Monday, Tuesday, Happy Days

I've heard many different takes on motherhood that are very different from one another. It appears that it is a different experience for everyone. As I approached having Jack, I was nervous. Moms know everything, and I certainly didn't. Also, I felt way to selfish to be a mom. Anyway, the fateful day came, and although I don't feel changed like I thought I would, I have to admit that I'm different. I still love everything that I loved before (Brian, Atticus, hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, reading, singing, rec. management, teaching, etc...), only now there is something else I love: Jack. That's not what really changed everything though...I think it was being responsible for him.

Anyway, it's put things in perspective a little, and I strangely find myself more capable. "Like superwoman", as Rosa put it. I feel strong; like I can do things I couldn't/wouldn't have done in the past. I also don't worry about my body like I used to. Sure, having a kid did not-so-attractive things to my body, but I guess I'm more focused now on being healthy so that I can be there for him. I also find myself handling stress like never before. I thought having a kid would be more stressful; not less, but I can organize my time better now. Maybe part of that is because of the perspective change. For example, I was way more worried about grades before Jack. Frankly, now I don't care so much about my grades. My family is my first priority. That's how it is so far for me anyway. I'm just, well, happy.

I  haven't posted my snapshots in some time. I use a bigger camera, so I can't just upload to instagram or anything, so here are my favorites from Fall:

Here are some from Christmas:

And of course, I couldn't help but include Jack in some of them:

I haven't been diligent about taking snapshots daily, but here are few since Christmas:

Isn't she a beautiful cat? I think some cats start cute (what kitten isn't cute?...except maybe hairless cats. Those aren't so cute), and then lose their beauty as adult cats. Not Maggie. She is stunning.

Anyway, I may be jinxing myself by saying this, but I feel like life is falling together. Coming back to Ithaca, starting my Masters, Brian starting his job, and Jack...life is good.

Oh the times, they are a-changing

A lot has changed for us in the last couple of months. We moved back to Ithaca (hip, hip, hooray!). Brian started his first year teaching 5th grade, and is extremely busy with that. I am busy too with Graduate school. I'm trying to front-load all of the big projects now before our little one arrives in 3 weeks or so (minor freak-out). Oh yeah, speaking of which, we are having a kid in November! I feel like I'm entering uncharted territory with this new endeavor, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Otherwise, we are doing the best we can to balance work and life, getting outside in this wonderful place as much as we can. We thank our lucky stars every day that we are able to live in such a perfect place. Amazing hiking, swimming, camping, local culture, events, and a great community. I know it's a little weird to love a place so much, but I really do.

I've been keeping up with the snapshots idea that I started in June-ish. Here are some recent favorites:

Above is my view when I look down, lol. 

Isn't he just the most beautiful dog in the world?

I know some of you want a more recent belly picture. Brian took this yesterday. My innie is becoming an outie.

 

It has been a beautiful fall. We collected leaves yesterday (above). I love every season when it arrives. There is something particularly inviting about fall. Somehow, I welcome the long sleeves, jackets and sweaters. 

Summer Fever

I wish so much that I had the time to fully explain everything that has happened in the past few months. It being our last summer before Brian started his career in teaching, and our last summer childless, we played all summer. Literally. I don't think we were home for more than 3 weekends between June and September. The biggest highlight was our trip to California. We visited my sister Sariah and her husband Brett. It was so much fun.

We went to this place called "Burger", and Brian had a Donut Buger. A Glazed Donut cut in half for the bread. "Weird", I said. "Awesome", Brian said. He loved it. I prefer to separate my meat from my dessert.

It was an awesome trip, and so great to see them!

While we were in California, we went to Yosemite. I love Yosemite. I wish that I could express the incredible-ness of this park.

The huge rock faces always entrance me. It is just magnificent and surreal.

We went swimming at the bottom of Yosemite Falls (above). Coldest water I have ever been in (despite the smile on my face). Your wrists hurt immediately. We also swam in the most beautiful lake I have ever seen (below) at 10,000 ft. The water was cold there too, but it was worth it.

We went down to the Mariposa Grove in the southern-most section of the park. I had never really seen many sequoias, so it was  new to me. The bottom picture is of the Grizzly Giant. That was a huge, tough-looking tree. It's definitely seen hard times. The pictures just don't do it justice. None of them do actually. That park just has to be experienced to be understood. Definitely one of the most magnificent places on earth.

It was such a great trip. Can't wait until we go back!

Snapshots

I've recently fallen in love with a book called "A Year of Mornings". It's a photography book done by two women living across the country from each other. One lives in Portland, ME; the other in Portland, OR. Each morning for a year, they took a picture of something, a snapshot, of their daily life. The book is beautiful. They have a blog; you should check it out: 3191 Miles Apart.

The reason why I love it so much is because they don't take pictures of anything spectacular. There's a picture of the corner of a gingham napkin on a worn table, crumbs on a plate, or just a simple window frame. My friend Stephanie, while thumbing through the book, pointed out a picture of an air conditioner...an air conditioner of all things, somehow made beautiful. Every picture is finding beauty in the everyday; the ordinary. I love that idea, and I feel a need to find beauty in the small things in my life as well.

So please forgive my incredible lack of experience, but I would like to occasionally post these photos on my blog. Brian's joining me on this occasionally, so some of the pictures are his. We want to share what we see. 

Here are a few from the last couple of weeks:

For those of you who know me well and are thinking, "Holy crap, Esther painted her toenails!" It's a good thing my toes are under water in this pic, so you can't see the crappy job I did. There's practically more paint on my skin than my nails. It's been well over 10 years since I painted them, so give me a break. I like the orange.