Planning for the New Season – November Monthly Goals
Inside: Do you write Monthly Goals? My youngest started school this year. It’s a milestone for me because suddenly, I am at this new season of life plus it is Fall! Here is how I am planning for the new season.
Our little Cuppycake (as we all call her here), will be 4 years old in December. Already, I had kept her home last year because I just didn’t want her to grow up so soon. This year she directly joined KG2. Do you want to know what it feels like when all your babies have left your lap?
It feels lonely.
It is like your heart is out there bare.
I don’t know how other mothers do it but personally, I am not taking it to well. When she sets off for school in the morning, I can’t move for a whole hour because I am not sure what I am supposed to do. There isn’t a little one following me around demanding my attention, you know.
If we had a bad morning… If she was fussy going in the morning, then as soon as she leaves, I’ll hit the bed and hide under the covers with my eyes closed and pillow over my head because I can still hear her cries before she left.
Yes, it is really that bad. Add that to the fact that she was down with a flu, the first few weeks were terrible. We are slowly getting in the groove now. I am hoping to make myself a bit productive while I have the mornings free.
Planning for the new season – November Monthly Goals:
Since November has just begun, I starting this month off with my Monthly Goals. Over the years, writing down what my plans are for the coming month and recapping what I have accomplished from the previous one has helped me keep productive and accountable.
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As my reader, I hope these goals help you see a bit of behind the scenes here. I also wish that through these posts, you can connect with me better. I would love to know if you write goals too.
My goal for Myself: Reduce stress
I have been overwhelmed with home, kids and my work-at-home lifestyle. This year my children’s buses pick them earlier than usual. My son leaves home at 5.40am so that means I have to be up by 4.30am cooking and packing lunch before I wake them up at 5am.
Bedtimes are at 7pm but that is for kids. I am up till 10.30pm mostly or later. I don’t know where life is flying!
I didn’t know how stressed I was until one morning I just couldn’t get out of bed. My head was so dizzy that I couldn’t stand up. My children missed school that day because mom had to go see a doctor. Yes, it was stress. So this month, I have to try to reduce the stress in my life. It is true that I want to get more productive but by doing LESS not more.
Here is my plan- How to do more by doing less:
- Start the day right by planning the night before.
- Switch off the internet at bedtime and while kids are at home.
- Do not check mail till after breakfast .
Kids: What do my kids need from me?
My children, especially the girls have been too dependent on me. I need to teach them to be self reliant. They are 4 and 5years old but behaving like clingy toddlers. Always messy and always needing me for entertainment. I am doing way too much for them. In the past, I have seen how quickly that spirals out of control.
So how can the kids get in control?
I need to get strict about our routines and chores. Over the summer, since we were mostly traveling or away from home, they had gotten off their duties. Now that we are back and I am too distracted to have patience with them to finish the chores, I had been doing everything. Well… I am seeing the results now.
Meal planning: What are we eating this month:
I need to tweak my monthly menu plan. It has gotten boring.
Are your kids bored off your recipes too?
Usually, my kids eat everything but lately, I have heard them say ‘oh no…not again’ a bit too often. Son recommended that we start trying new cuisines. I am all for it because Fall should be all about trying new food. 🙂
Organization and decluttering.
Life in a rented apartment means, you will need to always declutter because small spaces fill up quickly.
The past two moths, we have been arranging and re arranging around the house. Then we realized that ‘organizing will not work unless there is space and everything in its place’. So I am all for making that space these days. We have decluttered the toys and clothes the past month. In November, hubby has promised to help me with the paper work. So, a lot of filing and tearing papers is going to follow.
One healthy change: a shift towards a more organic living.
‘How can you naturally boost your immune system’, Z asked me. Since the weather is changing, we have had lots of sickness in our house. Kids have been sicker than usual and on meds the whole time. It is that time that both Hubby and I wonder how we can stop relying on antibiotics. Will a change in our lifestyle help our kids?
I have been researching on the topic. Hopefully this month, I will write about our progress in this front.
Islamic education at home:
My children go to an Arab-American school. At home, we have an hour of Islamic studies in which, I do the Qaidah Nooraniya with the younger ones while the older one reads a page of the Juz he is on. We also memorize a 5 lines every day. Somedays, they just skip the memorization part if they are too tired. (The day they have swimming classes is tantrum filled)
We also have a weekly hadith that we memorize and discuss in the family. I have wanted to for so long share our Islamic homeschooling curriculum with you all but never got around to it. InshaAllah, I will share.
For now, I’d like to mention here that this month our topics of discussion are:
- At Tawhid (Oneness of God) (Grade 5)
- Ar-Risala (The message) (Grade 5)
- The Rashidoon Khalifahs (Grade 5)
- Surah Fatiha and the four Quls with meaning (Kindergarten)
- Daily adhkars (selected depends on their level)
That’s my plan for the month. Do you plan your month ahead? Are you interested in any topic and want me to go i n detail about? Write to me or leave me a comment below. Don’t forget to subscribe to JeddahMom Newsletter. Thats the best way to stay in touch with me.
Welcome to the Monthly Goals link up! Do you plan your month ahead? Have you anything in particular that your looking forward to this month? Is there anything in your life that needs focus? Kids, family, self… what is your motivation? This blog hop and link up is to help you make new friends and find a partner to stay accountable to. Every month, a group of us get together to write our monthly goals. This helps us stay connected, accountable as well as inspire other moms to know how we do it all.
You are welcome to join us by leaving a comment telling us about your goal. If you are a blogger and interested in joining, leave me a message and we’ll send you an invite! Visit the other participants to seek some inspiration or just give them some support. This month the participating blogs are:
All the best with your goals this month! I know how hard it can be to manage stress but it is so important to do.
Thank you Lorna! Have a great month!