A Springtime Catch-up

Ramblings and photos of my life lately + recent struggles.

May 08, 2025

Well hello there, friends!

Just like that, the long drawn-out winter has transformed into warmer breezes, sunny skies, and periwinkles in bloom on our front yard. It’s felt like a long time coming, and so needed to help lift my spirits. This year so far has been an unexpected doozy and I thought I’d chat with you like I would an old friend.

Something I’ve Been Struggling With

I’ve been sick for the better part of four months straight. This year has absolutely kicked our butts in the virus department. The thing is, each winter I brace myself for the seasonal depression that inevitably creeps in for me, but this past winter I had made a personal pact with myself to truly embrace the season. I was going to courageously take on winter with open arms. I wanted to romanticize the shit out of it.

Except it didn’t really go that well. From the start of January until now we’ve been hit with colds, cold sores, pink eye, throat infections, norovirus (absolute hell), and then in early April I came down with bronchitis (or Covid, not totally sure) which I’m only just now mostly recovered from. Never have I ever been this sick this much in one season before!

Do I blame my toddler? Being around young children at play dates all the time? I don’t know. It’s not even just us. We have family and friends that have had a similar fate this year. What I do know is that it left me feeling miserable for weeks upon weeks, sinking deeper into a depressive hole filled with fevers and tissue boxes and coughing and falling further and further behind on things that I’ve watched slip away into the abyss. I think that’s the most challenging part. It’s felt hard to keep my head above water. And might I add, it’s 100x harder to parent when you are sick. This year has just felt hard.

I hope as the weather continues to warm up and we’re outside in the sunshine more I’ll get over this spell. I’m feeling much better now than I was, and I’ve felt myself come alive again a little more lately, so hopefully that’s a good sign.

Something Good

We started painting the fence in our backyard, a much needed makeover it has needed! It’s just a simple brown (Tugboat by Behr) but has made a world of difference in freshening up the previous rusty red colour that needed a little TLC. We’ve still got more coats to do which I’m excited to tackle this weekend.

Back in December I found out I was iron deficient and also very low in vitamin D (maybe this is why I got sick so much!). I started supplementing immediately and increased my meat consumption a bit, and I’m so happy to have noticed that my constant lethargy has improved and my blood work results from last week showed significantly improved levels. I’m no longer deficient! Though I’m going to continue supplementing to get the levels to a bit more of an optimal place.
A few weeks ago I made a ‘spring/summer’ to-do list with various fun activities and outings I want to do as a family and such. There’s a lot I’m looking forward to over the next few months. Lots of gardening, maaaybe replacing our old shed this summer (I hope! It’s so decrepit looking!), trips to the farm and zoo and markets and small town adventures and date nights. Sean and I celebrate 8 years together later this month (we always celebrate our dating anniversary, our wedding anniversary is in June though) and we’re very much excited for a fun night out while Sadie stays with her grandparents.

Something I’m Proud Of

We started potty training Sadie a few weeks ago and it has been going superbly well, so that feels like a giant accomplishment. We also just got her a couple step stools for our bathrooms so she can reach the sink by herself and it feels like we’ve been hitting some big-girl milestones which feels sweet. She’s exactly two and a half years old today!

Something I’ve Been Loving

It took me forever to decide on the perfect bedding combo to replace our old duvet cover that had holes and sheets that had paint stains from my toddler running into our room with a wet paintbrush. But I finally made a decision and freshened up our bedding. I’m loving the navy stripes paired with sage green sheets—I just needed a little throw pillow to complete it. Aaaand I might have plans in the back of my mind to paint our room too (I painted it white sometime after we moved in, but it’s feeling cold and plain these days). But that’s a project for some future date!

I’ve been on an avocado/ricotta toast kick lately and this is how I’ve been doing it: top whole grain or sourdough toast with ricotta cheese (cottage cheese also works), sliced baby tomatoes, cubed avocado, then sprinkle with finely chopped fresh mint or basil, salt and pepper, and most importantly a drizzle of balsamic glaze. For extra protein this is perfect paired with soft boiled egg.

Thanks for reading and catching up with me here—I hope your spring season has been off to a delightful start!

Meghan xo