One. Dealing with my personal data situation. Aka, wading through the hundreds of GB of digital photography that are clogging up my various hard- drives. New personal mantra: “Never take 25 shots when 3 will do.”
Two. Night weaning my eleven-month-old. I wasn’t ready at six months, or nine months, but I decided I’d rather do it now than deal with a surly nursing two-year-old in my bed. We’ve moved him to his own room, are allowing more time for him to “settle” in the middle of the night (aka, letting him moan for 10-15 minutes at a time), and are gradually reducing middle of the night nursing sessions… when I can stay awake long enough to do so, that is.
Three. Sewing. My mother bought me a sewing machine for Christmas, and I’ve been trying to actually use it! I am almost done with one crooked baby-sized quilt – just need to finish tying it up – and I have sewed some uber-practical reusable mesh produce bags. Next, I want to do another quilt (I discovered Wise Craft and am obsessed), some baby bibs, some more produce bags, and maybe a dress?
Four. Celebrating my Nursing Mom Metabolism with baked goods. Yes, I am still nursing, and yes, I am usually hungry. So much so that my usual 2 snacks-and-a-lunch at work were not cutting it. I started buying a pastry pretty much every day. This is not a bad way to live, but I started to go broke. My instincts said “cut back” but my metabolism said “Hey, Jessica, you why don’t you just bake some of those zillions of tasty recipes you keep on Pinterest but are always feeling too dietarily austere to create, and then take those to work!” I’m loving it. So far I’ve made Blueberry Lemon Cake, (Not) Derby Pie Bars, Date Spice Loaf, and some chocolate chip blondies.
Five. Listening to Reproductive Podcasts. Pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting have always been pet interests of mine, but interests I’ve tried not indulge too much because of some weird, pointless combination of superstition and shame. So now that I have entered my Official Reproductive Years, I am allowing myself to go to town. Favorites include The Birth Hour, The Longest Shortest Time, Matt and Doree’s Eggcellent Adventure, Pregnant Pause, One Bad Mother, and Common Sense Pregnancy and Parenting. Are there even any more good Reproductive Podcasts out there? If I’m missing any, let me know!
Six. Getting Things Done, David Allen-style. Full-time, out of the house, working mom life has got me feeling… dizzyingly swamped. So I started carrying around a little notebook devoted to writing down every undone task I think of, as I think of it. Then I started a formal “Next Actions” list in my main notebook/bullet journal. Then I started making project sheets. So I’m about 30% GTD, and I’m digging it.
Seven. Actively looking for things to let go. I have a natural tendency to take on responsibilities, projects, and moral imperatives fairly without discrimination, so I’m keeping an eye out for ways to make my life easier that I can actually stomach. Can I bring myself to shop more at Amazon or Marshalls, to save my weekends from errands? That would be nice, but no, I can’t do that. Can I pack squeezy-food for my baby’s daycare lunches, even though I read somewhere online that feeding your baby squeezy-food is simply a terribly idea? Yes. I can save some time and stress and shovel some yogurt into a squeezy-food pack.
Eight. Thinking about writing. And how to do more of it. And trying to actually do some. Stressing, fretting, etc. But mostly thinking. Scheming. And trying to get more sleep so I can get up earlier, drink a cup of coffee, and do it.