Thursday, March 14, 2013

Perspiration and inspiration.

Good news! I figured out what is worse than having the flu while breastfeeding and entertaining a 5 year old at home. Ready....
Having the flu (both ends) while at work, standing for over 30 min waiting to talk to people, sweating....then puking in a hot car, in a bucket on my lap, while pumping.

Yep.

Some less shitty news.....

(Something I found on another blog)
Dear new mother,
I know it doesn’t feel like it now…but you will sleep again.
You will eat in a nice restaurant again.
You will listen to adult music again.
You will wear red lipstick again.
You will drink wine with your girlfriends again.
You will talk – really talk – to your husband again.
You will vacation again.
You will feel less than utterly exhausted again.
You will find time to waste again.
You will read a book again.
You will wear skinny jeans again.
You will look at your body with pride again.
You will stay up past 10pm again.
You will take pictures of things not related to you again.
You will find time for you again.
But you will never love anything more than this again.





(Really? Because I don't think I ever need to go to work having to worry about shitting my pants but I'll go with it.)




Family portrait by Hudson. I'm the one in black. All black.




He's a man.




She's my favorite daughter.




One of my all time favorite pictures.




One of my all time favorite words. Pretty.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Raising kids is like backpacking in Europe.

Tonight I was going through some old photos to make into wall hangings. As I looked I couldn't help but reminisce about all of the memories that the photos represented, I realized that raising kids is a lot like backpacking in Europe.

Europe (in my 20's) was filled with the making of lifelong friendships, late nights, great unknowns, independence, pictures taken, new cultures explored, memories made....
However, in between all of those fantastic experiences, was sleeping on overnight trains, language barriers, money conversions, stresses of traveling with people, shitting in public, eating odd food, compromise, time changes, bad milk, etc.

Yet, I still came back and found myself saying things like "it was the best experience of my life" and "you should go."

Same thing with raising kids. Most days are not filled with champagne and exotic art but based on my experience thus far, I know, that after a few hard days (or years) I will look back on it and think fondly about our journey. Night trains, sour milk, language barriers and all.
I mean, just look at how far we've already come. Choo choo.





Hudson in 2008.




Almost 1 year ago.





Present day.