February Goals

I guess I didn’t post my specific goals for January! Here are my goals for February…

• Go on a simple date for the month. As I mentioned in my 2018 resolutions post, I hope to go on a date at least once a month. This month is a little busy, plus with Lent starting, a nicer date night may not happen, but we are thinking a coffee date during the day will work out!
• Run 3 times per week. I signed up for a Run Club for my birthday as a way to motivate myself to get back into regular activity. For a yearly fee you get a training plan, some goodies, and accountability to help train for races you sign up for. The team meets every Saturday morning for long runs and sometimes during the week for interval sessions. I have attended once so far and loved it! It’s great to have people to run with. I am considering signing up for a half marathon for later this Spring, as well.
• Read two books this month: I am currently reading 33 Days to Merciful Love which will finish up next week. I started a couple others, but they fizzled out so I will have to go through my large stack that I picked up from the library last week and see what I want to try next!
• Figure out Lent plans. Possibly give up Netflix? I normally give up social media except for Sundays, so I will continue with that one this year. Also thinking I need to add in a daily Rosary.
• Continue working on Beautycounter! I have enjoyed learning about this company the past month and am excited to learn more. One thing that has impressed me especially is the customer service aspect. I have emailed and called HQ and couple times with random questions and they are super prompt with their responses and I am always in contact with another human being on their end who happens to be friendly and helpful. This is super impressive to me, especially since they are a growing company!
• Renew our passports for a trip coming up later this year. I guess I never followed up about this and I will post more about our plans later, but my husband and I are going to Rome in November! I am so looking forward to it and I have already been researching like crazy (which is definitely unlike me! I guess I’m turning type A haha!). We have both been before, the last time being our honeymoon. But since this will be just the two of us on this trip, we are hoping to plan it well and make the best of our limited time there! Do you have any vacations or trips planned?

Please let me know if you have goals posted! I’d love to read and support you.

Gigi’s First Year

“Gigi, how old are you?”

This post is over a month late, but better late than never, right? This week is always one of my favorites of the entire year as my husband and I share a birthday week (mine is the 14th and his is the 19th!). We are turning 30 this year and it’s also the anniversary of the day we met–10 years on the 15th. We are celebrating by going out for dinner Saturday night (with actual reservations!) after the kiddos are put to bed. We haven’t been out on a date since August and it’s one of my goals to go on monthly date this year! We also have a couple of surprise snow days this week, which was great as the entire city pretty much shut down. So lots of family time this week!

Poor Gigi’s first birthday party was cancelled TWICE due to illness (once in December right before her actual birthday and our attempt at a smaller version with a few friends last weekend). We finally did bundt cakes (my favorite desserts, possibly) after church on Sunday with my parents and and took a photo, so I’m calling it a win! Here are a few photos of this past year with her!

 

Gigi, you’re a joy and I love calling you my daughter!

Why Beautycounter?

Two of my reasons why! Photo by Aelish.

I mentioned in my last post that I decided to take the plunge and become a Beautycounter consultant so I thought I’d share a bit as to why! If you’re not familiar, Beautycounter is a company that produces what it calls “safer” skincare and beauty products. They offer a very wide range of products such as skin care, hair/body care, make up, and even products for children and babies! I was originally introduced to the company when several paleo cookbook authors (Danielle Walker of Against All Grain and Diane Sanfilippio, among others) I followed on social media started promoting the products after becoming consultants themselves. I thought it was interesting when more than one highly respected author/blogger of the real food/paleo community started promoting effective products that were said to be safer and free of toxic ingredients (read more about this here).

My husband and I have sought to use healthier/more natural products with our personal care since before we were married. While we were dating, Patrick successfully cleared up a rash by diet alone. Since then, we discovered that along with our diets, environmental factors can cause a whole slew of health problems. We have since learned that what we eat and the products we use on a daily basis have a radical effect on our health. Fast-forward six or so years later and we are now married and have two kiddos. It can be tough to manage a somewhat ordered and peaceful household with two working parents, while still trying to maintain the healthy lifestyle we desire for our family.

In terms of the health of our family, I have tried to maintain a balance when it comes to choosing products that work well, are more on the crunchy side of things, all while maintaining our sanity. So when Lisa offered to let me try a few products that seemed to work well, while being safer, I was very happy with the results! I definitely haven’t thrown away all of my old makeup, but I have added in some Beautycounter to my daily skincare routine (balance, right?). Also, at almost 30, I figured it was a good time to get a good routine down! 🙂 I went back and forth about becoming a consultant over the course of a couple of months and decided to take the plunge at the end of the year.

If you have any questions or are interested in trying out a few products, please drop me a comment or email me and I’ll be in touch! I am excited to learn more and share about what Beautycounter has to offer!

P.S. One great thing about Beautycounter is that you don’t have to use a consultant and you can simply shop through the regular website. If you do choose to shop with me, you can use the following link: www.beautycounter.com/marywilmot (through which I get a commission). Thank you for your time!

Goals for 2018

After Christmas Morning Mass 

After reflecting on my own and reading lots of people’s goals for the coming months, I thought I’d post my own! One tip I heard recently is that you NEED to put goals down in writing in order to help realize them. After utilizing this word generator, the word I selected is “RESTORE”. I felt this was especially fitting especially after this past fall and working with Patrick on overhauling our finances and priorities. I am so excited to start a new year and see what’s to come. We have lots of plans to look forward to this year!

1. Pray more. I heard once in a homily that when trying to develop a prayer life, instead of adding in a bunch of things, just try do what you already do BETTER. For me, that would be praying the Rosary more consistently. I have started to listen to a recording of it via an app so I hope I can do this every morning, when I am with my kids. Also, read some Scripture every day (either through Blessedisshe.net or my Bible). Attending daily Mass one extra day per week would be great too, especially since I am home three mornings a week and on the days I work, we have Mass at the parish.

2. Live healthier. We are currently completing another round of Whole30. To be honest, it’s not a challenge to make Whole30 compliant meals anymore. After we did our third round, Patrick realized that he felt better eating this way almost all of the time. In addition, after setting a stricter budget for ourselves last fall, we cut out most eating out and drinking alcohol. As much as we enjoy our occasional glass of wine and beer with dinner or at night, I realize I don’t feel my best anymore afterwards. Also, since I do the majority of the cooking these days (except on evenings that I work), planning became easier once I figured out a few good (paleo-ish) meals that we liked and did not take much time or money to make. I am making it a goal to find out a good balance between what helps us feel best and what we enjoy most once this round ends!

3. Date often. After meeting a major financial goal (more on this later), we have a lot more freedom to spend money on things we enjoy! One thing I would love to do is add in a monthly date. We literally went out on two dates this past year since Gigi was born (uh, yikes!). We do have kids who sleep relatively well and we stick to a bedtime so we get time alone at night, but I’d like to be more intentional about that and ideally get out of the house more! We plan to go out to our favorite restaurant this month (and that might mean hitting pause on W30!) for both of our birthdays to celebrate Patrick’s graduation.

4. Live a little. Before I did the word generator, Patrick and I joked that “Live a little!” was our phrase for the year. After some encouragement from Patrick and my friend, Lisa, I decided to join Beautycounter! I never (really.) thought I would do any kind of sales/MLM. But here we are! I’m excited to learn more and enjoy this new adventure. My goal for this is literally to HAVE FUN. If you’re interested in finding out more why I joined, let me know, and I’d be happy to share! Also, we are coming up on 5 years of marriage (what!) this August and wanted to celebrate big. We recently bit the bullet and booked tickets to go on a big trip! I can’t wait to share more as we plan.

So here we go…I kept things simple this year. One thing that I did focus on in 2017 was reading more! I read 13 books. Utilizing our library helped. My goal was one a month, which I didn’t actually do, but some months I read more than one, so I guess it evened out. I am going to keep this goal and go more 12 more this year! If you have posted any goals or books on your list this year, I’d love to check them out!

Cheers to 2018!

 

November Goals

Hello friends! I didn’t originally intend to take a break for more than half a year when I published my last post. It’s crazy how life and other priorities get in the way sometimes though. I recently went back and read a few older posts and it was fun to reminisce so I thought, why not start back up again? Spring and summer came and went quickly and pretty soon, we’ll be celebrating a new holiday season. Fall has been so fun with celebrating seasonal events with a preschooler and an almost 11 month old! Just this week we made our kids’ costumes, trick or treated in the rain, experienced a roller coaster of emotions with the ASTROS(!!), and just participated in my son’s first All Saints’ Parade (proud CRE moment). I think I’ll eventually post a quick life update, but I thought a great way to jump back in would be to post goals for a NEW MONTH!

I made a list of 30 things I wanted to do during the months of September-January, before I turned 30, so a few of these things are from that list. Admittedly, I am not accomplishing it as well as I had hoped, but I am making progress and that’s what I’m choosing to focus on.

Goals for November:

1. Run a 3 mile race with my friend, Arielle (registered as of today!).
2. Host a small dinner with my lady friends.
3. Order Christmas cards (what’s the most budget friendly way to do this? Last year I won a giveaway!)
4. Finalize Christmas gift plan
5. Put up Advent/holiday decor up by the end of the month (not totally liturgically appropriate, but we did this last year and it was nice to have it done).
6. Start and complete my moms’ group book study (we are reading this). I am getting a late start but I figure it’s not too late to join!

Blessings for November and All Soul’s Day! May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace!

Holy Week Links!

I hope you’ve had a peaceful Holy Week! We took an impromptu/somewhat whirlwind trip to San Antonio this weekend and had so much fun, but it was quick and somewhat exhausting! However, I think I want to make San Antonio an every two year tradition because I kind of didn’t want to leave just yet. Thankfully we’ve been laying low for the most part since we have been back. Since the next few days will be packed with all things liturgical, I’m going to try to take an Internet break the next few days so I wanted a share a few links from other areas around the interwebs that I enjoyed reading/listening to!

First things first….we have a four month old and we are officially potty training! When did my babies get replaced with these mini adults? Kidding. 😀

Exploring the San Antonio River Walk this weekend

A few podcasts: Catholic Stuff You Should Know (four super smart and hilarious priests that really bring down sometimes lofty topics of the faith to my level), the Simple Show (I especially love the travel episodes), and the Catholic Feminist (brand new, but she had had some great interviewees already).

This Spring Cleaning link-up. I’m honestly not a naturally tidy person, but after almost 4 years of being married to someone who loves to declutter/clean, I’ve picked up some decent habits. I mentioned that we recently signed someone up to clean once a month, which I definitely takes a huge load off of our shoulders.  I’m trying not to let myself off the hook though and actually maintain what gets cleaned, but it does free up time to do some purging (thanks to some inspiration from the link-up)! My main areas that I’d like to focus on these next few weeks: sorting and organizing kids clothes, changing out the seasonal clothes, purging my dresser, and cleaning out bathroom and kitchen cabinets.

These blog posts: Jen’s challenge on how she rocks motherhood. It’s so easy to think and dwell on the areas where we struggle, but what are the areas that you actually do well? I think I need to let that resonate a bit when reflecting on myself as a mom, because honestly not much came to mind right away! And similarly, Lisa shared five ways she prioritizes marriage as a new parent.

A few simple liturgical ideas I’d like to try for the week: Natural egg dye recipes, coloring eggs with crayons, Divine Mercy Novena, a child-friendly movie on the life of Christ (not sure how this will go as it’s probably best for a little bit older kids, but I think I’ll introduce it, at least). We’re still trying to figure out Easter brunch plans, but there are some egg hunts in our future! And finally, for some reason, talking about Holy Week plans always reminds me of this video.

Prayers for a blessed Triduum and Easter season!

My survival list…

Modern Mrs. Darcy shared a few things that are saving her this time of year last month and it immediately got me thinking about what’s helping me get through life. The idea was that February tends to be the month when things get tough, and the winter blues start to kick in. Fortunately for us, it’s in the 80’s already and Spring Break is over so summer is on the horizon. However, with two small kids and newborn exhaustion still being a very real thing, most of the days seem very long. While this list may change from week to week, here are a few things that are helping me get through them now!

The slow cooker I got for Christmas. It’s big. It’s pretty. It’s efficient. I have put raw ground beef in it and it browns it well in an hour for something like chili. I put frozen chicken in it one morning last week and it was perfectly shred-able by the afternoon. Game-changer.

My double stroller! I love how I can configure it in lots different ways. And I know lots of toddlers aren’t fans of them by the time they get close to age three, but I’m lucky that James enjoys riding in one still. So convenient for when we leave the house (and I have found that leaving the house for a little bit everyday is a game changer itself). Lots of times, I’ll take it shopping and just stick groceries in the roomy storage basket underneath. It’s pricey, but hunt around for a used one or look for a sale. I got it for 20% off and it came with a $100 gift card, which I used for the second seat.

Ergobaby–As of last week Gigi is over the Moby wrap. I panicked a little because I ran over our Graco stroller base that works with the car seat (seriously, mom brain is for reals) and we had a quick trip to Cleveland last week and I didn’t know how I’d transport her in the airport if she wasn’t into baby wearing (I didn’t want to take the aforementioned double stroller). I tried out the Ergo with a rolled up towel as a seat since she’s a little short for it and she almost immediately passed out in it. It ended up working just fine for our trip too.

Park dates with friends. The weather has been great so I am trying to take advantage of these before it’s pretty much sweltering and the mosquitoes come out to hunt in a few weeks. Texas Problems. These are awesome if they are planned well around nap time (in the morning before lunch or later on in the afternoon after Patrick gets home).

Coffee! No explanation needed there.

My library card–I love requesting books in advance and downloading audio books from Hoopla. I keep a long request list going so there is always something new to pick up.

A cleaning service. We actually JUST had a team come in for the first time and it was an amazing difference. They will only come once a month for a good deep clean, but I’m hoping it will get me motivated to maintain it. Watching them made me realize all the places I don’t even think to clean! It’s a stretch financially, but worth it.

Daily prayer–I had grand plans for a more structured prayer life for Lent with a decent list of prayers I wanted to pray every day. I don’t get to all of them, but one thing Patrick and I have stuck with is a rosary together either in the car or before bed. It’s hard, especially when we’re both falling asleep (most nights, to be honest), but good.

Also, Lisa compiled a list of a few moms’ top baby products a few weeks ago for her blog, Something Pretty. I always find it so interesting and helpful to hear what works for other families/babies, especially when there’s so much out there. I plan to try out a few things from it now too! What’s working for you these days?

Three months with Gigi!

Life is flying by these days as Gigi is now three months old! I still haven’t taken my own three month photos of her, but I wanted to share some amazing photos that my super talented sister, Aelish, took! Seriously. If you need pictures and live in Texas, she’s your lady. She does it all!

Stats: Around 13 pounds

Likes: Being held by Patrick (we call it the “choke hold”), her new swing (sometimes), cuddling, when her big brother is around, nap time (normally one  good nap a day, and then a few cat naps), being around people, being outside

Dislikes: the bottle/pacifier (still), the Moby wrap (major bummer. We haven’t been having much luck the last few times we’ve put her in it; maybe I need to try the Ergo?). Overall, she has really leveled out and is pretty low-key! Way less screaming/crying.

Sizes: size two diapers and 3-6 month clothing!

Milestones: she rolls over fairly frequently now and her neck seems to be fairly strong. Lots of drool and a couple teeth nubs are visible.

Compared to last month’s update, she has become way more easy going and it’s so much easier to get her to relax and down for bed at night. She seems to comfort-nurse a lot more, along with the regular dream feeds. I’ve noticed my patience is wearing thin these days and I think  daylight savings, an early rising toddler, and three months of broken sleep is finally taking its toll. Thankfully, there is coffee and I have something tangible I can work on the rest of lent. 🙂

Do you have plans for the weekend? Our Archdiocese has a dispensation for St. Patrick’s tomorrow and it’s my husband’s name day! I’m thinking a fun dinner is in order. 🙂

Seven Quick Takes and another life update!

Good morning, friends! This was my first week back to work (part-time) and although it’s been a weird transition…it’s actually really nice to have a schedule again and AMAZING parents nearby to help make this happen for us. I thought I’d give a small life update, while linking up with Kelly!

Chilling at the children’s museum this week

(ONE) I’ve been trying (and often failing) to step back from the time/soul suckage of social media to be more present to family/friends/work on goals…and it has paid off in some good ways. One of the goals was to read/listen to more books. I recently read the Nightingale and loved it. I have a few more WWII books on my list after reading this one. And due to several library requests arriving around the same time…I’m currently reading/listening to a few right now: Grace, Not Perfection, Present Over Perfect (on Audio; really loving this one), and Divine Mercy for Moms (with my church book club). Patrick and I also started listening to the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up after I downloaded it when it was free on Audible last month. With Lent coming up, I’m working on a spiritual reading list and I’m definitely open to suggestions!

(TWO) We are currently Whole30-ing again for the month of February and it’s going well. Patrick and I both feel good and I think it’s really helping with the newborn exhaustion. Tiger blood? Not really sure about that, but I am falling asleep much easier at night and sleeping soundly when I am able. Amazing when your little one wakes up a several times a night. I am also feeling less anxious overall, which is a huge win since I’m pretty sure I am prone some sort of postpartum anxiety.

(THREE) Meals are a lot easier to prepare and I think it’s because after last year’s round we kept most of the meals we cook at home mostly paleo-ish, therefore we’re used to cooking this way. We are for the most part keeping meals extra simple and it has worked well for our budget and for the limited time we have due to dinner being so close to what is known as “witching hour”. So lots of slow cooker-type meals or proteins that don’t take a lot of work to prep (burgers, compliant sausage, roasted whole chicken…). Also, no fancy Whole30 snacks this time around (just fruit, nuts, etc.).

One day last week when Patrick made an amazing frittata!

(FOUR) Gigi is a two month old! We had her well check earlier this week and it’s crazy how fast it’s going by. A friend from grad school had her second baby a month before us and she gave me the tip to just sit more and let the baby sleep on me since it goes by so fast. It’s so tempting to put her down to get stuff done once she’s asleep, but I’ve been grateful for the times I get to do this. She definitely naps better on me anyway! 😉

(FIVE) Speaking of…homegirl is SO not feeling the bottle/pacifier (of course). We are managing fine, especially since I can go home to feed her at lunch and on evenings/weekends I only work for about 3-4 hours at a time. But I’m willing to try different bottles, if you have recommendations!

(SIX) Patrick and I watched Minimalism on Netflix the other night and really enjoyed it! Have you seen the documentary? I liked how it interviews all sorts of people and how they live the “minimalist” lifestyle differently (tiny house, minimalism as a family with 6 kids, etc.).

(SEVEN) After watching it, we decided to try Project 333 (the founder of the program was featured on the movie). It’s basically a form of a capsule wardrobe (33 pieces of clothing for 3 months) and it’s been actually pretty fun. I was only wearing a few things each day anyway due to only wanting to wear certain things postpartum and while nursing a lot. Mostly looser tops with comfy pants. Plus I was inspired by Kelly’s capsule wardrobe post from last week, so I thought why not?! 😀 I pretty much purged all clothes (with the exception of a couple of nice dresses) that aren’t nursing-friendly when I accepted the fact that’d it’d be over a year until I’d get to use them again, so I might as well just own clothes I’m actually comfortable wearing. It’s also getting me out of my default leggings every day. It’s a little challenging as we go from the 80’s one day to a chilly 50 degrees day. Most of the clothing I have picked can be worn on warm days, with the exception of a down vest and couple cardigans, so I’m trying to make it work!

I hope you have a blessed weekend! We are doing some sort of late Valentine’s day date…maybe a trip to the farmers market to cook lunch together or something. Any weekend plans? Did you do anything fun for Valentine’s day this year? We did a night in and watched the Bachelor (ugh, Nick!). Cheers!

Gigi is 2 Months!

Showing off her body at the pediatrician’s office!

Stats: 11 pounds, 13 oz; 21.5 inches long

Likes: Being held, seeing people’s faces up close, smiles, baby talk, nursing (of course!), the Moby wrap when it’s wrapped tightly, going to bed early.

Dislikes: The bottle (Patrick said it just seems to piss her off. lol. I’m seeing lots of lunch breaks at home!) and getting ready for bed. She shrieks for about an hour or so up until we can get her settled then she sleeps like a log (last night she slept from about 7:30pm-1:45pm until she needed to be fed!). Not a huge fan of riding in our double stroller YET, but I am working on this one!

Sizes: 0-3 months are getting a little snug, so I need to wash the next size up. Size one diapers.

Milestones: She rolled over a few weeks ago! So weird. I put her down on the floor on her back and found her on her tummy. Last week I put her down in her bassinet and she immediately slipped over to her side. The ped also said that teeth might be coming in early since she is drooling a lot, which will also hopefully explain all the fussiness at night.

Overall she can be such a sweetheart, but she is so different than Jimpy who seemed to be so easy going all the time. It was so easy to settle him down at night and for naps (or at least we forgot the tough nights! Hehehe). She makes us work for it! 😀 I see a sassy/stubborn little lady in our future!