Time For Some Goals (plus a handy museli bar recipe)

 

So, I love being at home with my daughter. After working full time for the last 14 years, it’s nice to not have to get up and go sit in an office 5 days a week any more. Of course being a Mum is super challenging, and more days than not I’m up at 4am or 5am, and might be heading out the door to walk the grumpiness out of a baby at 7am, instead of leaving for work.  Being a Mum is 24/7, you don’t get to “come home at the end of the day” and cast of the shackles of employment oppression and relax. You don’t get to go to bed at 8pm so you can get a good 8 hours of sleep before facing the next day. Oh sure, you can go to bed at 8pm, but you’ll probably be up doing another feed before 10.  You don’t get a big fat paycheck every fortnight. Being a Mum is hard work, but I would take it any day over the work that I’ve been doing for the past 6 years or so.

I am so over the corporate world. In fact, I’m even thinking of not going back to work entirely, and just extending my role as a stay-at-home-Mum for longer. But as much as I love being a SAHM, I’m also realising that unless I set myself little goals every day, then one day sometimes seems to blur into the next, unless we have something special planned. So I’m starting to think about goals I can have daily, weekly, monthly, and longer, and how I can set about achieving them and recording them.

The most important goals for me so far have been either financial, health-related, house-related or Holly-related. For example, I’ve started setting daily housework goals for myself. Like, today I will clean the kitchen from top to bottom – put away clean dishes, wash dirty ones, wipe all surfaces, wipe stovetop, sweep floor and then steam mop floor. So, the rest of the house may be a shambles but at least one room is great, and I always have something to start doing once Holly is down for her naps. Other daily goals usually include remembering to eat (I need to make sure I either have a proper breakfast or a proper lunch – both is preferable but sometimes hard to wrangle if I’m busy with Holly), daily exercise (at least 15 minutes of concentrated exercise every day if I can) and other stuff like that. I really need to amp this up to the next level though, so I can wake up motivated about my day. So some other goals I have come up with are:

More exercise-related goals encompassing weekly and monthly goals. My Doc has asked me to try and drop 5 kgs in the next 4 weeks if I can. I want to achieve a bigger drop if possible!  I’m going to try and work out an exercise schedule for the next four weeks that I will MAKE work no matter how tired and run down I am. This also means taking time out to plan to check out a session of Pram Fitness with the local Mums & Bubs Fitness group, and checking out the crèche at my local pool. I’m even thinking of going and checking out a Zumba class.  I need to find both exercise I can do with Holly, that I can do at home when she’s sleeping, and things I can do alone when Mr M can be available to be with her. I am so ready to get my fitness back, but pregnancy and baby has left me with little energy, quite a bit of extra weight, and a lot of frustration regarding this. So fitness and health goals will comprise quite a few of my goals for the upcoming 6 months.

Eating better is also on the menu. I cook salt-free as Mr M isn’t allowed to have salt, but we do tend to get lazy with food sometimes when we’re tired. I’m finding now that it’s easier to prep dinner during the day if possible, so when Mr M gets home it doesn’t take very long to have something ready to eat. We’re doing as fresh and natural as we can, and I’m hoping to be able to push our eating habits even further into the goodness zone. We’re also growing loads of vegies in our garden, which is awesome. Home grown tastes SO much better than store bought!  I’m even going to attempt a raw lemon cheesecake this weekend!  I really need to find better alternatives for sweets and snacks. I also made home-made muesli bars this morning, they are divine! I’ll include the recipe at the end of this post.

Our veggie garden ❤

Another goal is finances. Figuring out how to make every dollar stretch further. I’ve always been thrifty, but I’m trying to take things to the next level. Doing the fruit and veg shopping at markets instead of shopping centres. Using the food in the kitchen instead of buying more. Buying home brand versions of as many things as I can. Buying things in bulk – like the 20kg tub of laundry powder I bought before Holly was born, that is still going strong.  I have opened up a savings account for Holly as I want to be able to build that up as much as I can. So I’m motivated to try and save a bit more money day-to-day so I can keep topping up that fund. Also, because Mr M is pretty much the sole breadwinner at the moment, anything I can do to make things easier on him is a goal I’m happy to commit to. So continuing to top up Holly’s fund, plus running the household more like a business (and thus saving money) are two goals that will be on my list for sure.

And finally, some goals which encompass knowledge / learning /culture. Trying to take some time to read a book. Get online and look at some art. Research topics that interest me. Do some writing. These are not things I will be able to do every day, but they’re important to remember to try and do when I can. And trying to incorporate Holly into this kind of stuff: reading to her, listening to music and singing with her, etc.

I’m going to have a good think about this goal stuff and see if I can pick some good daily, weekly and monthly goals for the next 6 weeks. I feel like if I can succeed with this kind of thinking, that it will ultimately make my life more rewarding. I still don’t know the best way to record them all – put them in my diary, make a big calendar chart for the wall, or try and find an app that will do it all … but I’m going to brainstorm and see what I can put into action. Personally, I do like the idea of a big wall chart though, complete with star stickers for when I do good =D

How do YOU manage your goals? Do you do something to record them, or are they just all in your head? Do you reward yourself when you complete them?  Any other advice from SAHM’s out there on to how to keep value in your every day day? And how to do things for yourself (like general health and fitness) whilst still being able to devote time to the house and your bub? I’d love to hear some stories or advice from others in the same boat.

 

Super Easy Super Healthy Muesli Bar Recipe

2 cups muesli

(you can use store bought or make your own. Or substitute 1 cup rolled oats and 1 cup shredded coconut)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup craisins

1/4 cup sultanas

1/4 cup dried apple

Zest of one lemon

1/4 cup of chia seeds

125g butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

 

OK, now you can make it healthier still by substituting the sugar with your choice of sweeteners. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup brown sugar but it didn’t need anywhere near that amount, even using 1/4 cup it’s still sweet, so you could probably omit that altogether. You do need the honey for the stickiness factor so it all sticks together, but you could substitute any other kind of organic syrup with the same consistency. I daresay you could also easy vegan this up by using a butter substitute.

You can also add ANYTHING you like. I added the craisins, sultanas, apple, chia seeds and lemon zest to the original recipe. You could also use orange zest, or no zest! You can add in extra nuts (my next batch with have added cashews and pistachios) or seeds as you see fit, as well as fruit (can’t wait to try one with dried apricots). You can also add wheatgerm for extra fibre (or even those Special K Fibre Toppers). So go nuts!  *LOL*

METHOD:

Dry roast any nuts that need it (like the sesame seeds and sunflower seeds) in an oil-free pan for a few minutes until slightly browned and fragrant. Combine all dry ingredients and fruits in a mixing bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan, add honey and sugar, stir until sugar is melted (a minute or two). Leave to simmer on LOW heat without stirring for around 5-7 minutes (until mixture forms a ball when dropped into cold water). Combine with dry ingredients, mix until everything is coated. Press into a shallow tray lined with baking paper. Refrigerate. Cut to size. These will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for around a week.

I love this recipe because you can literally add anything you like. I’m going to be making all kinds of crazy bar combinations!  You can make it super healthy or even jazz it up with some chocolate chips are something if you wanted to make it a bit more decadent.

Bon Appetit!