What I’m Into: April 2021

Main Events

Now that all the local adults in our family are vaccinated, my sister and nieces came for a visit! Last time we were together in October, I had just found out I was pregnant, and my sister was still pregnant with my newest niece, who was born in December. Therefore, this was my first time meeting the baby. After some initial confusion on her part about my resemblance to her mother, we bonded and had a great time. She and Baby C will only be about six months apart! The older girls enjoyed feeling their cousin kick.

Taylor and I had a pretty normal Easter with both sets of parents – thanks again, vaccines!! We all went to outdoor church, and I cooked my traditional Easter menu of pork tenderloin, collard greens, and cheesy polenta. Inspired by this post, I also baked a “robin egg” cake using this white cake recipe and this frosting recipe. It was the best layer cake I’ve ever made and will be my go-to white cake recipe going forward.

We also announced the baby’s name to our immediate family on Easter. We’ve decided to keep it at that and not announce widely to friends or social media until he’s born. It’s not a weird name or anything – we’re just not looking for input, and I felt this was a good compromise with my initial urge not to tell anyone until I was handing them a baby!

On another note, an expected department restructuring was announced at work. I’m still in the same role (for now), but both of my attorneys moved to other positions and I now have a new boss. Not an ideal situation right before having a baby, but the transition has been smooth and positive so far. I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back from maternity leave to this same position or a different one… all I know is that I’ll have a job!

Baby Events

Last weekend I had a small baby shower lunch with some of my favorite co-workers, most of whom I hadn’t seen in over a year. My now-former boss but still co-worker and friend, Mimi, hosted and the others helped. It was wonderful just to be together again. I felt loved!

The next day, my SIL Brooke hosted a drive-by baby shower for me at her house, which was also wonderful! Despite occasional rain and wind, we were able to be out there for most of the allotted time. She really outdid herself with the decorations and favors!

I couldn’t get over this gorgeous flower arrangement.

Reading

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam (3 stars) After devouring Leave the World Behind, I set out to read Alam’s other novels. This one, set in the 80s, focuses on a wealthy white woman and her relationship with her Black lactation consultant-turned-nanny, which ends up changing the course of her life. I had less tolerance for this main character than for the similar one in LTWB.

Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters by Amy Andrews and Jessica Mesman Griffith (4 stars) I saw a quote from this epistolary memoir in something else I read recently, and was intrigued enough to find a copy. It covers several years of the women’s friendship, including Amy’s conversion to Catholicism, multiple pregnancies, and lots of honest and profound thoughts about faith.

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha (4 stars) This novel follows four young women who are neighbors in an apartment complex in Seoul: a mute hairstylist, an artist juggling a fellowship and a wealthy boyfriend, a married woman with a long-awaited pregnancy, and a high-end escort. Although it’s compelling, it also touches on a lot of topics, many of which are tough and/or not fully explored or explained.

Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell (3.5 stars) A YA novel about a relentlessly sunny teen who’s forced to help the lagging high school radio station as part of a school project. Having just been ostracized by her two best friends, she quickly makes herself part of the fold of radio misfits. Meanwhile she’s coping with family problems as her grandma, who basically raised her, deals with Parkinson’s. I feel it was a risky author choice to have such a bouncy Pollyanna protagonist, but she was well balanced by the serious subject matter.

Beneath Wandering Stars by Ashlee Cowles (3.5 stars) When Gabriela’s brother is severely wounded in Afghanistan, she carries out his wish for her to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain on his behalf. His best friend, with whom she doesn’t get along, is her traveling companion. I’ve been intrigued by the Camino for a while and enjoyed reading about the experience.

What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander (3.5 stars) I read this in a day, and recommend watching Athlete A on Netflix either before or after you read it. Denhollander is a true badass whose perseverance brought justice for hundreds of women, including herself.

All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft by Geraldine DeRuiter (4 stars) I recently discovered The Everywhereist and snatched up her memoir when I saw it available at my library. She’s very insightful, and she and her husband are Relationship Goals.

Our Great Big American God: A Short History of Our Ever-Growing Deity by Matthew Paul Turner (4.5 stars) This book has sat in my physical TBR pile for years, and I think it has more resonance now than if I had read it immediately. Turner provides a summary of the Christian movements that have shaped America’s concept of God, from the Puritans to the Great Awakening to Billy Graham. I’m keeping this on hand for reference/as a warmup for Jesus and John Wayne, which is high on my priority list.

Listening

Everything Happens: Jamie Lee: Weddings, Divorces, and Loves That Carry Us

Pantsuit Politics: “A road map to love our backstories” (with Laura Tremaine)

Confession: My attention span for podcasts maxes out around 50 minutes, so I didn’t make it all the way through these episodes, but what I heard was pretty interesting. Be There in Five: Rachel Hollis and the Rose-Colored Glass Ceiling, Part 1 & Part 2

Watching

I crammed in some of my watchlist while Taylor was on a brief work trip. On deck: the Demi Lovato documentary Dancing with the Devil, and more episodes of Firefly Lane (which I’ve now finished – THAT was the ending?!?). My mom came over one night, and we watched Radium Girls and decided my older niece has a strong resemblance to Joey King.

I missed a lot of 80s classics growing up, so last weekend we watched Cocktail. I had a vaguely positive impression of it because the soundtrack was on heavy rotation in our house… but wow, what a showcase of toxic masculinity. Then Taylor told me Risky Business is about an underage brothel?!? All I previously knew about it was the scene with Tom Cruise in the socks.

I don’t know if it’s pandemic brain, pregnancy, or some combo, but I’ve kind of hit a wall even with media I enjoy. I faded out of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and have even struggled to focus on This Is Us. I watch most of our Grizzlies games with Taylor, but half the time I’m also reading. I still care… I just feel burnt out or something.

At Home

I’ve been promising a big post-renovation reveal for a while, and I’m sorry to say I’m disappointing you again. I should have taken pictures for a post on Easter, or before my sister’s visit, when the house was spotless. I wasn’t thinking. All I have is this quick living room/entryway picture from one of those spotless occasions. We got a few new furniture pieces this month, including: a blue storage ottoman to replace our old glass coffee table; a new living room rug (the old rug is now in the baby’s room); a sideboard, behind this couch, for storage; and the baby’s crib! I ordered a changing table at the same time, but it got lost in transit (a co-worker joked it must have been on that ship in the Suez Canal) and a replacement is now on the way.

I commissioned my friend and trainer, Kara, who is also a woodworker, to build some shelves for our upstairs hall closet. It’s the only general-use closet we have (#OldHouseProbs) and was totally cluttered and disorganized, while our linens were haphazardly stacked in the soon-to-be baby’s closet. Now I have a real linen closet plus space for other things. It was a huge step toward feeling less chaotic after the renovation.

Our yard gets more beautiful every day! I don’t know if it was the winterpocalypse, hiring a service in the fall to clean up the leaves, or what, but the plants are emerging much stronger than last year (along with some that we never saw last year). I was relieved to see that my birthday dogwood has survived and bloomed. I’m impressed with how the azaleas have bounced back too, although some look better than others. A few will need pruning of the branches that are for sure dead.

We got a new hummingbird feeder, and some dahlias for the front bed.

I was choosier about my greenhouse plants this year and got a few new things, like dill and poblano peppers. Meanwhile, Taylor built me a tomato patch at the back of the yard, the only place that gets consistent, intense sun. I’m hopeful for a good crop – tomatoes were clearly not living their best life next to the greenhouse last year. Gardening can be tough when you live under an urban forest canopy.

The house next door to us and the house on the other side of it sold recently, and our new neighbors (all in our general age range, plus some young kids) seem really great. We didn’t know any of the people who lived there before, so Taylor and I are both excited for a more neighborly situation. When we moved in over a year ago, we had great intentions of getting to know people on our block, but then covid happened. Hopefully we’re starting to turn that around.

Eating

As my pregnancy heartburn/reflux gets worse (yes, even worse), I’m having to eliminate more foods from my diet and eat smaller portions at a time. I can no longer tolerate tomato sauce, so one night Taylor made me this chicken pesto pizza from scratch. <3

Some things I cooked and liked in April: Bowties with Sugar Snaps, Ricotta and Lemon; Sheet Pan Chow Mein; Healthy Banana Bread; Broccoli Beef; Yoga with Adriene’s Clean & Green Enchiladas (my favorite of the month). I’m currently obsessed with sugar snap peas in general, as well as strawberries and cantaloupe. I spent a lot of this month eating all those things in the kitchen straight from the container.

All my pre-pregnancy life, I pretty much drank iced tea all day. I can’t really do that now, so finding appealing and satisfying drinks continues to be a struggle. I’m not a huge plain water person (though it is refreshing sometimes) and several times I’ve gotten really into a particular Crystal Light flavor only to burn out on it and never want it again. The whole berry and lemonade genres are boring me at this point. Last week I saw Orange Vanilla Mio at Kroger and thought, well, that’s different! Turns out it’s pretty good. I’m carefully not overdoing it because I don’t know where there is to go from a creamsicle drink mix. If anyone has recs for something else off the beaten path, I’m all ears.

Wearing

I spent actual months searching for The Perfect Dresses for my maternity photos and baby showers. I ended up getting this ruffled dress from Pinkblush (in light blue, no longer available) for my drive-by baby shower, and this tank dress from Amazon (pictured) for my backyard shower next month and a few maternity pics. I went with a more demure hand-me-down dress for the bulk of the portraits because I thought it would age better – I was worried about the bodycon dress being Too Sexy!! for formal pics, but I ended up loving it. Anyway, it’s very comfortable, and I’d get another if I was going to be pregnant for more of the summer.

Side note: I’ve longed after this dramatic lace maxi for my entire pregnancy, but it was too expensive a risk. In a pandemic I have no reasons to wear such a thing, and it’s a style that I love in theory but doesn’t really work on me in reality. I couldn’t even find it secondhand for under $50. It was nice to dream about, though!

At 8 months, I am now having to get a few things I was previously okay without, like maternity layering tanks. My regular Old Navy white tanks are at their limit. I hate spending money on stuff I’ll only wear for a few weeks, but it is what it is. I’ve also started looking for good pajamas and loungewear for postpartum. I ordered this Target shorts set that someone recommended. Of course the top only covers about half my stomach right now, but the fabric feels great and I think I’ll be very glad to have them later.

Maternity Portraits

Here are some of my favorites, taken in Overton Park by my friend Katie Barber Photography!

Beauty

I got a sample of Tatcha Water Cream as the choice item in my Ipsy bag this month, and I am IN LOVE. I’ve been using it mainly as an eye cream. It feels amazing. Hopefully I can make it last a while – I still have a remnant of Drunk Elephant samples from two birthdays ago.

Wellness

Getting vaccinated has been a huge boost to my mental health. I know the pandemic isn’t over, and we’re still masking up and taking some precautions, but not having to worry about… all that for myself, Taylor, or the baby has lifted a heavy weight. I can hug my family and hang out in their homes, see friends, eat on patios and go places without fear, and generally feel almost normal. For the record, I had very mild side effects from the Pfizer, just a brief headache and some fatigue. Please don’t let fear of side effects alone keep you from getting vaccinated! Even if you have a rough time, it’s worth knowing you’re not going to die of covid.

I went back to church in person for the first time last week. My church is still taking a lot of precautions with minimal people in the building, so with that on top of being vaxxed, I felt comfortable. I figured I should take advantage of these last baby-free Sundays, since after that I’ll probably be out again for a while.

Everyone asks how I’m feeling, and my answer is usually “up and down.” Sometimes in the same day. I still have frequent spells of feeling weak and floppy with a fast heart rate. My OB referred me to a cardiologist, who ran a bunch of tests and determined my heart is working perfectly, so I guess it’s a general pregnancy thing or maybe a blood sugar thing (even though I don’t have diabetes either). I’ve been trying to eat more protein and think that might be helping a little. At this point I’m not doing a whole lot. I go for slow after-dinner walks, I try to do some kind of yoga at least a couple of times a week, and I go to training once a week. That’s it. This month Kara and I had to start modifying more of my exercises – such as, I can no longer deadlift from the floor because my stomach gets in the way. But I give myself points for being 8 months pregnant and still deadlifting anything at all. Late pregnancy in your 40s is NO. JOKE.

Your Monthly Rufus

I like to get a “senior photo” of Rufus with the azaleas when they’re in bloom. He remains skeptical of the whole experience.

A generous friend brought me two huge piles of baby boy clothes. Rufus of course helped with the sorting process by getting his fur on them. None of the changes in our house or my body seem to have clued him in to what’s about to happen. I’ve been researching the best ways to introduce a baby to a cat. I plan to try the suggestion to let your cat rub its face on the socks your baby will wear home from the hospital – then the baby smells “friendly” when it arrives.