Goals of 2013

So, we are getting a late start on our goals of the year, but hey....I have three kids under the age of four.  Making the list in itself is a completed goal.  

Last year was the first time in my life that I ever made a new years resolution.  It was simple.  Visit my 91 year-old grandmother once a month.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Well, living an hour and 15 minutes away was the first challenge, along with the cost of gas increasing ALL THE TIME.  Let me remind you....at the time, we were a family of 4 on a graduate student stipend.  UGH!  Now we are 5!  YIKES!  Anyway, I was successful in visiting her monthly until early September.  After that, I was expecting our 3rd baby at the end of  October, and I remained close to home until he was born.  She only had to come to me one time, then we saw each other over the holidays.  So, in the end, I did manage to see my grandma at least once a month the entire year, whether I went to her or she came to me.  I think my first time at a resolution was a success.  So this year, I am broadening the idea of resolutions to family goals for the year.  For my husband and I, there will be different categories, and for the kids, theirs will be selected for them, and very simple and realistic.  The kiddo's goals will also involve, for some, more effort on my end than theirs, but it is still their goal.  

So here it is folks.  Our family goals..  I have this hanging in the kitchen as a constant reminder of what we would like to achieve individually and as a family in the year of 2013.  

Brian’s Goals

Professional: Start & Complete Thesis

Find a Post Doc/Job

Personal: Get back in shape

Dana’s Goals

Professional: Start and Maintain a blog

Personal: Zumba -3 times a week

Take Yoga Classes

Parenting: Exclusive cloth diapering

Exclusive homemade baby food

Work on cooking

Gentle Discipline

Landen’s Goals

Start Preschool

Learn to write name with out help

Nolan’s Goals

Be potty trained by Christmas

Work on alphabet & numbers

Gavin’s Goals

Breastfeed for a year

What are your goals or resolutions of the year?

"Crunchy" Revolution

Here we go.....my first post!

Blogging is something that has appealed to me for quite some time, but I simply couldn't come up with an idea to blog about.  It was something on my mind regularly.  You would think I have enough inspiration within my home.  I have three growing boys under 4.  My husband is wrapping up his Ph.D. in nuclear physics.  I stay at home with the kiddos, and spend WAY to much time on the internet "pinning", shopping, reading blogs and using Facebook.   Finally last week, it came to me.  In the past year, our family has been slowly evolving towards a more natural, eco-friendly lifestyle, sometimes referred as a "crunchy" lifestyle.    It is something that is certainly a work in progress.  I love calling it "crunchy".  The term "crunchy" recently came to me while reading a blog post on The Leaky Boob .  She describes herself towards the middle of the post as a certain level of "crunchy", which is exactly what we are.  We aren't full blown "granola crunchers".  We are our own variation of one.

Pinterest has played a major role in our "crunchy" revolution.  I have learned about making my own household cleaning products, including laundry detergent, window cleaner, soap scum remover, etc..  I have discovered various inexpensive products that I can use in my daily hygiene routine that are simply found in the grocery store aisles.  My most recent favorite is coconut oil!  In the past year, I also began cloth diapering our 2 year old.  It hasn't been easy, but it is worth it, and the diapers are so cute!  Pinterest has helped me through the challenges with tips and tricks on maintaining the diapers.  Needless to say...THANK YOU PINTEREST!

The food we eat in our home has been changing along the way as well.  The quality of meats and vegetables in the local grocery stores and big box stores is not good.  At the same time, we can not afford to go 100% organic on a graduate student stipend with a family of 5.  So, we have made some alterations to the things we buy, and how we prepare our foods along with a few important organic items.  A perfect example, we buy organic root vegetables.  Root vegetables tend to suck up more pesticides and toxins than other fruits and veggies.  

So, this is just the beginning or our "crunchy" revolution.  I look forward to discussing in more depth about the changes we are making in our home as well as sharing with you stories about my day to day adventures as a stay at home momma to 3 boys.  Here we go!

Momma B

The Leaky Boob:
Breastfeeding = Breastfeeding