When I first went back to work, my wise friend Ari gave me some advice: Once a month, take a vacation day for yourself. Take Leo to daycare, and give yourself a day off. Thankfully, I’ve had the luxury of…
8 Months Old: Milestones for Baby and Momma
Sweet Leo is 8 months old! When he was only 2 or 3 months, I remember seeing older babies and couldn’t believe that he could possibly be that big one day. And here we are – he’s officially an old baby. …
5-Year Plans
Five years ago, Kyle and I stood in the kitchen of our beloved Des Moines house chatting after dinner, still coming off the high of our incredible wedding weekend, and doing what we like to call “schemin’ and dreamin’.” His…
Stuck on Leo
Eat, sleep, play goes the life of the baby. No matter the day or week, baby life goes in this blissful cycle. Their goals come naturally – keep practicing tummy time until I can lift my head, keep practicing my twisting…
Connecting with Karma: Therapy as a New Mom
I had my third meeting with Karma Blackburn this week, the therapist that Kyle says has to be a stripper’s name. The truth is, she’s a sweet 60-some-year-old woman who gets me way more than the sassy, 40-some-year-old therapist I was…
Sweet Leo is 6 Months Old!
Sweet Leo is already 6 months old! I remember when he was a little sweet potato bundled in my arms for long naps while I juggled a cup of coffee and a book on my kindle during maternity leave, thinking…
Pregnancy and a Pandemic: A Snapshot of My 2020
What a year, am I right? For all of us. It’s not an exaggeration to say everyone on the planet has had quite the year, a life-altering one for most. For me, it has been quite the year to…
Figuring It Out…or Something Like It
If you and I hung around last year at this time, you might remember how excited I was to turn 30. Not because I had checked off all the proverbial boxes before the milestone age (I hadn’t), but because I…
The Simplest Things in Life Are the Most Extraordinary
Kyle and I did a thing yesterday. Three years ago this January, he and I were talking on one of our usual road trips from our Illinois hometown to our then home in Iowa, and we landed on the topic of tattoos. Our dating anniversary…
Why You Should Share Your Sloppy Work
On Halloween, a batch of cookies taught me a lesson. This isn’t a new concept to me – I’ve learned several things from baked goods over the years. There’s truly no difference in taste for gluten-free sweets, so just bake what…