(I wrote this almost two years ago now, I think.)

There comes a time when I feel the urge that we need to buckle down and tighten things up a bit. This may be with general goals that we need to buckle down on and just get back on track. Then there’s the special kind of case where a pregnant woman prepares for her newborn by ensuring that her older kids are gently nudged along to becoming more prepared for their pending status promotion to big brother or sister.

So as it goes…

There comes a time when a pregnant woman gets shit together. Maybe this is a form of nesting? haha

On a serious note, this is definitely a form of nesting for me. Just as we prepare the physical things, like furniture, clothes, and diapers, we also prepare each person in our ʻohana as we prepare to welcome a newborn. In this season, as we were preparing for pēpē #4’s arrival, summer break was approaching I remember thinking about how the timing will be great to make sure that we are very mākaukau–for pē’s arrival and as my older keiki were transitioning to papa mālaaʻo (kindergarten) and second-year (first full-year) of preschool.

After yeeeeaaaars of looking at other examples on pinterest and the like, I FINALLY got to it and made this “mālama i kou kuleana” (kinda like “chore”) chart.

I made this based on what I thought would work for my keiki: age appropriate, using their pictures, using stickers, and including chores that would benefit us as an ʻohana as a whole. Over time, they got the hang of it and didn’t need to go through the physical steps of putting each item on the chart after completing a task. But then again, there have also fell back into more lazy-like habits of not mālama-ing their kuleana. I think it’s time to reinforce this chart again, but probably an updated version.

The chart is set up so that each keiki completes the task in preparation for school in the morning, and tasks to be done at night before bed. After completing a task, that square is velcroed to the board.

For the next version, I am thinking of creating a rewards chart so that they can earn a sticker if these tasks are completed as they should be. After earning so many stickers, then I am thinking of rewarding them with fun activities or a treat.

How do you prepare for baby? What chores/tasks are your keiki doing?

Can you believe it?!  It is the year 2020.  Wow.  Feels like it’s a Jetson-like surreal parallel universe year that we’re living in.  At the same time, this year feels right.  It feels like great things are to come this year.  This year will be special.

Although there seems to be a universal renewed sense of energy to set goals, resolutions, and to re-commit to all good things at the start of the new year, I think there are additional factors that have played into my heightened sense of renewal at this start of this special 2020 year.  After my Tūtū’s passing at the end of 2019, my world has been forever changed.  Also, my babies are now a bit older now where I feel my brain fog is clearing up even more and Māmā is that much further in getting back her groove.  But it’s a new groove.  An updated groove.

I plan to share my updated goals and dreams in further detail.  But for now, one thing that I am putting more of an effort towards this year is this blog.  If you’ve followed along on this journey for some time now, you likely have seen multiple ebbs and flows, multiple posts, about me trying to figure out how to squeeze more out of the 24 hours in a day.  Similarly, I am re-committing to regularly posting here.  However, unlike before, I have just come to accept that while I like routines and would like to be able to say that I will be posting once a week, that is not likely realistic for me.  Instead, I will aim to post once a week, but some weeks may be more and some may be less.

I hope you will continue on this journey with me and share your story.  If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to my blog by entering your email address in the box on the top right column.

What are your goals this year?

Time seems to keep passing me by, falling like sand through my fingers. With a new year upon us, I feel myself reflecting and re-evaluating with a renewed sense of enthusiasm to reclaim my time, my body, my space, but most of all, my time.

I am typically drawn to processes. How things come to be. Procedures. Relationships. Perhaps this is the advocate in me wanting to ensure fairness and justice. Similarly, I am fascinated in the method in which to go about setting goals, accomplishing goals, and productivitiy as a whole. The defining moment of becoming a mother threw me off the charts into a different algorithm with different indicators for success.

More to the point, here we are again. Months have passed since my last posts. I still long to post more, have more time to do things I want to do, more time for work that I need to do.

My Tūtū passed at the end of last year. No words can fully express how thankful I am to have had so much time with her. Lots more on her to come. But for now, I’ve been doing more reflecting than any other year, I think.

Reflecting can be difficult at times. What I did. What I didn’t do. But reflecting can also be uplifting. Thinking back, it’s easier to remember the fun and joyful times, isn’t it? The dips and lows seem to fade away.

As I continue reflecting and identifying my 2020 (and beyond) goals, there are two things that I have decided on (for now at least):

1) my word for 2020 is: be.

Be.

Just be.

Be me. Be all of me. Be truly me. Be present.

Be.

2) I will focus more on a short-term, likely monthly, basis in identifying smaller goals that will build up to bigger goals. I will focus more on smaller goals and track my progress consistently.

What are your goals? How do you identify goals?