This past July marked my one year anniversary of being back at work after having Dashiell. So much has changed since then. Dashiell has changed, of course. He is so much bigger and more independent and full of personality. My position at work changed and I love my new job. And I have changed, from feeling overwhelmed to being really happy that I work outside of the home and feeling pretty great about my work/life balance (at least on most days!). Reflecting on it, I think there are several things that I'm finding are really positive about our current situation:... Read more →

In July, we sold Chris's truck and have had only one car (a Prius). So far, being a one-car family is going really well! I'm surprised at how un-burdensome it feels and how, for the most part, it's been a simplification and not a complication in our lives . Chris and I each have a day that we work at home and on those days the other person takes public transportation to work. There's a park-and-ride near our house and we drop each other off so the person at home can have the car. Three days a week, Chris and... Read more →

Last weekend, Chris and I escaped the Valley heat and spent two nights in Flagstaff, just the two of us! It was our first time to go away together since Dash was born and it. was. awesome. I took a paltry three photos so I fail as a blogger but as a gal spending a relaxing weekend with her husband I think I get an A+. The weather was perrrrrfect and by that I mean NOT HOT. I wore jeans and (!) longsleeves. The air smelled fresh and crisp and piney. We ate amazing veggie burgers and fries at Diablo... Read more →

Chris's birthday was yesterday (happy birthday, husband!) and I wanted to give him something handmade from Dashiell. We haven't ventured much into the arts and crafts realm at home yet (although Dash does TONS of wonderful art at daycare) so I wanted to keep it simple but hoped it could be something Chris could hang up at his office. I decided to do some "directed" finger painting with Dashiell by taping a modern art-inspired pattern using painter's tape on a piece of cardstock and then letting Dashiell paint. I taped the paper down on Dashiell's table in his toddler area,... Read more →

Baby bump status: Making itself known! I told my co-workers about my pregnancy around 12 weeks but since I work in a big office there are plenty of people I didn't tell directly. In the past couple of weeks, when I see those people in the kitchen or during random fire alarms, they give me a double take and say, "Oh! I didn't want to say anything before but now I'm sure; you're pregnant aren't you?!" It's fun to have it be public knowledge. I'm wearing maternity clothes including these amazing work pants from Gap. If you are in need... Read more →

August was the first time since starting my blog in January of 2011 that I gave myself complete permission not to worry about it one bit. I felt no pressure to draft a post, snap a picture of something I was doing so that I could post about it or to check blog stats. It felt wonderful! Even though, or probably because, my blog is something I do completely for myself (I don't earn any money through blogging or podcasting), I put a lot of pressure on myself to continually create content that I'm proud of and that I hope... Read more →

Yay September! It was really (really) awesome to take a blogging break for the month of August but I'm so happy to be back in this space and to reconnect with all of you. It's still blazing hot here but I swear I feel a change in the air (at least before 7 am when it's pleasant outside) and the season of a new school year always brings me renewed energy. At least I can squint and see the end of October, when surely the temperatures will be on their way down. I am so, so excited about the coming... Read more →