While We Were Out

We're back!  I'm back!  It's back!

I know you're thrilled.  

Guys, I missed you.  In 5 years of blogging I've only taken this one break, save for 2 or 3 days here and there as part of a vacation or when I had the baby.  This was a legit break, though, and it was grrrreeat.  I needed time to think about why I've been doing this all these years, what I get out of it (not money), and a cost analysis of the time it took me away from my family and the added stress of a "job" that I imposed on myself that didn't bring in any financial income.  

It's a weird thing, basically live-diary-writing.  I think the blogging world is fascinating and lovely and people write so many different things for so many different reasons.  This blog has evolved mightily over the last 5 years, and I hope it continues to do so.  I have decided, though, that it would be unreasonable to expect the same type of content and frequency as before I had Beck because DUH she's a peson and requires actual time.  That was a big talk Jay and I had about life in general while this break was happening; there's nothing wrong at all with having hobbies, but they shouldn't be the type that add stress, feel like work, or make you feel like a bad mother.  

I got the first two down, but I think that I'm just destined to feel like a bad mother.  I don't think I'm alone on that either.  

I'm also at this weird crossroads with the blog in general.  I want it to look super cool and fabulous and INSTAGRAM ISN'T REAL BUT LOOK HOW PERFECT WE ARE, but that's a total falsity and also know what?  I'm literally too lazy to think of new ways to photograph food, or to remember if I ever do anything remotely DIY.  I want this blog to feel really authentic, but that ends up, unfortunately, being pretty boring 98.847% of the time.  

Speaking of giving myself a break, CLEARLY the site updates aren't done yet, because website updates take approximately 8,837 years to complete.  So it'll happen at some point, my graphic designer has all sorts of other more fun things to do (hey Julianne, design my stuff).  

So, since we've been gone (KELLY CLARKSON)!  We went to Nashville for the 4th, Beck turned 7 months and moved to her own crib and sleeps way better at night and in the daytime, nearly everyone we know gave birth, my sister got married, and I got a new car.  That kind of insane because I haven't been out of this writing world for that long, but WHAT A SUMMER, right?  Beck's sleep is probably the most exciting update in our lives, she is down to waking up once or twice at night and taking 3 good naps almost every day, which is nothing short of miraculous considering she wouldn't sleep without being in our arms for the first 2 months of her life.  She also has gained THREE pounds in the 3 weeks we weren't writing, which I credit to tons of solids and tons of fenugreek.  She still has basically zero skills, which I'm trying to convince myself is fine because babies do things at different rates.  

So there it is!  We're back, we're great, and I have lots of fun new things to share with you, as I get around to it, without beating myself up over it.  

The end.