making: Patches and stitches. Is it just me, or does having a baby in the house mean everything wears thin much more quickly? It seems there is ever a pile of clothing needing a seam mended or a button reattached.
drinking: Mother's Milk tea. I don't know that it does anything to really up my supply, but I'm drinking it all the same. It is taking me longer and longer to pump less and less. Although Alice would probably adjust just fine, I'm not ready for her to ween. The more acquainted with parenthood I become, the more I realize that maybe we need our kids even more than they need us.
reading: Just finished Elevating Child Care by Janet Lansbury and loved it. Now I'm onto the most recent edition of Taproot Magazine. What a treat. Also obsessing over the Zero Waste movement- it blows my mind!
wanting: More time with Alice. Forever and ever, amen. Again though- this is more for me than it is for her and, of that, I'm aware. She is doing beautifully- what an incredible spirit she has!- and I'm grateful for the influence of other loving, generous adults in her life. Still, I want more time with her. Some nights I lay down to sleep and feel as if I'm missing it- I'm missing her childhood! My mantra in these moments has become: "who cuts her toenails?" I do! I know we are all doing our best, but I have to remind myself that I'm included on that list. I am doing my best too- my best to be present, my best to pay the bills, my best to keep up with washing cloth diapers.
watching: Call the Midwife. Frankly, there is nothing more miraculous and beautiful to me these days than community and motherhood.
listening: Sufjan has been releasing his new album song by song. What a fabulous tease. But then he pre-released his entire new album for temporary free listening! Thank you NPR! I have quite sincerely never loved an album more.
eating: The best breakfast sandwiches known to man- Jake was recently introduced to Karl's and is now [rightfully] obsessed.
smelling: Alice heartily enjoyed a slice of German rye fruitcake from the above mentioned Karl's and, needless to say, the smell of it the next day was far, far, far from the original incarnation. Worst. Diaper. Ever. A Russian coworker recently told me about how she potty trained both her kids by the time they turned ONE. This diaper made me consider the potty training challenge.
wishing: I'll be incredibly materialistic for a moment and confess that I really wish I still had an iPhone. It's been almost seven months since I gave mine up and I miss it daily. The photo quality, the functionality, the whole thing. To be fair, how many iPhone screens have I broken? Too many.
enjoying: Alice's squint-y, toothy smiles! She has recently realized that her actions illicit a response and her smiles now burst forth simply to instigate our own. What a gift.
loving: Encouraging connections- good people reaching out and lathering kindness generously upon me. There were wide swaths of the last 6 months that felt dark and lonely (too morose?). Then, like light breaking through clouds, last Thursday happened. I told Linnie that I wanted to laugh and cry and take a nap all at the same time.
hoping: For the courage to believe I am loved and talented.
needing: A long walk in the woods (as soon as the snow is melted!) and a good night's sleep.
feeling: Lighter than I have in months heaped upon months. Hah! Oh, Spring, what a beauty you are.
wearing: A new, all natural, mostly fruit-based mascara. My attempts to simplify and cut out toxins and minimize trash (again, the Zero Waste movement- mind blowing!) have lead me to rethinking my routines and the things I consume in the day-to-day. And now my eyelashes smell like chocolate!
bookmarking: Lots of book recommendations and, as usual, I add 'em here. I also really liked this info-graphic for homemade cleaning products. As we run out of what store bought cleaning products we have, I'm hoping we'll gradually enter this world of homemade and chemical-free.
No comments:
Post a Comment