PHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That is the sound of me blowing the dust off the ol’ blog. It has been over two years since I have written here, dayum! When typing in my blog address this afternoon, I wondered if I would have to log in again or if by some miracle it would still be auto logged-in. I was hoping for the latter, because I’m not 100% sure I remember my password.

So a lot has happened in two years. Good things, not-so-good things, the usual. Thankfully it has been mostly awesome, great things (see below RE accidentally getting sent nude pics by a complete stranger in his garden). Here’s a quick recap:

2017:

I met a miniature pig

Husband and I got 10 year anniversary photos done, making sure to get some extra creepy ones with our dog. 

Went to Maine/New Hampshire with one of my sisters and had an amazing trip

2018:

I rotted this pumpkin on my front porch and it even grew a beard

I read (listened on Audible) this book that quickly became one of my favorites. Magical realism, dogs, life lessons. Sigh, so good. 

I started playing on an adult softball league and our team won the championship. I hadn’t played since middle school and it was intimidating, but so fun. 

The Text Message: It turned out to be a “live photo” which made it extra hilarious and horrifying. 

2019:

I got a new job! I no longer work 50-60 hours per week. I miss a lot of parts of my old job, but am really enjoying my new one in the mental health field. Regular hours, solid leadership, health insurance, most of my coworkers are introverted…it has been a good fit. 

Read (again, listened to) Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. It was phenomenal and absolutely one of the best books I’ve read (listened to). 

I got to help my youngest sister have her first baby and it was one of the top 3 experiences of my entire life. She was graceful and strong and a majestic, beautiful badass. I cried for days and still tear up when I sit and think about those 24 hours of labor and delivery.

One week after helping bring my niece into this world, my uterus was like “Hey, I wanna do that too, plz can I has one?”

So, here we are at the biggest part of 2019 (and maybe this decade, or my whole life?) so far:

That’s a human child inside my body. He or she is about 15 weeks old in there and will be making a grand entrance in January, right after one of my OTHER sisters (I know, I have like 300 sisters) has her first baby. So in the span of one year, there are three new babies in our family and we could not be more excited. My sisters and I group text with each other every day– sharing bump photos, new baby pics, asking our oldest sister for advice who is a veteran with her elementary school-aged children. It has been a fun time and only seems to be getting better each day.

Along with all of the excitement of getting pregnant has come a lot of other unexpected things. Anxiety, crippling worry, food allergy trauma responses resurfacing. There have also been some really positive unexpected things in pregnancy, but my first trimester was a really big struggle, physically and mentally. I wasn’t able to really write through it at the time, but having come out on the other side, I am ready to process it in words and felt excited to do so here on this blog. This blog that has seen me through so many life changes and hurdles. This blog where I have poured out my deepest fears and greatest joys, and it always accepts them lovingly and acts as a record keeper when I want to be reminded of where I’ve been. So, here I come back to this blog after all these years thankful to be writing again, and ever so thankful that it kept me logged in so I don’t have to remember my password.