Goals for July

So yesterday I shared how I did on my Goals for June. You can read my update on how I did on those here.

Today we are going to take a look at my Goals for July!

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

This should probably also say, "Give up coffee" or "Limit myself to one cup of coffee a day", but hush. There is no need to be so cruel. Let's not go there just yet. Baby steps, baby steps. More water it is!

2. Be in bed before 11 and be up before the kids in the morning.

Sleep is good for you. So I should probably get more than the 6 hours I've been averaging since Addie started sleeping through the night (before that, it was even less). Ideally, I'd like to be reading in bed by 10 with lights out by 10:30 (apparently the hours of sleep before midnight count for double) and up by 6 in the morning. But I'm also realistic enough to know that it may not always be possible. With it staying light out so late this time of year the kids are often up much later than during the rest of the year, so once they do go down it's nice to get some alone time to relax and chat with my hubby! I don't want to miss out on that, but I will do my best to find some balance.

3. Go camping.

Want to know how much camping equipment we own? Zip. Zero. Nothing. Nada. So this one will be an interesting one to accomplish this month! If you're local, look out. We'll probably be asking to borrow your camping equipment soon. You've been duly warned. 

4. Spend some time each day playing with the kids.

I stay home with my kids so you would think this wouldn't need to be a stated goal and would probably just happen naturally, and often it does. But the reality is that I'm usually very busy all day and it's easy for the day to go by without me stopping everything to just lighten up and play with them for a bit. I'm not a naturally playful person (thank God they have their super fun daddy), but it's an area I want to grow in.  I'm always around as they play and included occasionally, but it's too easy to be only partially checked-in while multi-tasking doing other things. I need to lay aside my love for marking things off my checklist, and just play for a while. I think I need to play with them as much as they need me to play with them. 

5. Get the kids in the pool every day we can. 

My son is a very cautious kid and has had a fear of swimming for quite a while. He's always been content to just sit on the side. Now that we have a pool, I would like the kids to learn to swim as soon as possible. The first step of that is just getting them used to the water and having some fun. I already started this with them and in just one week of getting them in the water almost every day, they have both really relaxed and actually enjoy and look forward it. I want to keep this up! Plus, I think I'm part fish, so I love being in the water anyway. Win win!

6. Run 3 times a week using the Couch to 5k Program.

I wish I was more excited about this one. This will take sheer willpower. I am not excited about it at all (which makes me fear it doesn't bode well for this one). Before I got pregnant with Addilyn I would run 5k's almost every morning like a boss and I loved and enjoyed it. Guys. I tried just running around our little neighbourhood a few mornings this past week, and it did not feel awesome. I always thought this photo was hilarious, but it isn't even accurate because right now when I run I 100% feel like the bottom photo. BUT you just have to press past the jiggles and the leg burning and get 'er done. I want to fall in love with running again. There's no way to do it but to start. So here we go!

7. Read 2 books.

For the past three years I've tried to read anywhere between 25-35 books a year. This year I'm just aiming for 20. I've got to get at it! If you have any recommendations, I'm all ears if you'd like to share your favourites in the comments below. I try to vary genres as much as I can handle.

8. Date my husband

For a variety of reasons since having kiddos, this has not been our strong point. We have found it really hard to make dates happen regularly, but when they do it's always wonderful. We are so thankful for many sweet family members who bless us by babysitting for us. Going on dates is something we definitely know we need and have been trying to make more of a priority. I can easily say this is the goal I'm looking forward to the most for this month. My husband surprised me with tickets to a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival tomorrow night so it looks like we will be off to a good start in this area this month!

9. Finish the Judges Bible Study

I managed to complete 6 weeks of the 11 week study in the month of June so I think it's attainable to finish the last 5 weeks this month. I am so passionate about sharing Jen Wilkin's studies with any one I can. It's not because she is the be all end all of Bible studying, but that she challenges women to love God with our minds. She gets you to do the hard work of digging into the Word for yourself in the workbook - even the difficult passages - and think. It's not about her, and I love that. If you want, check out her Bible studies here. The audio and work books are online completely FREE! It's great listening to her teaching talks, but it will be so minuscule in comparison to the richness of listening after you've done the workbook work for yourself. So please don't skip that part! 


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So those are a few of my goals for this month! What do you have in mind to accomplish this month? What are some habits you'd like to work on developing or some tasks you've been putting off for too long? I would love to hear in the comments below.