Downshifting

Can I get a high five? Maternity leave started at about 4pm on Friday, and over the last few days, I've fully embraced my new, mellower lifestyle. Who knows how long this calm before the storm will last?

Diaper cake and cards from my colleagues

Monday, Edie went to daycare to celebrate Circus Day. They did facepainting, rode bikes on "high wires" and jumped through "rings of fire". I love the imaginative play her school organizes. I also love when she knows games or songs that we didn't teach her. Last week, she belted out "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" after their school-wide Baseball Day. Hearing her sing about Cracker Jacks made my morning.

While she was at daycare, I did some spring cleaning, then went to mid-day yoga with my mom, followed by lunch. When I picked up Edie in my yoga pants she said, "You're not wearing your work clothes!" I said, "Well, I didn't go to work, I was home." Her eyes got real big: "You were...home?" I felt totally caught out by my whip-smart girl. We're planning to keep her in daycare, if not full-time, for a while. We want to maintain some level of normalcy and routine once the baby arrives. I already feel the mom-guilt settling in, but I suspect it'll be the best strategy for all parties involved.

Edie and I visited our local farm

Edie and I have had the last couple of days together, living up our girl time. We meet up with friends in the morning, go out for ice cream treats, play, and indulge in afternoon naps. Needless to say, I'm totally downshifting my pace. I have a to-do list, but my daily goal is to nap; so far I'm excelling. Yesterday we baked an Atlantic Beach Pie, courtesy of a recipe on NPR, and brought it to my parents' house for after-dinner. It was off the hook.

A springtime recipe to hold onto: Atlantic Beach Pie

Being pregnant the second time is different all around. For example, when pregnant with Edie, I had butterflies every day thinking: "THIS MIGHT BE THE DAY!!" Now I'm highly doubtful our baby will arrive early, plus I'm not as anxious about labor/delivery/parenthood in general. Furthermore, I realize how elusive a good night's sleep will soon be, and that's why my current strategy is sleep.

Of course I don't know how this labor and delivery will go down, or what kind of temperament our new girl will have, but here are some things I'm pretty confident about:

1. The human body figures out childbirth, recovers, and forgets the physical pain of labor. (And, there are epidurals for a reason). 
2. No one really stops to review your precious birth plan, so there's no point in creating one. 
3. Once she arrives, the first couple weeks will be a fog. It's better if there is some good late-night programming to dive into (Shark Week during Edie's first few days meant captivating TV at ungodly hours of the night).
4. Family and friends will offer to help, and we'll accept offers big and small. So it's ok that I don't have a freezer stocked with casseroles and lasagnas like books recommend. Trader Joe's makes some awesome frozen dinners, and they ain't going anywhere. Besides, isn't it hot dog season?
5. Edie will probably have a tough time adjusting to a sister competing for our time and attention. She'll eventually adjust, and so will we. 
6. Newborns cry a lot and need to be fed, oh, every 8 minutes. But they are so darn cute and cuddly. And they have that dreamy newborn smell.

I have some random home projects to do, but primarily I'm going to enjoy a slower pace and time with my friends and family.  Life will be chaotic soon enough.

Enjoying an ice cream date with my girl

Soft ground, warm heart

I need to write in my (nonexistent) 2014 calendar, under last week in March: VACATION. I'd like a friendly reminder about the perfect time to escape Connecticut so I don't sit around waiting for the ground to thaw. Maybe I'm just anxiously awaiting our baby. The arrival of Spring and the baby are intertwined.

Freezing buns off, pre-5k

Edie's been incredibly cute, and very into dancing. She didn't want to leave school yesterday because she was having a solo dance party. Today we all relaxed after work to Wilco and watched her best moves (spin around real fast, bonk head on floor, with a smooth transition into downward dog). It's pretty entertaining. I love when she hears music when seated, cannot contain the urge to move, and just goes for it. That is pure Edie.

Twenty five pounds of cuteness

In other news, my cousin and her family are moving back here! I'm super excited about this prospect, because she's one of my besties. Their daughter Camden and Edie, who are 10 days apart, are destined to be besties too. No pressure girls! They've been living in the suburbs of Boston for years, but now that they have two little kids, want to be closer to family and all the support that abounds here in central CT. It's the same magnetic pull that draws young parents to leave cool cities for less cool suburbs. I can attest that it's a hard trade (i.e. have I mentioned how much I miss Seattle coffee and music?), but when you have little kids and demanding jobs and homes that your dad can help improve, leveraging family support is a no brainer (have I mentioned how helpful and invaluable my parents are??).

So far, everything's been falling into place for their move to happen, but we aren't popping champagne yet. It's just something I have in my back pocket to look forward to.

Michelle and baby Shane

My dad has been hard at work renovating our basement. Until a few weeks ago, it was your typical basement. Furnace, washing machine, bunch of knick knacks from the former owner that we ignored. Now that our dining room doubles as a toy box and our office was repurposed as Edie's room, it seemed time to expand the living space.

My Dad had some time, and he's an incredibly talented craftsmen, so we set him to work! We've had the plumber retrofit the plumbing, an electrician and his dutiful son light up the place something beautiful, and now my Dad is hanging sheetrock along the ceiling and walls. It's starting to look like a place we'd actually like to hang out, and I'm pretty jazzed. I have dreams of doing early morning workouts down there, and an organized, well-lit work space, and a futon for out of towners. Or maybe it'll just be another catch-all for baby and kid gear. Padded walls and rubber floors? We'll see.

Happy feets

Guess this all requires money, doesn't it? Not sure that abounds much these days...But, cheers to being broke young parents with dancing toddlers and loving families.

Playing outside while the ground thaws