healthy food, lifestyle, travel, & everyday moments.
Little A is two years old today!
My middle child is the embodiment of “big things come in small packages.” We call him our spicy one. He has opinions on just about everything and despite not speaking much yet, he always lets you know what he thinks.… Read More »
Today my wonderful husband is 28!
The past few years of our lives have been filled with massive changes. From three kids in just over three years, to the pandemic, to job changes, to our almost-move and so many other amazing and difficult things. It seems there’s hardly a month that’s gone by without something new to adapt to.
Our family isn’t perfect, but breaking generational cycles takes a lot of hard work, introspection, and persistence. And I’m lucky to be married to someone who shares these goals–in our marriage, parenting, and life in general–and takes each day as it comes, a fresh start with the potential to be the best day yet.
I’m lucky to be married to someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously, laughs at my eye rolls over his terrible dad jokes, encourages us to get out + be social + get fresh air, and shares my love of healthy eating and living.
I’m lucky to be married to someone who is an incredibly hands-on dad, who our kids constantly ask me “is it a work day?” because they want to play with Dad, who chauffeurs us all around because I hate driving with kid noise, and who’s committed to sharing the mental load of our household.
I’m lucky to be married to someone who supports me in my career and self-development goals, laughs at the random things I say when I’m tired and always stops me for a hug (or two or five) during the workday when I’m looking cranky.
Someday, it will be just us again. After the kids are in bed, we flip between talking about how nice it will be when we can go out to dinner and enjoy each other’s (uninterrupted) company again–and scrolling through pictures of the kids on our phones, lamenting how old they look already. That’s marriage and parenthood with lots of littles!
Happy birthday to the best husband and dad we could ask for. 28 is going to be a good one!
xx Claire
Today I am 28 years old 🙂
When I was younger, I had plenty of different thoughts about how 28 would look for me, such as:
Obviously, life has turned out to look like none of the above–I’m a stay-at-home mom of three boys under four, living in my hometown (for the long run it would seem!).
Nothing about life in my 20s has gone according to plan, and that’s okay. As a child/teenager/young adult, all of my plans for this decade hinged on someone taking notice of my exceptionality and offering me the time, money and opportunities I thought I deserved. If only someone had just noticed how truly unique I was, right? I was just waiting for my big break.
Of course, I am really not exceptional in the superficial sense at all. There are people out there who were better academically, are better at being teachers or engineers than I could ever be, are better suited to living abroad, are more intriguing women who naturally attract tall dark strangers, and are more social and popular than I will ever be (and are out celebrating their 28th birthdays at hip bars with twenty best friends).
But these days, I find being ordinary such a relief. The pressure is off! I can be an average person with average interests and accomplishments and be content with myself. I can find peace in waking up before my kids to drink a cup of coffee and read the Bible, and I can deal with tears and tantrums at library story time without feeling ashamed. I can take time to slow down and soak in these fleeting years with my kids as babies and toddlers. I can hang kitschy “Live, Laugh, Love”-esque wall art in my kitchen if I want to, because I don’t have to be deep and sophisticated and intellectual all the time. Or at all.
(Well, I am still a nerd who likes reading books about the gut microbiome and rewatching The Lord of the Rings over and over. But I also like typical modern farmhouse Christian wall art and Lululemon.)
My first decade of adulthood has treated me well. There was a lot of hard stuff, but I’m glad it pushed me to stop living in the gifted child matrix and started actually enjoying and making the most of reality.
Now I’m going to go enjoy some pizza and chocolate cake with Eric, the kids and my mom!
xx Claire
In the past year we’ve spent 8 days in the hospital;
gone to several dozen doctors and specialists appointments (I lost count after 30);
seen a respiratory specialist, hematologist, neurosurgeon, eye doctor, gastroenterologist, plagio clinic, dermatologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist;
you’ve had 3 MRIs and 2 ultrasounds;
visited the ER 6 times;
we were just referred to two more specialists;
and we still don’t have any root cause diagnoses.
We spent 7 months nursing;
tried 6 formulas before we found one that worked;
and offered dozens of solid foods that you rejected.
(This week you put a spoonful of food in your own mouth for the first time.)
During my pregnancy I had 9 ultrasounds;
had a subchorionic hemorrhage;
spent 3 weeks on bedrest for placenta previa;
had a falling-out with my OB a month before birth;
had a precipitous unmedicated (not by choice) labor where the doctor almost didn’t make it;
and did the whole thing alone during the height of the pandemic.
Really, no credit to anyone but Eric. I did it myself.
My second pregnancy and this past year were excruciatingly hard,
but at the same time,
they forced me to dig down inside myself and find a sense of purpose and fulfillment besides simply checking the boxes,
the to-do’s, milestones and accomplishments.
I stopped living life on autopilot and started thinking critically, advocating for my kids, and enjoying the small everyday moments that separate life from life well-lived.
You, A, are intense and sensitive; you’re hilarious, clever and persistent.
I never had any trouble bonding with you despite all of our hours at hospitals and clinics.
When I look at you, I see a lot of my family, physically and in your personality.
I feel a huge responsibility not to see too much of them. Not to label you, limit you, or pass on unhealthy cycles of behavior that have plagued my family for decades.
You force me to slow down, celebrate difference, toss my expectations out the window and in some ways be a parent I wish I’d had–but more importantly, the parent you need.
Happy 1st Birthday butters, bebecino, sweet cheeks, gremlin, a-wok, Babers, my littlest love <3
