Goodbye May, Hello June

Somehow it’s been two weeks since I last posted - I started a couple of blog posts during that time, but got distracted, got busy, and then didn't finish them. Oops. Any other bloggers struggle with this?

The rest of May was a bit of a mixed bag. When I got home I was on a high, it was great to see the family, the weather was lovely, and work seemed manageable. Then O got sick, including fever and vomiting, work got stressful (a couple of unbloggable issues), the rain set in, Al had to work extra, I got PMS, and life didn't seem so fun! BOOO.

Having said that, we did have a nice weekend for the last weekend of May. Al was working, and O was sick on Saturday (the end of his virus), so we stayed at home. But on Sunday I took the kids to a lovely park and plaground, and they played together really well, quite independently while I lay on the picnic blanket in the sun. I felt like we've definitely reached a new milestone in parenting. The only duties I had was to push the swing for O when required and hand out the snacks and water. Then my parents came over later in the afternoon for a roast dinner, because I'd found a leg of pork on sale at our local supermarket the day before! It was a really nice evening, and a nice end to May.

They actually don’t look thrilled but I promise they were having fun!

Now it’s a new week, and a new month! June has started well, with everyone healthy again, beautiful weather, work stuff slowly resolving, and some things to look forward to this month as well. I've also made an effort to go for a daily walk and do some social catch ups regularly too, as these things were missing last week and I think it made everything worse!

Things I'm looking forward to in June:

• Our close friend's son has his confirmation this Friday, and we are going back to their house for Pizza afterwards. Its always fun catching up with these friends!

• I have a 'shouldless day' next Friday. (Its a work holiday for me but not Al or the kids). Thinking of maybe booking a massage, as well as my usual fave things - visiting a cafe, doing some writing, and some reading, and going for a long walk.

• Al and I are spending the weekend in Brisbane next weekend! We are joining my sister and brother in law, as well as some friends, at the horse races (a Table has been booked near the finish line). I used to go to the races quite often in my 20s, but haven't for probably 15 years! I'm not really a fan of the racing industry in general (animal welfare, gambling), but this is a rare opportunity dress up during the day and have a fun, social day with family and friends. So we are embracing it. It will also be fun to have some quality couples time - we've done some 'double dates' and social activities so far this year, but not very much alone time just the two of us.

• E's 9th birthday! Haven't planned anything for that yet - need to organise a friend's party and family catch up.

• Late June = end of school term and start of a two week break for the kids. How did that sneak up so fast?

Other goals and habits I want to achieve in June:

• Keep writing my novel 4 x per week. I've been good so far. Even on days I don't feel remotely inspired I at least write a little bit, even if its brainstorming what's going to happen in the story, and planning out a scene I'll write the following day.

• Find a new GP. My regular GP left the area last year sadly, and I haven't had a regular doctor since. I need to organise a few check ups, blood test, etc, and I want to find someone I like.

• Walk every day. We are now in our sunny, mild, weather season, perfect for walking. I would add strength training in but I know its a busy month so I won't put any pressure on myself. If I feel like trying something out I will, but if not, I'll leave it until July.

• Reading. I have a good fiction novel (a crime novel called Dead Tide) and two good non-fiction (The New PeriMenopause and Free Range Kids) borrowed from the library, and I'm really enjoying regular reading again after a bit of a "dry" spell. So I want to keep this up.

• Do regular planning. I have a new planner to start from July, an Erin Condren Weekly Dashboard Layout, it’s recently arrived and gee its pretty. Its getting me excited to really get my planning rhythms in place. I do regularly plan as it is, but it can be a bit more haphazard, and everything is just a bit smoother when I plan well.

  

  how pretty is my new planner

• Go in early to work two days per week. Al takes the kids to school two days, so those are days I can leave early without any issue. This could give me two extra productive hours per week in the office, which is ideal because I do two kid pick ups per week, which disrupts those days. The kids really love me picking them up from school and I like to be part of the school community that way, so I don't want to stop, but having a couple of early starts will help offset that disruption.

On a walk during my lunch break. See how walking daily should be easy in June?

So that's how my June is shaping up.

Happy June all. Anyone got any special plans or goals coming up?