Summer Goals, Revised Yet Again

Summer Goals 2007, a last look:
Updated in BOLD.

o Read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons - really, I've spent so much time reading Harry Potter 6 & 7, and I have the Orff book to read. See Orff book explanation below.

o Create recorder method packet w/ Bob - Actually done, just needs formatted. All the content we hashed out a while ago. Who knows when we'll have time to format it, but the clip art is downloaded, and I don't need it till January anyway. But hey, we did it (mostly!)

o Prep September lesson plans - still needs done. Next week. At night. When Maddie's asleep. Cause no minute of Maddie time is being lost to school.

o Read Discovering Orff and create Orff unit for each grade level - Read part 1, enjoyed the history and theory of Orff. Thought, "Ok, on to part 2, application of the curriculum and sample lesson plans I can revise and use on my own!" Um, no. The author rambled for pages about this and that, and listed a very vague curriculum with musical examples. So she was simultaneously over detailed and under detailed. Plan to google instead.

o Paint bedroom furniture white - we decided it wasn't work the time or money. Or paint fumes.

o Get/Stay caught up withWhat to Expect The First Year Funny thing. I actually grew out of that book. I mean, I'll check it for milestones and whatnot, as a novelty kind of thing, but I grew seriously tired of the preachy tone, the hyperchondriac authors (headed by super-mommy Heidi Murkoff and backed by nobody with an M. D. after their name...hmmmm), and the paranoid, fake parents posing fake questions like, "Is there something wrong with my baby because she doesn't have hair yet?" I found that the authors really over or under-shot the developmental stuff, and most people I've talked to agree with me wholeheartedly on this - she wants you to explain to your 9 month-old why she shouldn't intentionally spill milk (because it makes a mess and wastes the milk), and then have them help you clean it up. I say that's fine, for a 5 year old. Thats' where we differ. And that's the tip of the iceberg. So I'm done with her. I will not be purchasing The Toddler Years. (Please understand that in most mommy circles I know, this is as good as announcing that you're going to sing your child to sleep with AC/DC lyrics and put Kool Aid in their bottle. This is THE book nowadays. This is mommy-school. But I believe I just graduated.) It also comes down to finally learning to trust myself a good bit, and every mommy develops that ability at different times. Or never. But still, Heidi Murkoff can bite me.

o Organize/Put away Maddie’s clothes - Done, and she needs some! I've been spoiled by all the clothes we got as gifts, we barely have any 9-12 month clothes here! Must hit Target hard, but first we're going to wear the 6-9 monthers for all they're worth, till she busts the snaps. Thankfully, my Dad came last week and wanted to know what the girl needed - She needs 9 month sized clothes for fall, like Barbie needs to eat a whole pizza. So clothes she got. Maddie, not Barbie Gotta love Target. At $4 a piece, she got 3 tops and 3 bottoms, all of them matching each other, so 9 potential new outfits! Those plus PJ's, dipper spoons, rice puffs, and a dressy outfit with stretchy corduroys for crawling, for about $40. Thank you Granddad!

o Set up Maddie’s play area better (to actually be used) - Done, although we don't use it a whole lot anyway. We usually don't hang out downstairs until after she's in bed, unless it's brutally hot. She's getting better at independent play every day - and getting more mobile. THAT'S when that gated-off area will be more useful, when we need to contain her crawliness! Well, she's crawling now! It IS useful, although she went from immobile to pulling up on stuff in about a week and a half, and the gate is a bit rickety to be used as a ladder for her crawliness. But OH it's so fun to crawl around and play with her in there. So yes, we use it more now. She actually plays well in there by herself, too, until she starts scaling the afore-mentioned gate.

o Hang the quilt Aunt Collete made on the wall in Maddie’s play area - Done, thanks to Bobby.

o Wash curtains in all rooms - ick, it's time. Done, thanks to my relatives coming to visit and necessitating a good gray curtain washing - hey, we actually have white curtains! Who knew!?

o Research allergens for babies and create month by month chart to turn over to all babysitters - "No, it's not ok for her to try a bite of your peanut butter cookie yet" - Done!

o Have college friends for a visit? Looking unlikely, with work schedules.

o Go to the shore and do boardwalk things w/ the family - Done, and it was a lovely night. The picture strip from the evening is displayed at the side of my lovely blog here.

o Order pictures from Winkflash - get caught up! - Done!

o Get/Stay caught up with baby book - almost done, but I need pictures! (Hence the above task of ordering pictures from winkflash. - Done!

o Update scrapbooks - Done for now. I have to make a few more pages to cover months 10-12. But not anytime soon.

o Create 2003-2006 family photo albums on Winkflash - Did 2003 as a test, to see if we liked it. We'll probably do one a month from now on, till we're done. Plus Maddie books for the grandparents for Christmas. Highly recommend them, btw, completely professional looking, and $25, including shipping.

o Have family picture taken professionally (JC Penny?) Well, we were going to do that yesterday, but with all the $ we've been shelling out this summer, we decided to wait till next month. We have an appointment for September 15th, I believe. Just want a nice family shot, nothing fancy, plus a few cute ones of the girl. Since we have NO pictures of her AT ALL.Only 1, 944 at the moment. Amateur shots, that is.

So at least right now, the count stands as follows:

10 Goals Accomplished
2 Goals Pending
5 Goals abandoned out of necessity or personal mental awakening

Not too damn bad.