Category Archives: Life

Talking about life

2018

2018.

This year was much quieter than recent years, we didn’t have a baby, or move, or start or leave jobs. Ander had his preschool and he has learned and grown. I’ve really settled in and fallen in love with being at home in this season of life. I love the routine of the weekly grocery trip, mornings at the park, hitting up the McDonald’s play place, and trips to the zoo. We have some great little friends and we get to meet pals at houses and parks. Last year, I had the goal to have more outings as a family, I made it a priority and we had lots of fun.

Travel

NOLA

I hit up New Orleans three times in 2018. My grandma seeing my kids has become something I feel very passionate about. I want them to have memories of their Gigi. She turned 90 this year, and she is still the classiest lady I know.

Greenville, NC

My cousin Ashley got married in February. She and her mom did all the details with my wedding. It was a treat to see how she styled her own Winter Wonderland. Wish I’d taken more pictures.

Perdido Key, FL

My parents, grandma, sister, brother, brother in law, husband and kids all spent a week in Florida. I did yoga at the studio where I did my teacher certification. JMO and I went on a date to the restaurant we had our rehearsal dinner and our first two anniversary dinners. Gretta loved digging the sand, Ander loved the ocean and the pool, and it was just a sunny delight.

Tuscaloosa, AL

Emily was an event coordinator for a nonprofit called Arts and Autism. She planned their art auction and show. My mom and I jumped on a plane and went to her event. Seeing Emily be a boss babe was thrilling, my baby sis is a real grown up and running the show. She just moved back to Texas and I am so grateful that we will get more time with her.

Dallas, TX

3 times? I think I’ve lost count. Having a niece is just a pull north. Baby Blakely is adorable and we love her parents oh so much (JMO’s brother and his wife).

 

San Antonio, TX 

These kids gotta see their grandparents. We went a few times, I have no idea how many times…

Home

Toys everywhere, but it’s nice here.

Didn’t fully realize how much we had traveled until I started typing!

Fitness

I put my yoga pants on and stretched my limbs. I’ve been doing more barre lately because the times work better for me. The best way for me to get in a workout seems to be before the rest of my family wakes up. Movement and stretching are needed in my life, grateful they are back.

 

It was a lovely year. Adios 2018.

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2017

2017

This is the 10th year of JMO and I have done a yearly recap. His can be found at jmo.me.

In the news, this year has been rough. At my home, this year has been beautiful. Our baby girl was born at the end of March. Gretta is happy and makes us all smile. Ander loves to take toys from her and give toys to her. Ander has become quite the hilarious child, at 2, he loves to recite the alphabet and sing songs. We read lots of books, go on walks, play at the park, and rock puzzles.

Staying home

I decided to stay home with the kids this year. I worked a little over a year in a school library, I know when I go back to work, that is where I want to be. This season of little ones is incredibly short. Gretta was a frequent flyer at the Children’s Hospital in her first few months, that has thankfully slowed down. She’s pretty good right now, but I want to be the one who goes to appointments with her. Ander is doing Mother’s Day Out, it is fun pick him up and see what he is up to. He’s seriously a little sponge and loves his school.

Family

My little sister graduated college this year. Being ten years older, I’ve gotten to watch her grow up. I’m quite proud of that girl. I gained a sister-in-law and a niece this year, its pretty awesome to have more girls on JMO’s side, his mom and I were outnumbered for quite some time. I’m eager to watch our kids grow up together and am thankful for wonderful family role models for our kids. We were able to have Gretta meet her namesake (my amazing grandmother) in June. And were able to see my grandmother again over Thanksgiving when we went to my brother’s. We feel very lucky in the family department.

Fitness

I’m back at yoga. I love it. I don’t go several times a week like I did before kids, but getting to go once a week is a treat right now. I’m running some…. mostly stopping the stroller at the park, but I gotta start back somewhere.

In 2018…

Now that I’ve been home a few months, I feel like I’ve gotten into a bit of a groove. Gretta is bigger and Ander is in need of more adventures! I’ve got a list of parks and museums I want to hit up in the next year. I’d like to plan ahead and go on more dates with my husband and make an effort to have more family outings. We love playing with toys at home and in our backyard, but we need a little adventure too! Maybe I’ll run some more too, we’ll see how the year goes.

 

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2016 Recap

2016

This is the 9th year of JMO and I have done a yearly recap. His can be found at jmo.me. Looking back, I’m sad to see my last post was my 2015 recap. I love that I have my recaps and stories saved in one place, hopefully I will be compelled to write more stories in the future!

In the last year…

Work

I got a call out of the blue for a librarian job at a nearby elementary school. I wasn’t expecting to go back last spring, but the opportunity wasn’t one I could pass up. The position had been vacant for a chunk of the school year, so it has been quite an adventure cleaning up the library. But, I’ve really been able to make it my own. Ander’s Bebe, retired last year too. Ander gets to spend his days with his dad and grandmother.

Grandparents

My grandfather passed away early this year. He was always someone I wanted to impress. I loved his enthusiasm for anything I cooked or baked. I’m grateful for a childhood full of visits where he took me to the pool, bowling, museums and wherever else he thought kids might like. He lived a long life, had a wonderful family, and went on amazing adventures. My grandma now lives in New Orleans. It is a little closer than Florida, so we’ve been able to scoot over there every few months.

Ander turned 1

Ander is one hilarious child. He is so eager to explore, make messes, and get hugs. He never has time to sit and snuggle, there is to much to be done. It is hard to remember life before parenthood.

Brother’s Wedding

My brother got married this past summer. My brother is loved by everyone who meets him, so meeting many of his friends at the wedding was a lot of fun. There is something amazing about interacting with people that all traveled to watch two people we all love for different reasons come together. JMO, Ander, and I were all in the wedding. Timing naps around wedding events was something I had never pondered before having a one year old!

 

Family

We had lots and lots of family time this year! My family took a trip to Florida, we went to Galveston for a few days with JMO’s family. We travelled to my brother’s wedding and we travelled to my brother’s for Thanksgiving. Ander had both sets of grandparents and all his uncles at his first birthday. There were lots of weekend visits from my parents and lots of meals with JMO’s parents. We are very grateful for our loving and generous families!

In 2017…

Baby #2

We are expecting our daughter at the end of March. I can’t wait to see Ander’s reactions to having a sibling. I’m excited to meet our newest family member. I’m sure 2017 will be full of diapers, toddler chasing, and time at home!

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2015

2015. This is the 8th year JMO and I have done a yearly recap. JMO’s is on his blog jmo.me. Every year I feel grateful for all that has transpired the previous year. Every year I feel like a lot happened, this year is no different, it was a glorious year.

ANDER!

IMG_5008We had the best baby boy in the whole world on June 24, 2015. Holding Ander in my arms is the most satisfying thing I have ever done. The feelings of parenthood are hard to convey, he has brought us so much joy. I love watching JMO with him, both of their faces light up when they look at each other. It is incredible to watch our families with Ander too. He just brings out the best in everyone!

Yoga Teacher Certified

While living in Florida, I completed a 200 hour yoga teacher certification through Navarre Living Yoga. I loved this studio and these women. There were certain postures I couldn’t do while pregnant, but I think the amount of yoga I did during made for a pretty easy pregnancy.

Masters in Library Science

I’m so ready to have my own library. Cross your fingers some lady retires soon!

Bought a house & moved back to Texas

Our time in Florida was unforgettable. I miss the waves and our balcony and running my hand through the sand. We came back in early August, and ping ponged between both our parents house until the house was ready at the end of October. It took longer than we expected, sharing a room with our baby was challenging at times. But, it was nice to have dinner nightly with our families and have extra hands to help with our new guy.

Grandpa turned 90

Being able to have our 5 week old son attend my grandfather’s 90th birthday was amazing. If we’d been in Texas, we probably wouldn’t have made the trip. Grandpa’s 90 years, 5 kids, 15 grandkids, and 3 great grand children is something to marvel at. If only we all might be so lucky.

This year was amazing. Things have been good.

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Baby Shower

 

 

We travelled back to Texas for a couple days and the best friends in the world threw a baby shower. It was the cutest thing ever. The food all coordinated with a book. If You Give a Dog a Donut, was next to a plate of donuts. There was an adorable cupcake caterpillar next to The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Dragon Loves Tacos was next to tacos. Meatballs were of course next to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The display was just absolutely precious. IMG_4795

The other table had little “Thank You” tins with M&M’s in them, cookies with Ander’s name on them, and bookmarks that said “Children become readers on the laps of their parents.”IMG_4818

Seeing Ander’s name everywhere was surreal. We’ve known his name for awhile, but it was so crazy to have it up and around. I know he’s a real person inside of me, but seeing his name in print made it very real.

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This bulliten board had Ander’s name and baby pictures of both JMO and me. We were cute kids, so of course Ander will be too.

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This bassinet was brought by JMO’s cousin, her uncle made it and her three kids used it. Their names and birthdays are written under the mattress. Now we’ll put our child’s birthdays on it, and pass it back to the other side of the family when they start having grandchildren. IMG_4838

 

After being away from all the people in my life, the shower was even more emotional than it might have been had we still lived around Houston this year. We have an incredible support system. Everyone was so generous and we can’t believe how much stuff this tiny human now has. We won’t be alone in our journey of parenthood. I’m so grateful to these wonderful women, Ander will have lots of love in his life!

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Lacking motivation.

One month remains of graduate school. There are several big assignments to go. Now, where is the motivation to get deep into this work? I’m not sure. This is my backyard right now.

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The middle school librarian I interned with recently gave me a bag of books that were just slightly too mature for middle school. A bag of teen lit??

I need to get as many yoga classes as I can in as part of my teacher training. I don’t know how many I’ll be able to do at the end of this pregnancy, so gotta do them now.

I should be working on a paper right now. This paper is about research methodology, is that more fun than beach, reading, or yoga? NO. I started my masters in library science in the fall of 2012. I’ve really enjoyed all my classes that pertained to literature and school media centers. I have not enjoyed any of the classes that are general library classes. I’ve recognized that they contain important information that semi interest me, but all the assignments have been like pulling teeth. For almost three years I’ve had something due soon. I’ve had nagging tasks in the back of my mind. The freedom is close. It is hard to fathom the feeling of freedom, but I can’t wait to have it.

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