Currently - Jan 2020

There is only a week left in the first month of the year! I'm honestly not sad about this. I like the fresh start of January but in general, I'm not a big fan of January/February as winter starts to get old at this point. So time can keep marching on until warmer weather arrives! :) Here's what's currently going on in my world!

Reading: Lab Girl by Hope Jehren for book club. It's a memoir by a botanist who grew up in Minnesota. It got a lot of rave reviews so I had high expectations. So far I feel like it's "so so." There are parts I find interesting and parts that feel a little boring to me, maybe because I'm not super interested in trees/plants/botany? It is interesting/sad to see how little research scientists are paid, though...

Loving: watching Paul learn so many new things! We are both kind of blown away by what he's learned at daycare. He can count to ten in English and Spanish and can say most of his ABCs. It's super cool and we completely credit his daycare teachers as neither of us feel like we could have taught him what he's learned so far.

Feeling: like it isn't possible that Paul will turn 2 in a little over a month! I'm not sad over him growing/changing, I'm just surprised by how fast time flies when you have a child. It reminds you that the difficult stretches that felt like they lasted forever (like last fall when he was up 3-5 times/night) are really short phases in the grand scheme of things! We have decided not to have a birthday party for him. He doesn't understand birthdays yet, so we'll do something low key with Phil's mom since she's local. I'm thinking we'll order pizza since that is one of his favorite foods and I'll make a cake or cupcakes. We're also hoping he doesn't receive any presents. He has so many toys so we are going to try to encourage people to give money for his 529!

Anticipating: our trip to Florida in February! Our winter hasn't been awful - we've had a lot of snow but it hasn't been super cold all that much. But winter still gets old! I'm looking forward to being outside without multiple layers and not having to struggle with getting our toddler in winter gear before going outside.

Struggling: a bit with my RA. It's better than it was when I was pregnant, but I keep getting little flares and it's getting old. I'm definitely looking forward to being out of the family planning stages so I can get back on my optimal drug combo (which is not safe for pregnancy - so that's why I'm not on it since we are hoping to have a 2nd child).

Grateful: that my mom found a replacement for her role in the company. My parents run a business together and while my brother-in-law has been trained on the electrical side of things and can take over what my dad does, they hadn't found an office manager to take over for my mom. But they hired someone recently. My parents are both over 70 and have worked harder than anyone I know (I'm talking long hours/long week, very few vacations, etc) so I am relieved that they are on the cusp of being able to transition to retirement in the near future. I'm sure they'll still be available to my BIL as a resource but they should be able to live almost full-time at the lake soon. HOORAY!!!

Working: out 3 times/week! So far I have hit this goal every week. My RA flares have made it a little challenging to hit this goal at times, but I've made it work. I'm doing a combo of workouts from a previous fitness challenge I participated in years ago, TMAC workouts (I signed up for a membership as it's nice to have access to 20-minute HIIT workouts) and walks/runs when it's nice enough outside. 

Listening: to podcasts as usual! I haven't added any new ones into my rotation lately - still sticking with my combo of parenting and books/reading podcasts.

Watching: season 3 of The Americans now that we are done with The Crown. I'm also watching new episodes of This is Us on Hulu. I love that show!

Wishing: for warm, sunny weather when we are in Florida! I'd love temps in the 70s with sun! Fingers crossed that happens.

Bonus pics!

Here are some photos from the family pictures we had taken during the anniversary gathering. Phil hates the staged one where we are kissing and Paul is covering his eyes, but everyone who sees that photo thinks it is cute!

I wasn't sure how Paul would handle being held by my mom for the grandparent/grandkid photo, but he did really well!

My huge family of 20 people!

What are you currently loving, anticipating, and grateful for?