I'm not perfect

But I am very much a perfectionist. It's both a curse and an asset. I've accomplished a lot because of this personality trait but it isn't always easy. Being a perfectionist means that nothing can be done halfway, nothing is impossible, and everything you do must be performed at 110%.

Like I said, I am who I am today in part because of this trait. However, adding things to the mix create serious issues - say, perhaps a child! One of the toughest obstacles for me becoming a parent has been trying to deal with my perfectionism. Let me attempt to explain and let me also clarify that I, by no means, am implying that becoming a parent hasn't been the best decision of my life! Being a perfectionist meant that I always had all my i's dotted and t's crossed, every list was checked and double checked, and any free moment I had was used to plan my next venture. I had time to decorate my house, scrapbook, shop to the point where I knew the inventory in way too many stores, cook as much and as often as I wanted, attend functions with friends, travel, and sleep as much as I wanted. Plus, I had time to devote my full attention to each of those activities until it was deemed perfect by me.

Things are different now. The initial problem was finding a balance between the "me" time and the "mom" time. At first, like a typical perfectionist, I jumped in head first to becoming the best mom I could. Every waking moment (and there were a lot of them) was spent glued to the baby. After some sole searching, I realized I needed some sort of release, something for me to get my creative juices flowing, something to help keep my sanity. The problem was even though I had added responsibilities, I couldn't find a way to add any more than 24 hours in a day. It took me a long time to find the balance and I'm still not there but I'm getting better. I now use my time a little more wisely and do my scrapbooking during naps, as I read blogs I plan my weekly menu, and most importantly, I've relegated some of the household tasks that I so desperately clung to. Honestly, I think the trick was to let a fraction of my perfectionism go out the window - that's on ongoing battle but it is getting easier.

So if you're like me and feel there aren't enough hours in the day, take a step back to determine what is absolutely necessary and try to let the rest go. Lists are your friend and multi-tasking is essential. With that said, the holidays are a hectic time and I wanted to provide some explanation as to why I may not be posting as much over the next month or so. I'm still here, I'm just trying to get everything checked off my list. This blog is something else I have to find time for and lately it's been cutting into my sleep time - no one cuts into my sleep! Hang in there, I'll be back.