Friday, March 23, 2018

Quick Takes Friday: Welcome, Spring!

I started writing most of these when I was in a pretty good mood yesterday...which is a good thing because today has been somewhat the opposite thus far. G has not been sleeping well (or napping, which has already interrupted this post so far) and woke up crying several times, I had to wait a half hour this morning for my hour-long Non Stress Test at the OB simply because a front desk person didn't notify the nurse I had arrived, and other annoying little details of the day that really should not change my mood in the big scheme of things...but well, #thirdtrimesterhormones be raging. Nonetheless, I'm going to sip my Peaceful Mama tea (I'm trying, people, I'm trying!) and catch up on some blogs and blogging as well as pray Lectio Divina (see #2). Anyway, onto the more happy writings from yesterday. ;)

1. March has proved to be a much more positive month for us, so spring really does seem to be arriving in many ways and I'm grateful! Today G and I had to meet daddy halfway from work because he had left his computer here at home. We met at our church, so it was lovely to have a little mommy/daughter date at the Adoration chapel and then take a walk around the block in the sunshine. Pregnancy has slowed me down so much...but sometimes it's for the better as I let go of my natural tendency to plan and rush and instead live more in the moment.

2. Lent has been unusual for me this year. I can't decide if I'd consider it a failure or a success. I've failed in several of my chosen things to do (totally cheated with social media and can't figure out why I didn't have the motivation this time!)...yet I've also established some good disciplines I hadn't chosen originally, like a daily lectio divina prayer routine at naptime. I've also stopped more often at Adoration or quiet churches to pray and realized it's not as tricky with a toddler as I (or the devil makes me) think.

Ash Wednesday...her little cross was mostly rubbed off
by the time mass was over :D

3. On the note of the devil, I started reading this book and it's SO GOOD so far. The book club I host read the author's book Unleashed last year and we loved it. This one is proving to be just as powerful. My parents generously surprised me with a Kindle last month and I'm in love. I never thought I'd enjoy e-books as much as a paper copy I could hold...but it is SO convenient to read one-handed (esp with a newborn coming soon!) as well as instantly download books from the library. If you have a Kindle, tell me your favorite ways to snag cheap or free books! ;)

4. It's getting more and more real that we're going to have a baby sometime next month. I'm super excited to meet this little one...and I'm almost just as excited to be able to eat and breathe normally again. ;) So many third trimester symptoms and still lots of medicines and testing but it's okay. Baby and I are both healthy and doing well. I'm also feeling pretty good about preparations but there's always more I'd like to do. We set up a crib and mini nursery last weekend and it's adorable! I'd show you a picture but it would give away the gender, so you'll just have to wait. ;) Yesterday my brother came over and helped me make five chicken pot pies. We ate one for dinner, froze three, and dropped the last one off at my friends' who just had their first baby. We are blessed to have a church community that is big into meal trains for postpartum moms, but I know it will be nice to have some freezer meals for when that tapers off and I'm learning to cook with two kiddos around!!

This little girl is going to be a huge help! Look how she
has mastered cleaning and caring for a 'baby' at the same time!


5. Do you all use Shutterfly? I'm really kinda in love with their photobooks...mostly because I haven't found a great system for printing and saving our pictures, and their "free" photobooks (pay shipping but it's worth it to me) provide a way for me to compile some great pictures of our past year and create a family album for us. However, I'm currently struggling with the teeeeedious task of uploading my husband's phone's pictures to use as well (mine automatically upload because of the Shutterfly app). Tell me how you do pictures!! I was just lamenting to a friend that I almost wish we still had rolls of film we developed and you got what you got....rather than going through hundreds of digital takes.

6. We hosted a young single woman for dinner this week who recently moved to the area and is looking for Catholic community. It was so nice to invite her in and learn more about her. I'm hoping we can connect her with some great people. I also realized with the invitation that I've learned to streamline my hosting to be welcoming yet not overly stressful perfection. It was a freeing realization that I can still welcome people into our home even with a toddler and a giant belly. My tips: tidy at the last minute (because #toddlers), plan a simple meal that doesn't take a lot of steps (mine was Caprese layered chicken, a salad mix, a loaf of grocery bakery French bread, steamed broccoli, and a crockpot fruit cobbler), quickly clean the bathroom they would use (as in wipe down the sink and shake the rug, haha!), and be so friendly that they don't notice any of the other imperfections of the evening, hahaha.

7. I really would love to hear from some of you bloggers about your personal motivations to blog in the midst of parenting. I've found in this pregnancy that I've really retreated into a smaller space of my family and home, my local community and church family, and simplicity in day to day life. Yet I also love the connection and community of blogging. I don't aspire to be a big blogger, I don't always feel like choosing writing over other pursuits during naptime, yet I can't quite give it up despite always toying with that idea. Tell me how you manage it with littles and that it's worth it. :)

Until next time, have a fabulous weekend and a beautiful Palm Sunday!

Linking up with Kelly!




4 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear that you had a rough wait at the OB's office, but I'm so happy to hear about all the other stuff! I've had a weird Lent-some unexpected stuff has happened, and I haven't finished my Lenten goals (I'm only about 1/3 way done with the book that I intended to finish before Easter, and I don't know if I'll get there or not!). It's tricky trying to figure out when I should push myself to do stuff that I don't really feel like doing (reading a spiritual book instead of a fiction book) and when I just need to give myself a break because-as you know-pregnancy and mothering a toddler can really wipe a person out.

    I've also found that as I dive into my local community (and as the weather gets nice) more, I'm spending less and less time online, but I really don't want to give up blogging because I love it. And because I have so many ideas for posts I want to write that I just haven't gotten around to yet ;) For several months before I got pregnant, I would go to a local coffee shop once a week before my husband went to work, and even though I'd only be there for about 2 hours at the most, I found that it was a nice way for me to have dedicated space for writing and reading blogs. Now that I'm in the second trimester and feeling better and it's easier to get up in the morning (on some mornings-not this week though!), I'm trying to start getting back to this coffee shop routine. I've also found that during naptime-or in the evenings if Peter's in bed and my husband is busy working on something-I usually would rather curl up with a book than blog, so really, the occasional morning is the best bet of any writing happening over here!

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    1. Oh, I hear you on the Lenten stuff! I don't know if I'm lazy for not pushing myself more or if I need to be joyfully offering what I currently already do...

      Love the coffee shop idea!! I really need to try that!!

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  2. Re kindle: Overdrive app is awesome for free ebooks through my library. I also utilize the Prime Lending Library! And I have a book wishlist and occasionally check it to see if book prices have dropped. I've saved sooo much money by waiting until books dropped to $2.99 or less :)

    Blogging is worth it for me! I blog less as more kids have been added and really just write whenever I'm feeling reallllly inspired. Pregnancy is always a hard time to blog for me so maybe don't base your feelings on things now...

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    1. Thanks for the Kindle recommendations!

      And yeeeessss, I really think pregnancy has been my blogging block! Hopefully I'll get my mojo back after a few months of adjusting to two littles. :)

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