April is the awesomest month

"Awesomest" isn't a word, I know, but whatever.

We're having an awesome April around here, and life is good. It's been far too long since my last blog post, so, even though I should be asleep or at least reading in preparation for sleep right now, I thought I'd sit down here a bit and post.

It's now four months into Brian's and my collective get-healthy-and-stop-making-lame-excuses campaign, and we're doing a really good job (especially Brian). He gets up three mornings a week at 5:10 AM to go work out at the Y before a full day of software work, which is a considerable thing to maintain for four months, if you ask me. I myself don't keep that regular a schedule, but I'm doing OK. I'm officially able to fit into my wedding dress again; losing dress sizes wasn't the goal here, but it's a welcome side effect of my other efforts to get healthy and strong. I'm recording these achievements here both to say "good for us!", but also to set down a signpost, a marker along the path, perhaps as extra insurance that we won't allow ourselves to slip back into old habits too easily. We're seeing the difference with Maia, too--she talks about how much she loves to run and jump and go swimming, and she has specific "running pants" that she insists on wearing most of the times that we take family trips to the gym. She also likes to do her own personal version of yoga, which consists mainly of an adorable rendition of Downward Dog and a couple of stretches against the wall. Sometimes she even folds her hands and says "Namaste" when she's done! :)

I've bounced back (ha!) from my fall down the stairs very well and quite quickly, and all that remains is a dent across the bridge of my nose. I think that souvenir is going to be here permanently, so I'm getting a bit attached to it.

We're all very excited for tomorrow, which is our first "summertime" Saturday since, oh, about October last year. I'll get up before Maia does to go to the gym, and I'll meet Brian and Maia at the Farmer's Market, which has been gearing up over the last few weeks, adding a few stalls and trucks each Saturday. It's going to be over 70 degrees tomorrow, so I expect to see lots of people there who are celebrating the return of market season along with us. We bought a full share in a different CSA farm this year, but it doesn't start delivering until June, so we'll be going stall-to-stall tomorrow, picking all the dark, leafy greens and asparagus we can eat. Then, we'll go to Zingerman's for bagels and coffee at one of the outside tables (Maia, Nana Dawn and I ate lunch outside there today--it was wonderful)!

Other awesome things that are happening these days:

• I'm taking the certifying exam for Lamaze childbirth educators next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it--here's hoping I pass!
  
• My beloved little red car is paid off next month. We'll own our cars outright, which is a cool milestone, especially since we have no plans or wishes to replace either one. (I just knocked on the desk--I'm not superstitious, but here's hoping that the sentence I just wrote doesn't lead to a blown head gasket or something tomorrow . . .)
  
• I'm going to be caring for "baby Sam" (he's definitely a toddler, but that's still his full name, according to Maia) for another full year. He's walking a lot and talking a bit now, and is going to be 14 months old in a few days. :)
• I've attended the births of two babies in the past month, and I'm still so deeply honored to have the opportunity to earn money doing this very cool doula work.
• Maia is loving her swimming classes with Brian, and now gets a kick out of jumping off the side of the pool into the water all by herself (with Brian awaiting her in the water, of course).
• Ann Arbor is waking up and shaking off the winter yuck. Downtown is busy again every evening, the streetside tables are full, and you can't find parking. That will last a couple of more weeks until the students leave for the summer, and then the city will take its annual deep breath and stretch out a bit for a few months. I like the lazy summers in college towns, but I'm always happy to see the return of the students in the fall, too.