I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on the past year and making grand plans for 2014 along with the rest of the world. 2013 was a wild ride. It was heartbreaking and rough, joyous and beautiful. I probably learned more about myself and who I want to be in that time than I have at any other point in my adulthood. I had such plans to start 2014 with a bang. I had a specific list of goals. I had a plan in place. And then family drama happened. The van broke down in spectacular fashion ... Read More
Matilda in the NICU
Around 11pm the night I delivered, Matilda's doctor came to give me an update and plan of action. Her lungs just weren't developed to where they should be. They were having a hard time with IVs because her veins were smaller than they expected. She could only have IV nourishment. She wasn't maintaining a good temperature. They were going to monitor her overnight and he was going to discuss what to do with the other doctor in the morning. I'll admit that I had a hard time understanding what he ... Read More
Welcome, Matilda!
On August 10, 2013, Matilda Ngaire Gould rocketed into this world. I had been getting increasingly sick as the weeks went on. I was having all sorts of issues, but nothing was ever quite enough for them to give the go ahead to let her come. It all added up to me feeling among the worst I've felt in my life. I had been getting increasing pressure from friends and family to just go into the hospital because they felt that the doctors there would let labor progress if I was already in the ... Read More
Small Projects: Madeline’s Charm Bracelet
Madeline has been losing teeth at a rapid rate. The poor girl is going to start kindergarten without any front teeth at all. I talked here about wanting to do charm bracelets for the girls and not starting out on the right foot with it, although everything turned out fine. For this tooth, though, I was determined that the charm bracelet tradition was going to start. As you know, unpacking has been going slowly due to my bed rest and we decided that we would save my craft room for a winter ... Read More
Decorating Slump: Dining Room
I used to be quite proud of my decorating abilities. I could look at a room and see what I wanted to do with it. I could arrange furniture to make a room look its best. I nearly went to school for interior design and my background in theatre stage management certainly helped me along. While I have many happy corners in our house and can see good progress, there are quite a few places I'm not happy with at all and I'm totally at a loss. It's not even decorating on a budget or my bed rest--it's ... Read More
A Day in Chicago
I am such a city girl. We live in the suburbs of Chicago now and while I love our house and city, I have been rather desperate to explore Chicago. We've gone into the city quite a few times as a family, but mostly to a particular destination. I've wanted to just wander and get a feel for it. Scott has gotten to know it quite well since he works there, and I will admit that I'm quite jealous of that. I had been attempting to make my peace with knowing it wasn't going to be possible for me for a ... Read More