mildly, she borders on hoarder tendencies.  When we go through her room to clean up she is often on the verge of tears as she gets rid of things.  This week's weekly project is cleaning up the kids' rooms.  Her's will not be easy or fun for either of us. She cries easily, but gets over it quickly. Having been the same way as a kid myself, I realize that most of the time she's probably bottling up some of the feelings and something seemingly little tips the scales and makes her cry. 

Little Man is a very happy guy. He does have a stubborn streak especially when it comes to food. He's doing much better with the eating and has basically progressed from being a problem eater to just a regular picky eater. I think we're close to finishing up with his feeding therapist.  He is getting to the independent stage of toddlerhood, which I do my best to encourage. He enjoys spending time with his sisters, and is always trying to keep up with the big kids. 

The hardest part is making sure they each get good one on one time with their Dad and I.  I had a great time with Little Reader on her Brownie campout last week and it's rare that we get to do something like that.  Little Hugger is now on the same school schedule as Little Reader so aside from when I take her to her dance class on Saturdays and the others stay home with Dad we don't get a lot of one on one time either.  I'm trying to expand that time to include other fun activities or errands so it's not just time spent in the car.  As far as Little Man, he's with me most of the time, and he is actually pretty good company and I try to balance our time together between fun stuff and getting the things done that I need to do.  

October Goals

I've recently adopted a habit of setting goals for myself for the month and I have to say it is helping me stay on task, especially for the bigger stuff.  I'd be lying if I said I accomplished everything, but I'm getting more done.

So time to set October's goals
- Sew Comforter for Little Readers Build A Bear Bed
- Refinance Car
- Hot Chocolate Race Training - So far I've just been running for fun, but I've signed up for a 15K on November 4th, so need to do a little research on training and make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to.  Also need to get some cooler weather running gear.
- Finish putting photo albums together. Gotta get caught up before the onslaught of holiday photos begins.
- Start planning Christmas shopping. Planning a budget, keep track of things kids ask for, etc.
- Organize and file away CDs. All our music is on iPods at this point, but my husband refuses to let me get rid of the actual CDs.  I just need a better way to store them than my current shopping bags.
- Weatherproof Little Man's room.  Poor guy has the only room with two original windows and bad insulation, it get's really cold in the winter.

There are a few broader goals that I'll be including in my 31 days series but the above is the main stuff.  I also intend to stay on top of my weekly projects as none of them are that tough this month. 

September Wrapup

"It's pretty cold for late September
The autumn wind is creeping in
The summer suns packed up, it's long gone."
                               - Bon Jovi


Another month has passed which means it's time to check in on last month's goals.  Overall ok, but didn't quite make everything.


So goals for September were:
- Run 50 miles (total) - I did it!!! 50.34 to be exact.  Not bad considering I had to skip a couple of days due to rain
- Stick to a budget - still working on this, I did better this month, my husband went a little crazy at the Ryder Cup, but since he hardly ever buys anything I'll give him a pass.
- Stick to a cleaning routine - meh.  Got to get better at this one. 
- Update project list - DONE

Some of the big to-dos are
- Figure out collages for blog - loving Picmonkey.  It's so easy and fun. 
- Catch up on my Project list - Happy to say I am back on track here.
- Sew a comforter for Little Readers Build A Bear Bed - need to get supplies for this before I get sidetracked with holiday projects.
- Tag clothes for Kids Sale - DONE