2006 in review and goals for the future
As we approach New Year's Eve and the start of 2007, I can't help but reflect on the past year and the changes our family has seen and things we have done. Of course, the biggest change in our lives occurred when I got pregnant back in February and then Julian joined our family in November. :)
I did a lot of soul-searching and research before deciding mid-pregnancy to switch from a traditional OB-attended hospital birth to a midwife-attended home birth. It's a decision that really changed my life in a lot of ways (those of you who read my birth story know why) and I'm so thankful that I made that choice. One of these days I hope to write more about home birth and why it was such an amazing experience for me.
We took three trips this past year - one to Oklahoma and Kansas to see my in-laws, one to California in May and the other to Michigan to see my family in August, and we had a visit from my parents in both June and December.
I made some good progress with my photography business, building up my portfolio and gaining experience.
The company Jody works for was acquired by Google, which was a positive move for the company and Jody personally.
And Ava celebrated her second birthday in June with a Sesame Street-themed party at a park.
At the end of 2005, I wrote a blog entry with my goals for 2006, which were:
* Become more aware about the food and drinks I ingest and feed to my family. - to include researching vegetarianism and veganism and learning about the impact of current farming and food production in this country on the animals and environment so that I can make informed dietary decisionsI feel like I've accomplished most of those or at least worked on them to some degree. The one I feel I didn't do as much on as I would've liked is the first one. While we do try to eat organic whenever we can afford it, my choice to go vegetarian didn't last long. I don't know if complete vegetarianism will work best for our family, but I would like to see us decrease our meat consumption in the coming year.
* Research voluntary simplicity
* Take a photography course and LEARN, LEARN, LEARN
* Continue portfolio building and practicing for my photography business
* Be mindful that all of my words and actions have consequences
* Focus on healing and acceptance (with regard to being an adult child of an alcoholic) - to include reading some of Claudia Black's books on the subject
So here are my new goals for 2007 (in no particular order):
* Continue to be aware of the foods we eat and decrease meat consumptionI think that's all for now. Of course, I also have goals for things that need to be fixed around the house with the ultimate goal of finding a new home to move to in the next year or two, but I'm not including those things in my list.
* Continue to declutter and organize our house a la FlyLady (working towards voluntary simplicity)
* Return to photography (semi-professionally) at some point - I'm currently taking a break since having Julian.
* Be mindful of my patience, as well as practicing gentle discipline and empathic parenting
* Continue to be mindful that all of my words and actions have consequences, especially with regard to my husband, Ava and my sister
I would like to add that my Christmas cards finally arrived on the 28th and were mailed out the same day. (I sent Jody out to the post office in the snow. How horrible am I?) I wasn't thrilled with how they turned out, but oh well! After all of that waiting, they were being sent no matter how they looked. :oP
Thankfully, we only got about 4 or 5 additional inches of snow on Thursday. The piles from the plowing (hooray, our street finally got plowed) are gigantic. Jody was able to work from home both Thursday and Friday, so that was nice. Ava and I did some crafts together on Friday. I'll post pics another time.
No special New Year's plans for us this year. We were invited to a party, but since Julian is still such a newbie and this is major flu and RSV season, have decided to stay at home. I'm still trying to come up with something fun we can do tomorrow night as a family. Any ideas?
Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year! :) Cheers!
posted by Crunchy Domestic Goddess @ 2:02 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
I was going to comment, but have decided to email you ;).
I didn't realize you switched to a homebirth plan during your pregnancy - that must have taken a lot of strength. My first was a hospital birth, but after he was born I started going to LLL meetings and heard of the wonderful midwives I'm using this time around. (My OB's were great, and pretty crunchy, but they've both left the state :( )
That's great you managed to stick to so many of your plans. I'm glad to hear someone else speak of being mindful of the impact our words and actions have on others. It's just so true and so important,and so darn hard to remember in the heat of the moment when I'm all tired and frazzled. One of my favorite empathic discipline techniques is to remember (in the words of a friend) "connection trumps everything." So even if I'm struggling, I try to remember that kids sense connection and intent. Not always easy, though...
By the way, that friend lives out your way. Here's her website if you're interested, although I wouldn't be surprised if you know her:
http://www.empathic-discipline.com/
I hope the snow lets up for you soon :)
Neat post. We'll probably play games and/or watch a movie and eat snacks tonight. I doubt we'll be staying up late. :)
Annie - Thanks for the email. I will get back to you soon.
Liesl - I'm very excited for you and your upcoming home birth. :)
Thanks for giving me your friend's website. Wow! She has a ton of good info on there. I will have to spend some time reading all of the articles, etc.
I don't know her, but her name sounds familiar. Actually, after checking out her site, I emailed my local API chaper leaders to tell them about her to see if they might want her to speak at one of our future meetings, so maybe I will meet her one of these days. :)
You are so right in that it's not always easy to be mindful of one's words and actions. It's something I struggle with a lot.
PK - Sounds like a fun night. :)
Happy New Year Amy and family :)
I got your cards and love them, they are so cute! Elliana said "awww thats a cute baby" when I showed her ;) Can't argue with a 2yr old ya know!
I'd love to read your birth story, I forgot to email and ask for it ;)
It's a very good thing to reflect upon the previous year and set goals and intentions for the new year. I enjoyed reading yours, esp. being mindful of your words and actions -- mine are similar in that regard. I'm going to post my 2006 reflections and 2007 intentions later today. :)
Happy New Year to you and your sweet family! I'm so impressed that you've posted so often after Julian's birth. YOU GO GIRL! I can't even find the energy to do a post a week. Argh!
Keep them up, as I'm always poking in to see what's up with you.
Kisses and Hugs to all,
Leigh
Happy new year!!
Dawn - Thank you. :) Sent ya my birth story.
Amy - Will chk yours out soon.
Leigh - I've been able to post a lot because Jody has had a lot of time off work and has been here to help w/ the kiddos, which was wonderful. :) Now that he's back to work, I won't be online nearly as much.
Penny - Thanks!
Happy New Year!!! :)
I'm glad that information was useful, Amy :)
She always impresses me because she's a great mix of AP/gentle discipline philosophy and everyday common sense. She owns an AP discipline Yahoo group and is a member of another Yahoo AP-based parenting group. If you'd like the links to either or both of those, lemme know.
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