Life lately

This and that

in

This morning, I kissed Emma goodbye as she and Paul left for pre-school and work. I slowly made breakfast, sipped my hot coffee, and relished in my newfound silence. It still has not quite hit me that I will have a few days per week of toddler-free time. It's strange really. It's only 9am and I don't even know what to do with myself today. 

My two littles. They are already buddies. And clearly think their mom is weird.

Actually, I do have some plans for while I am still on maternity leave. If you aren't interested in the slightest, feel free to eXit. But if you like listening to me blather, read on. ;] 

In a week and a half I am heading on a retreat with my fellow Blessed Is She writers. I'll be taking Henry with me on a plane all by myself, so wish me luck. At the end of the month, Paul, Emma, Henry, and I are going to our favorite vacation spot - Lake Tahoe - for a week of family time. It's my favorite time of year to go to Tahoe and I cannot wait to spend time in the mountains and fresh air.

My mom and sister came to visit us this weekend and Emma was in Auntie-loving heaven.

I also hope to establish a more regular health routine. I hesitate to call it a fitness routine because it's more than that. I am going to be working on more meal planning and preparation so we stop eating so much take out. The end of my pregnancy and this newborn haze has made my eating habits atrocious and I want to focus on preparing whole foods ahead of time. Crock pot meals, here I come! I also want to get out for more walks with Henry and get back to what I love - yoga. I also want to work on quiet mindfulness while our place is quiet. 

On the practical sides of things, I will be heading back to work in October and I am looking to work more days per week. Paul and I also want to move to a new place. We are doing well in our one bedroom, but we think it's time to look for a two bedroom.

Henry has become so animated in the last week and his facial expressions crack me up.

So there you have it for now, a little of this and that while I sip my coffee and stare at a sleeping 5-week old. Happy Tuesday! 

From the hive

in ,

There is a constant buzz around me. I do not think I have had a moment of complete quiet in (if I were being completely honest) months. Our little apartment by the bay reminds me of a humming hive -- filled with the hustle of daily life and even in the moments of calm, have an air of profound significance. This life of ours, both in the meaningful milestones and the (equally meaningful) mundane moments, is being formed before our eyes. I am in the trenches of married life, of toddler-raising, of homemaking, of a new career, of growing a human, and of expanding our family.

Here are a few of the thrums and hums from the hive lately.

Emma has been religiously working on her tennis swing. Her concentrated furrowed brow proceeds swing after swing while she attempts to finally make contact with the ball. I've been hit by the ball and by the racket several times and sometimes she comically twirls in a full circle after a particularly enthusiastic effort. 

The attention given to this belly is overwhelmingly beautiful. The hugs, the kisses, and the squeezes give me glimpses into our life with two. She is never one to leave baby brother out of the fun and insists on reading to him and on playing with him.

The imagination of a toddler is unwaveringly inspiring. On this occasion, she was sharing her apples with minnie mouse and "mama dino" after nap.

This corner of the apartment sees the most action by the toddler tornado. But sometimes she slows down long enough for me to capture a precious moment of nurturing as she reads to her best friend. 

Never have you seen such an enthusiastic love of bubbles. We are in the throws of potty training and for every five stickers on her potty chart, she receives a prize. What better prize than a new bottle of bubbles for her and a dry diaper for me? 

And the biggest little girl who wants to do everything by herself and exactly like her number one hero, daddy.

This here. These are the days, the moments, that I will always want to remember.

 

On life, lately (at home edition)

in

(That blog post title sounds weird, but I'm going to just go with it.) This could also be titled we have cabin fever and are on survival mode. Or I'm so tired and my hair is greasy but we are surviving. Yeah those just don't sound great either.

Basically these few things are going on that are making me a bit harried. Emma has been waking up at the crack o' dawn and I miss sleep. (I know it will be ten zillion times worse with a newborn but it feels pretty poopie right now.) Nap time is unpredictable and I am lucky to get 90 minutes uninterrupted. I usually spend 89 of those minutes sitting, staring blankly at my wall trying to regroup for the second half of our day. This week, our landlords started construction in our back drive way/parking area. While I am sick of the dirt driveway and I look forward to no longer traipsing dirt through our entry way on the regular when they finally pave it, the construction is loud and the jack hammering happens to coincide with nap time. I think Emma is also getting a cold (and when did it become a thing for her to come up to me, ask for a hug, then proceed to wipe her nose on my shoulder???).

And to top off this not so delicious sundae, I also have general pregnancy fatigue, back pain, and heart burn. Oh joy. (I'm just full of sunshine aren't I?)

BUT what I have come to realize with the help of some awesome/inspiring/rock star mamas who I know -- it's okay to give your momma self a little leeway, a lot of forgiveness, and just go with the flow. I've been feeling like a home body, we have been living in various forms of PJs and yoga pants, my hair is extra greasy, and I am not sure I've vacuumed in a few days. But so what? 

During the past few days, Emma and I have just been going with it. I have been throwing together various activities and toddler distractions just to give myself a 1.7 minute reprieve. She's happy for a minute and I don't have to listen to two year old tantrums for a second. Small victories. 

Here is life lately, the at home edition. Jazz hands.

We have been making many smoothies over here. Emma is fascinated by the nutribullet and she will practically eat anything I throw in there. Chia seeds, check! Spinach, gotcha!

Parent tip number 390,283: Tape a huge piece of paper up under the kitchen counter, provide a box of crayons, and watch the masterpiece unfold. 

Thanks Pinterest for this idea. Pipe cleaners and an upside down colander. Boom, that's 3 minutes. 

After Mr. Jack hammer woke her up halfway through her nap, I let her crawl into my bed to attempt to coax her back to sleep. It worked for 30 minutes. EYE ROLL. 

I have been attempting to cut out processed snacks for this one so DIY trail mix has been our replacement and it's a hit. The chocolate chips are the first to go, obviously. That's another few minutes. *pats my own back*

I will congratulate myself with this activity which kept her busy nearly an hour on and off. We sorted pom poms in different colors and I made up different games. I got to sit comfortably on the couch for this one. *kicks my feet up* 

I was at the end of my rope last night so I took a long, luxurious bath with the essentials. I think Paul saw the desperate look in my eyes and told me to lock the door for as long as I needed. 

Not pictured: my iPad with Netflix streaming at its highest volume.

This morning we actually "enjoyed" the construction because Emma got to see the big flat bed truck and the dirt loader thing (I don't really know its official name). She kept saying "DIRT!!!" and "WOAH!!!" We also compared pictures of the vehicles to this cool book she has. 

Her excitement is pretty darn cute though. Oh, you adorable dirt loader lover. 

Now we are going to hop in the shower for a long steam session to loosen up her sinus congestion and buy us a few more sanity-saving minutes. We also made some banana bread this morning and that was a good five minutes of mixing ingredients and who would have thought the oven window with the light on is as good as Daniel Tiger? No I.

Survival mode, on. 

Happy Friday.

And for your viewing pleasure, a little video of our color sorting.