I turned 42 this month! It was a very low-key birthday, which I expected/was fine with, since we currently have a newborn in a pandemic. I went to my new moms exercise class in the morning, my parents brought Newk’s over for lunch. Taylor took me to dinner on the patio of a fancy new downtown restaurant, and we got a private tour of the rooftop bar!
Reading
Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam (3 stars – barely) A novel of two best friends, the “rich one” and the “pretty one,” over several decades. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing really did.
How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn (4 stars) Dunn is one of my favorite writers, and I had been saving her parenting book for when I had a kid myself. It was good and informative, but a little tough in places.
Find Layla by Meg Ellison (4 stars) An intense YA about a teenager who escapes from her life of total squalor with her abusive, negligent mother. Also a tough but engaging read.
A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin (4.5 stars) I loved Happy and You Know It last year, and this is a similar story where an outsider infiltrates a group of secret-keeping women. This time, the group is a fictional version of The Wing, and being a girlboss is just the beginning.
If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For by Jamie Tworkowski (2 stars) I would have loved these essays earlier in my life, but as an exvangelical 40something in 2021, I just could not with this young, Relevant magazine, Christian white dude taking himself extremely seriously. I’m sorry.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah (3 stars) A biology grad student is doing summer research in the country when a mysterious girl shows up on her porch, claiming to be an alien. I almost gave up on this novel in chapter 1 but ended up enjoying it.
Since I currently do most of my reading between 2 and 4 am, I really need a book to grab me. As a result I’ve DNFed more books since C3 was born than ever before in my life. I got as far as 44% into one this month before walking away.
Listening
Loving this…
Our bathroom remodel included a vent fan with Bluetooth speaker, so I’ve been listening to bits and pieces of my favorite podcasts in the shower. I’m consistently enjoying Glennon Doyle’s podcast.
Watching
The Americans seasons 5 and 6 – When Taylor convinced me to start this show with him, I never imagined I would get so invested. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. I’m still thinking about it, especially the finale, which is one of the best TV endings I’ve ever seen. Fun facts: Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are married in real life, and Rhys is Welsh. Right after the finale, we watched a clip of them being interviewed together on Colbert, and our minds were absolutely blown hearing a cheery Welsh accent come out of Philip Jennings’ mouth. Unreal.
Glow Up seasons 3 and 1 – My sister told me about this British makeup competition on Netflix. It is pure joy.
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed – This documentary reveals shocking details about some really terrible people who are still abusing Bob Ross’s legacy after his death. I had never heard about it.
Malice at the Palace – If you still miss The Last Dance, watch this one-shot documentary.
Various episodes of The Movies that Changed Us and The Toys That Changed Us
Travel
We had a cabin vacation at Pickwick Lake with my parents, Taylor’s parents, and my sister, BIL, and three nieces. It was C3’s first trip and he did well! My parents recently got a boat, so we took it all around the lake for swimming, tubing, and looking at lakefront houses.
C3 went in the pool for the first time! <3 I got his baby rash guard and hat from Primary (as well as a swim diaper that was too big for him, so we used a disposable instead).
I definitely didn’t take the family togetherness for granted after so much separation the last year and a half!
Around Town
I’m a lot more comfortable now taking C3 out by myself. This month we took many walks around the neighborhood and at Overton Park, went to outdoor exercise classes (more about that in a minute), and visited my parents’ house. But due to the high delta numbers in our area, I’ve stopped taking him to stores, and I no longer go to church in person or socialize with friends indoors. All of our local immediate family is vaccinated, and C3 should have some measure of protection from me, but for his sake none of us are taking unnecessary risks right now. It’s depressing to be in this position again but… here we are. Don’t get me started.
We have had some patio meals out for our mental health. My parents and I had a great round of mimosas and burgers at Belly Acres last weekend, and this week Taylor and I had a lunch date at our new Torchy’s Tacos.
At Home
Our surprise lilies bloomed again!
Wellness
Not to sound like a commercial, but joining Fit4Mom might be the best thing I’ve done for myself postpartum. C3 and I go to Stroller Strides once, sometimes twice, a week (I just tried my first Stroller Barre class last weekend). We started at the end of July, and now I feel noticeably stronger at the end of August than I did at the beginning. The classes aren’t super intense (I’m still doing the lighter variations of most exercises), but comprehensive enough that you feel like you’ve done something. An added bonus for me is that I’m usually the newest mom there, which helps me feel good just for showing up! Of course I can’t go to day classes once my leave is over, but I’m really enjoying the experience, so I’d like to still be involved somehow.
We haven’t gotten off the waitlist at any daycares, so when I go back to work, our moms are going to alternate weekdays with C3 until my friend Kara can nanny him after the new year (when her own maternity leave is up). We are extremely fortunate to have these options. Especially since, with the covid situation, I wouldn’t feel great about sending C3 to daycare right now even if I could. The grandmas decided they wanted to start getting into the swing of things, so my mom or Taylor’s mom now comes to watch the baby most weekday afternoons. This has boosted my mental health tremendously. I had a lot of things I wanted to do before going back to work and had made zero progress. Now I get a few hours each day to do chores, work on projects, run errands, or just quietly exist. Game changer.
The covid situation is taking an emotional toll on me, as it is on the majority of us. More and more people I know, despite being vaccinated and taking many precautions, are getting it and/or know someone who has died from it. It’s sad and exhausting, especially as a new mom. I’m not really worried for myself. Just my loved ones. I worry about the kids most of all and feel so sad that this is their childhood.
(PS, these vaccination card protectors are cheap and come 3 to a pack.)
Random Happiness
I requested rainbow window clings for my birthday after seeing some in Young House Love‘s instagram story. I placed them in many windows of our house, but so far this is the only one predictably generating a rainbow. Still lots of trial and error about the perfect angles for sun.
Years ago I had hummingbird moths at my condo, and since then I always look for them. They make me happy and remind me of friends I was in a small group with at the time. I was happy to see a few in my parents’ garden this month.
My college BFF Emily sent me this perfect travel cup for my birthday!
Your Monthly Rufus
Rufus continues to adjust well to big-brotherhood.
Good Reads
“I looked forward to this summer and now it is ending, without ever really having happened at all. The days keep on barreling down past themselves, the sun sets earlier and then earlier again and then it’s dark before eight. I miss every deadline that I set for myself. Nothing arrives, and everything does.” next year when everything is green
What Was the First Meal You Ate After Giving Birth? I had a club sandwich and iced tea from McAlister’s, after not being allowed to eat or drink for 36 hours.
If you can’t take in any more, there’s a reason
Margaritaville and the Myth of American Leisure
Don’t Be Fooled, Noom Is Just Another Diet (I wish all 1,200 calorie diets would just cease to exist.)
I Had a Baby, Then We Got Covid
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