May: New Goal and a Caleb Update

May has arrived (though I'm still not quite sure how we are nearly halfway through the year already) so I guess I ought to set a goal for this month...

To recap, in January my goal was routine. Specifically, to take time in the morning to eat breakfast, exercise, shower, dress for the day and have a quiet time This has been a little sporadic with all the moving, but I'm finding my groove again : ) Though things like exercise have moved to the evening as David and I are taking our daily walk or gardening almost every day.

In February, I wanted to focus on being more loving both in the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth. It was an eye-opening and transforming month that I'm thankful to say has had a long term effect. David was and is amazingly helpful at keeping me accountable in this area.

During March I followed along with Simple Mom's Project Simplify and in April I took a break to focus on moving and Easter.

I've also achieved some mini-goals of mine along the way. Two weeks ago my friend Jen agreed to be my guide at our local farmer's market (somewhere I've been meaning to visit for quite some time). I was amazed at the variety of produce, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese and meat...80% for far less than I pay at the grocery store. I guess that's the beauty of living in Amish country. I'm totally hooked.

Along that line, another mini-goal I've just started is using cash to pay for our groceries. Partially because I'm buying so much at the farmers market now, and they don't exactly take debit, but also because I've heard so many people swear by how much less they spend when they can see the cash leaving their hands.

Yesterday was my first experience of handing over cash at the grocery store (yes, I still shop there too!) and I can definitely say there is something about parting with a portion of money from an envelope that is far more real feeling than just swiping a card. I'm excited (and nervous) to see what's left in our envelope at the end of the month!

My big goal for May however, is to get our garden going. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I've heard the best way to learn is by doing. So, with a few basics in mind I'll be planting lettuce this week and tomatoes after we get home from a week long conference in Baltimore for David's work.

I would put off planting in general until after our travel, but with David's schedule that would probably mean not having a garden at all by the time I put it off for a week here or a week there. Hopefully one of our neighbors won't mind getting paid in vegetables in exchange for doing a little watering while we're gone. If not, it'll be survival of the fittest : )

Last, but not least, a Caleb update! As I mentioned in an earlier post, he hasn't been a big fan of finger foods thus far. I decided to just offer them each day, encourage him to pick them up, but not to push the issue. After a week of alternately smearing the food and completely ignoring it, Caleb has decided it's kind of cool to put food in his own mouth.

Yesterday he fed himself several chunks of banana covered in rice cereal (to stop it from slipping out of his fingers so easily). Then today he ate chunks of mushy carrot and even tried a cheerio (though after he gagged on that I decided I'd either spray them with a little water first or wait a bit to introduce them again). I wish I'd gotten a picture, but I couldn't find my camera. It was a beautiful mess! It's so incredible to watch him grow and change each day.