Oh, baby!

Happy Monday, friends. It's so good to be back. I can't tell you how much I've missed you all! ☺

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Life threw me a couple of curveballs (both good and bad) right after my August vacation, and since then I've been having a hard time getting back into the social media habit. I've been quite the reluctant recluse for the past few months, but I'm so excited to join you all again!

So what's been up with me? Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll leave out the bad. The good, though, is amazing. In August I learned that I'm pregnant! The news was a big (and welcome) surprise! I'm a little more than fifteen weeks along right now, and although I'm very excited, I'm also a little nervous. It's been more than four years since I had my youngest child. Yikes!

Oh, baby!
Image courtesy of Marja Flick-Buijs, rgbstock.com

Today is the first day in months that I haven't felt like crawling back into bed the moment I got up. Pregnancy this time around is very different; it's definitely an adjustment. I have a lot less energy, take a lot of naps, clean only when absolutely necessary, and don't cook nearly as often as I used to. It's all I can do some days just to keep up with the kids. I've also been working on making room for one more person in this tiny house. I see a rummage sale in my future—or lots of trips to Goodwill. ☺

Thank you for all your kind comments, e-mails, and tweets. I hadn't been online much, so I didn't have a chance to read many of them until this past weekend. I'm so grateful for them all—and I'm so happy to be back!


Wishing you all a fantastic Monday. ☺

Now and then

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I hope you're all having a great week so far. I'm glad to say that things are starting to slow down a little here after the last couple of weeks filled with birthday celebrations and family visits. We'll be taking a long trip back to my hometown in a few weeks, but until then, I plan on enjoying a little relative peace. ☺

Last Saturday, my friend Keith at Musings of an Unapologetic Dreamer wrote a great post about the tendency of some people to romanticize the past. Reading it made me think of this very short poem by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. In it, Collins expresses an appreciation for the simpler days of "then," preferring them to the busier, more noise-and-image-packed days of "now." What do you think? As you look back on your life, do you find you have more appreciation for simpler times, or do you prefer life as it is now?


(Read by Billy Collins and animated by Eun-ha Paek of Milky Elephant.)

Wishing you all a fantastic Tuesday. ☺