making 2014 count
originally posted sometime in the early 2014’s
so, i’m undeniably in the sweet spot. between kid one and kid two. i’ve got a nice long nap time in the afternoon (hers, but sometimes mine, too). i’m getting a reasonable amount of sleep every night. my second trimester is bestowing all the energy needed to finish the mundane – laundry, cooking, diaper change, mopping, dishes, diaper change – and even a little extra to prepare mid-morning kale smoothies, shop for all the appropriate ingredients for a balanced dinner while little bee pushes the cart into a display of wine bottles, and get out of the house for daily on-the-cheap kid-centric entertainment. at 16 months now, little bee is finally able to entertain herself for brief stints so i can get a lot more done while she’s awake, too. i really truly thought this day would never come. and while i’m not in a position to go back to my former life as an editor right now (see: baby on the way), i do have time to practice my chosen craft of stringing words together and increase my abilities with my fujifilm x10.
i often catch myself composing blog posts in my head throughout the day – most often when i’m trying to fall asleep. do you do that, too? perhaps i spend too much of my down-time reading other blogs, but i’m just one of those people who gets so sucked in when i can relate my own life to perfect strangers. and i find it inspiring to read about parents travelling for a month in bali with their toddler and i’m so happy to see i’m not the only one who would wake up at 4:45 am for a cronut. from the every day to the not-so-typically, i think we can all inspire, humble, and support each other so much. this is a great space to do it.
since today marks a new year, here’s a snippet of my resolutions:
start writing again. ergo, blog.
get photos organized. ergo, blog again!
unplug and get outside more. somewhere between the crisp autumn days of september and the holidays i gave up my daily runs to the park with bee. i think it has to do with a few instances of carrying her a mile home from the park while pushing the bob when numb hands became too much to bear without a constant hug from mom. toddlers everywhere, there is a solution – mittens! why won’t you keep them on? there are other ways to get outside, of course. bee loves a nice walk as my backpack in the ergo. so that’s what we’ll do. can you possibly think of a more lovely way to fall asleep than snuggled close to mom, bouncing slowly up and down, with the crisp air pinching your cheeks rosy? i can’t. more of that.
more veggies. self-explanatory and hopefully on everyone’s list. i’m planning to regularly feature ways on this blog that bee and i share veggies that aren’t already covered when you google ‘how on earth can i get my toddler to eat veggies?’. seriously people, do we really have to cover everything in ranch dressing and mac and cheese to make it edible to a young pallet?
get more done. this might be a catch-all. but you know that sense of accomplishment when you print and bind that 100-page proposal or when you discover a trend on that pivot table you created? no? you’re a stay-at-home-mom like me? there is no end-point to being a mother. there is no report to print. and though sometimes you get a glorious a-ha moment like ‘so that’s where i put the poopy diaper’, that sense of accomplishment you may have reveled in during a previous life is quite seldom found. so, what’s a mother to do? projects! knit a cowl for your cold puppy, start gluing felt together for next year’s advent calendar, and maybe even finish composing and post a very first blog post.
done and done.
the knees of my bees 