Houseplants are beginning to be a casual obsession of mine. Perhaps especially now that we're spending so much time at home. Seeing greenery around the house and checking on my plants are simple sources of joy. I love learning about how to best grow a new type of plant and keeping mental notes on what's working or not. Plus it's not a terribly expensive habit and is relatively low risk: if a plant dies it's a bummer but certainly not the end of the world. Now that the boys are old enough to leave plants (mostly) alone I've been wanting... Read more →
March 2020
Apparently I'm not the only one turning to comfort baking right now. The mixing of familiar ingredients, using my hands, and certainly the wafting smell of baked goods brings calm, certainty, distraction. In the last week I pulled out a recipe for a humble but hearty muffin that a friend shared with me a while ago. It's a staple at her house, baked on a weekly basis and accompanying many school lunches. I've made them before and loved them but we don't routinely buy applesauce so they aren't in regular rotation. I'm rethinking that after watching Dash devour three freshly... Read more →
Oh March, you were not what we expected at all. It all started well enough with great weather and a fun, laid-back spring break but by the end of spring break it was becoming apparent our world – the world – was changing very quickly and in very concerning ways. I was really looking forward to the boys returning to school and having a week or two of leisurely checking off a few last to-do items before the arrival of our baby girl. Instead there were days of anxiously reading the news, wrapping our heads around the boys not going... Read more →
My pregnancy is drawing to a close and I'm reflecting on the things I've loved these last 40 weeks. From maternity clothes to foods to books there have been some stand-out favorites that I'd love to share with you... My maternity wardrobe is bigger than these eight items (one not pictured) but these are the things I'm reaching for on a near daily basis. Honestly it's kind of been the capsule wardrobe of my dreams. I love not putting much thought into what I'm wearing for the day but still feeling pulled together and comfortable. As evidenced by bathroom mirror... Read more →
My due date is THURSDAY. At this point I'm more pregnant than I was with Cedric (he was born three days early) and we'll see if this pregnancy goes longer than Dashiell's (born on his due date). With one early and one on time I'm wondering if I'm due for a "late" baby? I hope not because we are ready to meet this lady. Since she could arrive on the scene any day I wanted to get one more pregnancy post written to capture what the end of this pregnancy looks like. Baby bump status: I'm three days away from... Read more →
...many (many?) more to go. Overall it was a good week though minus up and down anxiety about the state of the world and how strict to be with social distancing. It even almost felt normal to have the boys home all week. Maybe my brain is just stuck on spring break mode. Our daily schedule Our approach to "homeschool" is very laid back and so far we don't have a lot of structure to our days. Our boys are really calm and tend to be more agreeable (ahem) in the morning so I've found that to be a great... Read more →
Today would have been the day the boys went back to school after spring break so it feels like the first day of our new normal. Although that's not even the right phrase because what is normal right now? We're adjusting day by day. I think that is the new normal: adjusting. How we're social distancing right now The situation with the pandemic in the U.S. felt like it became more serious to us with last Friday's announcement that the boys' school would be closed. We're having conversations every day about how we can best be helpers in this situation... Read more →
Hi friends, how are you? These are weird and scary times and I wanted to say hi. There's so much uncertainty and change related to the coronavirus pandemic and my anxiety is certainly higher than it's been in months. It's an especially weird time for us because we also have this unknown of when we'll be adding a fifth family member and how life will change after that. So it feels especially hard to plan right now which is challenging for me. Life went from feeling pretty normal at the beginning of the week to feeling eerie as we headed... Read more →
March 2020: the month we (will most likely) meet our baby girl! My due date is March 26 so it's not out of the question that she could be an April baby but I hope it will be this month. The beginning of March brought spring to the desert. As much as I love the fall and winter, I love the fresh feeling of spring. What a lovely time for a baby. I'm writing this from our breakfast table, while eating oatmeal and drinking cinnamon tea, on the first day of the boys' spring break. The back door is open... Read more →
Baby bump status: With about a month to go I'm really popping out! I can see a big difference between 36 weeks and my last post at 32 weeks. Lately I've unintentionally run into things with my belly, whoops!, so I think its size is catching me off guard. The baby should be around 6 pounds now! Her movements aren't quite as big as she runs out of room, mostly some rolling as limbs move or a knee/foot pressing out, but she remains active. She still gets the hiccups fairly regularly. At my last midwife appointment my midwife didn't think... Read more →