Sorry for the recent silence. (Seems like I've made that apology too much lately.) It was unexpected even to me that I would disappear from this space for over a month, but I've been working on something lately that has taken every moment of my free time....
Miscellany
Are You Willing to Pay More to Shop Locally?
Here's a pertinent question for the holiday season: do you prefer to shop at locally-owned stores rather than big box stores or online? If so, are you willing to pay a higher price to do so? We lucked out in that our new town, Corvallis, has a great downtown and is plush with locally-owned stores....
Repatriation: Some Thoughts
Most of my posts over the last six months have been about how overwhelming and difficult our international move was. (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.) But now that we've been here for nearly three months and finally received our stuff (two-and-a-half months after it left Sweden!), it's starting to feel like the move is over....
Naming What's Hard: Melancholy, Regret, and Tears at Target
I cried at Target yesterday. I was standing just a few feet from the customer service lane, where a helpful employee was working on my situation. It had been a successful resupply run, and my cart was full of enough diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and coffee filters to last a couple months: I wouldn't have...
(Meandering Thoughts About) Settling In
Finally, after nearly a month in our new home, we’re starting to feel settled. The boys have been at their new preschool (the local Montessori school) for just over a week, James has been going to his office every day and LOVING it, and Zoë and I are working out our routine together. She mostly...
Surviving, But Barely
At last, we have arrived at our new home in Oregon! It's been a long journey, and even though we've been here for five days, it still surprises us to actually be here. Somehow it seemed like this moment would never come. But let me be honest: it hasn't been pretty, and it hasn't been easy.
Announcing Pregnancies and Talking About Miscarriages
A dear friend is in the early stages of pregnancy with her second (and third - twins!) child, and she's not sure when she should begin telling people. She really wants to start talking about it (because twins!), and she's starting to show (twins!), but she hasn't yet crossed that unofficially official threshold of when...
On Being a Little Less Overwhelmed
My last post was a confessional about how overwhelmed I've been feeling, in light of a new baby and an imminent international move (and, um, writing—or not writing—this blog). Since publishing that post, we've made some pretty big steps: shown our apartment to a couple possible tenants, signed a lease on a rental in Corvallis,...
On Overwhelm
In 2014, we moved to Sweden and we had our second child, Leif. Having a baby and moving internationally in the same year was incredibly stressful, and I vowed not to do it again. Well, it's 2017, I had a baby a few months ago, and we're preparing to move back to the US. That thing...
A Huge Announcement
So, I have something to tell you.