I'm Back

You know how you feel sometimes like you're out of it?

And sometimes that feeling lasts months and months.

Well, I'm back.

Crafty me.

Journal-ing me.

Laughing and giggling me.

Rational me.

Fun me.

Early morning me.

It just happened all of a sudden.

After lots of tears, days of sad me, and hopelessness.

All of a sudden I'm back.

And I'm so happy about it.

This might need some explanation. 

After all, this blog hasn't really gone into me that deeply. 

Mostly it's just a day-to-day thing that you can read. 

Outings, news. 

But I just wanted to write a little more personally here today.

Because it's been a long road (or so it feels like) to get here.

Having a baby changes you.

For real.

You always hear that and it gets you excited.

You think yeah, bring on the change! I want that. Awesome.

But you forget that with change comes broken hearts that need to mend, tears that need to be shed, and real hard work that needs to be done. 

You forget until it's time for the changing. And it's then that you don't want it.

All of a sudden you think, oh, well, if this is what change is I'd like my old self and life back. Please and thank you.

And for a while you really wish that were true.

And you go through the changes and you have a tough time of it. 

You really do.

And you kind of think that it's too much.

Because it really feels like it.

And you reach days that you feel couldn't get any worse. And then they do.

And then your husband gives you a blessing, and things start to look better.

They start to change and you see the good again. 

And then, just like that...

you're back.

(photo credit to Lauren Elise Photography.)

An Outing

Saturday seemed like the perfect day to go see Navy Pier.

The weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I couldn't have asked for better.

We hopped on the 66 bus and headed towards the pier on a slightly cloudy but beautiful day.

Olivia was in her Bjorn, Steven and I were holding hands, and we were so looking forward to a little trip out.

We got to the Pier and looked around at some of the shops inside.

We decided to go on the Ferris Wheel.

I didn't know they really allowed babies on Ferris Wheels.

But we went and enjoyed the amazing view from up top. 

Just the three of us.

Olivia smiling, oblivious to how high she was.

And then there was me trying to not think about how we swayed every time the wind blew our little metal box. You would think I had just bungee jumped or something. I seriously was a little freaked out we were going to die.

But we still had fun!

Just in case you wanted an awful quality photo, here you go!

We exited the Ferris Wheel and headed to walk along the waterfront.

The air smelled so fresh.

I couldn't get enough.

Olivia fell asleep as we walked along the water.

It was beautiful.

We meandered our way back to the bus and hopped back on.

Olivia was awake again and people couldn't get enough of her!

Sometimes she definitely puts her cheese on. 

But only when she wants to.

And just as we arrived home it started to rain.

We had the perfect outing.

A Very Lovely Weekend

I had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. 

Girl's weekend. 

Shopping. 

Chocolate.

Mom's in town.

Here she is with Olivia, whose hat is somewhat askew.

I was so excited to have her visit.

Here was our list of things we did:

Sprinkles Cupcakes...

just to see if they compare to the Cocoa Bean.

They were lovely, but they didn't. 

But it was still lovely.

Trader Joe's...

 to take a peak at all of their delicious foods.

Whole Foods for some natural makeup and other groceries...

 I'm pretty sure after visiting these two stores she has grocery store envy. Who wouldn't? I love me some Trader Joe's. And Whole Foods, if I could afford their prices! :)

Dinner at home on Friday...

 Pasta and whole wheat baguette. Mmm.

Shopping...

Anthropologie, where we checked out a huge book and some sweet outfits and lovely things.

Ann Taylor, where I enjoyed their 30% off sale and bought some needed new shirts.

Nordstrom Rack, where I treated myself to some warm tights for these cold Chicago days.

And finally, Topshop, where my mom thought everything belonged in a Thrift Store. She didn't like it very much.

We also visited Lush, where we loved smelling all the scents and feeling very indulgent when we bought a couple things.

Date With Steven...

Mom was so sweet and babysat for us on Saturday.

We went out for the first time alone in the big city and explored a bit.

We ended up going to Thai Food, a favorite of ours.

We also ended up going to the Hershey's store and feeling a little disgusted that they have the largest candy bars in the world there. 

Then we went over to Ghirdelli where we received a free square of chocolate, thank you very much. And we looked at their normal sized bits of decadent chocolate and we felt much better and that all was right in the world.

We returned home to a happy baby with grandma, playing on the floor.

Lunch with my cousin and her boyfran!

We went to Epic Burger.

So yummy.

They even have a portabello mushroom burger, which my mom enjoyed eating.

PS: Aren't they just so cute?

Did I also mention that mom did Tai Chi with Olivia when she was fussy and put her to sleep? 

She's a magician. I love that about her.

So far, Steven and I still haven't been able to do the same thing with Olivia.

It's grandma magic or something.

What a fun weekend! We miss grandma!