My blog aims and personal goals for 2017

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I thought I should pop these down in a post just like I did last year: blog aims 2016, personal goals 2016).

I did alright last year achieving some personal goals such as our flying on first family holiday abroad, braving a caravan holiday, playing with my sewing machine (but not as much as I’d like), driving to Scotland and back on my own with Toddler H, although I didn’t get anywhere with making dungarees. I’m not sure I’ll get to that this year either with Baby #2 being due in May/June! Blog wise I was flabbergasted to meet my ‘if I’d drunk too much wine target’ of getting into the top 250 Tots100 parenting blogs and inside the top 150 UK Parent Blogger Club rankings too… I also started the #BehindTheLinky series (if you’re a linky host and want to part message me or comment!). Likewise if you’re a mummy in business, to be part of #mummyinbusiness series and inspire me and others to get going with our ventures! I’ve also reviewed some amazing products, from the Babble Band to the Little Green Sheep Cot Protector. I’ve also been thrilled to become an Orchard Toys Official Tester and I have lots in the pipeline for 2017.

So onto my blog aims for 2017:

1. Keeping going

This year, blog wise, I’d like to get my blogging mojo back. I actually think I’m back again and raring to go, but I really did lag a bit in the second half of 2016, partly due to my early pregnancy absolute-total-and-utter tiredness (with luckily no sickness #pregnancywin!).

2. Blogging meet ups

This year I met some amazing bloggers including the very very lovely Amy Treasure (Mr & Mrs T plus Three), A Moment With Franca, Motherhood: The Real Deal. And was thrilled to meet some of my favourite favourite favourite blogging friends Sarah from Mum Muddling Though, Natalie from Mum In Brum and Sarah from Run Jump Scrap, and, I hope we get to meet up again this year. As Baby #2 is due not long before the Blog, then hopefully we can meet beforehand, along with meeting from Anyway to Stay at Home, Fi from Beauty Baby and Me, Laura from Five Little Doves and Helen from All The Beautiful Things.

3. SEO

I need to properly SEO my old posts and hopefully get them ranking better in Google. A rubbish job, but hopefully worth it!

4. Pinterest

I’ve found that I seem to get quite a bit of traffic (to certain posts) from Pinterest so I need to make sure that all my posts are being pinned… Perhaps I’ll look at automating this!

5. #TheBabyFormula

I loved hosting #TheBabyFormula, I made so many great friends and found some really amazing bloggers through hosting it. I loved the community but it proved too much when I lost my inspiration and was juggling certain things pre-pregnancy, and my pre-pregnancy tiredness… I’d love to start it up again, but perhaps monthly or with a co-host, but it’s something I’ll toy with a bit more in January.

6. Crafts

You all know I love crafts, so my aim is to add one new crafty post a week. Realistically this will probably end up being two a month! But I’ll start off with a high aim!

 

Personal goals

1. Organisation

We need to organise our house before Baby #2 arrives in May/June.

I’ve got my new planner to keep everything straight in – baby brain on top of toddler brain is a right mummy problem at the moment. (I’m also giving one of these planners away… Giveaway ends 23.59 on 25th January 2017)

 

2. Blogging/sewing/crafting area

Part of the above, but my aim is, as we’ll be moving our study into the spare room, to make way for Baby’s nursery, I’ll have to sort out a bit more ruthless with my crafting bits (especially those I’ve not used in years!)

3. Family time and days out

We’d love to do a real family outing once a month, be it Birdland, Slimbridge or maybe somewhere like Westonbirt Arboretum (somewhere we’ve been meaning to go for years!). We’ll want to get out and about with Baby too, and it’ll be important for Toddler H, and us to get that fresh air (aka avoid tantrums if at ALL possible).

4. Family holiday

We’re hoping to go abroad sometime before Baby #2 arrives as we had such a fabulous time in Menorca last May. We’ll definitely go somewhere different, but we’re not sure where yet.

5. Scotland, friends and family

I miss my friends in Scotland, and hope to get up there soon. One of my oldest friend’s became a mummy in October, and I really look forward to catching up with her and meeting baby too. It’s also been a quite a few months since I saw my granny and my other best friend, two people I really do miss and wish we lived closer to (as well as my parents and sister obviously!).

I’d also love to get up to Skye this year, as we haven’t taken H yet, and haven’t been brave enough to drive up, like we always used to. This time we’ll fly to Inverness and make it a bit of a road trip, stopping at my favourite haunts and beauty spots.

6. The arrival of Baby #2

The year will be punctuated by the arrival of Baby #2 which will make Toddler H a big sister (how is she old enough?!) and us a family of four. We’re excited by this and eager that H understands and also to prepare H for the transition. As I write that, I should also mention we’ll have a few transitions before this real potty training (we’re part way there) and the transition to a big bed- eeeeek!! (UPDATE: we’ve done it – read how we moved H to a toddler bed here!) If anyone has any tips, or any brand would like a review that would help, that might give us the push we need to get both of these sorted and ticked off well before Baby arrives. So far this pregnancy has been very very different to my first pregnancy, something I’m very glad of. It is flying by and so we really need to think of these transitions soon so Toddler H isn’t’ completely thrown by too many changes at once, and so I’m not doing them when 8 months pregnant!

 

So, that’s it for me and my 2017 goals, as you can tell family and friends feature quite highly. Without the support of both, this would have been a very hard year, my parents have helped us a lot both in diy at home, babysitting and being there for us no matter what (and an ear to blabber at!). Friends have helped us in so many ways, they can’t know how much we appreciate them, and their never ending coffee breaks (E!). Without my NCT friends, I’d be lost. I have written about them before, but now 2 years on, I still really value their friendship, support and ears. As well as the fact they are always there at the end of Facebook messenger! I value their childrens’ friendship to H, she’s missed them terribly over Christmas (as have I)! And to finish, I really appreciate and love my husband more than ever, we’ve had a wonderful year, with a few ups and downs and many firsts (even after 9 years together and 12 years of knowing each-other). He’s been amazing through my grumpy tired phases, my rants and my I’ve-got-something-in-my-head moments, he’s been there for me, supportive, kicking me back to reality, or just telling me to have a nap.

If you’d like to read some more, check out my top posts from 2016.

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year everyone, and a special thank you to all my readers and loyal followers,

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Lynne xx