To-Do's or Not-to-Do's...Sometimes It's a Question

Pretty Little Bare Feet has officially been back at nursery school for almost three weeks now. & next week she's going to begin attending four days per week! Aaa, I know! But she is so excited. She's one of the "big kids" in her Montessori classroom, & she really is just at her absolute best after a morning of school.

I can't bear to part with her for all five days, but I realized just a couple weeks into the school year that she will be happier attending a fourth day of school, rather than remaining in a playgroup that meets inconsistently. & I will be happier to have a more stable routine, as well. Not to mention that both of us thrive better in a calm, ordered environment - much more so the case in the Montessori classroom

(or in my peaceful, hopefully-organized-again-soon home)

than in some random location for a hodgepodge group of playgroup members that are disciplined so differently (if at all) that some of their behaviors can negatively influence Pretty Little Bare Feet's own attitude for the rest of the day afterward.

So now that Pretty Little Bare Feet has her routine back in place & better than ever, it's (past) time for me to (attempt to) do the same.

My Little Man is pretty much sleeping through the night. & although his naps are inconsistent&sporadic during the day, he's such a chill little baby. Even when he has long periods of wakefulness, he coos more than he cries. He's just an angelic little blessing of an addition to our already-too-blessed-to-be-stressed home.

Which leads me to the dreaded question of to-do lists. Quite frankly, these days I am finding it much more beneficial to my overall health to just crumple them up & throw them away.

(This is coming from a self-professed Type A listmaker of neurotic proportions!)

Although I am not exactly ready to give up all of my neat organizational ways, I am finding that adding another member to this family has ultimately required the same amount of "relaxing" that I initially found myself doing once upon a time when getting married...& then twice upon a time upon being blessed with Pretty Little Bare Feet.

So what are the priority to-do lists that I am aiming to keep to in the next few weeks?

1. Getting back into my blogging groove.

I just plain old miss my little bloggy network of fellow

bakers,

lawyers,

Lilly lovers,

mamas,

party planners,

preppies,

shopaholics,

Southerners,

etc.

I started my blog well after my first child was into an established napping routine, & I really became involved with it once she was also into a nursery school routine. So the whole cycle of

pregnancy,

then delivery,

then post-delivery,

now newborn,

etc...

...has thrown me into a whirlwind that hasn't left much energy or time for blogging, or even reading blogs.

(Not that I feel a bit guilty for that - just miss the blogs, & y'all!; & look forward to rekindling my own!)

2. Getting back into my runner's routine.

Okay, yes, & my runner's body. ;)

I'm on my way, running four or five miles every day. I've also invested in a boot camp DVD because it did take some extra additions to my old faithful running routine, in order to slim back down after having Pretty Little Bare Feet back in 2009. However, after pulling up iPhoto...

(& actually confirming that My Prince wasn't just trying to flatter me with his seemingly far-fetched compliments)

...I did realize that I am already back into much better shape than I was at this point after having my first child. & I got back into a size zero

(which I must reiterate is healthy for me - I am only 5'1!)

within three or four months after having Pretty Little Bare Feet, so I know I can do it again!

I'd also like to get to where I can schedule a 5k, & maybe eventually a 10k, at least once a month. That's just because I am so married to treadmill-running that I forget how different it is to run pavement or trails. Then when I sign up for a 5k, thinking it'll be cake because I can easily run six or seven miles if I have the time to do it...I all but die out there on the real ground, having to breathe the "real" air.

(Of course, I maintain that it is also just as jarring not to have my creature comforts - like my iPod playlists, & whatever magazine I have opened in front of me that has pretty enough pictures that it won't matter if I'm running too fast to read the words.)

3. ...

Oh, well, I paused for a minute trying to come up with what should be next on this list.

& since I'm already off to such a good start on the second item on this list...

...& this very blog post counts as such a good start to crossing off the first item on this list...

...I'm just going to call myself successful! =)

Oh, I am just so looking forward to finding out what all of y'all have been up to!