Well, hello there.

By Gaby - March 05, 2021

Well, obviously I haven't written anything in quite awhile. After my mom died 16 months ago, pretty much all desire to do anything with this blog went away. Maybe someday I'll write more about that, but for now I just wanted to say...I'm still alive and busy with life. The kiddos are growing fast and they mostly keep me from going into a deep depression over my mom. Also, being in a relatively new town and a new house distracts me, not to mention I don't associate my mom with anything here so in a way it's been good for me. I notice I get emotional with older places that hold fond memories of my mom, like my hometown or even in the previous city we used to live.

Maddie is almost finished with in-person kindergarten! She's done so well, and at the beginning of the year, tested gifted in the reading and comprehension department, so she is well ahead of where she should be. She's only 5.5 but reads at a 4th grade level, so we're so pleased with her progress and potential.

Elliott is 2.5 and talking and parroting everyone else; he's my snuggly little bear and is super affectionate with us...but also is in the throes of the terrible twos! Both kids are very opinionated and stubborn, but at the same time so full of immense love and compassion. They keep life fun and interesting!

I know the last year has been difficult for many, especially the isolation and fear of the unknown; for us, not much felt different as I'm naturally a homebody and love my time at home with the kids. However, there were times it got old and maybe seeing everyone's opinions on social media and the turmoil everyone felt last year added layers of stress to everything. But I choose to embrace what is good and to be grateful. Ryan has a flexible job that has allowed him to work from home since the beginning; we kept our circle small and were able to socialize a bit with a few friends and develop good friendships, as a result. Also! I've been cooking a LOT. My love for food and cooking took off last year and I now find myself considering switching gears and just blogging solely about food:) I'm even working part time for a professional food blogger (who happens to be my neighbor-- a delightful coincidence!) so that has lit a little fire in me to pursue that.

I haven't played the violin a whole lot, especially last year, but I'll be playing a livestream concert next Saturday with a local orchestra-- my first gig in probably a year and a half! So I'm looking forward to that and feeling "normal" as far as doing activities I used to do both prior to kids and COVID.

I'll leave you with pictures of food I've made because...who doesn't like pictures of food?!