What I learned in November // December goals

Well...the busiest month of the year is nearly upon us, and although I am trying to keep things a *bit* more low-key around Christmas this year, our lives inevitably fill up with a lot of wonderful things, and I love it. Our girls are at a great age to celebrate the holidays this year and Molly is already SO excited about everything that the season brings. Lucy isn't as audibly excited, but she's going to love the Christmas tree and all of the stories and songs that come with Christmastime. :)

We had a pretty busy weekend with Brian's work Christmas party on Saturday night and a baby shower for my cousin yesterday. The girls slept over at my parents' house and did GREAT, so that was a relief!! I am going to be playing catch up tonight and tomorrow night to get our house back in order and clean in time to get our decorations up this coming weekend.

November was a good month in many ways, although I have to say, we didn't get as much rest and rejuvenation as I had hoped for. We had a sick toddler (ear infection = a lot of tears and no sleep), a moody 4 year old (at times), but we also had a lot of fun. We still haven't had our "first snow" of the season yet, but it's coming because it is definitely getting chillier out there.

That being said, here are some things I'm reflecting on at the end of the month:

• Book hangovers are real. I flew through Winter and it took me a couple of weeks to even be interested in reading another book. I still haven't picked up the books I was reading before Winter. I finally decided to re-read Mockingjay in anticipation of seeing the final movie next week and now I think I'm back on track with wanting to read. Which is good, because I have about 12 books out from the library to read in the next 3 weeks. Oops. 

• The dishes can wait. I have admittedly let some housework slip a bit this month in favour of getting down on the floor and playing with the kids or reading to them as much as possible every night, and I have to say that I haven't (totally) regretted that extra time interacting with them.

• It's OK to say no. There are a couple of things this month that we just couldn't fit in, and although I really didn't want to miss anything, we also really needed that downtime. 

• Meals don't have to be gourmet to be healthy and enjoyed. Case in point: tonight we are having breakfast food for supper, which is my girls' favourite thing ever. Scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit. All the food groups and easy to prepare in a few minutes. #winning Sometimes I get ahead of myself a bit with cooking elaborate meals, but weeknights don't really allow for that. 

And here are some personal goals for December:

1) Get some form of exercise 5/7 days a week. Whether it's a workout video, a walk, some yoga at home or at my class, or a run outside, I just want to get back into the habit of moving my body as much as I can. It's SO good for the mind and I need to make time for it.

2) Go through all of our toys and really consider their worth. We got rid of 8 books of clothes, books and unused toys this past month, but we still have an overabundance of stuff and I want my kids to feel a bit less overwhelmed by toys. 

3) Ensure that I am eating the recommended 5-10 fruits/veggies per day. I usually do well with this, but I'd like to fill up on veggies as much as possible at this frantic and treat-filled time of year ;)

4) Enjoy the special moments to come. I am going to be an aunt in a few weeks! My brother is visiting us for Christmas! My sister in law and her partner will be home for the first time in 4 months, too. I can't wait to spend time with all of my family and friends this month.

I have another post coming today with my update on the Winter Reading Challenge :)