It's been a while since I've posted monthly goals and I'm hoping to get back to the habit. 

In January we settled in at home as a family of four and reacquainted ourselves with life with a newborn. It was a cozy month and I spent most of it at home, nursing and snuggling Cedric, and there's nowhere I'd rather be. As I write this we're on our second day in a row of grey, soggy weather and I'm reveling in it and wishing it would continue (but know that it won't). The house is still and quiet and for the most part has stayed pretty tidy although we have added accents of tiny onesies and soft baby blankets draped across furniture. 

Family and friends have been regularly bringing meals so we've hardly had to cook or buy many groceries. There's been quiche, rich casseroles, pizza and falafel delivery, hearty chili and this delicious and comforting soup from Erica, which I ate first with the cheesy bread Erica brought from our new neighborhood bakery and the next day alongside a grilled cheese. Food that is good for the soul.

Dashiell is still in his daycare program three days a week and so on those days Cedric and I have been listening to lots of podcasts (Serial OMG, Start Up, Reply All, Invisibilia) and doing some reading as well (A Short History of Nearly Everything, Eleanor and Park). Chris and I reactivated our Netflix subscription for our parental leave and after the boys go to bed we've been indulging in rewatching 30 Rock from the beginning. We've seen it so many times and it is still pure genius. I love you, Tina Fey.

In February Chris and I will both still be on leave so it should be another cozy month. I'd love to start going on family outings to the library, zoo and children's museum although the recent measles outbreak, which includes at least one infected person in our area, has me hesitant about taking Cedric to many public places.

For my monthly goals I thought I'd try something different and list any big things coming up during the month along with my goals. This would be something like "returning to work after leave" or upcoming travel. These things won't always necessitate a goal but will demand attention/energy/time so I want to be mindful of that when I'm thinking of what I can accomplish during the month. I'm also going to include recurring goals. These are things like exercising and producing the podcast. It seems boring to include them on my monthly goal rotation but at the same time they are commitments that I'm spending time on so I think they deserve a spot. We'll see how it goes.

Big things happening in February:

+ Chris and I will attend a Philip Glass concert! I gave Chris tickets to this performance for his birthday last September. This is Chris's favorite composer and he's uber excited. Plus, date night!

February goals:

+ Start exercising again! I should get the all-clear from my midwife this week and I'm planning on trying to make it to Orange Theory once per week. I'm preparing myself for my first several workouts to suck completely but! I know that if I just keep at it I'll hate it less as time goes on. Buying some new workout wear with the gift card that Chris gave me to Lululemon will probably help my morale a bit.

+ Stretch everyday. My body is feeling weak and stiff, especially my shoulders and back. I need to practice sitting up straight (I find myself hunched over a lot from breastfeeding and holding Cedric) and want to take just two minutes everyday to do some quick stretches.

+ Attend book club! I missed our January meeting and am excited to get back although I still haven't read our February selection...I'm on a crazy long wait list at the library! This will be my first evening out, which means I need to...

+ Pump 5x/week. I rented a hospital grade Medela Symphony pump and would like to pump on weekday evenings so that I can build a milk supply. 

+ Send Christmas/birthday thank you cards. I've written several but they haven't quite made it to the mail box. I think I get a little grace period for having a baby but it's definitely time to get these out.

Recurring monthly goals:

+ Maintain podcast recording/production schedule necessary to air a new Girl Next Door Podcast episode every other week. We've been planning another awesome year for you so I hope you'll subscribe on iTunes or on your favorite podcast player (like Stitcher for you non-Apple folks) and tune in! 

+ Download photos off of phone and sort them into folders for Cedric's baby photo book and our 2015 family album.

+ Track spending in Mint. We've been using Mint to track our spending and budgets and really like it. I'd like to use my Mint app on my phone once a weekish to be sure all of our spending has been assigned to the right budget category.

Happy February!