Hello!

It’s funny. It has been the mildest winter in my life, but we’ve had two winter storms at our house over the past two weekends. We probably have eight inches of snow outside as I write this.

In October, I went to about 4 stores looking for a snowsuit for my baby. She was starting daycare, and I needed to get her a winter coat, and while I was there, I would get her two snowsuits; one that she can bring to daycare and another for home. Shopping for those snowsuits caused a panic attack and a very embarrassing “young Karen” moment in Barnes and Noble. She did not put that snowsuit on until Feb. 25.

Anyways, happy March! February was a bit of a whirlwind – I don’t really remember what happened much.

We celebrated our baby’s FIRST BIRTHDAY! Both of our family parties were a hit. After the celebrations, we returned to our regular, boring, parents of a toddler lives. We coordinated work schedules and triaged daycare drop-offs and pick-ups. We made meals and cleaned our kitchen and did laundry and fed our cats. We fixed our vacuum and put out the compost bin and brought down the recycling every other week. You know, normal things!

Nora had her one-year shots in February, which led to 2-3 weeks of fever, rash, irritability, etc. We’ve nursed a cold over the past 2 weeks (I have it now), and Ian just got back from a work trip in Puerto Rico. Now, it’s time for another month!

I’m happy to say that I read 6 books in February as well:

• The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
• Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3) by Elle Cosimano
• The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S.A. Chakraborty
• Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
• Why I Wake Early: New Poems by Mary Oliver
• Good Bones: Poems by Maggie Smith

What I’m up to this month

We’re already on the 5th day of March and I’m booked every weekend well into June. Spring is going to be a busy one, my friends, so I am soaking in the weekends when I have no plans and snuggling my baby and husband.

I started going back into the office 3 days a week (when we’re all not sick), so I’ve begun buying more work-appropriate clothes that fit my one-year postpartum bod. I’m happy to say that I am one pants size bigger than my pre-COVID size, so that’s a win. Exercise has been a luxury these days (I get in a groove and then I get sick and then I get in a lull until the cycle begins again), and my diet has been all over the place. But, what does my therapist say? Grace. Give yourself some goddamn grace, Kass.

So, grace it is. I’ll get there.

Work is extremely busy, which I like. Spring is going to be bananas when it comes to projects, supporting my accounts, and traveling for one of my clients, so, see ya in June! I’m super excited and it gives me a chance to buy more clothes and for that I say HOORAY!

What I’m currently reading

• The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

What I’m watching

• Parks and Rec (third time … best show ever)
• Daisy Jones and The Six

What I’m listening to

• New Paramore album on repeat
• Sad girl winter playlist (Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rogers, Maisie Peters, Gracie Abrams, Taylor Swift)
• The 1975

Thanks for reading!

Happy February!

Somehow … I have a one-year-old daughter.

I’ve spent the last two weekends partying it up and celebrating Nora’s first birthday. When it comes to a baby’s first birthday, it’s also a celebration for the parents. You literally kept a little human alive for a year while simultaneously keeping yourselves alive, staying employed, feeding your pets, cleaning your house … jeesh. It’s really an accomplishment. I plan on writing a much longer year-in-review post where I talk about postpartum, what I’ve learned, etc., but let’s keep these musings posts for what they are intended for. Musings.

So. January was a blur and lasted forever all at once. We were winding down from the holiday season (we didn’t put away all of our Christmas decorations until last week .. oops) and just working and living our best mom and dad lives all January. I got to see a friend who was visiting from Germany (Hi, Cecilia!), and I went to Phoenix for work. OH! I got the worst stomach flu of my life … nothing too special.

Here’s what I read in January (I forgot two books in my wrap-up post)

• The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)
• Adult Assembly Required (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill #2) by Abbi Waxman
• Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham
• The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden
• Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle #2) by Tracy Deonn
• The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
• Felicity: Poems by Mary Oliver

What am I up to this month?

Nora turned one on the 3rd, and it was the best day ever. We took the day off, got breakfast, went to a bakery, and just enjoyed the day as a family of three. Then, on Saturday, we hosted a big family/friends party. It was chaotic and fun and amazing all at once.

February is going to fly by. No big work trips this month, but work will be very busy and we will continue our daily grind of daycare drop-off, coordinating schedules, meetings, work, daycare pick-up, exercising and meals and cleaning and repeat. Whew! Never gets old!

What I’m reading

• The Kingdom of Copper (by S.A. Chakraborty (The Daevabad Trilogy #2)
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (bookclub!)
• The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (another bookclub!)
• Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3) by Elle Cosimano

What I’m watching

• Gilmore girls
• Love is Blind … apparently, a new season is coming out this Friday!

What I’m listening to

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
• We Can Do Hard Things
• Midnights
• Anything by Phoebe Bridgers
• The Head and the Heart
• Miley Cyrus
• Metallica cover songs

Happy New Year! This year marks 12 years of keeping a blog, so thanks for sticking around.

December was a whirlwind of a month. After being sick the entire month of November and hurting my ankle, I was happy to find a little bit of normalcy in December … with some holiday chaos mixed in. December was filled with holiday parties, Christmas shopping, and tying up loose ends at work before the end of the year. We made it through the month relatively healthy, and my daughter is loving daycare and growing so fast.

Our holidays were super low-key and enjoyable. We saw my dad on Christmas Eve morning and hosted my mom and her partner on Christmas Eve. We were going to my have dinner with mom’s side of the family, but due to a sickness in the family, we decided to keep it small at our house. It was a very special evening and our daughter was in good spirits throughout the day. We also enjoyed keeping our evening routine with her and putting her in her crib at her normal bedtime.

Christmas morning was magical watching Nora open her first Christmas presents from her mama and dada. We then went to my husband’s mom’s house and spent the entire day there. We got there around 11 and came home at 8:00 p.m. Luckily, Nora went right to sleep in the car and transferred like a dream. It was a fantastic holiday.

What am I up to this month?

A new year is always so exciting. I spend time thinking hard about my “theme” for each year and how I can meet my goals in the coming months. I’m hoping I can get back into a consistent workout routine bow that my ankle is healed. Having a good exercise schedule boosts my mood and productivity.

I will be returning to the office a little more this month, and work will be busy after a nice break. I will be traveling to Phoenix for work at the end of the month, so I am looking forward to exploring a new city. I will also be planning Nora’s first birthday party, because, believe it or not, she will be ONE soon. I cannot believe how fast a year has gone by.

What I’m Reading

• City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S. A. Chakraborty
• The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
• Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

What I’m Watching

• Wednesday (AGAIN)
• Emily in Paris (Season 3)
• Rings of Power (still…)
• The Crown (Season 5 …. still…)

What I’m Listening to

• Midnights
• HAIM
• Lizzy McAlpine
• Phoebe Bridgers
• Maisie Peters
• Gracie Abrams
• The Lumineers
• Anything “sad girl winter” …

Ahhh. December. The best time of year.

Time for cozy sweaters and socks and fuzzy blankets and everything that screams “hygge!” Light those candles, plug in those fairy lights, and let’s get ready for the holidays, shall we?

November was a wild month. The very first day our daughter started daycare, I missed a step going into the basement and rolled my ankle. I spent the next three-to-four weeks limping around my house. That weekend, Nora caught her first daycare illness – an awful viral rash – which resulted in sleepless nights and some of the worst days we experienced as parents. Having a baby who you cannot calm down and make happy is heartbreaking.

Then, it was my 30th birthday (fun!), but then, we all got sick again. But we are finally out of it (so far)…

And here we are! Another month. My daughter is TEN MONTHS in a few days, and we are about to say goodbye to 2022.

Who knows how that happened.

What I’m up to this month

This month is just going to fly by, but I am starting out the weekend with a trip to Newport with my best friends, and then the following weeks and weekends will be consumed by holiday parties, holiday decorating and baking and shopping and celebrations. I doubt I’ll have much time to read, but I know I’ll be filled with holiday cheer!

What I’m reading

• The Winners by Fredrik Backman
• Babel by R.F. Kuang

What I’m watching

• Christmas movies
• The Crown
• Dead to Me S3
• Rings of Power
• Songs for Littles (IYKYK)

What I’m listening to

• Christmas music on repeat
• Lizzy McAlpine
• Phoebe Bridgers
• The Lumineers (always)

What I’m writing

Book reviews and blog posts … and … my first work of nonfiction! Stay tuned.