as we near the end

part of baby's Montessori-style nursery

 

Lately, there's been so much going on behind the scenes of this oft-neglected blog. Must be the season, a lot of bloggers are hibernating lately. I totally understand. Winter's been rough this year -- where we are, skimpy on the snow, high on the bitter cold end of the spectrum. Kicked off March with an ice storm today. Ugh.

In the last weeks, there has been lots of ....

snuggling in bed doing nothing (mix of winter blahs/third trimester tiredness which ebbs and flows)

drinking hot tea -- mostly peppermint and ginger, but lately cinnamon/vanilla (supposed to be good for healthy skin, see below)

battling two relatively short-lived but nasty colds thanks to my suppressed immune system and job with preschoolers, mainly with honey, lemon, elderberry, a cheap humidifier, and saline nose drops.

dealing with terrible dry skin rash (I blame pregnancy). pure shea butter/flaxseed oil supplements/vitamin e oil/coconut oil/creamy hemp and neem body wash have all helped, but the rash is still there and not in pretty places :-(

getting project after project after project started and finished. FINALLY the list appears to be waning...

preparing for five months of bliss with my little one at home :-) :-) :-) (I know it won't all be bliss..!! but really, what a blessing to have this time)

eagerly casting on too much knitting, and then neglecting all of it far too much

worrying worrying worrying .. .but figuring it all out somehow.

getting out of a very stressful situation and looking forward to a happier future ... more on this to come

reading books about parenting, breastfeeding, etc.

enjoying turning the pages of all three of my home calendars to new pages -- one from phoebe wall, one from the national gallery of degas paintings, one from a local garden center. I get so much pleasure in turning the pages over to a new month

baking, mainly endless loaves of either banana or zucchini bread with various add-ins

eating tons and tons of fresh fruit (hormones??) I can't get enough fruit

trying to swim at least twice a week

getting layers cut into my shorter hair at the hairdressing school ($13!!), and keeping the gray out

looking forward to eating a paleo-ish diet come spring and summer with the rebirth of farmer's markets in this area, and losing the 35 lbs. I gained from baby

slowing down, making time very recently for nightly relaxation time, either by just going to sleep, listening to "yoga" music, or working my way through the same novel I've been reading for a year

feeling uninspired by making new things in the kitchen and falling back on wholesome, hearty old favorites like vegetable-stuffed potatoes, veggie stirfrys with rice, homemade pizza, cobb salads.

preparing some freezer meals for the first couple weeks after baby is born, but trying not to go too overboard

just a couple more weeks to go, we can do this. hello, spring!! you are just around the corner. xo