Even though I'm trying to be really conscious of "taking it easy" it seems like I'm finding myself suddenly a bit too busy. We have birth class every Monday and this week we also have our hospital tour on Tuesday. Next Tuesday evening we have an appointment with our midwife. On Wednesday evenings I have spin class, on Thursdays we occasionally get together with friends for Thursday night TV and on Fridays I go to spin class again. This past week we couldn't even make Thursday night TV because I had to bake brownies for a work baby shower. So it feels like our weeks fill up quickly! And suddenly we have weekend plans from here through Christmas and my office holiday party hasn't even been scheduled yet!

It's not really having so many commitments that can stress me out, it's what's not getting done when we're so busy: we're not keeping the house clean (and I'm so affected by my environment), I'm not planning out a grocery list and weekly meals and going grocery shopping, I'm not getting blogging done on the weekends, not working on house projects that I'd like to get done. For me the ideal is a balance between out-of-the-house commitments and having enough time at home to get those other things done so that I feel ready to face a new week when Monday morning rolls around. Often times I find that balance hard to come by - and an infant surely won't make it easier! It's something I need to work on.

With a new month ahead of me I'm re-focusing on what really matters: keeping myself and my baby healthy, spending quality time with Chris, and giving myself time to relax. Beyond that I want to be very conscious of what I commit myself to and what I take on.

For instance, I've already been thinking about baking for all our neighbors on our street this year, as we've done in some years past. But then I think more about what that activity will involve: planning, buying supplies, a morning or afternoon of cooking and then additional time delivering. On the one hand, isn't that what the season is all about - sharing holiday spirit with family, friends, and neighbors? But on the other hand would it be better to allow myself to spend that afternoon at a more leisurely pace instead of feeling a "deadline" of baking for all our neighbors? Perhaps I can compromise and only bake for the neighbors that we know on the street but I'm also giving myself permission to skip this all together and to not feel guilty about it.

With this "focus on what matters" mindset, my goal for December is:

• Prioritize what matters: keeping myself and my baby healthy, spending quality time with Chris, and giving myself time to relax and enjoy the holiday season. 

It's surprisingly hard for me to only put one "official" monthly goal here. I'm thinking of other things I want to accomplish this month plus it's the last month of the year! There are some yearly goals I'd like to finish up as well (such as my organize the whole house goal). But I'm not writing those down because they don't matter as much as my one December goal. They can get done later. Or not at all. If I'm able to work on them this month, great, but if not, I'm letting it go.

I hope you'll take is easy on yourself this holiday season too!

Happy December!