Friday, February 15, 2013

Back in August,

or really anytime before the girls were born and shortly after, people would tell me this:  the first year is a blur.  You're going to be tired, and you're not going to remember much after the year is over.

It was sort of one of those yadda yadda yadda things:  I heard them, but I didn't really think much of it.

Then we spent the first 7 weeks of their lives at my mom's house, trying to survive and thrive on operating with such little sleep.  THEN we lived in a hotel in Elko, and I tried to figure out how in the world to care for two infants largely on my own... and it was a struggle.

That time in Elko is now a huge blur to me--luckily, I remember the best parts and try to forget the rest, like that guy who was smoking in our hallway the night we arrived... oh dear.  We had dinner every night at our friends' house--they were so gracious to have us over pretty much every night of the week, which was a great help!  When you only have a microfridge (that would be a fridge and microwave in one, and yes, they're bolted together in case you were wondering, and no, not very spacious, and yes, the fridge freezes most everything, and no, the microwave is not full voltage so if you wanted to cook that chicken pot pie you might want to add on about twice as much cook time, just saying), friends who have you over for dinner is a lifesaver.

So then I got sort of obsessed with the passage of time, because it really, honestly, truly flies.  It does!  If anything, my housband and I have agreed that now that we have kids, we notice just how quickly time is flying by--which never used to be a thing of real concern or note.

When I got home and moved back in with the in-laws, I decided something:  I was going to write in a journal (or blog) EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Because I realized I already didn't know when certain things had happened over the summer, and I could really only guesstimate.  The idea of forgetting drives me absolutely, absolutely nuts.  I like to think I have a great memory, but it isn't what it used to be, what with everything going on all the time with my girls.

So I began the blog.  It was September 4 of last year.  And it's definitely not perfect, and I definitely don't write every day.  But I write something about every day, even if I have to catch up with a week's worth of days (which I hate doing, but I do nonetheless).

Time is flying by.  I can't remember much, but I will now know when the girls cut their first tooth, when they both began to crawl and stand, what their funny quirks are, the things I've been going through--and I love that.  I freak out when I think about forgetting even the littlest of things.

I made a goal to keep going until their 1st birthday, but after that, all bets are off.  I'd like to say I'll keep going, but I don't know that I will.  It matters to me that I did this, though, and that I'll always have that record, even if it wasn't perfect and it'll probably never get seen by anyone but me.  I'm ok with that.  Do you do this?  Am I completely neurotic?


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On a sort of related note, today I sent off my first custom ordered bouquet from my flower shop.  If you've read my blog for a while, you might remember that I made a bunch of flowers before I knew I was expecting my girls and sold them in my shop for a bit.  Recently I decided to give it another go, and it's going really well!  I'm excited and have more products coming hopefully soon, but as of now, I'm selling flowers in arrangements for decoration and bridal bouquets here:  http://etsy.com/shop/bagsyblueco.  Come see me, won't you?



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Also, I have some news.  My housband has gotten a job.  And we are moving.  And it's not to where you probably think we are moving, based on our summer experience.  I will tell you soon! Stay tuned for the HUGE reveal!!!

2 comments:

Liz, Karl, Madison, Brooklyn, Aubrey and Zachary said...

Congrats on the new job! I can't wait to hear where you will be going! And your flowers are beautiful! If I ever have a need... I will remember you. :)

Unknown said...

i love that idea of a daily blog ashley, i have a friend from canada that does it too: http://buboneaday2011.blogspot.ca/ hers is more of an attempt to blog a photo a day to capture memories. i think i will be more interested in doing it once i am a mother. it is a great idea!