Even though our days often feel the same when I sit down to write these posts I realize how much happens each month. Here's what September looked like for me. Inspired by... The Curated Closet. I heard about this book from the A Beautiful Mess podcast and I requested it from the library. The book walks you through exercises to discover your personal style and gives ways to put together a wardrobe that you love. I'm really enjoying the book. It feels like The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up for your closet. I love the author's perspective that you... Read more →

I just put the baby back down to sleep, her belly full and head so heavy on my shoulder. At 5:30 a.m. the house is dark and full of the whoosh of white noise (we call it the hurricane as we are convinced that the more white noise machines we have going to more likely our children are to sleep). Chris just tiptoed in from the garage, returning from his daily morning coffee run and violin practice. And about the time that I opened up this blank post and tried to let myself relax enough to type the big boys... Read more →

When I look back on this time I know that my memories of navigating the covid19 pandemic will be intertwined with those of welcoming Maeve and newborn life. Maybe it will make her newborn days even more memorable. Funny enough, the hardest part of having an infant (lack of sleep) has loosely tracked along with the rise and fall of coronavirus cases in Arizona. What a correlation! It might be the additional and increasingly dependable sleep that I'm getting but I'm coming to you with this stay at home check in with some cautious optimism (!). New case numbers of... Read more →

Already a month since my last stay at home check in. And I'm sad/angry to say that things look even worse here in Arizona. I remember how at the beginning of staying at home our case numbers were in the hundreds (well probably greater since testing was not and still is not where it should be). How cute is that to think that hundreds of cases warranted staying at home? And now Arizona has thousands of new cases per day and yet we are essentially open for business while there is no state-level mandate for masks. The governor did order... Read more →

Currently in June I am: Inspired by... The boys. They are living their best life. Honestly they do not complain about this at-home lifestyle. Maybe once or twice at most. They are so resilient and are spending their days playing and creating even if that doesn't always look as tidy and as quiet as I wish. As I've been worried about them missing out on school and being with friends I need to remember to stop projecting worry and look at how great they are doing. I'm also inspired by my partnership with Chris. I love how much we're on... Read more →

It's been a few weeks since my last stay at home check in so I thought I would do another one. We are still staying home and will continue to do so. The number of new cases of coronavirus continues to increase dramatically in Arizona. So much in fact that Arizona has been highlighted in national news articles. In the linked article Arizona ex-health chief Will Humble says that the governor "squandered an opportunity" to maintain the decreasing number of cases by letting the stay-at-home order expire and not simultaneously requiring people to wear face masks and to maintain social... Read more →

May was our second full month of self-isolating at home, our second month of having Maeve/three kids, and the end of an unprecedented school year for the boys. In May I started to getting antsy to reclaim some time to myself and some predictability; that’s just what happens to me at about three weeks postpartum. As we head into June I’m happy to say that we’re seeing progress on both. I started this post during a few hours to myself at my parents’ house in Chandler. In the past couple of weeks Chris and I have both used the house... Read more →

How are you, friends? Cities and states are starting to open up. Some people, in masks and not, feel comfortable venturing out while others are staying home. In our house, for now, we’re planning to stay the at-home course. For us this includes having only Chris go to stores and only going when we really need to although we’re still on a weekly grocery shopping schedule. In terms of socializing we have been getting together with Chris’s sister and her family. We started this a few weeks ago after we had all been self-isolating for several weeks. We’re taking turns... Read more →

I wrote most of this post shortly after Maeve arrived when I was experiencing the evening blues that I'll describe here. I'm happy to report that around two weeks postpartum I started to feel my emotions even out and I'm not experiencing bluesy evenings any more. Since giving birth to Maeve I’ve found myself having a particular feeling: I feel really nostalgic for now. Can you relate to that feeling? Is there a word for it? What I’m feeling isn’t postpartum depression — I don’t have feelings of anxiety, wanting to withdraw, or other indicative symptoms — although I’m open... Read more →

At first I titled this post "March Wrap Up" and was so confused for several seconds to see that I've already written that post. What day is it? What month is it? April 2020 was a month of significance: Ten years of marriage. Welcoming our daughter, Maeve Elizabeth. Becoming a family of five. A full month of self-isolating because of a global pandemic. At times life has felt the happiest it’s ever been but then also hard and weird. I felt a range of emotions last month from impatient waiting for Maeve; overjoyed to finally be holding her; nostalgic for... Read more →