I am so excited to be popping in with a Coffee Break post today! Long time, no chat…huh? Since I have been only posting once per week in recent months, I’ve been trying to make my posts worth your stop and jam them full of content. While I feel like I’ve done a decent job balancing all the various blog topics I typically cover, I’ve missed sharing some personal life updates! It feels like so much has happened and changed in my world since little Sam’s arrival, and I can’t wait to get you all caught up! Let’s jump in!

Catch up on past Coffee Break posts HERE!

The Boys

So let’s start by talking about our squishy Sam. Oh guys. We hit the jackpot with this one. I think I said that last time…but with each day that passes and we get to know him better, it feels more and more true. Sam is just about to turn 4 months old, and he is such a good baby. I honestly always thought “good babies” were like unicorns. Everyone wants them to be real, but they’re really not. But you guys – good babies do exist, and Sam is one of them! Sam sleeps through (most) nights; and except when he’s hungry or tired, he’s generally content to sit and watch us and our usual shenanigans. He has the biggest smile sandwiched between the chubbiest cheeks and loves bath time more than anything. He’s rolling back to front like a champ, but then screams his head off because he can’t yet roll back the other way. He’s a big guy…not sure how big because his checkup is next week…but I’m guessing around 15 pounds. He has rolls upon rolls and is already wearing 6 month clothes comfortably. (So much for a weight problem, huh?) He’s becoming more and more interactive with each passing day, and watches every move his big brother makes. Henry adores him to pieces (the novelty has worn off only a bit), and he is anxiously waiting for when Sam can talk and wrestle. Patience little man, patience. I told Greg the other night, as we were emerging from getting both boys into bed far later than we’d like, that Sam was worth the wait. Every minute of it. It certainly didn’t feel that way at the time. But now, on the other side, I know Sam came into our family at the perfect time. It sort of feels like if we had a baby sooner, it wouldn’t have been him. But we love him so darn much and couldn’t imagine anyone different in our family!

Taking a few minutes to slow down, catch up, and share some thoughts about home, life, baby and more!

Three weeks ago, Henry turned 6. 6!!!! And seemingly overnight, he went from a kid to a boy. I can’t quite put my finger on what changed, but he seems so different. Like…playing like a big kid. And reading like a big kid. And having conversations like a big kid. We’ve figured out how to manage some of the behavior issues we were seeing right after Sam’s arrival, and it feels like my sweet Henry is back (most of the time)! One-on-one time with me seems to make the biggest difference in his behavior, so I’m trying to use the hours when Sam is asleep to cuddle and read with him (which he is always ready and eager to do!). We just had a full week together for Spring Break. I thought it was going to be long and painful, but I genuinely enjoyed having Henry home and taking both boys off on little outings each day. I’m actually looking forward to summer vacation with both of them home. We’ll see how long that lasts 😉

I Joined the Gym!

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I joined a gym a few weeks ago. Having been a group-ex instructor and personal trainer for most of the last 15 years, I’ve never needed to join a gym for my own fitness. I got fit (or was fit) just by doing my job! I’m not quite ready to teach just yet…both mentally and physically (and logistically, for that matter!)…but I knew deep down I needed to go back. I’ve primarily walked through my pregnancy and right after, but because of a lingering hip issue I can’t run. And if I can’t run, I can’t get in a good sweat. And this girl needs a good sweat every other day or so. (And did I mention that Sam is a big baby? By the end of the day, I feel like I can’t carry him up the stairs because I’m too tired, he’s too heavy…or both. I don’t feel fit enough to carry around my own baby, lol!) I’ve also had a hard time finding friends this move…and since the gym has always been a “home” of sorts to me and where I’ve built some of my best friendships, I knew being back would be good for me on so many levels.

Taking a few minutes to slow down, catch up, and share some thoughts about home, life, baby and more!

So…I joined a snazzy gym with good, clean childcare for babies starting at 3 months. I feel like it takes me as much time and effort getting to and from with Sam (and sometimes Henry) in tow than the actual workout does, but hopefully that will get easier as time goes on. It’s been weird to carve out such a huge amount of my day for exercising. My instinct in recent years has been to make my workouts as quick and efficient as possible, so I can spend more time on the blog and all the tasks associated with it. I’ve had to really fight the urge to skip the gym if Sam is sleeping, just to get some more work done. I’m slowly teaching myself that I need to flip those priorities. Working out, making friends, getting out of the house, and getting some time away from the boys to focus on me is just as (if not more) valuable than anything I can do sitting behind the computer. It’s a work in progress, but man it does feel good to be back at it!

A Return of My Creativity

You all might recall last December  that I was pretty run dry…from seemingly everything! It had been a long year of moving and growing the blog and growing a baby. I had no physical energy, was dealing with some pretty severe blog burnout, and felt so creatively stuck with our house. I was struggling so much to come up with content and projects (yet alone, to muster the mental and physical energy to get the few ideas I did have complete!); in fact, the burnout was so bad, I even thought about shutting the blog down.

Taking a few minutes to slow down, catch up, and share some thoughts about home, life, baby and more!

Wouldn’t you know that almost as soon as Sam was out of my body, my creativity returned…and in full force! I clearly remember one of you readers mentioning that all of my creative energy was going into growing that baby, and you were SO right! In the first few weeks of having Sam home and being away from the blog, all of a sudden it was like my creativity was breathing again. I had house projects and blog post ideas pouring out of my head. Suddenly, designs for rooms that I had been stuck on for months clicked into place. I had all these ideas for new printables and new tutorials and all sorts of things I wanted to do here on the blog. Instead of feeling ready to shut it all down, I was feeling so energized and ready to get back to work and do ALL the things!

But…one of the things that nursing a baby gives you is lots and lots of time in a chair and a quiet room to think. I thought a lot about how I didn’t want to work and wish the baby phase away this time. We’ve waited so long for this little family to emerge, I don’t want to miss any of it because I am busy staring at a computer screen or sitting at a sewing machine. But as much as I don’t want to miss any moment, I also can’t change how I am wired. I want to be a full-time Mom, but I also want to have a great blog. I’m a Type A personality that needs to be busy and productive and “working.” The blog, and everything that goes into it, really gives me life and energy and excitement. I don’t necessarily need it in my life, but I want it in my life.

So…I have been actively trying to enjoy all the family moments while still pursuing my projects and blog work in a more balanced way. I’m learning (and accepting) that I can’t do it all, so everyday there is a choice to make. It’s a struggle at times (okay…a lot of the time), as the pull to do my own thing is still pretty strong. There are weeks I knock everything out AND am there for my boys, and it feels awesome. But there have also been times I’m behind on dinner or laundry because I’m trying to finish something up. And others when I’ve had to frustratingly walk away from a project because Sam is having a fussy day and simply needs me more. In the four months I’ve been working at this, I certainly don’t have it figured out. Not even close. But it also feels really good to have both and be trying to make it work.

My New Blog Schedule (starting next week!)

So…this is a great place to jump in with an update on how some things are chugging along behind the blog scenes. You guys have truly been so patient with me as I get used to blogging with a baby again. I’m sure it’s a little frustrating to hear that I have all these ideas and projects to share, yet you’re still only getting one post/week from me. Trust me, it’s frustrating for me too. There is SO much I want to catch you up on in our house!!! However, I promised myself that I would not return to more regular blogging until I had a stack of posts ready to go. I simply cannot work around the clock like I used to (staying up until crazy hours the night before a post was set to go live), and had to find a way to truly get ahead if I was going to make this whole thing work. The only way to do that was to keep to one post/week and use the extra time to work ahead.

Taking a few minutes to slow down, catch up, and share some thoughts about home, life, baby and more!

Well…I think you’ll be excited to hear that (because Sam started sleeping through the night), I was able to carve out some early morning hours to write and edit photos. And while it took me more months than I wanted it to (I thought I’d be ready in March!), I finally have an entire month of posts ready to go. Seriously…a whole month! So, starting next week, I am going to be returning to two posts/week, with a small change. I will be posting every Tuesday and Friday, unless I announce otherwise!

So…get ready to stop by a little more regularly and for a lot of great content, house updates, printables, and projects coming your way!

See You Soon!
Megan