Update on Goals for 2005

I want to review my goals for this year and get my butt into gear on the goals I've been slack with so far....

• learn about and create a vegie patch that won't die within a week

-> I haven't started on this yet though I think about it a lot. New idea: Write these goals and stick them on the door near the computer so I will be motivated to at least get to the planning stage. I will consult my mother on the best time of year to begin this project as we will soon be heading into cool weather and this might be best left until the second half of the year.

• build a sandpit for the kids

-> Mum has offered some treated pine logs but I'm not sure they are suitable as they are round. I think rectangular planks would be better. I do have a large shade sail that can provide shade over the sandpit when it's built. But basically - it isn't done yet! ;-)

• put up the 5m triangular shade sail so it makes the backyard look cool

-> see previous goal - got it - isn't put up yet (though we did buy the attachments a week ago).

• get a new car so the kids and I can get out and about whenever the urge strikes - looks like we may have a Kia Carnival this week! It is a 2004 model with 18,000km on it, a tow-bar and tinted windows. Why pay for a brand-spanker when you can pay $2,500 less for a same-year model with about $1000 worth of extras!

-> GOT IT! Yes, the exact car we wanted with the extras...and paid $4000 less than new! Gotta be happy with that! We've had it for a bit over 2 weeks. Having our own car allows so much freedom for the kids and I during the week. However, the baby still dictates much of what we do and when.

• go to the Animatronics exhibition and Science Centre at the QLD Museum

-> Haven't been yet but it is on until next month. DH has two four-day weekends coming up so we will probably go on one of those days.

• go for a walk at least once a week

-> All I can say to this one is...HAH! What was I thinking? I do plenty of walking around shops though! :-) I also think I get more exercise during the night that during the day with getting up to put the baby's dummy back in. She is good in that she will go to early hours before demanding a feed, but I still have to get up several times a night. I can't wait for the day that Little Chicken sleeps right through without a peep....oh, I can dream....

• build a new kitchen - if we get the full $$$ (see car) we are putting one in!

-> We've had one quote and have been looking around at appliances etc. There are so many options. We will get a few more quotes and figure out whether we want someone else to build it or buy the flat-packs and do it ourselves. Too many decisions!

• take a family camping holiday

-> This looked like it was on the back-burner until the second half of the year but I have talked DH into taking 2 weeks holidays in May so we can head up to Hervey Bay where (hopefully) it won't be too cold for camping at that time of year. I can't wait! I think I need the time to detox from the computer and just be able to stroll up the beach each morning. Ahhhhh.....

• join other homeschooling families on a camping holiday (happening in May!)

-> This one is a 'no-go' because we discovered that it is 4WD access only to the camping ground and we don't want to risk anything happening to our beautiful new car trying to get there. I do think there may be an opportunity or two for an overnight camp-out with other home learners during the year through our weekly group.

• create a budget and stick to it - especially with the extra loan coming

-> Haven't created the budget yet because we are still in the middle of sorting out some financial details...it is still on the list of things to do though and I'll probably get to it in the next couple of weeks.

• read to the kids every day - especially some classic novels

-> I'm always hopeless at this and it is probably my MAIN goal. I did try to start reading Charlotte's Web with them but THEY weren't interested..."No thanks mum". We did recently get The Wind in The Willows book and DVD through the Scholastic Book Club and I think this may be a good starting point. We HAVE been reading, but I really want to share some great stories with them.

• read more good fiction (for myself - I read mostly non-fiction)

-> Still reading a lot of non-fiction at the moment, especially some natural learning/unschooling books that I bought recently, and some 'how-to' books on sketching techniques, etc.

• stay up late one night with the kids and look at the night sky
• get up early one morning with the kids and watch the sun rise

-> Camping will be a great opportunity to do this! I can't wait!

• start sketching regularly - heck, make it EVERY DAY!

-> I am happy how I started out with this (see the My Creative Side blog - link is in the side bar), though I have slacked right off for the last three weeks. I do feel I am being creative through the postcard hobby so I'm not too worried. The key is to keep my sketchbooks and pencils accessible so that when the urge strikes I can sketch away to my heart's delight.

• blog what the children are doing everyday - perhaps make it a separate blog?

-> Learning Land (see link in side bar) was created for this purpose and I certainly don't update it daily (it would probably be too boring if I did), but I am continuing to blog here and there about what the kids have been doing. It doesn't cover everything because there is so much going on all the time, but it gives an idea of how much learning happens in our day-to-day living.

Well, I've managed to type this with a grumpy baby on my lap and now that I've put her down for a sleep she is still being grumpy so I had better go.

BTW, I find it amusing that the spell-checker doesn't register the word 'blog'!