Roaring, Maybe

Whelp, it has been about 5 months since my last post. Hello parenthood. I profusely send out my apologies to any parents who have had to deal with my embarrassing lack of empathy. I know for certain there were times when I thought it would be way easier than it looked. As I neared the end of my pregnancy with Oscar it was becoming painfully obvious that a lesson was about to come my way.

My reading...it has slowed to less than a snail's pace. My writing...smh doesn't even come close to the correct response to my neglect. And yet - each new year I feel a chance to start over. I'm all about starting over. Why would you not be all about starting over??

Roaring 20s New Year's Eve dinner party - so fun

So this year, as always, I have a resolution. It's a little basic - I want to find a really good pillow. The SO and I have had some pretty epic pillows in our travels this year and it has made us realize what terrible pillows we own. On New Year's Eve, our friends Afton and Adam brought their own pillows to the Air BnB we rented. WHAT?! I was flabbergasted! Not only did they like their pillows but they were confident that those pillows would be better than any others. Good enough they were willing to travel with them. So I decided. I want to own pillows that are so good I would travel with them.

This resolution won't likely make me a better person but if there is one thing I've learned in the last 18 months of parenting, it is that sleep is gold. Bring on the pillow suggestions. I'm ready.

I've also decided to make more of an effort to get back to reading and writing. It's not my official resolution - just something I am giving myself permission to start over with once again. So, here's what I am reading and the writing - well, you're reading it!


Books and Ice Cream

Over the winter break I did my annual books and ice cream trip with my niece and nephews. This tradition started when Josh, my oldest nephew, was 3 years old. He is now 19 (!?!?!) and I don't even know how to handle that. It has been fun to look back at pictures and see how their reading tastes have changed. So grateful for this tradition.

Saturday by Oge Mora

Last year Oge Mora won a myriad of awards, including a Caldecott honor and the Coretta Scott King Award for her debut picture book, Thank You, Omu. See, dreams can come true. I picked up Saturday, her latest book, during our books and ice cream trip. It is the story of Ava and her mother. Ava's mother works six days of the week but Saturdays she spends the day with Ava. This Saturday it seems like everything is going wrong. Ava and her mother don't let the snafus get in the way. They keep starting over, trying again, taking deep breaths, and they make it splendid in their own way. It's such a sweet story of what is so common - we are all just trying to make it work, one day at a time.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

There are no covers on books any more. Because babies.

I had heard a lot of rave reviews of this book since it's publication. I'm not a huge fan of biographies but Michelle Obama is a pretty amazing person so I asked for it for Christmas and got it! I'm about halfway through and blown away by what a regular life Michelle had growing up and how she has turned it into something extraordinary. So far my favorite parts include the small detail that she grew up in a 900 square foot apartment with her brother and mom and dad (look at you Oscar, doing the same thing!) and the story of how she tried to get pregnant and it didn't work. Talk about relatable. I've really enjoyed the book so far and can't wait to read the rest.

Happy New Year readers - whoever you are at this point. According to my website stats, most of you are bots in in Russia. I didn't know bots were so interested in children's literature but that's cool. Mom, if you are still reading this - thank you. :)