mama energy

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."

Rajneesh

. . . 

I love everything about this image, and I can't wait to experience the quote firsthand. 

Chatting with the amazing Tiffany Han a couple months back, she said, "You have this great mama energy about you in all you do," and she convinced me that it's actually kind of a badass trait to have. I'd been struggling with how to align my previous identity with the wife/mother labels, trying to figure out just what those mean, and Tiffany's guidance was unbeatable. (I believe one of her exact recommendations was to wear a button reading "I fucking rock!" but we both agreed that might not be work-appropriate.)

Image found via Pinterest // Quote via

at dusk

These are from over a month ago now, but seeing as it's been awhile, I thought I'd go ahead and share.

itchy feet

Image via

"Travel far enough, you meet yourself."

David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

. . .

Oh, how I want to GO these days! To pack a bag, set off for the unknown, move only in the moment, stick a few more pins in maps of far off places....

I can't wait to travel with our little one. I love the idea of strapping him to my back and setting off on an adventure together.

"You can have the life you want." 

I continue to repeat this to myself until I feel the full force of it. And I remind myself that "not yet" is not the same as "never". 

Besides, I am now a "we" but somehow still me, and navigating that is its own miraculous adventure. 

But I am hungry for travel in such a primal way, as though it's essential to my very survival. I'm not unhappy with our decision to stay where we are for at least one more year; this is the first time I've ever renewed a lease, and that sort of steady feels good right now. It's just that there's also so much more world to see! And I want to be one of those crazy people that keeps getting her hands dirty, keeps pushing and challenging and exploring far beyond my backyard. 

Not too long ago I felt "traveled out"; the thought of putting my suitcase into storage almost came as a relief. Now, though, I see I was equating "travel" with "moving", since a packed case generally contained much of what I owned and meant leaving for months or a year at a time. I am still in no way ready for another overseas move (or any kind of move anywhere, really), but a solid two week trip outside the US? I'll take it. Oh, god, in a heartbeat, I'm there.

life lately

Belly Shot (Goodbye, toes!), 20 weeks

SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! I might as well just start listing.


1) I took over as lead in my classroom a couple weeks ago, and dang, it feels good! These last few days we've been doing tons of shared inquiry activities, which seems to float all our boats. Love love LOVE my job.

2) We got an air conditioner!!!!!! (Yep, after a bajillion back-to-back sweaty, sleepless nights, sharing that merits way more exclamation marks than I would normally feel comfortable using.)

3) Our last bits of furniture in Abu Dhabi were finally SOLD by friends of ours (it was a process), so we got a nice chunk of change just in time, since . . .

4) Our second trimester ultrasound is tomorrow morning! Because I'm having a natural birth using midwives and my pregnancy thus far has been healthy, it will also be my first-ever ultrasound. Cross your fingers they'll be able to figure out the gender, because we REALLLLLY want to know!

5) I just ordered a STACK of awesome children's book (for my classroom . . . for now), as well as a full-body pregnancy pillow. Here's to an even more improved night of sleep, glorious sleep! Feels like I should take full advantage while I still have the option, ya know?

6) One of my closest friends from Germany is arriving tomorrow night! She's never been to Chicago before, and I can't wait to show her around. (She's never even met Andy, so that gives you an idea of just how much there is to accomplish in the next few days!) I'm excited.


Life is moving pretty fast and lining up in some miraculously unexpected ways. The world feels so good again. x