Breezy spring days are here and I just want to stay. Let's not rush into summer as late April always seems want to do.

I feel acutely aware of the world turning in April, of another year passing. We mark our wedding anniversary (15 years ago on April 1), having our first baby (12 years ago on April 9) and of having our last baby, and our girl (five years ago on April 5). I love living in the same place that we brought our babies home to and feeling the layered memories of all the years wash over me this time of year.

I remember what Dash's nursery looked like when we brought him home, and Maeve's. I think about the feeling of not really knowing what we were doing and being overwhelmed to tears with love. The early morning coffee deliveries from Chris with a warm swaddled baby in my arms. Of nursing in the chair in the corner of our room and the miles of stroller walks we took around the neighborhood. The smell of warmish-breezy air, the fresh green color of the new leaves on trees, and the bright gold afternoons invite me to dwell in nostalgia and I'm happy to take a detour. Sometimes my heart feels full to nearly bursting with all the memory and gratitude of these years. Thinking of the baby years of course makes me think of all the years between then and now, how fast it's gone but how slow it felt at times, and how much living and nurturing and parenting we've done. And all the meals we've made and messes we've cleaned and midnight hours that we've seen. Mostly I think about how amazing each of my kids is, what a privilege it is to watch them become themselves, what a surprising (and sometimes challenges) adventure it is, and how grateful I am to do it all with Chris.

Putting aside my emotional lens for a practical one, April is busy! There are many celebrations to have, many sports practices and games to attend, and many podcasts to record. Making a weekly plan on my Weekly Notes page plus planning each of my work days hour by hour in my Google Calendar feels key right now. April and May are my last two months of consistent work days before summer, when my work time is much less abundant and consistent. I love living seasonally so I'm embracing the seasonal nature of my productivity.

So! Looking ahead at the rest of April...

Big things happening in April:

+ Celebrating 15 years of marriage.

+ Maeve turns 5 and Dash turns 12. We already hosted Maeve's birthday party but we'll have a family celebration including seeing the new Minecraft movie together (all the kids love Minecraft, especially Maeve and Cedric). Then we'll be hosting Dash's party at a park.

+ Lots of podcast recording for The Girl Next Door. We're working to get way ahead for summer plus we've been trying out different recording times so that is keeping that front busy.

April goals:

+ Figure out yard irrigation issues. We have a drip irrigation system but it hasn't been working. Before it starts getting really hot I want to address this. I know my first step and I should be able to take that this week, and then I'll go from there.

+ Replace the hall bathroom door lock. It's not working and it needs to!

+ Work on the family cookbook project. This is such a cool project being lead by my cousin. We need to write recipe head notes and probably make a few recipes to get photos. We want to finish by this summer ahead of a family reunion so we can print copies for everyone.

+ Weekly budget meetings with Chris. Always sometimes we aim to do, and harder when we are extra busy. But we have some bigger spending coming up so we want to be very attentive to our finances.

+ Make a calendar for my book proposal project and get to it. I have a time for this blocked out this week. To get to these "could happen at any time" projects done, I have to schedule specific time on my calendar.

+ Prep teacher appreciation gifts. This is when I'll plan to give our teachers end-of-year gifts. I have cards for everyone and I'm not sure yet what the gift will be. We'll be gifting four teachers this year, plus I usually write a thank you note to our principal. I might give a book gift to a few teachers (perhaps Beyond the Bright Sea, which is so beautiful but most people haven't read it, plus it's YA so feels like a great teacher read). Open to your suggestions, especially if you are a teacher!

Wishing you a happy April, friends!

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