Have I done an update yet?

Quick recap of my goings on--

Had a baby.  We named him Theodore and call him Teddy.  He is the current family favorite and the apple of his siblings' eye.  He came into this world at a hefty 8 lbs 15 oz (and change).  His birth was uncomplicated and quick and he seems to have adjusted to the chaos of post-womb living.  He sleeps great and is, so far, a pretty even tempered kid.   One thing I was not anticipating was how much the other kids would love him.  All three are over the moon about him and love to help.  And, because they're older the help they give is actually helpful!  It's divine!  Olivia can hold him and knows all about the "Five S's".  Sam feels it is calling in life to protect Teddy from the sun and is the designated shade giver when we're out and about.  Owen likes to kiss feet, brings him age inappropriate toys, and calls him "Feodore".  Adorable.  So far, not a smack of jealousy.

One of the maybe handful of positive things about working at a large law firm is the paternity leave.  Phil took all six weeks and it was awesome.  I'm convinced two SAH parents is the way to go.  If we could only be independently wealthy we'd be set.


I'm recovering well enough from the shock of being the parent to four kids.  I had a smidge of post-partum anxiety immediately post-birth (which was super annoying) but that went a way pretty quick, thankfully.  I'm feeling good and still marvel at the ability to bend and sleep on my stomach.  I'm slowly starting to run again* and in a lofty (or fool-hardy) move signed up for the Oceanside Half-Ironman in March.  I have 9 months.

For the past 18 months or so I've been taking classes through UC Berkeley Extension.  I'm working towards my post bac certificate in Creative Writing.  Most recently I took a Craft of Reading class which was fantastic.   It's basically a super smart/forced book club.  Not unlike our little blog here.  :)  This fall I'm planning to take a flash fiction class (it's a thing) so expect my analysis to be brief.

I just finished reading The Alchemist for another book group I'm in (former classmates).  It was my second reading of it and it is always inspiring.  It is a good life-motivator type book, a quick read and I'd recommend it.

Other then that, life keeps plugging along.  The more settled life becomes the faster it seems to move.  In our more transient days we had big life changes every few years, usually in the form of moves, that helped me keep a tally of the years.  They were disruptive, but were markers in time.  Now that we've planted roots we don't have as many concrete markers to help us keep track, so three years seems like one and all of a sudden I have a tween.  It's a great ride, though.

I'm looking forward to crafting our fall syllabus and will try and get a list out by the end of the month.  I love that I have such smart friends!

I love you all dearly and wish we lived closer so our virtual book club could be less virtual and we could share snacks and babysitting.

Hugs and Happy reading!!


*unlike Cathy who jogs herself to the hospital to birth, I can barely walk to the bathroom without being winded anytime after 30 weeks.


Also, here are some photos.   They're not the most current, but given that Teddy is only 7 weeks old, they're not the most out-of-date either.