Happy Thursday. It’s been a while since I shared some random thoughts with you all, but today seems like a perfect opportunity. I’m currently squeezed between two people on a cross country flight from San Francisco to New York City. I’ve spent the last five hours knocking things off my work to-do list and catching up on emails, but now it’s time to relax and catch up with you all.
- Today we received the pictures from our holiday photo shoot and I am so thrilled with how they turned out. In the moment, the photo shoot was pure chaos. We drove to Brooklyn Heights for the photo shoot and then couldn’t find parking when we reached the location. It was really windy so within seconds my hair turned into a hot mess and we instantly regretted not getting Katie a haircut before the shoot. But, when I saw the final images, I smiled because they are real. They capture our love for Katie and each other as well as her personality and energy. Her traditional, smocked jumper highlights our Southern roots and the smiles on each of our faces embody the love that we have for our family of three and this chapter of life.
- At least once a day, someone sends me a message on Instagram asking when I’ll return to a regular blogging schedule. The answer is, I have no clue if or when I’ll return to a regular blogging schedule. During any season of life, there are only so many things that someone can balance. Right now, it is taking all of my energy and more to focus on being the best mother, wife, employee, daughter, sister and friend possible. I will continue to share my life with you all via the blog and social media as I have time. I have drastically reduced the number of sponsored partnerships I accept as I want the interaction to be organic versus forced.
- I’ve been traveling for business 10 of the past 14 days. This is not the new normal, instead it is a combination of taking advantage of an incredible opportunity to go to China and year-end-planning with the customer. While it hasn’t been ideal, I’m so appreciative of the village who has made it all possible as well as being blessed with smooth flights to both San Francisco and China. Moving forward, I’m hoping to stick with my goal of traveling an average of 2-3 nights per month. I know I have to be flexible and realize that due to schedules, sometimes that will mean I travel five days in a month but none the next.
- As you all know, I’ve made the switch to a more natural beauty routine over the past two years but this week, I purchased Chanel foundation for the first time and was pleasantly surprised and impressed. When I walked into the bathroom at JFK to apply makeup before my cross country flight, I realized that I left my favorite Beautycounter foundation at home. Since I knew that my sleep deprived skin couldn’t go without foundation, I quickly dashed into a duty free shop. The woman who helped me immediately recommended a few different hydrating foundations before we landed on Chanel Vitalumiere. I’ve never worn Chanel makeup before but was so impressed with the way it blended with ease, provided full coverage without looking cakey and truly left my face looking more hydrated and fresher.
- While Bo and I have tremendous help and support from our families, I have a strong desire to create a deeper bond and community with neighborhood friends. I’ve read a few different times about the fact that our generation is living in more isolation for a number of reasons. While social media keeps us more connected than ever before, I yearn to create a deeper connection with those people who live right around the corner or that play at the same parks and are also struggling to find community in the chaos of New York. Tomorrow night Bo and I are hosting a small dinner party for two neighborhood couples we’ve become close with over the past year. It’s actually the first time we’re hanging out without the children! In addition, I’ve started to create a wonderful bond with the women in the Brooklyn Moms running group. Most weeks I run with them once or twice, spending the forty-five minutes laughing about our children’s recent antics, venting about life or brainstorming recipes. If you’ve created bonds with some of your neighborhood friends, I’d love any ideas.
- While I haven’t stood on a scale recently, I’ve gone down a size in the past few months. Most of my clothing from last year is now at least one to two sizes too large which has been frustrating but also a great feeling. The other day I took advantage of Jcrew’s 50% off sale and ordered a few new pants, dresses and tops. While I considered altering my clothes from last year, I realize that there is a good chance I’ll need them again in a few years if and when Bo and I are able to have a second child. I find it humorous that right now, when I’ve focused on my weight the least, it has fallen off without effort. I believe there are a few reasons why I’m suddenly a few pounds lighter and leaner than I was months ago – happiness, an active toddler and moderation. Many days, I eat breakfast standing up while also feeding Katie breakfast and getting us out the door. On weekends, we eat our meals together and most meals I’m too busy focusing on Katie to focus on my own food. Last Saturday Bo and I laughed when we realized that I had half my meal left on my plate since I’d spent most of the meal talking with him and entertaining/feeding Katie. Even though I am busier than ever, I am truly happy. I absolutely love my job and a year into it, I feel like I’m finally finding my groove. In regards to moderation, I’m working out when I can but I’m focusing on drinking plenty of water and eating whole foods whenever possible.
- Somehow, Christmas is in 12 days. Am I the only one who is in shock when reading that fact? Part of me is extremely excited as we fly home to Savannah next Saturday. The other part of me is stressed out about the fact that I have so much work to do between now and then and I still have a few very important people to find the perfect Christmas gift for before we open presents. Some years, our time in Savannah hasn’t been as relaxing as we’ve hoped and a lot of that has been due to me. I have a history of adding unnecessary stress by trying to micromanage and control everything. This year, I’m really trying to mitigate stress. First and foremost, Bo and I had a long conversation about how we’d like to relax during this vacation. We both have different things we enjoy doing so we’re going to do our best to allow each other the time to do that. In addition, since Bo has been father of the year recently due to my travel schedule, I’m hoping he’ll take time to enjoy some workouts or solo time to relax. We have no plans for our time home other than a combined Christmas Eve celebration with Bo’s parents and my family. Other than that, I’m really just hoping to enjoy quality time with family. This is our first trip home in a while that doesn’t have a lot associated with it – there isn’t family coming from out of town and there isn’t a wedding or other large family event.
- I finally realize what people said about toddlers. Katie turns 18-months old next week and she is definitely in the full-blown toddler tornado stage. Keeping up with her is exhausting but I love every second of the craziness. She seems so grown up recently – dashing down the sidewalk unassisted, making her opinion known, sitting in her chair “reading” and blowing kisses. I’m so excited to continue experiencing these milestones and progressions with her.
- Speaking of Katie, many people have asked us about a second child. Many of the moms who I was on maternity leave with have recently announced their second pregnancies. It is no secret that Bo and I are not ready. We’ve always hoped that we could have three to four years between our first and second child. My brother and I are three years apart and Bo and his sister are six years apart. We both have heard about the many benefits of the spread from our parents and have always wanted to be able to fully enjoy and embrace this time with our first child before adding to the craziness. While I look forward to meeting our friends’ new additions, right now we just aren’t ready, and that’s okay!
with you on that last thought! a co-worker whose daughter is 2 weeks younger than my son is pregnant again and due in the spring. i truly can’t imagine that for myself right now. my son is 22 months and a maniac; he loves rough housing and climbing and being physical – i wouldn’t be able to join in and play with him the way he wants! just seems too hectic for me and my husband, so we’ll wait!
I have a 21 month old and we may never be ready for a second, and that’s okay! You’re doing a great job. And I agree about needing/wanting more community. It can be so hard as a new parent, and these days it seems so difficult to find others to connect with. Good luck!
Your family picture is so cute and I honestly didn’t notice the hair aspect – just the smiles! Just got a few items off of J Crew Factory today – free shipping! (danging emoji)
What a great life update! Enjoy all this time!
I love that you want a larger age gap! My husband and I waited, because we were not ready and then I had a health scare so now hopefully we’ll have the same gap. I think no matter what, as long as it works for you it’s what is right! You know?