It's been awhile!
I had a whole post I was writing that went into great detail of the last 2 or so months of my life. But it was getting to the point that I knew it was too long but I didn't know how to trim it down and still say what I wanted to say. So, I'm going to leave that post in the drafts for now and try again here.
Life has been....life.
Changes in Childhood
Due to shifting job situations, I actually worked full time for a short 2-month period, while my husband was the stay-at-home-parent. During this time, our oldest son Malachi developed a LOT. Vocabulary, behavior, capabilities. It was like he was a completely new kid from 2 months earlier.
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| Malachi meeting his first cat! He had seen only pictures of cats prior to meeting this one. Her name is "Mrs. Timbers". |
The sad part of this is that I was at work and I feel like I lost touch with him a little bit. I lost the hang of his lingo and swiftly changing habits.
But, that all changed when in February our lives changed forever with the birth of our second son...
Then Came Abram
My sweet little son was born late in February, who we named Abram.
How did the birth go? Well, to put it shortly, we started with the attempt at a VBAC and ended at a second-time C-section. But, I feel like the birth experience overall was as redeeming as it could be, and a strength and bravery was revealed in me that I didn't know I possessed.
We had to induce at 37 weeks due to polyhydramnios. We tried the induction for two days before we landed on a c-section due to failure to progress. But up until I had the C-section I was completely pain med free, which is a huge personal accomplishment for me.
Once we had to do the surgery, at first I was greatly anxious due to my trauma from my first rather dramatic and difficult C-section (and subsequent recovery).
But this one went completely smoothly, and I was able to overcome my feelings of dread and panic and instead showed myself to be brave beyond my expectations.
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| My Valentine's Bouquet which I took with me to give birth at the hospital. |
There is an underlying disappointment with the fact that I had to have another surgery.
My greatest wish was to have a VBAC.
But my gratefulness and happiness far outweighs that feeling, knowing the personal journey I went through to be strong and stand up for myself, and advocate for myself in the process, and standing face to face with the thing that scared me, and choosing to be brave rather than succumb to fear or discomfort.
All resulting in a sweet tiny child at the end, who I could take home and love.
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| This blanket is the finished crochet project that I worked on during my pregnancy. I was trying to go for the old fashioned "granny" look while still creating something that I liked as far as colors and design. I'm really proud of how it turned out! |
Since the birth, my life has drastically changed with the expected way that a new baby typically brings.
Late nights, messiness, diapers, tears, tiredness, adorable-ness, laughter.
There's something about the late nights up with a baby. A vulnerability. A sense of space, and peace. A sense of holiness. These moments are sacred and few in life.
Today, my son will never be this young again. And tomorrow, he will be older than he ever has.
There is no going back, only forward.
Each passing moment contains both a grief of the passing of time with the moments it leaves behind, and gratefulness for the present moment, with the joy ahead to be had.
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| Having a Spring baby means I can go on walks with a tiny bundle strapped to me! |
So... what else has been going on?
Watching Movies
I have been on a huge movie kick lately. I have been living in the "free with ads" section of YouTube lately. BUT... I've also bought some to rent (I don't do streaming services). I'm planning a whole entire post to speedrun through some of my movie opinions, but here is a sampling of a few favorite movies from that list:
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) - 4 out of 10. Funny, iconic. Also stupid. Also not my type of movie.
- Letters to Juliet (2010) - 10 out of 10. A rewatch from my childhood. The perfect rom-com, no notes.
- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) - 10 out of 10. My husband and I adored this movie. So sweet and heartfelt.
- Age of Adaline (2015) - 2 out of 10. Stupid, took it self way too seriously, tried so hard to have meaning when it didn't have much at all. Also, Blake Lively. Ew.
- Last Holiday (2006) - 10 out of 10. This is a trailer I saw when I was a kid and I never watched it until now. Worth it, loved it. Adorable. Hollywood has changed so much for the worse since they made movies like this. Was nice to go back in time.
- Groundhog Day (1993) - 10 out of 10. A classic. Even my husband loved it. Adorable. Thought provoking. Timeless.
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| Last Holiday (2006) |
Discovering New Tastes in Beverage (And Enjoying Classics)
I tried matcha once or twice 3 years ago and disliked it greatly. My official takeaway from that experience was that I was "not a matcha person". Well, flash forward to now. I decided to try it again, because who knows. I got a new seasonal drink at one local coffee shop, Upshot Coffee Brake Shop. It was a strawberry matcha. And well, I really liked it. I got it a few more times, and still liked it!
Could it be, I wondered, that I actually like matcha after all?
I got some matcha of my own, to further test it. I also made some strawberry syrup (dice up strawberries, cover them in sugar, leave on your counter and shake it or stir it once a day or so in an airtight container, once there are no more sugar crystals, strain the strawberries, and voila!).
Now I drink an iced strawberry matcha latte once or twice a week, and I think there's no going back!
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| It's hard not to take pictures of strawberry matcha lattes, even if the lighting is bad, because they are just so pretty! |
Finding Time to Make Art
I really miss the days of 2018 and 2019 where I was drawing very consistently and thus improving consistently. It was very enjoyable to me. I often think about those days, and wish I were doing that again. I feel this way about many things, actually (will probably write a future post about that). But, I'm trying to spend more time doing those things, instead of wishing I was doing them. So, I started with something pretty easy and satisfying. Ink patterns! Most ideas I find on Pinterest, but a few patterns I've come up on my own. These patterns I speak of are not quite like optical illusions, but they are adjacent to that, and have the same vibe.
Here are a few recents (as well as my first ever "junk journal" page, which I made from a chocolate bar package and a tea package):
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| Made with a chocolate bar paper package, a tea bag box, and the rest with markers. I winged it and I like how it turned out. |
New Plants to Love
I am always trying to improve my skills when it comes to keeping and caring for house plants.
I have had many plants die over the years, some sooner, some later.
The goal is to keep pushing the dying later and later until we rarely experience a death!
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| A recent acquired plant, a Tokyo Sun. Isn't she cute? |
At least I know which plants I'm most likely to keep alive at this point in time. Golden Pothos! I like to bring in a new on every so often, as well as difference species.
Pictured are a few new ones I've got recently, and my hope (and prayer...) is that they will last as long as possible!
That is all for now!
Farewell, friends.
~ Amaris // ☆
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