Hi! Sorry it has been a week since I last posted. Definitely didn’t mean to disappear for that long and I really missed this space.

I ended up with some kind of sickness for the past week and it was not fun. I had a really sore throat, stuffy nose, and was exhausted. Jimmy came down with it this week and has been home from work the past two days. I haven’t seen him this sick since he had the flu over Christmas in 2014. Poor guy 🥺

I just have some ramblings, musings, and favorite things to share today!

We are just over here trying to survive. It’s so hard to have a child and be sick. I literally don’t know how I survived last week while feeling awful and being home with Sader Tot all day. All I know is that I was curled up in a ball in her room by bedtime each night 😂

Now that Jimmy has caught the sickness, I feel a bit like a single mom, which is challenging. Seriously, how do single parents survive day in and day out? I usually don’t feel overwhelmed with a child + household chores + work + homeschooling + life, but this week has been a doozy and has me praying for extra patience and strength.

We don’t use any child care for Sadie and occasionally get help from my mom once a week, but that’s about it. And you know what… it’s hard! If you’re a parent reading this post and having one of *those* days (or weeks…), I am here with you and keeping it real. I would never want my blog to portray my life as all sunshine and rainbows, because it definitely isn’t! I have my fair share of tough moments 😉

On the other hand, it’s all worth it. Every single second is worth it. I love being a parent. It feels like such a privilege to raise a child! It’s a challenge, but it’s amazing at the same time. It’s a joy. It’s the best, hardest thing I have ever done ❤️

Sadie is at the age where she has a one-track mind. A lot of our conversations will go something like this:

Sadie: I want a snack.
Me: I’ll get you a snack after we pick up your toys.
Sadie: I want a snack.
Me: Let’s pick up your toys and then we can get it!
Sadie: I want a snack.

These types of conversations actually remind me so much of conversations I have with God as a full grown adult, though! I ask God for something and He’s probably like okay, but I need us to do XYZ first, or maybe I have something better in store, but my mind just gets stuck on that *one thing* I want. I’m like ok cool, I want my thing 😆 

Parenting reminds me of how God sees me and is definitely humbling in the best way. He knows what’s best and I need to trust and obey Him.

While we all have hard days–parent or not–coffee always seems to help, am I right?! I’ve been on team cold coffee lately and nobody is more surprised than me. I’m a diehard warm coffee lover, but an iced vanilla latte has been hitting 👏 the 👏 spot 👏 since spring arrived.

In the midst of all the one-track toddler conversations I have with Sadie, we had an interesting and funny one this morning.

Sadie: Mom, can I marry you?
Me: Well, that’s not how it works, but we can pretend though.
Sadie: Yay!
Me: So, what do people do when they get married?
Sadie: They give hugs and go to the desert.
Me: The desert? Okay…

Other random thoughts for today:

Spring is (kind of) here! We filled our bird feeders and every time we go on a walk I see new signs of spring’s arrival. Daffodils, forsythia, buds on trees, green grass, and more people outside. We’re still in the weird weather stage where it’s warm and sunny, then raining, and tonight Pittsburgh is under a tornado watch 🤷‍♀️

Sadie changes her clothes 24/7. It’s not unusual for her to wear four or five different dresses before lunch. I am curious if this will continue into her teen years because I am afraid 😂

I’m behind on blogging. I’m behind on replying to comments and commenting on other blogs. And obviously, it has been a week since I last posted. I’m sorry! I read plenty of friends’ blogs each day, but have a tough time finding a spare moment to comment. I mean, let’s be real, I have a hard time finding a spare moment to fold laundry (as I sit here and type a blog post for fun… 😉).

Etsy is slow at the moment. I was talking with my friend Laura who has an Etsy shop and we both agreed that March has been s-l-o-w for our shops. It could be because there aren’t any big holidays this month, but I’m not too upset about the break. I’ve been busy with everything else–real estate work, household stuff, etc.–that I’m welcoming the slow down.

Let’s talk about books. I’m currently reading this memoir about life after leaving the Amish and it’s fascinating. I also just picked up this memoir-type book by the founder of IT Cosmetics, but haven’t started it yet. Almost forgot this one: a confession-style book by a flight attendant! Can you tell I love memoirs? I love memoirs 😊

Okaaaay, almost 1,000 words later and this post is getting long! If you made it to this point, thank you for reading! I’ll catch you next time. Hopefully I will have folded our laundry by then 😜