Happy New Year

Wow,  time flies when you are chasing a toddler with a newborn dangling off you. Baby Boy will be two months tomorrow,  so I felt like my excuses for not blogging are waning quickly.  Baby Boy is finding his rhythm now,  and I can finally start getting things done around the house a bit.

I've spent some time reflecting on my last year's accomplishments and realize I need to do some goal setting for this year if I don't want a repeat of last year's directionless wandering.  Enter Pinterest. I found a few pins with directions for family dream boards and have adapted them to our 2014 goals.

I found some scrapbooking paper and letters on sale at a going out of business sale and set to work. Of course the easy part was making the board (one we had already) look pretty.  The hard part is setting the goals.  

Since my husband works in training in a business setting, our goals must be SMART. Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. So no goals that say,  "we will be healthier. " It's too vague.  

For example, A goal of mine this year started out as "I will blog more regularly." However this does not meet all the criteria for a SMART goal.  A SMART version would be,  "I will blog at least twice weekly every week this year,  with two weeks off for vacation." I could make it more specific as to how long each blog should be or what topics I will cover,  but thankfully,  I'm not working for my husband!

So here are the goals for baby boy: By the end of the year I will learn to crawl. I will diligently work to learn ASL when mommy teaches me.  I will learn to enjoy food through baby led solids.  (Isn't this fun?)

Goals for Dino man: I will begin learning to ride a bike this summer.  I will spend time each day being read to. I will spend time each week doing some preschool activities.  I will spend time outside every week.  I will visit the zoo and children's museum as often as possible. (Notice these aren't as SMART as mine will be. He's only 3.)

Goals for me: I will blog twice weekly every week, except for two weeks for vacation. I will attend yoga or bellydance classes at least once a week starting in March. I will meal plan and budget monthly for groceries. I will try a new recipe once a week every week. I will read 25 new books this year. I will visit the library with the boys at least twice a month, and read to them every day for at least 15 minutes.  I will budget to replace low quality kitchen tools with high quality tools throughout the year. I will research the viability of owning a bed and breakfast or other ways of supporting ourselves through self employment. I will spend two minutes each day in prayer and meditation. (These could be SMARTer, I know!)

My husband and I will brainstorm family goals together, and he is of course in charge of making his own goals.  I'll update later about how that session turns out. 

What are your goals for the year and could they be SMARTer?