london life lately

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i feel like i am drowning!!

first, because my face is so full of mucus (you know that my-head-is-constantly-under-water-and-i-kind-of-can’t-breathe sensation?!). 
second, because the late-pregnancy nesting instinct is so intense inside me that i feel like my to-do list is so massively long and significant.
third, because being heavily pregnant + fighting a bad head cold + caring for a sick toddler has really left me feeling like i’m just furiously treading water and fighting for air!

phew! it’s been a wild few weeks since we got back from morocco. baby brother is coming soooooon and physical health around here sure hasn’t been top notch and life has just been busy, busy.   

but gosh, life is good. there is so much to be grateful for and to delight in — and i love my life. i feel drowning in a crazy chapter, but i’m so excited about what is now and what is soon. right now my body is so so tired and my brain is so so foggy and my spirit sometimes feels malnourished ... but gosh, life is good. 

just wanted to post some pictures from the past few weeks before i go back to morocco pictures - because tonight i’m thinking about how grateful i am for my london life lately. and i want to keep track of this crazy chapter. 

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coming home to moses was the best part of our morocco trip. have i ever mentioned on this blog how much i adore this little boy?! ;) here’s the little mo eating some healthy snacks and some not-so-healthy treats:
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the weekend after we got back, ian and moses took the second of their little daddy-son trips. (ian gave me two free weekends - when he’d take moses on an adventure - as a christmas gift.) this time their destination was the isle of man (an island between northern england and northern ireland) and they had a blast together. 
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meanwhile, back in london, i slept in, got a lot of things done, took myself out to dinner, went shopping without a toddler (!!), and got a prenatal massage (!!!). ian gained a deeper appreciation for the joys and challenges of caring for a busy 1.5 year old 24/7, moses looooved playing with daddy, and i felt so refreshed. win, win, win. #bestchristmaspresentever
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the morning after the boys got home from the isle of man, ian turned right back around to the airport for a work trip to helsinki and dublin. mo and i facetimed him from the swings and watched his location on the find friends app: 
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and then right after ian got back from his work trip, moses had another surgery. as it turns out we have a bit of a long road to full recovery. the whole ordeal has been really difficult for the three of us, but we’ve also learned a lot from the experience already. and the little mo has been a total champ - he’s such a good boy. (and, as you can see, he enjoyed the screen time - of which he usually gets pretty much zero! - at the hospital. but maybe his dad was even more into “the secret life of pets” than he was?! - haha!) 
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in happier news, the next day i went to a doughnut making class at bread ahead bakery! this was actually another christmas gift from ian, and it was so much fun. i’ve been in love with the bread ahead doughnuts sold at borough market for years and i was pretty starstruck meeting the man who invented the recipe (he lead the class!). we went through every step of the doughnut-making process, got to eat a fresh “pillow of joy” (that’s what he - very rightly! - calls them!) straight out of the fryer/sugar bowl, and left with six self-prepared, outrageously delicious beauties. 
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ian also cashed in on a gift the next weekend - one i gave him for his birthday back in august: tickets to the phantom of the opera! he has always wanted to see the show and we had a really fun date night out at the theatre. man, that story is so so weird and creepy … but the music in the production we saw was truly spectacular. and it’s so cool that the same show has been on that same stage pretty much every single night for the last thirty-two years! it’s always fun to be back in our old neighborhood in the heart of london. piccadilly circus is so electric and makes my heart so happy. 
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aaaand, then there’s just been a lot of coughing, sniffly noses, sick-baby whining and pretty restless nights this past week. every time i am sick (or my baby is sick!) i vow to love and appreciate the crap out of not being sick. (luckily ian has escaped the bug! and has been so so great taking special care of us as we've been down for the count.)
moses and i have gotten a lot of cuddles in throughout the past week, which is at least a happy side effect. i know our time one-on-one is so fleeting, and i have been really relishing it lately. cuddling in the bed, running around the garden (once health and spirits starting rising a little), playing together. 
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this morning we had a long meeting with our midwives, going through our birth plan and preferences and learning all about the logistics of home birth. just after we hugged them both, said goodbye, and closed our front door, ian and i looked at each other, both squealed with excitement, and embraced joyfully.
we are having another baby! we’re so excited. childbirth is so beautiful and sacred for both of us, and we are so looking forward to experiencing it together again. 
the magnolia trees are popping around our neighborhood and today really felt like genuine spring. 
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so yeah. it’s a crazy chapter. but gosh, life is good. 

Comments

  1. Hi Charity, wishing you the best as you get closer to your delivery, the end part just gets rough, but sounds like you have an awesome attitude.

    Sorry this is on a negative note, but has news of the MTC sex abuse case made its way to London yet? I am really struggling with it. The Church's first news statement made it sound like the abused woman was "formerly a member" and "briefly a missionary" - in my estimation to subtly discredit her, but they had knowledge of a second victim the whole time. And soon after receiving the taped confusion (which was horrific) they sponsored a bill in Utah to make tape recordings without consent illegal. I do totally understand that the actions of one sick person do not speak for the whole Church, but I am so disturbed and saddened by how the church is treating the victims. They seem more concerned about covering up than caring for abuse victims. And in all of this, leadership is silent :( Sorry, I don't mean to get "political" on you, I just wondered if this has traveled outside the Utah bubble yet, and what you thoughts are. This has been a tough week for my faith.

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    1. hi there. yes i have heard about this, and i also am disturbed by the whole thing (the sexual abuse itself of course but also the church’s response). basically i just think people, including and perhaps sometimes especially! church leaders, make a lot of mistakes. i really wish it could be different, but these things feel very separate from my actual faith, personally. i am sorry it’s been a tough week for you, that totally makes sense. there’s a lot to process and navigate.

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  2. Loved this post of real life. What's in Mo's mouth? Apple? Lime? Make me laugh. Blessings for the upcoming birth. Such a sweet time right now of loving one so much and anticipating the new baby.

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  3. I love Moses' red wellies.:)

    Hope you & Moses feel better soon. x

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  4. Ah - so many childhood holidays to the Isle of Mann :)

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  5. So excited for you and your upcoming birth! Birthing at home is truly magical! And you thought it was hard moving last time. Oh man i cried lots when we moved from the home where my babies were born. Just know i will be sending you loads of prayers for a beautiful and safe birth!!!

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  6. All the way from Las Vegas . . . I had that honeycomb doughnut at Borough Market (a year ago) and walked right back and ordered a second one. I will never forget it.

    Best baby wishes.

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