Back into the swing of things

Hi there, stranger! I'm back from the holiday and post-holiday busyness that is December and early January. I took an unexpected break from blogging because I wanted to soak up every single second of the Christmas season with family. (Also, Madeleine started crawling so I suddenly have much less time in my day as I spend every second that she is awake chasing her around!) December was full of all things Christmas here at home, and we also traveled to see family for a couple of weeks. It was so nice to get a break from the routine here and also to have extended time with our families. Madeleine and I stayed with my parents for an extra week, too, since Caleb had a work trip right at the beginning of the year. Madeleine and I just got home this past Friday, and I'm still trying to remember that it's actually 2016.

I mentioned on instagram that I have a hard time with transitions, however small they may be. On the one hand, I was so ready to get home and get back into some sort of routine after being away for over two weeks. But I also was feeling overwhelmed with getting back into the swing of housework, cooking, taking down Christmas, etc. Plus it's always nice to have grandparents around to help play with/take care of Madeleine :)

I've been spending this week thinking about meals, stocking up our fridge & pantry again, catching up on laundry, running errands, and putting away Christmas decorations (and gifts!). I've been surprised at how little I seem to be accomplishing each day; I'm task-oriented by nature, so if I don't cross everything off my to-do list I wonder what I did all day. But I've been reminded to give myself more grace. I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom, so taking care of Madeleine and the house is my full-time job. I don't have to balance that with a 9-5 job. A large chunk of my day each day is spent feeding, playing with, and caring for Madeleine--things that I absolutely love and cherish, but they aren't necessarily things I can "cross off" and have the satisfaction of "being done". The other tasks and jobs that I'd like to get done just need to fit around Madeleine, which means I might not be finishing them as quickly as I had hoped.

So that's where I am these days: working to get our house back in order, hoping to tackle a couple of big organizing + purging projects, and still thinking about some goals + plans for this year. I'm hoping to be back into a more regular blogging routine, too!

So tell me - how was your Christmas? How's the start to your new year been?