Currently August

Currently...

*Enjoying settling in to our new home! After moving across the country and knowing for about a year that a move was likely, it's a relief to be able to settle in and have things feel less up in the air. I love how light and bright the space is and lots of cool features and quirks of living in a 100-year-old house.

*Embracing novelty and discovering new things in San Diego. It's a significantly bigger city than where we were in Colorado, so it's been great exploring new restaurants, museums, parks, beaches etc.

*Struggling to get into a good routine, particularly around bedtimes and nap time for Avi. Moving twice in two months has been a lot for all of us, and I'm trying to remember that it will take time to feel settled again. The lack of predictable routine (and time to myself) has made some of the days feel particularly long recently.

*Feeling ambivalent about working vs. staying home. For the first time in nearly a decade, I am not returning to the classroom. It felt like one to many transitions this year to start work at a new school, and I am really grateful for the extra time at home with Avi and getting to nerd-out on Montessori and early childhood learning. That said, I'm noticing that I'm feeling guilt for not working or worry that I should be doing more right now. I'm trying to sit with the feeling without impulsively readjusting everything. I know that I don't feel the same judgement towards other stay-at-home parents that I do towards myself, and I'm also guessing part of this is just adjusting to the back-to-school season away from a school community and job I really enjoyed.

*Listening to Kate Bush and The Head and the Heart (especially after going to their concert earlier this week). Also listening to all the Music Together cd on repeat with Avi and melting a bit each time I see her paging through the songbook and singing along.

* Walking around our new neighborhood and to the park and library just about every day.

*Shopping at Trader Joe's again and obsessed with the veggie soba stir fry.

*Reading books like: Wahala (loved but the ending was a bit off the rails), The Best We Can Do, and rereading Pride and Prejudice.

*Appreciating being an hour away from so many family members and reconnecting with friends who live in the area.

*Looking ahead to feeling more at home each week here and building many more memories in this new place.

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What's Saving My Life: Sick Kid Edition

As I wrote yesterday, one of my daughters got sick, and so we didn’t make it to our camping trip! I had a really good attitude about it for most of the day and mostly felt grateful that she got sick at home and not 2 hours away, in the desert, where we would have to completely takedown a campsite before leaving. But by the afternoon, I was feeling a little grumpy and bummed to miss an adventure we’d been looking forward to and also cooped up from being inside all day with a kid who wasn’t feeling well. Inspired by San’s recent “Five Things That are Saving My Life Right Now” post, I decided to make my own list that was specific to sick days at home. In no particular order: *Emkfit videos on youtube. It’s awesome to have such a fun, silly, sweaty workout to do. I always feel happier having done the dance videos, and it really helps my mood on days when I’m at home a lot and restless *Good books. I posted earlier this week that October was not the best reading month for me, and so I spen...

Toddler Travel--Road Trip Edition

So happy to be writing from Southern California after our road trip out from Colorado. It has been so nice to see family and enjoy cooler weather and time at the beach. This was far and away the longest Avi has ever been in the car, and it was definitely less relaxing to drive long distances with a toddler, but it actually went better than I thought it would. I love road trips, so I'm happy that this is something we can look forward to lots more of as a family. In case anyone else is planning to travel with their little one(s), I thought I would share a few things we did that helped, and a few things I wished we did differently. Tips: *Bring various activities that can be easily done from a car seat. I brought some of Avi's favorite toys including: a toy she could buckle and unbuckle, a chunky beads and thread kit, and a paint with water set from Melissa and Doug's . I also brought bubbles which were a big hit although we left them in...

FIGS Week 1

This month, I’m joining Elisabeth and other bloggers in the FIG collective. I’m trying to look for and notice the good things in life. The beginning of the month snuck up on me! But I’ve been adding small (and not so small good things) to a google doc for the past week as I notice the good that’s around me. A list of FIGs this week: *Hanging out with friends while kids play on the front sidewalk. I’m always grateful to live near friends and have those easy unplanned moments of community. *Playing hide and seek with the girls makes me feel like a kid again. I also think it’s hilarious that my youngest always finishes counting and then says, “mom, where are you?” *Right now whenever M tries to say “tag, you’re it!” it sounds like “tag, carrot!” Toddler phrases are the best. *Seeing a Western Bluebird and Red Shouldered Hawk at the park. *Reading Everyone is Lying . It’s kind of a candy read, and I am here for it. If the idea of a trad wife muder mystery sounds intriguing to you, I...

Eye to Wonder

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