RaptorMama

It’s my favorite day of the month: goal setting day! First let’s see how we did in March.

1. Staff Development. Y’all. This has been on my list for so long, but I finally finished! And actually got all the paperwork done! My certificate is good for another 5 years! Yay!
2. Butterfly and Caterpillar Quilt. ::sigh:: I finished the binding on Xander’s, but I need to finish the binding on Mia’s. And do the labels. I have 8 days so no big deal. ::eye popping emoji::
3. Smitten Quilt. I didn’t make much progress on this. I didn’t get a single additional block prepped and I only finished 1 block. I’m losing motivation, but I really don’t want to take it all off the wall and pack it away since I’m so close. I have my quilt retreat at the end of the month so maybe I’ll make a decision by then.
4. Scrapbooking. I actually made some progress on this one! I got May 2019, February 2020, February 2022, and all I lack for February 2021 is the calendar. Whoo hoo!
5. Project Life. I actually got 3 layouts done and finished up January 2022. I still need to do February 2022.
6. Backyard Clean Up. Done! <3
7. St. Patrick’s Day. Bit of a mixed bag. I did manage to make a wreath, swap out the Montessori trays, and come up with some goodies for the kids. We did not manage cookies or garland. But there’s always next year! lol.
8. Spring Break Plan. Success! We took day trips to the beach and the zoo!
9. Advent Calendar. More ::shame:: But I did get a stocking ordered for Telsa so maybe that will motivate me to work on the advent calendar.
10. Apron. Done! And it turned out so freaking cute. I managed to add a ruffle and everything!

What else got accomplished… I also played with some resin! I’ve wanted some breast milk jewelry since the twins were babies, but I never pulled the trigger. Well, imagine my delight when I found actually kits on Etsy to make your own! It worked out a thousand times better than expected and RaptorDad was thrilled to have the last 6 year old bag of frozen milk out of the freezer.

So April…

1. Butterfly and Caterpillar Quilts. The twin’s birthday is on the 9th so we are officially in panic mode. I have to finish binding Mia’s quilt, make both labels, and applique the labels on.
2. Party Time. Speaking of the twin’s birthday, I need to plan their birthday party! Actually, RaptorDad saw the panicked look in my eyes last week and basically took care of everything because RaptorDad is awesome like that. But there are still a few things left to plan.
3. Subbing. Y’all. My mom and I decided to go on a photo safari in AFRICA! OMG I am so freaking excited I almost can’t stand it. We’re planing to go in April of 2024 so I’m in full on savings mode. Basically I need to sub for 70 days, plus 2 days a month which go towards our car payment. I figure this translates into basically 7 days a month. So this month’s goal is to sub 7 days.
4. Scrap Gap. Hmm… I’d really like to get June and July of 2019 done. I’m on a wee bit of a roll so I’d like to keep some momentum going. Being basically 3 years behind is a bit appalling.
5. Project Life. Speaking of being behind… ::le sigh:: I’d like to finish February and March 2022. Originally I was hoping to catch up with the Project Life gap before trying to tackle the scrapbook gap, but I’m just going to go with what’s inspiring me which, at the moment, appears to be scrapbooking. lol.
6. Current Scrapbooks. I’d like to finish March 2022 so that I can stay on track. Maybe I’ll try going backwards? So if I finish with March, I’ll work on December of 2021? IDK.
7. Advent Calendar. ::shame:: OK. I really do need to start making some progress on this. What’s reasonable… Maybe to finish the braid and 4 toys? Sound familiar? lol.
8. Quilt Retreat. I am so excited about this! I need to figure out what I want to work on and make sure that everything is prepped. I’m thinking maybe I’ll try to assemble my heart quilt if I can finish the applique? Or maybe I’ll just bring my smitten blocks and play with them? Or Ice Cream Soda? So many choices! 🙂
9. Summer Plans. I want to take a look at the summer schedule and try to see if we want to try to book a day at Hamilton Pool or Jacob’s Well or the like. I also want to figure out something for swim lessons.
10. Daily/ Weekly Summer Schedule. Last year we were a bit more loosey goosey with the schedule, but the year before that (when we were in strict COVID lockdown) we had a very structured morning schedule. I’d like to find a happy mix between the two. Also, I’ve wanted to have a weekly schedule for years (ie Monday is library, Tuesday is messy sensory play, Wednesday is pool, etc). I’ve never managed to make this work, but I have hopes that this is the year! I also want each kid to have a daily checklist that has to be completed before any screen time.

Anyone else feel like February was 2 years long? Just me? :/ le sigh Let’s take a look at how I did this month.

1. Staff Development. Whoops. I mean, I did get 6 hours. Yesterday. lol. 10 to go. It’s crunch time!
2. Valentine’s Day. Well, I never did find my box of Valentine’s Day decorations, but I’m still calling it a success. I made a wreath (first time!) and I was really pleased with it. I’m going to make another one for St. Patrick’s Day!
3. Smitten. I didn’t get 8 blocks done, but I did get 5 blocks done! And I prepped a bunch more. 🙂 In fact, I only have 11 more blocks to go! And only 5 1/2 more to prep. ::I think I can, I think I can, I think I can::
4. Felting. I strung my first garland! I didn’t make any hearts (I need more practice first) but I got a bunch of felt balls and roving. Originally, I had planned to try to felt some shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, but instead I’m going to add some color to some white balls. I think it will make more sense when I’m done. lol.
5. Project Life. Well, I didn’t do squat on Project Life. BUT I finished scrapping March 2019, April 2019, and January 2022. I also got halfway through February 2022. Yay progress!
6. Advent Calendar. I didn’t get 4 toys done, but I did make a ton of progress on the main wall hanging. I finished all of the numbers, and got the numbers and the backing appliquéd on. Only (only???) thing left is to attach the braided trim and finish the toys.
7. Spring Break Plan. Well, I still haven’t figured out a spring break plan, but we did decide to take an epic road trip in the next few years! It’s not going to happen this year because 1. planning, 2. need to save up, but we’re going to rent an RV for a month either (hopefully!) summer 2023 or summer 2024 and take a road trip up to Mt. Rushmore, over the top of the US, and then down through the National Parks on the way to the Grand Canyon. Fingers crossed this actually happens!
8. Ice Cream Soda. I did finish those 2 blocks! I still need to cut more papers though.
9. Butterfly and Caterpillar Quilts. Not only did I prep the binding (lies. My grandmother prepped the binding because she’s a saint.) it’s attached to the quilt and I’m working on hand stitching the backside. I do still need to make the labels.
10. Survive Virtual School. Um, we’re all still alive so I’ll count this as a win. No lie, we were all so happy when it was time to go back to school!

I also refreshed my February Montessori trays and basted my hexagon quilt. 🙂

Now for some March goals.

1. Staff Development. My certificate actually expires on the 31st of March, so it is officially crunch time. On the upside, I only have 10 hours to go.
2. Butterfly and Caterpillar Quilt. The twin’s birthday is in April so they have to be finished this month.
3. Smitten Quilt. I’d like to prep the remaining 5 1/2 blocks and get maybe 5 more blocks done?
4. Scrapbooking. I’d like to finish February 2020, February 2021, and February 2022.
5. Project Life. I’d like to finish January and February of 2022.
6. Backyard Clean Up. We decided to rip out a big chunk of our deck as well as the indoor play room thing that RaptorDad built. So we rented a dumpster and it’s coming on Friday. This is phase one of the house reorg we’re doing this year.
7. St. Patricks Day. I want to make a garland, a wreath, decorate cookies with the kids, and swap out the Montessori trays.
8. Spring Break Plan. Even though we’re not going on an epic road trip this spring break, I still want to come up with some things to make it fun for the kids. Currently I’m thinking maybe a day trip to the beach? Not sure what else…
9. Advent Calendar. I want to finish the braid and 4 toys. (hahahahahaha.)
10. Apron. RaptorDad wants an apron. I’m excited to try my hand at sewing something different!

It finally caught us. We lived in a bubble for almost 2 years, but we relaxed our guard just a teeny bit once the twins were able to get vaccinated. Honestly, we don’t feel awful and I give all the credit for that to the fact that 1. we were able to get vaccinated. 2. we are very lucky. This does mean that we’re back to remote school for the next 10 days and I think I have PTSD from last year. On the (huge) upside, we just found Encanto (which is amazing!!!) so we no longer have to quarantine with Frozen on repeat. lol.

But enough with the serious talk; let’s take a look at the goals from January!

1. Staff Development Hours. Well, I didn’t finish, but I did make some progress! I got 9 hours done this month and I have 16 to go.
2. Declutter. Nope. But our floor is much cleaner now thanks to our newest family member (more on that later.)
3. Walk twice a week. Honestly, I didn’t make much progress with this one.
4. Family Dinner. ::sigh:: I didn’t cook any dinners, but RaptorDad really stepped up and we’ve been doing better about eating as a family.
5. Family meeting. We actually made this happen for 2 weeks! lol. It was actually really useful to sit down and look at the upcoming events for the week. I want to try and do this more.
6. Smitten Quilt. Yes! Finally a goal that I made some progress on! I actually have 14 blocks done now. And I put them up on my design wall with some construction paper stand ins so that I can get an idea of the layout. Spoiler alert: it looks amazing!
7. Scrap. I didn’t get any scrapbook pages done, but I did get 15 (!!!) Project Life layouts done. 2020 is officially done. And I made some decent progress on 2021 in addition to getting my 2022 book set up. Also, I know I ::said:: that I was going to do Project Life monthly instead of weekly, but I changed my mind. lol.
8. Cookie Season. My mom’s are amazing! Mia and Kate’s personal cookies are done and the moms split up the remaining troop cookies to sell. I was so worried about having enough money in the bank before the first council withdrawal, but they were absolute rockstars and we have plenty deposited. Yay! I have a few girls in the troop still selling but I’m no longer worried about it. 🙂
9. Clean Scrap Desk. Nope. Although I did make some progress.
10. Draft New Art Room. Didn’t get this one done either. Oh well. lol.

Now about that new family member… Meet Tesla! No, not the car. We named the car Eleanor. lol.

The kids have been begging for a dog and we finally caved. Tesla is about 6 months old and we got him from the same poodle rescue that we got Ninja at. He came with the name and, despite my best efforts, the kids refused to let me rename him. lol. He’s so much bigger than any dog I’ve ever had! He’s meant to be a mini, but RaptorDad said that his paperwork listed one of his parents as a standard. EEEPPP! Oh well. He is seriously the sweetest and we are all already in love.

February Goals? Yes please!

1. I *have* to finish my staff development hours. Like for real for real.
2. Valentine’s Day. My Valentine’s Day decoration box disappeared! Guess I’ll have to make some new stuff. lol.
3. Smitten Quilt. I’d love to finish 8 more blocks.
4. Felting. Oh my gosh. RaptorDad and I have fallen down the felting rabbit hole. I ordered a bunch of wool balls and I want to felt a bunch of hearts to string up with them. Should be so cute!
5. Project Life. I’d like to finish May 2021 (4) and January 2022 (2). Oh, and maybe a few current spreads from February 2022?
6. Advent Calendar. OK. I found the cutest freaking stocking that I want to make for myself. Oh, and of course now I need to make Tesla a stocking. What does that mean? It means I have to finish the advent calendar! So I’d like to finish the numbers and do 4 more toys by the end of the month.
7. Spring Break Plan. I want to go somewhere!!!
8. Ice Cream Soda. Finish current round (2 blocks) and cut more papers for next round.
9. Butterfly and Caterpillar Quilts. Prep Binding and labels! These 2 are actually AT THE QUILTERS!
10. Survive virtual school.

It’s 2022 y’all! I am mildly OCD and I love even numbers so I feel like this is going to be a good year for me. 🙂 RaptorDad’s brother lives out in the country so got a bunch of fireworks and went over there to hang out in the yard and have some quality cousin time. So much fun!

Let’s check on the December goals and then the 2021 goals…

1. December Daily. I actually ::gasp:: decided not to do December Daily this year. I KNOW! I couldn’t believe it either. But it was feeling more like a burden than anything else and I’m not into making my hobbies feel like a job.
2. Hexie Blocks. I had a massive success with this one! The whole top is together. Now I just have to decide if I want to trim it square or applique it onto border. But I’m content to put it on a shelf for a bit and let it marinate.
3. Day Trip. This one didn’t happen because we all got a cold (negative covid tests thank goodness!) But soon I think. I need to see the ocean!
4. Scrapbooking. I didn’t get anything done. In fact, I’m making some changes for next year. I’m 90% decided that I’m going to do a single hybrid Project Life/ Scrapbook. One Project Life layout a month, ditch the calendar pages, and maybe 2 or 3 scrapbook pages a month, but only if I feel strongly about the pictures. Now that the kids are in school full time, there just aren’t as many pictures.
5. Christmas Cards. Fail. But I did get my thank you notes sent out so that’s something.
6. Advent Calendar. I got exactly 3 toys done. lol. But I am still enjoying it!
7. St. Lucia Buns. Done and they were delicious this year!
8. Activity Advent Calendar. I actually didn’t do great with this one this year. But that’s ok.
9. Downtown Lights. Yes! We did this and it was so much fun. We got a take out pizza from our favorite local pizza place and ate it down by the plaza so we could do some people watching. Then the kids had a blast looking at all of the lights.
10. Cookie Stuff. Done! I actually bought something on Etsy and modified it to work. Soooooo worth the couple of dollars. lol.

Let’s see the 2021 goals…

1. Hexies. Done! I got the center done and I’m super excited. 🙂
2. Butterfly Quilt. Top is done and I’ve decided to have it professionally quilted so now I’m just waiting for the long armer. 🙂
3. Caterpillar Quilt. Ditto! Maybe I’ll actually have these finished by their birthday. 🙂
4. Project Life. Well, I got 2019 done. Still need to finish 2020 and 2021. I got 26 spreads done in 2021, so 1/2 of the year. Both better and worse than I was expecting.
5. Scrapbooks. I didn’t work on 2020 at all. Like, I just looked and I didn’t do a single page. lol. So I’m still 6 months behind there. I did 22 pages from 2021 scattered throughout the year. January is done and February only needs the calendar page.
6. Scrapbook Gap. Well, I am caught up through the end of February 2019 so that’s something? I finished 20 pages from 2018 which closed out that year. And I did 17 pages from 2019. I usually get some scrappy motivation in January/ February so I’ll have to see what I can knock out this month.
7. Advent Calendar. I made some progress, but there’s still loads to be done. Still, I’d really like to wrap this up before next Christmas.
8. Monthly Kid Adventures. I actually switched this up to a monthly state park challenge midway through the year. We didn’t make it to 12, but we did make it to 5! I’d love to keep exploring these. 🙂
9. Monthly Seasonal Celebration. Hmm… I feel like maybe we got 7 out of 12?
10. Homeschool. Well, we survived. lol. And I am getting some distance so that I can remember it fondly. Or at least more fondly. lol.

Other notable achievements include losing 50 pounds! Many more to go. lol.

Hmm… I was trying to decide if I even wanted to do annual goals, but I do like being able to check in at the end of the year so here goes.

1. Monthly Adventure with RaptorDad. We have been taking advantage of the kids being in school to go on some local adventures! Sometimes we do fun Austin bucket list things (Barton Springs and Peter Pan Mini Golf topping the list!) and sometimes we just go try a fun new lunch spot or go for a hike. Either way it’s been so nice to have some time to reconnect and we want to keep it up in the new year. 🙂
2. House Reorganization. This is a big one. We have a 4 bedroom house- master, twin’s room, Kate’s room, art room. Currently the only carpet is in the 3 small bedrooms and it’s super gross builder grade carpet. We also have a crazy indoor “playhouse” that RaptorDad build when Kate was a baby and it’s taking up 1/3 of our living room. The master plan is to put wood floors in the bedrooms which will require everything coming out of the 3 small bedrooms. We’re going to tear out the playhouse as well. (Yay for a massive decluttering opportunity!) Since everything is coming out anyway, we’re going to switch the twin’s room and the art room. We’re also getting the twins big kid beds and new storage. I’m hoping that this can happen in the spring, but we’ll just have to see.
3. Road Trip! I’ve been wanting to take an epic road trip for many years, but the timing has never been right. Now that the kids are all older, I’d really like to plan a road trip for this summer. I’m sure it will not be the 2 month cross country insanity that I’m envisioning, but surely I can manage a week or 2. Maybe we’ll finally make it to the Grand Canyon! Or Mount Rushmore!
4. Past Project Life. Hmm… What seems reasonable… I think I’d like to finish 2020 (8 layouts), and finish 2021 (27 layouts including the front and back pages).
5. Current Project Life. I’d like to attempt to do 1 layout a month.
6. Past Scrapbooks. Ideally, I’d love to finish 2019, 2020, AND 2021. But more realistically, I’d like to cull the list so that I’m only aiming for 4 or 5 layouts a month. Then try to get 2019 done. Just to keep myself organized, I need to do 10 months from 2019, 6 from 2020, and 11 from 2021.
7. Current Scrapbook. As always, I’d love to get back to scrapping in real time. Fingers crossed that the new plan of 1 scrapbook to rule them all will help with this plan. I’m thinking a goal of no more than 4 pages a month? Some months I end up with 20 or more pages and that’s just not reasonable. I seriously do not need 40 scrapbook pages of the same creek at Garey Park. lol.
8. Bucilla Advent Calendar. I for real want to finish this before December this year.
9. Smitten Quilt. I want to finish this one! I think there’s hope. lol. I currently have 7 of 33 blocks done. (27 full blocks and 6 1/2 blocks).
10. Butterfly/ Caterpillar Quilts. I’m hoping to get these back from the quilter and bound/ labeled before the twin’s birthday. 🙂

So January Goals….

1. Staff Development Hours. We are officially down to the wire. My certificate expires in March and I’ve started subbing at the kids’ school so I actually have to renew it. I only need 25 more hours and I’d love to get them done in January so that I have a bit of a buffer.
2. Declutter. I’d love to get rid of 4 more giant trash bags from my office.
3. Walk twice a week. RaptorDad found an outdoor running trail. I’d like to go walk while he runs twice a week.
4. Family Dinner. Covid really did a number on family dinner. Honestly, we haven’t had it regularly since March 2020 and I’d like to change that. I want to sit down with RaptorDad and come up with some simple HEALTHY meals that I can easily make. Maybe shoot for me cooking dinner twice a week?
5. Family meeting. I am hoping to start a habit of a family meeting each Sunday where we go over plans for the upcoming week and fill in our planners. I think this would be a really good habit for Kate especially.
6. Smitten Quilt. I’d like to finish 3 more Smitten blocks. That will bring me up to 10 completed (2 of each color). Then I want to lay them out and prep the next round of 5.
7. Scrap. I want to set up my new book and get January 2022 done. Then maybe focus on Project Life 2020 and just get that done?
8. Cookie Season. Oh dear. It’s go time. lol. Somehow I’m the cookie mom for Mia’s troop. lol.
9. Clean Scrap Desk. I want to get it cleared off and organized.
10. Draft New Art Room. I drafted out the twin’s new room and it was very helpful in decided which furniture would work in there. I want to do the same with the art room so that I can get an idea of what storage will work in there.

Oh boy. This was the world’s longest blog post! lol. I really enjoy setting and reflecting on goals each year/ month. Clearly. Fingers crossed for more blog posts (with pictures!) in the new year.

It’s almost Christmas!!! I feel like Buddy the Elf. lol. I finally caved and start subbing at the kids’ school. lol. They’ve asked several times and I suck at saying no, but it’s actually been pretty fun! I also read a whole series of books that Kate’s been super excited about- and she was right! They are fabulous! All that to say that I didn’t do great on my goals this month, but let’s take a look anyway, just for accountability.

1. Hexie Blocks. Nope.
2. Advent Calendar. Nope.
3. NaNoCraftMo. Nope.
4. December Daily Prep. Nope.
5. Smitten. Nope. BUT I do now have 10 blocks either finished or prepped and I made a conscious decision to stop at this point. I have 2 of each color and I want to see how they all look before I prep any more.
6. Christmas Shopping. I actually came pretty close on this one! We have all of the kid gifts done which is a huge relief. I’ve even already started wrapping!
7. Christmas Cards. I didn’t get any ordered, but I did take pictures. 🙂
8. Thanksgiving Plan. Done! And it was so much fun to get to see our family again this year!
9. Kid Activities. hahahahahaha.
10. Project Life. Nope.

OK. Clearly I need to get it together for December.

1. December Daily. I probably won’t have it finished by the end of the month, but I’d like to have the pictures all edited and printed.
2. Hexie Blocks. One of my big annual goals was to have the hexagon quilt top finished this year. At least up until the point where it’s time to add the border. I think it’s possible!
3. Day Trip? I’m strongly considering taking the kids on a day trip to the beach over Christmas break. Will it actually happen? IDK, lol, but I love the beach so much and we didn’t get to go this summer.
4. Scrapbooking. I’m seriously hoping that working on December Daily will inspire me to get back to scraping. I’m going to put down a goal of 10 old pages and 10 newer pages. There’s no way that this happens, but maybe! lol. Perhaps I should focus on the ghost of Christmas photos past since I’ll have my Christmas stuff out for December Daily…
5. Christmas Cards. I need to get these ordered and shipped.
6. Advent Calendar. I think it’s beyond hope to finish this year, but maybe I can skip ahead and get some of the toys done?
7. St Lucia Buns. We love this tradition!
8. Activity Advent Calendar. This is one of our favorites! And we’ll actually get to go do things this year!
9. Downtown Lights. Our town has the cutest little Christmas lights display. Totally want to take the kids down there one evening.
10. Cookie Stuff. I somehow agreed to be the cookie mom for Mia’s Girl Scout troop. ::sigh:: It’s going to be ok though. lol. I’d like to design some (cute) forms to help me with tracking and the troop with booths.

Hello beautiful people! It’s November! I got a lot of quilting done in October and basically no scrapping. That’s ok though! Let’s see how I did…

1. Hexie Blocks. I did it!!! I can’t believe it, but I have all of the hexie blocks done. Now I just need to sew them all together. lol.
2. Butterfly/ Caterpillar Quilts. Backs are pieced and it’s all packed up at my grandmother’s house awaiting a visit from her friend who is a long-armer. I can’t wait!
3. Project Life. Not a dang thing. lol.
4. Scrapping. Nope.
5. Advent Calendar. I finished the background! I didn’t manage to finish the pockets, but still feels great to be making some progress.
6. Ice Cream Soda. I didn’t get much stitched together, but I did make some progress on prepping round 6. 🙂
7. Halloween Costumes. Done! And so stinking cute. 🙂 Kate is a minecraft youtuber (I don’t know what that means either, but her friends were excited. 🙂 ) and the littles were the pigeon and the bus from “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”. Kate went trick or treating with some friends and we kept the littles home since they’re still not vaxxed (YET!!!) but they had a great time at their school’s Trunk or Treat and Kate brought home enough candy for 10 people. lol.
8. Camping Plan. Camping was a success! We only ended up sleeping in the tent on Friday night, opting to leave at bedtime on Saturday and sleep in our own beds. No regrets!
9. Fall Break Plan. Fall break was a huge success! So much fun at the lake house AND at the quilt retreat!
10. Smitten Quilt. This is so freaking adorable. I’ve already gotten 2 blocks done and 2 more prepped. There are a total of 27 full blocks and 6 half blocks so this feels like pretty great progress.

November Goals! In November my husband usually does NaNoWriMo and I attempt NaNoWriMo which, yes, I just made up. lol. So if all goes to plan, I’ll try to post on Instagram each day with a little crafty update.

1. Hexie Blocks. I’d love to get the 4th quadrant all assembled. I can’t believe the end is near! Well, the end of the epp. lol. I’ll still need to applique on a border and then quilt the dang thing. But still!
2. Advent Calendar. I’d like to get the pockets finished and the first week’s worth of pieces done.
3. NaNoCraftMo. Can I do a daily post? Maybe!
4. December Daily Prep. Enough said. lol.
5. Smitten. Hmm.. Maybe I can prep the remaining block 1 (2 to go) and the block 2 (5 to go)? I’d really love to get this all cut and prepped so I can clear off my sewing desk. lol.
6. Christmas Shopping. I would love to get all of the presents sorted by the end of the month.
7. Christmas Cards. I don’t think we’re doing professional pictures this year, so I’d like to take the kids out and do a little photo shoot and order some cards.
8. Thanksgiving plan. All the baking! I need to make a menu and a plan.
9. Kid Activities. Can we do 4 activities? Maybe!
10. Project Life. Oh my poor neglected Project Life. Maybe 2 weeks is a more reasonable goal?

We made it to October! Woo hoo! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so I’m super pumped. 🙂 First let’s see how I did in September.

1. Hexie Blocks. I thought that my goal of 2 blocks was ambitious, but I actually got 3 done! I only have 2 left to go. 🙂
2. Butterfly/ Caterpillar Quilts. I finished both tops! And I’m going to have them quilted by a long armer. I thought about doing them myself, but my machine quilting is super crappy. Then I thought about hand quilting them, but I really want to give them to the twins before their 30th birthday. lol.
3. Project life. I got 3 weeks of September done, but nothing else.
4. Scrapping. I got 2 weeks of September done and printed pics for the 3rd week. I was just focused on sewing this month and didn’t get a whole lot done on the scrapping front.
5. Windchime Quilt. I finished the 12th block and got it assembled! Then I decided that I wanted to do at least 4 more blocks to make it 4×4. Might even end up doing the full 25 blocks just because I love this pattern so much.
6. Staff Development. I did better than expected! I got more than 24 hours done this month. In fact, I only have 25 more hours to go and I’ve got them all. 🙂
7. Advent Calendar. I didn’t even pull this out… But I have to put in some work on it this month if I want to have any hope of having it finished this year.
8. Ice Cream Soda Quilt. I made a bunch of progress here too! I took my Bee Yourself sampler down off of the design wall and put the Ice Cream Soda blocks up instead. Talk about motivating! I got the joining pieces onto rounds 2 and 3, prepped round 5, and am making good progress on finishing round 5. 🙂
9. Mixed Media. I didn’t get much scraping done, but I did prep another round of backgrounds.
10. Retreat Plan. I’m still kicking around ideas. I’m vaguely considering just taking up my English Paper Piecing and giving up on the idea that I have to bring my sewing machine… I’m also considering trying to machine quilt the Low Volume Log Cabin at the retreat. We’ll see.

Which brings us to October Goals.

1. The final 2 hexie blocks. I think I can actually get these done this month! Then I can work on assembly in November.
2. Butterfly/ Caterpillar Quilts. I had to order more backing fabric, but it finally arrived yesterday! So I need to piece together the 2 backings and then get it to the quilter. 🙂
3. Project Life. Ok. I need to finish September and keep current with October.
4. Scrapping. I’d love to finish September 2021, keep current with October 2021, and at least print the pics for March 2019.
5. Advent Calendar. I’d love to finish the background this month so that I can focus on the pieces that go in to the pockets in November.
6. Ice Cream Soda Quilt. Hmm… I’d like to keep the momentum going on this one. Maybe finish round 5 and get the joining blocks onto rounds 4 and 5? Then I can prep round 6!
7. Halloween Costumes. This should really have been the first goal. lol. I’m not sure if we will let the twins trick or treat, I imagine that will depend on when they are able to get their first vaccine (please soon!!!), but I still need to make them some costumes and figure out some Halloween plans.
8. Camping plan. We are letting the twins join Girl Scouts/ Cub Scouts! It’s taking longer than expected to get the Girl Scout troop up and running, but I think soon. Xander’s already been to his first Cub Scout meeting and he loved it. They are going camping this month and apparently with Cub Scouts that means our whole family has to go camping. lol. Well, the kids are excited even if the adults are a bit unsure. We have a tent, but I need to get us all some real sleeping bags and stuff. Kate has nice camping stuff from Girl Scouts, but the rest of us don’t have a thing.
9. Fall Break Plan. We’re going to a little lake house for a few days with my grandparents and mom and I’m so excited! I want to plan some stuff for the road trip/ maybe plan an adventure while we’re waiting for check in/ plan stuff for the rest of the week while I’m at my QUILT RETREAT! I’m just a teeny bit excited about it.
10. Smitten Quilt. I saved the best for last! I fell in love with the Heather Ross Malibu Smitten Quilt Block of the Month that’s been blowing up my instagram feed and decided that I simply had to do it. The kit is sold out, but I’m not one to let that stop me. lol. I ordered a half yard bundle of Malibu fabric and I’m making my own. 🙂 I’ve been working on cutting out some blocks while I want for my papers to get here from Australia. Hopefully soon because I cannot wait to get started. 🙂

I was feeling a little discouraged because I knew I hadn’t hit my scrappy goals, but I think I had forgotten how much I actually did get done this month! So I’m counting this month as a win. 🙂