Lately/Currently.

We've been busy lately. Really busy. So busy. Now that our house is on the market, though, there's not much else to do until there's a sold sign on it. Sure, there's always housework, but when you stay on top of it like you do with a house on the market there isn't actually much to do. Did you know it's actually easier to keep your house immaculate when you're on it every single day than it is to keep it regular level of tidy? I know, it's blowing my mind, too. Except if you let it slide even one night, then you're screwed.

Anyway, no one cares about super obvious house cleaning tips. Or if they do they're looking on Pinterest.

reading: Nothing good. I'm reading a book I got from the library's sale table and it's weird. I'm halfway into it and I think I'm starting to understand the plot. I thought about giving up on it, but it's less than 300 pages, and I don't know how to enter abandoned books into Goodreads. So I'm persisting. I might read a parenting book next since I'm trying to go through my bookshelves, but that's not terribly exciting either.

I'm also really enjoying the daily devotional New Morning Mercies. I started reading it in September, but have been more diligent since January. 

listening to: I just listened to Serial, am almost done S-Town, and listen regularly to Strangerville and Young House Love Has a Podcast. All of which I'm enjoying, except less so the second season of Serial. 

I listened to the audiobooks for Just Show Up and Hidden Figures. Hidden Figures made me feel like an underachiever, but I did a puzzle while listening so at least I was flexing my brain muscles. I watched the movie after and I highly recommend both. I think non-fiction is my new favourite audiobook genre.

Just Show Up  was good, and recommended to me by a friend, but I wish I'd read the book instead. I'd heard of Kara Tippetts before and was kind of familiar with her story, but it would have been helpful to be more invested in her personal story. I struggled with the person reading the book, too. She was painfully sincere about everything she said, and I couldn't wait for her to stop talking. No one talks like that in real life.

I just bought the latest Matt Maher album off iTunes. Its a fair bet that's going to be playing a lot.

watching: I'm finally getting into season two of Stranger Things. Season one was okay, but I'm loving season two. I've been watching it at naptime so I can't usually get through more than one episode at a time before Molly wakes up and I turn on something else. She doesn't watch shows with me, but she's around and sees what's on and I just feel like Stranger Things needs my undivided attention, and it's kind of creepy for a one year old. I mean 13 month old. Hold me.

I've also been watching Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23. It's so dumb that I understand why it only lasted two seasons, and it's pretty salty, bu t it's a great background show for when I'm hanging out with Molly while Parker's having his down time.

eating: Currently a breakfast cookie and finishing my morning coffee. I'm not sure where the morning went, but I'm not even done my fist cup of decaf of the day and it's practically noon. I'm usually a two cup by noon kind of person. (Well, when I started writing this it was almost noon. Now it's almost supper time and my second cup of coffee is stone cold and barely started.)

I'm giving up desserts for lent. I don't typically do lent but it starts tomorrow and I need another break from desserts. I enjoyed December and January way too much. I'm not going for 100% success on this, but I'm hoping for 90-95%. 

missing: Fresh air that isn't going to try and kill me. It's February so I'm right on track for that warmer weather craving. I don't even want super warm, I just warm enough to go for a walk without worrying about coming home with popsicle children. It's been -45 with the windchill lately, but today it's a balmy -5. Except with the wind it's -20. I'm really, really hoping that next week we can get around the lake.

loving: Brunch. We had an open house Saturday afternoon so we had brunch at a friend's house. It was awesome. I'm not sure why we never thought to do it earlier. We're going to do it again next weekend at our place and I'm so excited for mimosas and banana bread cinnamon buns and bacon. And friends, of course.

I really need to go for that walk.

wearing: Joggers. If I exercised every time I wore joggers I would be in North Korea right now winning Gold in every single event, men's and women's. I also live in sweaters, leggings, cardigans, and socks. And, on the rare occasion when I actually leave the house, I wear boots. I love boots, I really do, but after six months of winter I miss shoes. I am so excited to put on shoes, TOMS perhaps, without socks. This is my dream. I also dream of not wearing my maternity parka every time I leave the house.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss wearing lounge athletic wear all the time if and when that day ever comes, but I just think my leggings would look absolutely darling with something other than my snow boots.

anticipating: All. the. pizza. Our small group is making pizza tomorrow night and Friday is date night, where we make pizza and watch a movie without our phones. It feels like a lot of (goat) cheese, but that's a cross I'm willing to bear. Life is crazy right now, but I think pizza is going to be the soothing balm to my life eczema. How's that for an appetizing metaphor?

Breaking cheese covered bread with dear friends is kind of the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day. Karl and I also desperately need an evening together, not talking about finances, housing, or the darkly impending future. And speaking of darkly impending, I'm really anticipating enjoying a dark beer with my pizza, in my joggers. 

Currently. March "blizzard" edition.

wearing: A baby in a wrap, standing at the kitchen counter, hoping the toddler doesn't realize that I've got something cool that he doesn't have. Actually, he's being very quiet. Just checked and he's scooping flour out of the bag and onto the floor with a rogue measuring cup. But that's not what I'm wearing, because what I'm wearing is a newborn. There's really no other explanation for what is currently happening. It's like the heaviest sweater I've ever owned and it's almost guaranteed to give me back issues, especially leaning over the counter like this. But I'm also wearing joggers (the kind of sweatpants that are socially acceptable to wear in public) because we have a blizzard warning and the only people I'm going to see today have either slept in my bed or delivered my mail.

listening: I finished the Blue Babies Pink podcast last night. You can also read it, but at this stage in my fussy baby wrangling life listening is more up my alley. I very highly recommend it. He does such a good job of telling his story, throwing in some beautiful imagery, and I'd be lying if I told you I didn't tear up a couple times. If you don't know what it is, it's a gay Christian man telling his story, and no matter how you feel about that particular theological issue it's well worth a listen.

Now that I'm done with that I'll catch back up with Young House Love's podcast. It's my bedtime kitchen cleaning jam.

I'm also going through the Harry Potter audiobooks again. I needed something good to listen to during naptime and didn't have the energy to find another audiobook. They can be so hit or miss.

I also have The Elms' Truth, Soul, Rock and Roll in the CD player. I now relate to all those old people listening to music from their high school days. I don't think I will ever stop liking The Elms.

anticipating: A trip to Victoria later this week. I'm a bit nervous about our raging toddler being places that aren't Parker-proofed. He's going to be spending a whole weekend at my mom's without us while we go to a wedding in Vancouver. Someone told me after church yesterday that he's such a delightful kid and she loves having him in Sunday School. I almost cried. As a parent, that's kind of all you can hope for. I'm hoping that carries over into his time with my mom. 

I'm looking forward to time with friends, visiting the petting zoo, ice cream sandwiches, vegan doughnuts, and buying new shoes. My feet have gone up a half size and I feel like this month's clothing budget would be well spent on a new pair of nice footwear. 

eating: Chocolate right now, but also a lot of crock pot meals. Why I didn't use our crock pot every day for the first couple years we had it is beyond me. I use it at least once a week now and it's the best thing ever. Especially with the snow. Also, tuna wraps. 

making: Belgian waffles, book mobiles, pompoms, and baby blankets. Did you know real Belgian waffles are made with yeast and chunks of sugar? I burned my finger about 15 times cleaning the melted sugar off the waffle iron (with a q-tip) and eventually decided that the rest of it could stay on there for the next time. How are you even supposed to clean a waffle iron? Why doesn't the iron part come off for actual cleaning? Someone should lose their job for that design fail.

feeling: Tired, mostly, and sometimes overwhelmed. Looking after two very little kids is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. When Parker was born I used to mourn my life before kids, wondering if it wouldn't have been wise to wait longer before having kids. Then I realized we weren't that interesting before anyway and got over it. The hard part about having two under two is disciplining the older one. He's too young to understand a ton of consequences, but not too young to know when he's doing something he shouldn't. It's a hard age, and while things have certainly gotten easier in the past few weeks as we all adjust to the new normal, I can't help but feel that if the age gap was even a few months bigger between the kids this would be a bit easier.

I was so tired on Saturday that, aside from accidentally burning myself multiple times on the waffle iron, I cut my finger while making pompoms. I was clearly too tired for depth perception. And basic intelligence. I took a half hour nap then proceeded to win a round of Settlers of Catan for only the second time ever, and I did so quite handily. Highlight of of my weekend. 

reading: I have a hundred pages left in the fantasy book I'm reading. It's the fourth and final in the series and according to goodreads the ending is the worst thing ever. I'm really looking forward to finding out what it is.

I'm also reading parenting books on discipline. Dear Lord, how have I come to this point in my life?

It's not very often I have more than one book on the go at a time, but I currently have three. I'm hoping to trim that down drastically in the next week or two. It feels like cleaning three rooms at a time and having nothing actually clean. Too many loose ends.

loving: Baby girl clothes and thrift stores. After reorganizing Parker's room there's a lot of blank wall space. I went to the Salvation Army the other day to try and find stuff to put on his wall, and ended up spending $8 on a dress, two pairs of pants, and a sleeper for Molly. I wish I had as much luck on finding clothes for myself there, but I went through the bins of my old clothes the other day and I have some great stuff in there. If that isn't motivation to lose the baby weight nothing is.

watching: Way too much TV and Netflix. That's the beauty of middle of the night nursing sessions and the newborn days. I've given up on The Magicians. I watched it last year because I read the book a while ago and was hoping the show would be better. It was, but not by much. I'm over it.

Riverdale, The 100, and Jane the Virgin are my weekly Netflix go-tos. I also watched Santa Clarita Diet and really enjoyed it. Nathan Fillion was a major highlight of it.

Do you watch Suits? We caught up on Netflix then realized we have the channel it comes on and are now totally caught up. I actually understood most of what happened this season and the finale was probably my favourite episode ever. 

We finished The Good Wife. I have a crush on Jeffrey Dean Morgan (except his waist is so tiny it makes me insecure) and it's rolling over into our Walking Dead watching. Is it wrong that I have a little crush on Negan?

missing: Spring and fall. I'm over winter (always am) but summer is too stinking hot here. I'm hoping the island sorts itself out and stops having winter and snow (what in the world?) and has balmy spring weather when we're there. Especially since I sweet talked my mom into taking me for a pedicure this Friday.