Changes

Our lives have changed drastically in the past year. Some changes were anticipated, some not. Some changes were small, others felt huge. We increased our family by one last August with the birth of Kahlo, we also decreased our income by one. Last summer before the birth of our daughter, Amy lost a parent. In the past year I lost a friend, not to tragedy, to a more fulfilled life for myself. This past year, Amy went back to school for the first time in many years – and I learned what it was like to be in school with a baby. I went from a very low-key and very far away job, to a not so low-key and very close job. Amy quit a high-stress, demanding job that kept her in touch with the world, on her lunch breaks she often went to the park and read. Now she is a stay at home mommy reading cardboard books and watching the kids play at the park while she feeds our ever hungry baby. Our son learned what it meant to be an older brother, our oldest daughter learned how to rebel. Amy and I learned how to exist on no sleep and a lot of stress. Kahlo learned how to sit, to crawl and to stand. We have gained weight, we have joined a gym, Amy has gone to the gym, I have thought about it. Our relationship has hit peaks and valleys, usually associated with the increase in stress and decrease in sleep. We slept with a baby in our room for 8 months. We reclaimed our room with passion a few weeks ago. I have been pregnant, hormonal, swollen and inpatient. Amy has been confused by my mood, over-worked and highly depended on. I have lost my art and am currently trying to find it. We are trying to eat better, to live more responsibly, to make our children aware of the world around them. For the past year, I have been happier than I ever have been in my life, yet I have also felt I was fighting a losing battle. A battle of sleep, stress and hormones. Lately, things have been changing. Kahlo sleeps through the night (mostly), Amy and I have re-found one another, I am settling into my new job and the older kids have settled in to their place in our newly enlarged family. Our life is still to some degree in chaos. The details are all running smooth – but after a year of so little time, so little sleep and so much change, Amy and I find ourselves with minds that wont stop, with list after list of things we want to do…with each other, with ourselves and with our children. All of these things are part of why we each decided to write a blog. To keep up with all of the wonderful things in our lives and to have an outlet to express all of the inner ramblings of our minds. With everything that daily life demands, our blog has gone to the back of the day to day to-do list. Last night, we made a promise to one another that we would make one post a day for the next 30 days. Here is mine. Post 1. I have no clue what I will post about daily. I ask that you keep in mind I am a visual artist – not a writer.