life, currently.

well, i'm now a stay at home mom. feels weird to say. it's my goal to blog more often, or at all, now that i'm not working.

i'm currently doing that from the top stair, outside micah's room. because that's how my life is right now. oh, and i'm serenaded by a mix of crying and climbing and talking and singing.

just so you can glimpse into my world, here's my night/morning:

8 pm: micah to bed in new room.

1030 pm: micah crying. put micah to bed again.

115 am: micah PLAYING. and unable to fall back asleep, even with both of us trying, until 3 am.

730 am: micah walks out of room. and i get up. and decide no swim lessons. because we'd be leaving at 8 and i just can't.

8-1230 pm: play. sing "let it go" about 20 times. say "no" to the request for cookie, outside (it's raining), park, zoo, veggie tales (about 1000 times), etc. go to the OB doctor, hold him while listening to baby's heart beat (really.)... have him offer guacamole to everyone he sees... yelling loudly every animal and animal sound he can think of, then alternating with counting and abc's. get home, handyman is waiting to fix the siding on our house that's falling off. change a big poopy diaper. feed lunch. 

1 pm: naptime = fight time. try to get him to relax and sleep. he just wants to play. i give up, leave room, shut door to him climbing and yelling "mommyyyy" in his silly voice.

ah, how life has changed. no more teaching elementary. no more baby... other than the one growing inside. and that baby boy is always kicking me to make sure i know that i've got round two coming soon. 

all of the sudden, we've got a full-blown toddler who touches his wee-wee in public and talks about it and throws a fit when he doesn't get cookies whenever he wants them.

all that to say, life is good. 

here are pictures to prove it.

our life in recent days!

first up, micah's first trip to the zoo!

moving on up, no more high chair: we all sit together like a civilized family. but one of us eats with his hands mostly.

speaking of civilized. lemonade straight from the pitcher. i don't know.

matt and i still love each other, so that's good. tigers game double date!

petting zoo. hand in goats mouth. whatever. 

pick your battles, right?

pool time with micah's pal, graham. i know. they look thrilled.

but really, they love pools!

first ice cream cone. i think the eyes are closed from pure delight. fast forward 5 seconds: running everywhere, YELLING "hi, hi, hi, hiiiii!" to everyone he saw.

ah, the big boy bed. someday, it will be less stressful. someday.

not pictured: lots of fun parties, dinners with friends, time with family, my brother getting married (we don't have the pictures... ah! need to get them ASAP!), end of the school year with students. etc.

and one recipe for you... a great one!
basil pasta with sundried tomatoes!

ingredients:

sundried tomatoes

basil pesto

pasta (we use the shell kind for this one!)

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

asparagus

chicken (optional)

eggs

normally, you'd eat this right away, not in pyrex... 

what to do:

• mix asparagus and olive oil/salt on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until crisp, then cut into one-inch pieces
• cook up the pasta (and chicken, if you want)
• mix in a big serving bowl as much pesto as you like as well as the sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
• add in the asparagus and mix
• then, if you're brave, fry an egg (over-medium or so) and lay it on top--the yolk acts as a juice for the pasta, too. we normally only do that if we didn't add chicken--a great meatless (thus cheap!) dish.

easter.

jesus died and rose again.
obviously, that's what easter is about and the reason life has hope!

less important but exciting: micah looooooves easter egg hunts.
first, the one at the church i grew up in:

 such determination.
and the one at my parents' house on easter (post church :))

so great.

i forgot to get a pic of him in his easter outfit.

but i think we'll all survive?

question mark?

ebright life.

life sure has changed lately around here.

matt's been pretty much gone all the time at the hospital.

bummer.

so micah and i have been playing with friends, going on trips, and making the most of life.

here are some adventures of late:

wandering u of m campus. and i'm not looking at the camera.

playing in the rain. yep, that's his rain coat and boots. jealous?

new couch.

sand and water table. now has sand as of yesterday.

too much bailey lovin.

u of m with daddy.

and again. because he never stops.

exploring.

free train table!

celebrated matt's birthday. with the gift i may be most proud of--a medical journal filled with notes from family and friends for matt.

excited, nauseous, hungry, and moody.

yep, we're pregnant again!

meaning i'm sometimes moody.

sometimes giddy.

sometimes starving.

and after one bite, overstuffed.

but other times, can't eat enough.

i weep when micah does something cute.

and call my parents about it.

and then i weep more for no reason.

the word weep really fits the situation.

things that disgust me:

frequently chicken.

generally anything that i have on the schedule to make for dinner.

pulled pork.

gagged on a banana yesterday. but normally i like those.

but don't even try and predict it. because there is no predicting.

things that i love:

fuji apple chicken salad from panera. i've had it so much my parents gave me a panera gift card in my easter basket. yes, i got an easter basket. my parents rule.

candy. but only sometimes.

apples. i've eaten a lot of apples.

orange juice.

popcorn.

this time around, it turns out, pregnancy is a lot different.

i had no warning!

for instance, when you feel nauseous in first trimester, you still have to take care of the toddler.

meaning lots of running and games.

also, the doctor just told me, the "burst of energy" you get in second trimester only applies to first pregnancy. 

say whaaaat.

so i'm going to want naps from here until eternity.

all that to say, we're SUPER pumped.

baby is due october 14. (micah's birthday is october 18. i know.)

we find out gender (hopefully) on may 27.

book club, the real life one.

i once posted about wanting to be in a book club back here.

and then we started one!

we had the first one last week, and it was completely soul-filling.

that's not a word, but it should be.

because that's what happened. 

i hosted the first one... we read cold tangerines by shauna niequist.

absolutely incredible.

i made baked brie and chocolate chip cookie bars.

the baked brie sort of could have been part of the soul-filling.

holy shmokes.

good.

all i can say is, everyone should be in a book club.

and i'm excited to have joined the club.

vacation is the best.

i'm currently in the post-vacation blues.

you know, remembering how great it was and recognizing that it's back to regular life...

so, to help, here's a vacation blog!

no pants and rolling around = happy child.

see, it was a learning vacation.

fun family dinners at local cool restaurants... 

water park!

my favorite picture.

my other favorite picture. that is pure joy.

it's vacation. so he got to try ice cream. 

(though i'm pretty sure grandpa already gave him a taste...)

yep. that was mine. giant rice krispie treat.

family photo before leaving!

seriously. great wolf lodge is the best.

or we were just desperate for a vacation.

a little of both, i'm sure :)