Uncategorized
Motherhood break
It’s been a while, just as I thought it might be, since I’ve been able to make it to this space. But I’m hoping I will be here much more frequently now as I continue to adjust to being a mom. Basically I’ve just come to accept I will be adjusting to being a mom for the rest of my life so I might as well jump back in now ;-)
All that to say I am loving being with our little man. I hoped I would love motherhood and I’m thankful to say I definitely do. It has its many, many, many challenges {like the number of times I tried to complete this post before I was successful} but even still, it is pretty fantastic.
However, there are a few things that are not so fantastic. Things like post-pregnancy weight. I am a firm believer that we, being all moms, should be blessed with the weight simply disappearing after we endure labor and delivery. The fact that you, or at least most of us, are stuck with the extra pounds for quite some time is simply not fair. Oh, and the fact that you have to wait 6-8 weeks to work out, well let’s just say that drove this active lady NUTS.
Sleep deprivation is from the devil. Hormone crash plus sleep deprivation is from the devil and all his comrades. Those first two weeks were especially rough for me but man, the light came and we survived. Mr. Z would come home at night and peer his head through our front door wondering what version of his wife he was going to find—just a little weepy or inconsolably crying—ahh, he got both more often than not ;-)
And now here I am trying to get back into shape while juggling the home, baby and marriage. I’m not working for now and frankly, I don’t how I could add that to the mix {mad respect for working moms}. When the day comes that I do go back to work though, I know God will give me the grace to handle it all.
All that to say, I am back in this space and going to try to post much more frequently. I even have a list of goodies to write about ;-)
I hope all of you are well and for those that have continued to check back here and see how we’re doing, thanks so much! I finally have something for you to read.
Our little manRead More
Remembering 9/11
Ten years ago I was 21 years old and a senior in college at Indiana University. I was sleeping on the top bunk in my room in my sorority house when the door busted open and a sister turned on my TV. The first image I saw when I woke up that morning was the first plane in one of the towers. And I watched, as many Americans did, as the second plane flew into the other tower.
I can not accurately capture how I felt that day. And somehow I don’t think I need to, as I know we all felt many varied emotions. The beauty of our country is how very different we are all, but that day the emotions many of us felt were similar in one-way shape or form.
What has stood out to me about that day—in addition to the memories of trying to track down my mom to find out if dad had been in the city that day on business as he often was; or trying to learn where our family members that worked within blocks of the Pentagon, sometimes in the Pentagon were; or even the days that followed and learning of a high school classmate who had lost his life, and the countless families our family knew directly affected by the tragedy—was the stark contrast between childhood and adulthood.
We were going to cross the line of maturity in May 2002 and walk into the real world to begin our adult lives. But it seemed 9/11 sped-up that process for my classmates and me. I remember the distinct feeling of knowing I couldn’t run home to my parents. I remember receiving the phone call that my dad was fine and then that my classmate was gone. It felt as if we were forced into adulthood that day by processing the evil, the tragedy, the death, the uncertainty, the fear, the unknown and the future apart from our families and just with each other.
The sadness and fear were deep and profound. I flew home two weeks later and the New York City skyline looked weak without the towers. But I knew appearances were deceiving as there was a resilience on the ground and throughout the country that made the city and the country strong.
Like most Americans, I will never forget that day or the weeks that followed. It’s hard to believe it was 10 years ago. Today I pray for the families of the victims, the responders in the days and weeks that followed, the soldiers fighting in the wars since and the country that has never been the same.
{image source: instagram}
Read More
Our Wedding story: the Bridesmaids Dresses
This is going to be a short and to the point post in the wedding series. Ever since JCrew came out with their wedding line I have been smitten with their bridesmaid dresses. Every bride, well a lot of brides say, “I want to pick something you all can wear again.” Sure enough, that rarely if ever happens. But have no fear, this far off dream can become a reality thanks to the wonderful magic designers at JCrew. I was determined to be the bride to break the streak {although in all fairness I was in a wedding in May that year and the dresses we wore were totally wearable again}.
You’re probably tired of me saying this, but with planning a wedding in three months decisions needed to be made fast. I knew I liked JCrew dresses and I also knew we wouldn’t have to deal with gathering everyone’s measurements, ensuring they are all in on time so the dresses are cut from the same fabric, and I also knew if they looked awful we could go back to the drawing board.
I hopped on the JCrew site, picked the fabric I liked, narrowed it down to two colors: Spiced Wine and Caspian Blue, called JCrew and had the swatches mailed to me. Once I saw them I knew it had to be Caspian Blue. I have three sisters and they were my bridesmaids. When I saw the blue I knew they would all look great in that color. Plus, they could order whatever style dress they wanted, I didn’t care. I wanted them to be comfortable and to be able to wear the dress again. Two of them picked the Blakely dress and one the Selma dress. One of my sisters actually wore it before my wedding to another wedding! How funny is that?
So I did it, found dresses they could wear again. And they all looked stunning! {Can you tell that I wholeheartedly endorse JCrew wedding? ;-)}
the Selma dress in Caspian Blue
the Blakely dress in Caspian BlueRead More
