Catching up

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Catching up with old friends - sometimes it is lovely, (think tea time), and you simply pick up where you left off. Other times it is filled with awkward conversation as it quickly dawns on you that time has moved in and set up permanent camp in the Sea of Differences between you.

Now is the time to catch up on my blog and, I gotta say, this could go either way. I mean, we might as well get that out there, right? And because I already know that I’m going to mainly post some slideshows for a visual “catch up” reference, I’d say its leaning towards the awkward conversation.

So let’s see…

I went out to the woods for a “retreat time” with my Hub a few weeks ago, while my in-laws came to spoil Lil’ E with zoo and museum trips sans parents. To be completely honest, I didn’t get everything out of my time in the woods that I wanted to, and it was cut a little shorter than I would have hoped due to the whole lack of car thing. I realized what I really needed was alone time, and nothing short of two weeks will really suffice, lol. With jobs to fulfill, a toddler to raise, a marriage to rebuild, and bills to pay, that is not at all likely to happen. So how does a pregnant mother in times of high stress achieve the space for peace and clarity? Since the most alone time I get is when I take a shower, I have am not the one to ask! I’d say you can pretend to take 2 hour showers, but that’s a lot of wasted water.

The weekend following my “time away”, my friend/client/superior booked a last minute flight out here for some one-on-one training. It was really a fun day on Saturday, as I brought her around Portland, the Farmer’s Market, a cool button shop that would have fit so well in a town like Stars Hollow, and lastly, dinner at Andina’s. The only downside was that the dinner at Andina’s didn’t come out nearly as well as it went down. I will spare you the gruesome details, but suffice it to say that pregnancy nausea does not mix well, AT ALL, with octopus kabobs and scallops in white wine. Three days later, my digestive system began to recover. Isch! The ironic thing is that I lost 5 pounds after all of that, so I am officially at the same weight I was when I was first pregnant with Lil’ E. But as I regain health, I am terribly hungry, so I doubt that will last! Veggie burgers, come to mama!

This weekend, as in tomorrow, we are planning to go camping with 75 other families from our church. As you might imagine, I’ve been too busy to find our tent, if we even have one, or pack or shop for food. Luckily, we have a ride!

Other than this, life has been happening at its normal insane pace, filled with all the little morsels of detail that make it interesting. Everyday is a roller coaster of emotions and thoughts, but I’m trying to maintain a little normalcy when possible. Needing some affordable option for childcare is a constant source of back-and-forth in my mind. It’s amazing to me that any woman could spend nearly every waking hour with their children, particularly women who work from home. I’ve never missed my childcare-swap and one-day-per-week-drop-off options more than I do lately! Particularly when I about drop around 4pm from fatigue that is so uncanny it can only be blamed on pregnancy hormones, lol.

Okay, so enough ~~complaining~~ catching up - here’s those great slideshows I promised earlier!