2012- A Mom in Review

I've always been a reminiscer, (you know...one who reminisces) so the sappy reviews brought on by the New Year are right up my alley. Want to look back on all the memories of the year? Yeah I do. Want to make a neat little countdown list of it all? Um, YES! Nostalgia + bullet points- this kind of methodical categorization plus unapologetic sappiness is like a salty-caramel snack for my soul.

So naturally with the new year approaching, I spent a little time trolling through our pictures and skimming the Bowdenisms archives, and it's astounding to me how many memories a year can hold. I don't want to get all "rent-head" on you, but 525,600 minutes? That's a whole lot of time..that still seems to pass in the blink of an eye. 2012 was full of a lot of things, (a LOT of things) but for me, it could be summed up as The Year of the Mom. More specifically, the year I spent learning, and trying, and failing, and loving, all that is Motherhood (capital M necessary). So before we close the book on this year, and ring in the new one, I wanted to revisit some of our best times from each month, and what they mean through the eyes of a Mama.

January-My prom bday party.

I think last January, subconsciously I had something to prove...even just to myself. Sure, I have a baby now, but I am still capable of throwing a wild, over-the-top soirée and dancing til dawn. (Alright, not quite dawn...but late, ok?! "I've still got it!!", She insists to her imaginary critics.) A TON of work went into making this party happen, and like always, my charming-but-crazy notions wouldn't be possible without my family (Dustin and my parents are the wind beneath my party planning wings). I don't feel the urge to throw another blow-out this year, but I'm so grateful for the fun we had at that party. And even more grateful that 30 is still one more year away.

February- Piper's "1 year" bday- alternate title: "Looks Like We Made It".

I know I skew towards the dramatic sometimes (yes...almost always counts as "sometimes") but motherhood, parenting, and even just surviving, didn't come easy for me the first few months of Piper's life. I love that girl, but dang she rocked us pretty good. I cried big, dramatic, grateful tears when we made to the three month milestone, thinking about all the friends ad family that were there foe us throughout her first year in existence. And still when I look back on this year I can't remember many days where my heart felt more full.

March- My return to work.

When my twelve weeks maternity leave expired in January, I knew, I just knew, I couldn't go back. I never thought I'd be the mom that loved staying home (truth be told, I'm still not that mom) but for whatever reason, in my heart I just wasn't ready to leave my girl. I felt our time together wasn't finished, and the thought of going back to work sent me into a very real panic. Thankfully I did have the option of extending my time off, and after another four week at home, it felt right (though still scary) to return to work. I worried plenty about how I would re-assimilate. I feared I was slow, soft, fragile...and in ways- I was. There were days I cried on the way home because I had no clue if I could do "everything". And there were times when I had to mentally repeat "I think I can, I think I can" to get through workday pumping sessions, feeling guilty about the work piling up around me and onto others. So there were many, many moments that I was positive I was mucking everything up. Times I was sure the entire working-mom system is flawed and cannot possibly be executed by real humans. But through it, I've also felt an enormous sense of purpose and pride. In the good and the bad, I know that every single day I'm doing what I was uniquely created for: designing, negotiating, problem solving, and snuggling. Some days are more of one thing, and less of another...but I'm doing them...every day I'm doing them.

April- Piper sat up.

I have no idea why some moments as a mom just get me but this one did. We were playing on the floor in the kitchen, and all of a sudden, Piper just sat on her own. No elaborate fan fare, no dramatic building to a milestone. Just one minute she couldn't sit without help....and the next...she could. I sat next to her and watched her proud little face, on her big giant head, atop her chubby little body, and I cried. Proud, happy, sappy mama tears.

May- First Mother's Day

One more holiday with presents for me? Ain't nothin' wrong with that!
(But for real, you can't have a motherhood-milestone post and not mention Mother's Day. Thanks for the card, Pips!)

June- Family Vacation in South Carolina
 

This was a long, rowdy, tiring, loud week of togetherness. Basically a concentrated version of our long, rowdy, tiring, loud life...but set in a warmer climate. And I loved pretty much every second of it. My little family spent a week on the beach with my big family- including brothers and sisters (turned aunts and uncles) nieces and nephews (turned cousins) and parents (now grandparents) and we made memories to last a lifetime. Or at least to last us until we're crazy enough to do it again. Which I'm hoping is very very soon.

July-

In July we went to visit Dustin's parents in Florida, which was a fun week of swimming, golf carting, ladies lunching, line dancing, and domino playing. We had a blast showing Piper off to the Villagers, and introducing her to all the wonderful things Florida (and a retirement community) have to offer. But one of my favorite days was getting up early with her while Dustin went on a golf outing. It was early enough that it wasn't blazing hot (or suffocatingly humid) so we went on a walk around the neighborhood in our borrowed stroller. It wasn't anything special, we just toured the homes, and admired the decorative driveway murals. But she kicked her legs (and her little naked toes) happily as I jabbered on about anything I could think of, and I realized I was actually having a good time too. Sure there's something nice about a captive audience, but little snippets like this get me excited for the day she understands what I'm yammering about, and chimes in with her own thoughts. She's always my baby, but in tiny, seemingly insignificant moments, I realize she's also my family.

August- Our seventh anniversary
*technically September 4th, but the long weekend started in August, so we count it.

Each year for our anniversary we try to take a big trip to celebrate another year together. But with a baby in the mix this time around, it just wasn't seeming possible. So we compromised and planned a wonderful weekend in Columbus, while Piper enjoyed some time with her grandparents. It was a definite change of pace after spending previous years in sunning in Jamaica, or roaming around the wild west, but just spending time together without the nugget was enough for us. We talked and laughed, and ate and drank to our hearts content...And then happily took a break from "us time" to join the Pipster and our families at the local church festival. It turns out we're still very much in love with each other...but still aren't quite complete without at least a little dose of our girl if we can get it.


September- Adventures in Babysitting

As I was wrapping up my workday, I got a frantic call from Dustin. "I need you. She's here. I need you!" We had offered to watch a friend's baby that evening while they went out for their anniversary, and they had arrived a bit earlier than I expected. I rushed home, to find Dustin looking a little panicked- a baby in each arm, toys and food everywhere. He had done a great job getting dinner ready for each of them, but the babies were getting cranky, jealous of each other, and had started to egg each other on into competing crying fits. With an extra set of hands, we were able to feed both girls (separating them when necessary) and clean up a tiny bit before heading up to bathtime. This entire night had been my bright idea, we were getting into a groove with Piper, I figured how hard could one more be? You're already doing all the work...it's just a little bit more to include another little one, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Our little charge is a very sweet girl, so she wasn't a problem in the slightest, but it turns out having two is pretty much double the work. Or maybe triple. Plus, this little girl was only a month younger than Piper, but had very different preferences. We weren't used to pacifiers, blankie cuddling, or long hair to brush, so we learned a little on the fly. It was a short and relatively uneventful night, but it was still an eye-opener to the world of two kiddos (on a weeknight after work no less). I saw that night that another baby would be doable, but if we were expecting a Piper clone that would seamlessly slide into our family, then we'd be mistaken. Another kid would be a whole new personality with their own patterns, likes and dislikes, so it wouldn't necessarily
be as simple as piling one on top of our family of three. Oh, and it was possible to be more tired after all.

October- The Influence Conference

Is it strange to choose an event that I attended sans-Piper for one of my mama-moments? This conference was an adventure for me. Leaving my girl (and my man) for a women's weekend, to spend some time learning about, and investing in something just for me. I met some lovely girls, picked up some useful tips, and gained some valuable perspective. So much of my life revolves around our precious little lady, but there is still so much of my life that is still mine, and I'm intensely grateful for the chance to celebrate and focus on those parts too.

November- Piper's 1st bday (for real this time)

Piper's three month/one year celebration was such a huge deal in my heart, that when it came time for her actual one year birthday, I was surprised by how calm I was about it all. I expected to be a sentimental mess about mah bay-bee growing up, but that never really happened. We planned a beautiful party (that I kept as simple as I know how) and had fun celebrating with our friends and family. It was a hectic day, but the milestone in general passed without too much emotional fanfare. In Piper's early days, everything was big deal to me. I celebrated getting us both out the door in the morning. I teared up at the thought of missing our weekly yoga class together. I was new, overwhelmed and raw. But a year later, my open wounds of motherhood- the vulnerable parts of my spirit that had been exposed to the world through having a child- had healed over a bit. It wasn't that a year of mom-ing had made me calloused or scarred...I just had my skin back. And it felt good to live in it.

December- Christmas with family

Christmas (the day, the season, the concept) is a bit of a whirlwind every time, and this year was no exception. We traveled across the state (twice) to see families on both sides of our home, and spent a week and a half dessert eating, gift unwrapping, photo taking, face timing, and nap fighting with our nearest and dearest. Traveling with a baby makes for a tiring week, but I love how we are starting to form traditions with our girl. We skipped buying her presents (shhh....she never really noticed, as she was plenty spoiled by our extended family) and focused on doing things together instead. She'll never remember this year, so we still have lots of flexibility as to what future holidays will look like. Maybe we'll cut down our own tree next time...Maybe we'll "adopt" a family to buy gifts for...Maybe we'll host Christmas one year? I love how open our lives still are, and how we are crafting what each milestone, tradition and holiday looks like through the eyes of a Bowden. (p.s. Keeping it real with this photo. She does not always love our family-togetherness outings. Or at least isn't always fond of the obligatory photo-op.)

So there are twelve of my 525,600 mama moments...How do we measure this year? There are plenty of silly (and smelly) units to mark it by...but we measure in love. Always love.

The Christmas Tree: It Shines

I know you're probably expecting some Christmas baby adorableness, but I don't have that ready to share....(still living it!)

In the spirit of giving though, I will repost this gem, captured by Meg...It's my friend Katie and me doing our best rendition of SNL's Garth and Kat. Katie leads...I follow. Poorly.

Christmas Song from Our Something New on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas!!

P.s. (My sweater is courtesy of Katie and Craig's Christmas card this year. I desperately hope for her to start a blog so you can witness more of her awesomeness.)

Sharing Christmas 2012: Link Up Party!

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited to share Christmas with you all! I can't wait to see all your homes and traditions, and I'm thrilled to share some of ours with you as well. Please join in the fun and link up below...(you'll have to scroll through 1,837 Piper photos, but I swear the links are down there!) and make sure to check out the other Sharing Christmas Hosts, as well as the rest of the link up participants!

 Nicole- The Style Hatch, Julie- Green Eggs and Hammes,  

Jen- Migonis Home, Kacia- Coconut Robot, Shannon- The Scribble Pad,

As for us Bowdens-This will be our fifth Christmas season in this house, which is almost impossible for me to believe. We are getting OLD. (Ummm...and so is our house. This will be our house's 87th Christmas!) We did the decorating thing full-on our first year here, but since then we've more or less opted out. I won't bore you with my retailer's sob story of why I'm such a curmudgeon...because this year we're back on the wagon. And the wagon has a tree. (what?)

Yep. We succumbed to the parental pressure. No, not from our parents...the pressure of being a parent. What kind of parents don't take their little to pick out a tree? And put up stockings? And share Christmas with them?! Not this kind.

So we are going for it this year. We're continuing traditions, and making memories. BUT we're also keeping it pretty simple. I want to show Piper how special this season can be, but I don't want to go over the top with all the trimmings, and miss what really matters to us. So we opt in and opt out. We opt in to the things we love, and opt out of the things we don't. Simple as that.

Interested in some things we're choosing to enjoy this year? Prepare yourself for the photo onslaught!

Getting a Christmas tree. I have countless memories of going to pick out a tree with my family, and was excited to start that tradition with Piper. We didn't trudge through the snow covered hills to cut down an epic evergreen....But we did go out together to get a real live tree...and enjoyed some real live cookies!

The outfit, you guys. It's probably wrong to love something so much.

 

We got a lovely little tree, which sat undecorated for a couple nights...until Dustin finally led the charge to deck it out. Turns out he might have a future in this tree trimming business!

(YES! That is a grilled cheese ornament!! And I'm just a little bit obsessed with it.)

One of my favorite, favorite things about Christmas-time is Christmas cards. We haven't pulled our act together to actually do our own card this year (and I'm not positive if we will!), but I'm still LOVING getting them from others. Piper doesn't really "get" much of this Christmas stuff, but she loves to help me open the mail, and look at all the pretty pictures our friends send. She grabs each card, and carries "her friends" around the house with her, pointing out all the babies and doggies she can find.

No pinterest worthy display method...just a big bowl of smiles.

And because I'm getting so old, I can't even remember if I've already shared this idea...But I punched holes in all of our cards from previous years, and tied them together so we can flip through them each year. Those books go in the bowl too, so we have three years worth of Season's Greetings at our fingertips.

Another biggie on the tradition front? Seeing Santa!

Piper got to meet the big guy last year, and it went pretty well (please look at those photos...and then tell me where my baby went? It has to be more than a year ago, no?!) I had no delusions that this year would be as successful...But was committed to going anyway, and getting a photo to commemorate the occasion- no matter how traumatic. And OH...traumatic it was.

We're talking red-faced, shoe-kicking, terror.

But I kept snapping away, knowing it wasn't anything a balloon animal penguin couldn't fix....

 See? We're not terrible parents! She's even still speaking to us! 

(maybe because she can't actually talk yet.)

So those are the biggies, but in the spirit of keeping things real, (though it doesn't get much more real than that Santa photo) I want to share some of our more low key Christmas rituals. Nothing earth shattering, or magically fantastical...just us. On the rug. Reading books, and playing with little people toys.

Some favs.

She flips pages at blinding speed, pausing only to point at random illustrations, and tell you that any animal pictured sounds like "oooh oooh oooh" (her monkey noise). I'm just happy she hasn't eaten the books yet. 

And we're big into the Little People nativity scene around here. 

Sometimes we get it right, and put the angel on the top of the stable...

Sometimes we get REALLY excited about cuddling the piggie... 

 

And sometimes we just play with the container instead...

 

It's not all perfect photo-ops, grandiose events and delicious homemade baked goods around here (ok...it's not really any of those things)...

But we do have footie jammies and a tiny baby Jesus. Which is as perfect, grandiose, and delicious as it gets if you ask me.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chalk Art Christmas & Showing your real

Some of my favorite things:
chalk art
instagram
Advent (well...any sort of festive countdown, really)

So naturally, this year I thought it would be fun to do a project that combines those things. Since December 1st, I have been posting a daily picture of a holiday saying, rendered in chalk. I knew in the beginning it might be tough. I'm not a professional chalk artist by any stretch. In fact, my regular handwriting isn't even that good. But I love looking at typography, and thought it would be fun to try my hand at making my own. Here's some of "my work":

My first attempt (top left corner) was a bit...um...novice? But after working on it every day for over two weeks, I'm actually proud of the progress I've made (getting a chalk pen didn't hurt. Turns out having the right tools helps a lot). The above collage isn't in order, I just mixed them up to make it look balanced...But I'm having fun trying different approaches, recreating pieces I've seen and admired, and making up my own style. I try to make each day's message fit in with something we're doing to that day, so it in the end it will also serve as an abstract scrapbook of our advent season. (Fa la la was from the day of our Christmas party, ho ho ho was when we took Piper to meet Santa, and baby it's cold outside was from the first truly frigid day we've had...)

So if you're not already following along, fear not- we have over a week left to go...There's plenty more art in store. And though you can always see our most recent instagrams on the side bar, I want to encourage you to join instagram if you haven't already. It has quickly become by favorite spot on the web. I love the chance to see snaps of people's every day lives, along with a sweet caption or witty hashtag. It's easy to keep up with, and I find myself actually connecting with these people...maintaining (or forming!) friendships, staying connected, offering encouragement. It's a lot more than just square pictures with pretty filters. It's a community.

And on that note, I've started another little project that I really do hope you'll like. It started when I posted about being real with each other. All the way real. Answering the questions and showing the details that usually get glossed over. I wanted to keep pulling back that artificial curtain that blogs and social media often promote, and show what "real" looks like. My real. Your real. So I started posting pics of the behind the scenes stuff that is actual life. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes it's beautiful. A lot of times it's both. I'd be thrilled if you would join in: Snap a pic of your real, and tag it for others to see, learn from, and be encouraged by. #showyourreal

Today's real? A shot of the "work" part of all this artwork. These chalk masterpieces (ha!) don't just make themselves!

See you all Wednesday for the Sharing Christmas link up!

Sharing Christmas Update

You know what’s better than Sharing Christmas?

Sharing Even More Christmas (with Even More People!) Some lovely ladies also happen to be hosting a holiday link up, so we thought- why not combine into one festive free for all!?

We’ll now be sharing on Wednesday the 19th, so if you’re not already ready, hurry scurry to get your trees trimmed, your cookies baked, and your egg nog spiked. (and your grilled cheese ready!!)

And spread the word- the more the merrier!

{Guest Post} Broadway + Thresher

Today I'm guest posting over at Broadway + Thresher. If you're not familiar with them, let me give you the gist:

Fashion + Food + Drink + Lifestyle + Music + Rural + Urban = Broadway + Thresher

Awesome, right?

Plus: They're doing a Gift Guide Giveaway...provided they can get to 1,000 "likes" on facebook by Christmas. (They're getting close...so scoot over there and become a fan for a chance to win!)

Today I'm sharing my favorite cold weather accessories, for tiny hands and toes (and necks and legs and ears!)

Sneak peek?

Look at that tiny nose poking out of a knit cowl. Irresistible, I say!

Head on over to see the rest!

How we do, what we do

If you missed yesterday's post, I encourage you to scroll back and catch up, so you know my heart before you see my junk. (So to speak). And before I share my daily routine, let me just add this disclaimer: It’s impossible describe my day without Dustin’s because it would be impossible to do my life without his. We’re a team like that. And very, very quickly it will be clear to anyone reading that the secret to any of my success is Dustin. Seriously. If I had any advice to give, it wouldn’t be time saving tricks, or multi-tasking tips. It would be choose your mate wisely. I somehow stumbled into this gem of a man and locked him in. And I’ve been reaping the benefits ever since.

6:15- Dustin gets up and showers so he can be ready for Piper’s early morning wake up call. I sleep. (I’m just not an early riser. Never have been. Never will be. And I don’t know how I managed to birth a child that disagrees so strongly with my need to sleep in. Fortunately Dustin is able and willing to take one for the team.)
6:30- Piper wakes up. I haven’t used an alarm in over a year. No need. She’s like a Swiss rooster. Reliable and noisy. I pretend not to hear her so Dustin will grab her first. (I am fooling no one. But he allows it). He changes her, and sometimes dresses her (sometimes that’s left for me because I’m a little more particular about her outfits) and they head down for breakfast. He usually makes her a waffle, and packs lunches for the three of us while she’s noshing. I’m pretty sure he also does some general kitchen tidying etc. while I’m either snoozing some more, or easing out of my bed with the help of some early morning social media trolling. I check my work email and the weather to make sure there’s nothing crazy brewing on the horizon (literally or figuratively)
7:15- I absolutely have to be in the shower if I’m going to be done in time to take Piper so Dustin can leave for work on time. I try to plan my outfit while I shower so I’m ready to roll when I get out.
7:30- He hands Piper off and heads to work. Sometimes if things are especially crazy, or I’m especially late, Dustin will take her in and leave me in peace. But most times I have a side kick for the morning. So I try to get ready while also trying to keep Piper happy/safe. If I manage 50% effectiveness on all counts, I consider it a success. Truthfully this is one of the harder parts of the day, where I would probably greatly benefit from just getting up a half hour earlier. But somehow it still doesn’t seem like a reasonable option, so I continue to do the morning scramble instead. Piper sits on the bed playing with my phone (or screaming) for the 2.5 minutes it takes me to get dressed. I used to try on several options each morning depending on my mood or what combo seemed to be working out that day. Now I pretty much settle on whatever I grab first. If it looks especially crazy, I’ll change, but that’s becoming a luxury I can’t afford. Instead I’ve found it helpful to try new outfits on weekends, when I have more time- and an extra set of hands- and just reuse those looks, and other tried-and-true combos (i.e. Striped shirt + floral scarf) throughout the week. There’s no shame in my game when it comes to recycling Sunday’s outfit into Monday...those crowds don’t overlap, so unless I instagram it- nobody gots to know.
7:40- I try to do my hair, where again, I’m at the mercy of Piper’s mood. If she can be pacified with some bath toys and general safe-ish bathroom items, then I’m good to do my 15 minute routine. If not, I slap on a headband and some deodorant while she cries at my feet begging to be picked up.
7:55- We pack up- get lunches, my purse, my laptop, and whatever other random bags I have to schlep that given day (there always seems to be something)-  I have to load all my stuff into the car before getting her out the door because there’s just no way to carry everything. I do a quick pass through the kitchen to pick up a little so Dustin isn’t met with a crazy mess when he gets home. It seems to take a lot of toys/objects to keep Piper happy while I get anything done, so our floor is constantly covered with cars, “little people”, measuring cups, spoons etc. Then it’s shoes for me, coats for both of us, carseat time, and we’re out.
8:15- If I’m going to be at work by nine (which is the latest I like to arrive) we have to be pulling out of the driveway at 8:15 on the dot. I would prefer to get in at 8:30, but that’s not always an option, so I compromise and settle for the best I can do that particular day. (Often I have early meetings, and on those days Dustin will take her, or I’ll suck it up and get up at dawn to get us all out the door in time). I also don’t love dropping her off at daycare too early if I can avoid it. She’s already there for a long day, and I feel guilty about making it any longer.

8:17- arrive at daycare. We’re fortunate it’s so close. It takes almost no time to get there, but that is a trade-off in the evening, as it would be nice to be able to zip over from work quickly, rather than fighting traffic and hoping we get there before the 6pm cutoff. I unpack Piper’s things and hand her to one of the ladies while I say hi to all “my babies”.
8:25- Drive to work. And eat breakfast. And do my makeup. I know, I know. It’s bad. Probably as bad as texting, which is illegal. But it’s been my norm for 5+ years, and I’m just not sure I can change. I’d like to say I’ll try, and I can at least say that I don’t do it with Piper in the care, but that’s not really quality logic, so......
9:00- Worky-worky-work. Mix of meetings, emails, building store displays, more meetings, more emails etc. and so on. I rarely take a lunch, but manage to squeeze in some personal emailing, and some social media check-ins throughout the day.

5:00- My ideal quitting time. (Dustin leaves to go get Piper. He goes in earlier than me, and has a bit more of a set schedule, so he’s usually able to get out on time, whereas my days tend to go off the rails towards the end.)
5:30- My semi-realistic goal quitting time. (Dustin arrives at daycare)
6:00- Typical quitting time.
7:00- Occasionally necessary quitting time. (Which depending on the season isn’t so occasional....which wears on me, and Dustin, quickly.)
6:00-6:30ish- I arrive home. Piper is usually already eating, while Dustin makes our dinner. I jump in to help finish what I can, or sit and feed Piper and chat with them about our days. We try to eat all together, but it’s hard because Piper pretty much demands food the minute we get home, and by the time dinner is ready for all of us, her high-chair tolerance is expired. So we either eat casually in the kitchen one by one, wait until she goes to bed, or give her an extra piece of bread to gnaw on to buy us some more time.

6:30: After dinner we clean up and play. Mostly we clean up, and Piper plays. We’ll set her up with a bucket of toys (or kitchen tools) and she is usually pretty happy to toddle around while we put the house back in order. Then we'll hang out and play together for a bit.
6:50: Bathtime. Piper loves a bath. She'd happily splash in her little duck all night if we'd let her.

7:30: Bedtime. We get her jammie'd up, and do vitamins and teeth brushing. Then one of us rocks her for a few minutes, sings a song and it's off to bed.
7:40: Our time! We've been trying to get to sleep earlier, so we have a couple free hours before we tuck ourselves in. We typically watch some TV online, or work on the computer (and by "work", I mean Dustin checks the Eagles' site, and I blog.) This is when I get most of my writing and photo editing done, as well as any crafts or projects I'm working on at the time. We also get a few more chores done- like finishing the dishes, throwing in a load of laundry, or just general tidying. If we're really ambitious we'll prep lunches for the next day, but more often than not we cuddle up in front of a movie and let the work pile up. And I like it that way.
10:30- Bedtime for big kids. Sometimes it's earlier, sometimes it's later, but 10:30 seems to be a reasonable time where we feel we took advantage of our night, but won't regret staying up when the baby summons us again in the morning to do it all again.



So that's my detailed, flawed, mundane, and average day: a small slice of my detailed, flawed, but not so mundane, and thankfully much more than average life.

How do you do it?

I’m a very literal person. If I ask how you how to do something, there is a great chance that you’ll answer, only to have me immediately ask- “No but really....how do you do that?” I need details.  I need you to walk me through it. I want to know everything. It’s not that I’m slow on the uptake (I hope) it’s that I tend to think people gloss over things. Especially when it comes to the big-life-type-stuff. I don’t mean “how did you make those brownies?” type questions (though if you try to gloss over it I’ll probably demand a recipe). I mean the big “How do you do life, well?” type of questions. I’m still new to the mom-game, and not even that experienced at the married-thing, or even the adult-act, so I’m always looking for guidance on how to do this whole living thing successfully. I’m a big question asker, and love to hear how other women make things work...But I hate when my curiosity is met with vague or unhelpful answers.

“How do you manage a boatload of kids?” “Oh, you know, lots of coffee! Ha ha ha!”
“How are you able to work full time and still have room for your hobbies?” “Oh, well...you just make time I guess. Lalala...”
“How do you juggle all the little tasks like cooking, cleaning, returning library books, and still have time to sleep?” “Oh, I do a little at a time, just try to keep up with it. Doo dee doo!”

If I’m honest, I know I’ve given similar answers myself. When I do it, it’s because I know I totally don’t have anything figured out, so rather than saying, “Oh...I have no idea. We muddle through, and honestly, any type of balance, productivity, or rest is sort of a blind miracle, and sometimes I cry at the crushing weight of all our wants/need/musts/can’ts....So, uh yeah. That.” I just sort of wave my hand and mumble a “You know....you just...right?” type self-effacing non-response to take the focus off me and move along before they expect some sort of practical advice and wisdom.

But I think we owe each other more than that. We’re each on our own trying to figure these life-things out...but we could be in it together, helping each other along the way, or at least being honest and saying: “I have no idea. But it’s not nearly as easy as it might look.” when people ask about our successes.

So I’m going to start trying to do that. Or keep trying to do that. Being open, authentic, and vulnerable. Showing you what things magically go right in my life (so you can hopefully catch some of that wind-at-your-back luck too), exposing the giant messes that I often find myself in (and sometimes can’t find my way out of), and being honest about the things that I really, really work at, to show people in similar situations that it doesn’t always just happen. Some things require dedication and effort, and I can at least offer an example of what that looks like in my life.

So where to start? I suppose I could take questions...But that assumes you are all in awe of my day-to-day existence, and are clamouring to know “just how she does it”. I suspect that is not the case. (And I’m actually grateful it isn’t. What pressure!) So instead, I’ll just keep pouring my heart out here, and sharing what I know when I know it... But in the name of practicality and lists (LISTS! I love LISTS! It would be at the top of my list of tips!)- I think I’ll start with a “Day in the Life” post.

I love love love when people share the routine of their day. I love learning about the little nuances of their schedules that they might for granted, but others may have no clue about. I love revealing “I knew it!!....there’s no way she gets that much done without getting up at 4am” kind of truths. And when I first had Piper I was starving- dying- for a literal roadmap to the what and how and when of it all. So maybe seeing how we wander, plan, stumble and sweat our way through a typical (say what?) day will be helpful for you. (And if not, at least it will be a record for me later, to help answer... “Hmm...how did we do that?!”).

But I’m about worded-out at this point, so I’ll have details up tomorrow. 

Sharing Christmas: 2012

17 days my friends. 17 days until Christmas. 

Are you ready?! (Come on, is anyone actually ever ready for Christmas?) There’s always more to do, more to buy, more to bake, more to wrap, more to drink.....But as the day approaches, I wanted to pull together some blogger friends for a good old fashioned Christmas link up! 

 My good friend Megan has hosted this event in the past, and now the torch (luminary?) has been passed on to me. Sharing Christmas, is a chance to invite your internet friends into your home to share your Christmas decorations, baking, traditions and just general good tidings and cheer! I love seeing what everyone else cooks up for the holidays (sometimes literally)! And not only is it a fun way to share your home, but it’s also a great chance to document this year’s version of Christmas in your life. Your celebrations may look different year to year, or they might be exactly the same...But either way, each year is special and full of memories being made.

Even thought I haven’t participated every time, I love going on all the “virtual tours”, and hope even more will join in the fun this year. If you’ve been a part of it before, please join us again and if you’re new to the game....Great! Please encourage your fellow blogging friends to become part of the tradition. The more the merrier!

So start snapping some pics, and documenting your trimmings, and on Friday, December 21st, stop back here to share your Christmas and see what everyone else is up to!

See our posts from Christmases Past: 2008, 2010. (apparently I’m only in for even years....It’s like my holiday Olympics)

Tell Me

I love this.



That is all.

(before you assume anything, no I'm not getting any sort of kickback from Hallmark on this- though it would be kinda sweet if they cared enough for THAT to happen- I just really like cards. And a good sappy commercial. Now go tell some people you love them.)