Living with Intention {May}

For me, 2016 will be all about living with intention.

This year, I hope to be more intentional about the choices I make – how I choose to spend my time and making the choice to be more present in the moments I share with my family & friends.

Living a more intentional and purposeful life is a pretty broad statement, so I’ve decided to break things down into smaller goals for each month and, to keep myself on track, I’ve also decided to share my journey here on the blog (because let’s face it, it’s often so much easier to talk yourself out of doing something, than into doing something).
 

 
 

Even through the craziness that is the One Room Challenge, I’m so happy and proud to say that I’ve somehow managed to maintain focus on what’s most important (AKA, spending time with my family), without letting our renovation plans (and all the work that goes with that) completely take over my life.

The balance of it all has most definitely been thrown off because, well let’s face it, gutting and completely re-doing our main bath has been a big job to tackle – taking it on in just six weeks, nearly impossible.

But, with all this work, I’ve actually spent more time with Carson this month than I have in quite a while simply because one of us needs to be keeping him out of the way and occupied while the other is working away on that bathroom. Unfortunately for Brady, so far the work part has fallen mostly on his plate simply because I didn’t have the knowledge to work with the plumbing, electrical, framing or drywalling, nor the desire to learn about it all like he did. So, Brady’s enjoyed teaching himself how to do these amazing things. And in the mean time, C and I have spent countless hours jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, baking, drawing and playing cars.

Of course, all of this has also meant less time together as a family this month. Thankfully, we’ll have two weeks together in Mexico at the end of it all to make up for it!
 

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Here’s a quick recap of my goals for March and how I did following through…

{family}: Enjoy a family movie night all snuggled up with some popcorn together at least twice this month. Go for a family walk, bike ride, swimming, or other activity at least once a week.

As I mentioned earlier, family time was hard to come by this month with our One Room Challenge deadline hanging over our heads. We did however, enjoy a ton of one-on-one time with C (me particularly this month), which was VERY special.

In fact, Carson and I sat down to watch his new favourite movie last week and in addition to the snuggles and hand holding, we also enjoyed a sweet little dance together through the music that played at the end of the movie. He was so cuddly and full of love that my eyes filled with tears as we moved to the music together.

{sigh}

They really do grow up SO fast.

What a great reminder to enjoy as many of those beautiful moments as we can before they’re gone.
 
 

{home}: Stay on track with our ORC project!

We’ve been working away every single minute we can on this darn bathroom, Brady especially. With that six week deadline looming overhead, we certainly haven’t made it through as much of the work as we would have liked by now, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Here’s hoping we can still pull it all off in time.
 
 

{blog}: Share at least one DIY post each week along with my usual ORC weekly updates.

Though it’s taking over our lives lately, thankfully this One Room Challenge makeover hasn’t completely taken over the blog (yet). I’ve managed to share some pretty fun projects each week still, in addition to those weekly ORC updates.
 
 

{myself}: Devote an hour each day to something just for me. Also, make sure Brady does the same.

Hahahaha!

What was I thinking with this one?!

Good intentions, sure. But really, we barely have time to eat with this big renovation at the moment. Hopefully we can work on this one more once we make it through the ORC. That brand new bathtub is already calling my name!
 
 

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For the month of May, here’s what I will be choosing to focus on to help me live with intention:

 

{Family}: Right from the beginning, it’s been important to both Brady and I to sit down for a family dinner each and every evening together. It’s a great chance to check in and reconnect with everyone at the end of our days.

Through this One Room Challenge, it’s sometimes been the only time we all spend together in our day, which has only made that time together that much more special.

Since C was a baby, we’ve also spent the last 1/2 hour or so before bedtime reading stories together as a family. For four years the three of us have crawled into bed together with a pile of books, reading, cuddling and enjoying that time together before our little man drifts off to sleep.

These have always been some of my favourite moments in our day.

But lately (and not just One Room Challenge lately), we’ve been splitting this time between the two of us, turning it into a job, rather than enjoying those special moments for what they are, time together, as a family.

This month, I hope that we can both make the time to lay down with C each night at bedtime, enjoying some books (some of which he is now “reading” to us), cuddles and sharing stories about our day (turns out C’s favourite way to stall bedtime is suddenly remembering all sorts of details about his day that he somehow forgot about at dinner time).
 

Let’s get specific: Make time for family bedtime again.

 
 

{home}: Hmmmmmm…

Have I mentioned that we’ve signed on to take part in the One Room Challenge again this spring (find our last rooms here and here)? This means that we’ve been hard at work making over one room in our home, completely transforming it in just six weeks!

The goal this month will be to push through the chaos and overwhelming to-do lists to get this room done in time.
 

Let’s get specific: Finish that darn bathroom on time!

 
 

{Blog}: Staying afloat was the theme last month as we worked our way through the One Room Challenge. With just two more weeks to go and then a trip to Mexico to look forward to, I’d be so thrilled if I could just keep up with my two-three post per week schedule.
 

Let’s get specific: Continue posting 2-3 times per week as we finish up this bathroom reno and head off to enjoy two weeks down in sunny Mexico.

 
 

{Myself}: There are so many things I can think of that I could bring back into my life, to take better care of myself, so that I can in turn, take better care of my family.

Lately, these warm Spring days have had me thinking of nothing but running. I love the fresh air and exercise of course. But even more, I love the time it gives me to really clear my head – it’s almost meditative to listen to my breathing, hear the birds chirping and the trees rustling in the wind. And for those days that I have company, it really is a brilliant way to get in some exercise and enjoy some great visits with friends.

So, it seems only fitting that I focus some effort on making time to get out for a few runs each week.
 

Let’s get specific: Get out for 2-3 runs each week.

 
 

With our bathroom remodel winding up and a family trip to Mexico to look forward to, this month is shaping up to be a pretty great one! Looking forward to savouring each moment of it all!
 

Did you set any goals for this year? I’d love to hear how things are going!

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
 
 
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