Goodness gracious has it been a hot minute since I’ve written to you!
Back in March, I thought to myself: “Self, you should really get caught up on virtual assistant work/housework/exercise/dejunking before you blog. Maybe you should just take a week to get caught up on everything, and then you can start blogging again. ‘Kay? ‘Kay.”
Two months later.
Still not caught up, but I miss you guys, and so I am going to update you on everything in our life via a good old-fashioned update post!
About Us
- We are now self-employed. Saia launched a masonry business! It has been exciting, and scary all at the same time!
- We put in a garden. It is now completely planted, and full of onions, tomatoes, peppers, flowers, herbs, carrots, and swiss chard! I really wanted to plant some flowers to cut all summer long, and I did! Can’t wait for them to pop up.
- We finally installed a baby gate at the top of our stairs. I feel like we are officially parents now.
- We still have not gone on a date without Gideon. Sad, but true. Maybe…soon? Our third wedding anniversary is in July, so maybe then? Tell me we’re not the only ones to wait forever after having a baby to do this.
This is an extra-large mailbox Hubs made last month!
About Gideon
- Gideon is now army crawling around. He would MUCH rather be carried or stand up, but since he is edging ever closer to the ten-month-mark we’ve been trying to do everything we can to help him spend more time on his belly, and practice crawling.
- I have a whole lotta Mama Guilt and fears that he hasn’t crawled super fast, because I’ve carried him too much.
- Gideon loves pickles and pickled kalamata olives—which just goes to show that while he might not look like me, he is, after all, like his mama. He does not, however, like watermelon. At all. Which is odd, considering I ate watermelons by the dozen when I was pregnant with him. Maybe he is just watermeloned-out? He loves meat of all kinds, butternut squash, and berries!
- Gideon has one tooth all the way through, and another one trying to come through. This second tooth has been the worst. He has been in pain for the past five days! He had a bit of a fever, wasn’t sleeping, and it has been so rough. I hope it comes through soon!
About Me
- I’ve started diving into VBAC research. I find it so fascinating, and when we do have a second child, I want to do everything I can to prepare to raise my chances of having a successful VBAC.
- I’ve struggled with this whole stay-at-home-mom thing, and I don’t know how to write about it. I am so grateful and happy to be home with Gideon, and wouldn’t want it any other way, but at the same time I’m still trying to figure out how to get enough people time in too.
- I tried a Thredup Goody Box, and LOVED the experience, a review will be up on the blog in the next couple weeks.
- My sister, who goes to college at my alma mater only five minutes from our apartment, left for Europe for six weeks (rude), and I have REALLY missed her popping in multiple times a week. Sob.
- My Mom and I are finally getting down to launching our podcast. We’ve both been through some crazy-busy seasons this past year, but we are plugging away to launch our very own podcast soon!
- I haven’t gotten out by myself to Starbucks for many a month, and I really have felt it. Maybe this week?
- Saia took Gideon out of the house for the FIRST TIME EVER on Mother’s day. I was alone in my home for fifty-four incredible minutes. The first time I’ve been by myself at home in over nine months. It was glorious. I put on a slimy charcoal facemask, took a shower that lasted longer than five minutes, and made some cookies.
- I had an incredible Mother’s day, mostly because I texted Saia and clearly asked for a list of things. I made suggestions, and he followed those suggestions (flowers, a sweet note, a Facebook post, lots of praise), it was fantastic.
- I need to make more mama friends. Want to be friends?
- My sister and I went to our first yoga class together a few months back. It was so fun!
- I still have about 10-13 pounds to lose before I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I kinda hoped breastfeeding a twenty-five pound baby would take care of that, but nope. Sigh. Guess I need to start eating fewer ice cream cones and more salads.
- We bought a sunshade for our little patio, and hubs is putting it up sometime this week, and I can’t wait!
- I’m training for a half-marathon in October! By training I mean hauling the stroller over the baby gate, down the flight of stairs, securing a crying baby into said stroller while he straightens stiff as a board to keep me from doing so, and then slowly slogging two miles at a time in a big loop around our town in eighty-degree heat. It actually feels really good to move, and Gideon loves being in the stroller (just not getting in to the stroller).
Welp, my coffee is merrily boiling away in the Bialetti, which I’m kinda thinking is not good for the overall flavor, so I’m going to go. Until next time!
It’s so good to hear an update from you! Wow, that mailbox is really, really cool-how cool that your husband has a masonry business!
Have you read “One Beautiful Dream” by Jennifer Fulwiler? I have an inkling that you would appreciate that book-it’s all about the importance of making time and space for personal passions in the midst of young babies and needy children. It came out recently and I honestly feel like the book was written just for me because of how much I related to her words and needed them at this point in time! It’s exhausting to have a little one. I’ve already been thinking a lot about postpartum for #2 (who is due in a few months) because there are definitely changes I want to make from how we did things with #1, so that I don’t lose my sanity quite as much 😉
Kudos to you for running and half marathon training! I’ve never run further than 3.2 miles, but I’ve decided that someday I want to do a half marathon because I seem to have this weird idea that it’d be fun? I’m struggling enough as it is to keep running currently. I’m about 29 weeks pregnant and the most I can do is 1/2-1 mile while pushing my toddler in the stroller, and I’m so slow that my friends’ walking paces are my “running pace” haha!
Haha, oh Bethany, I love your description of training for the half marathon! I am not training for a half (which by the way, congrats on just signing up for one-let alone trying to squeeze in the training!) but I have felt the same way when running around our neighborhood with a stroller, in the heat, with a baby who decided she doesn’t like the stroller but would much rather prefer to be held!! I totally echo what many of the other moms have said in commenting on your post, wish we lived closer! I think these are all good signs that there are multiple moms very close to your abode that would love and cherish being your friend. I’m in a bit of a different situation than you, but I have just been trying to be intentional about hanging out with someone besides my husband once a week. Idk if I told you that already. It’s helped me tremendously with all the mom hormones, life transitions, overall mood and making/keeping in touch with friends!
I wish you lived closer too, Alice! I would love to meet your sweet little Nora someday! Let me know if you guys are ever in town. 🙂
Hanging out with someone besides your hubby once a week is an awesome goal!! Thanks for sharing! I definitely need to get out more, and schedule a bit more friend time.
I am glad I’m not the only one hauling her baby out to run, ha ha! It helps me so much, that I persist, even if somedays it is a lot more work than I wish it was. Ha!
So good to read from you! I’m happy I see your Instagram updates too 🙂
I’m with you with finding people time. I work 2 days a week now, but on the other 3 weekdays, I have set plans on 2 of the days (playgroup one day; toddler library session another day) and the other day I can usually just be at home or even invite a friend over.
It is SO fun to see a bit more of your life via instagram!
I really need to make a schedule like you have! That sounds wonderful. Wish we lived close enough to get together!
It happened to me too. But it’s been good for my heart. I get the fears about crawling! Every kid has a different personality. Some just love to be carried and held. Joseph is now walking pretty well but I still have to resist the urge to compare back to when Rebekah did things or to all the babies who started walking at nine months *crazy*! And I have to remind myself that there are plenty of perfectly normal babies and children who didn’t walk until 16 months. Comparison is the worst for mama guilt! I wish we lived closer–I would totally come over with coffee and all the kids and we could go for walks. And the SAHM thing is tricky. I go between feeling too busy and feeling alone. It was harder when Rebekah was a baby. I found a good group of mom friends over the past few months.
Comparison IS the worst! I’m glad I’m not the only one. I REALLY wish we lived loser! That would be so fun! I am so glad that you have found a group of mamas! Where did you find them? Church?
Love, love, love this update! And, girlfriend, I SO understand the “I’ll just give it a week…oops now it’s been months!” issue. Happened to me, too.
Love that you’re truthfully living in your season and letting life happen! (But also really loved the update <3 )
Thanks sweet friend! Are you all done traveling now? Or more trips on the horizon?