I sometimes wonder if I should still be recapping. I know the blogging world has evolved, but sometimes, it feels therapeutic to hop on here and blog. I’ve been doing it for so many years that it feels weird not to. I know some of you love the recaps, and I hope to continue them for as long as they feel right. Finding blogging time is hard, especially since I’ve been fully diving into photography lately. I miss the full-time blogging world of recipes, recaps, and travels. I know once Bugs get a bit older and require less of my time, I’ll be able to take on more. I know I could hire someone to watch him while I work more, but he’s only little once, and I enjoy spending every moment with him. I’m not a night owl, so I follow behind once he goes to bed. I have been waking up around 3:45 every morning to get quiet time to work on the computer, which has been so helpful! I know 3:45 seems early, but I go to bed around 8 pm, so I’m still getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.
The past two weeks served up the most beautiful fall scenes. It’s starting to look more like winter now, but I’m so happy we soaked up all the fall weather, foliage, and fall activities.
We took a long morning walk with a few friends at the Riverwalk, which was stunning. 
After our walk, we had lunch at Blend, a new healthy spot right by the water. I ordered a Greek sandwich, a baklava smoothie, and a smoothie for Bugs. He had filtered water, banana, and avocado in his smoothie. He loved it, especially the cold fruit on his teething gums.
One meal he’s been loving lately is butternut squash, banana, raspberries, cinnamon, and avocado blended with oats and his formula.
I made the chicken & parm dinner again last week. We love having the leftovers in the fridge all week. 
I have wanted to visit the Union Exchange farm for a while now. It’s a new farm with a coffee shop, pumpkins, a huge lake, pizza on the weekends, and the swings by the pond was so relaxing. I will be back soon because this little day trip was so relaxing. I’m glad this spot exists.
We ordered two cappuccinos and the most delicious oatmeal cream pie to split. They had so many delicious desserts to select from, and I will have to try the lemon bars next time.
I loved all of the photo backdrops they had set up. 
We sat on the swing for well over an hour. The weather was perfect, and swinging by the water was so relaxing.
On the way back, we stopped at The Hunter Farm. We picked up coffee from Mud + McQueen for the drive home, which was delicious. 
We also stopped at Whole Foods to grab groceries for the weekend, and my mom and I split the falafel wrap.
Last Saturday morning, we did fall family photos. We even took our first family photo with Tux! He’s still afraid of new people, and we don’t like putting him in situations he’s not comfortable with, so we decided to do some of them in the backyard so he could be a part of them! They turned out so good! I was proud of him.
After the photos, we had pizza, watched the Eagles game, and carved pumpkins.
I think they looked cute! 
I dressed bugs up as a tennis player for Halloween! We love tennis in this house, so I thought it would be fitting. I bought the outfit and accessories on Amazon. I bought an iron-on patch, which made the costume come together! I knew he’d be asleep during Halloween night, so I had to take him to the tennis courts to get photos of him in his costume.
We had so many trick-or-treaters! 
My mom and I had a coffee date with Bugs at Knowledge perk. I’ve never had a coffee flight, so we decided to try one out! I will stick to my go-to cappuccino because I’m not a fan of the coffee syrups, but it was fun to try them out! 
We always swing after dinner, walk, or play on the skip hop so I can keep him awake until bathtime! We are finally (knock on wood) past the sleep regression. He’s finally sleeping in his crib from 6:30 pm to 7:00 am. I thought this day would never come! 
I’ve been all about the zoodles lately! I try making dinner around 4 pm so we can eat together. I know that seems early, but it makes sense since I go to bed so early. 
He always puts his feet up on the handlebars, and it’s so funny! He’s into babbling on our walks, and I love it. I feel like he’s just talking to me the entire time.
Before I explain what’s happening here, I want to start by saying I am completely fine!
For the past four months, I have been experiencing abdominal pain that has not let up. It comes and goes, but it feels like pins and needles in the same area. At first, I thought it was diastasis recti (abdominal separation), but the doctor said my abdomen felt fine, so it must be something else. Over the past few months, I’ve done a few ultrasounds, and then last Friday, I had a contrast CT scan. There was an enlarged lymph node (that you could feel by pressing on my stomach) and a benign mass on my liver, and they wanted to see if there was anything else that could be causing the discomfort/loss of circulation.
An hour after my CT scan, I got a call from the doctor’s office, and they said I needed to get to the emergency room as soon as possible because my CT scan showed acute appendicitis. Hearing that freaked me out, especially if this was the pain I’d been experiencing for the past four months.
When Kyle and I got there, the ER doctor said that I would have to have my appendix removed either that night or in the morning. I was so confused because I thought appendicitis was this crazy painful thing, but mine was only mild. A few hours later, the surgeon told me they would remove it first thing in the morning after monitoring my white blood cells all night. Before bed, they hooked me up to IV antibiotics, fluids (since I was going on 48 hours of fasting), and blood thinners.
After a long night, a second surgeon told me he didn’t want to remove it because he didn’t think my appendix was inflamed because of appendicitis (based on my pain level and normal WBC count).) He said he believed it was a GI issue causing the inflammation and lymph node flare-up and wanted me to come back for GI testing and rule everything out before possibly coming back to remove my appendix.
I felt a little defeated because I was happy to have final answers to why my abdominal was in pain, and I hated that I was back at ground zero again. I’m happy I didn’t have to have surgery, but it will be a little upsetting if I come back in to have it removed after a night of preparation.
So they kept me for the day to monitor my levels after taking in food, and then they let me go home.
Next week, I’ll be going back for GI testing, so hopefully, I can get some answers. It feels strange to walk around with an inflamed appendix, but I probably never would have known if I hadn’t done a CT scan.
After not eating for two days, I treated myself to an oat milk latte while waiting to get discharged. The worst part was being away from Bugs for the first time, and I watched him on the monitor all night. It felt weird to be sitting in a hospital and nurses coming in to ask how my pain was and give me pain medicine. I was like, I’m fine. I felt no pain at all.
I made a smoothie with about ten cups of spinach when I got home! My iron levels were so low because I had started my period the Friday night, and being anemic, I needed iron when I started my cycle, and since I couldn’t eat, I felt terrible.
For dinner, I made chicken breast with broccoli and zoodles. 
I felt like baking on Sunday afternoon. It helps me when I’m stressed, and Kyle loves bringing treats to work, so it’s fitting. I made The Fresh Cooky’s sugar cookies (the ones I make weekly!), and I’ve been testing a new frosted gingerbread cookie for the blog, and I’ll be posting that recipe soon! They taste like my gingerbread bars!
On Monday, I took Bugs to the polls with me to vote. He was so good in line (because he had a filled belly and nap.) We waited about an hour and a half, grabbed a matcha latte, and went on a walk with Leo when we got home.
For lunch, he has loved avocado, oats, banana, cinnamon, and formula mixed together. I don’t think I’ll be doing BLW because it scares me! I’ll give him his food in a purée form until 9 months or until I think he’s ready.
I did a big meal prep yesterday after PT with healthy oatmeal breakfast cookies, jalapeno burgers, broccoli salad, and roasted vegetables!
I appreciate anyone sticking around this long to catch the recaps! I have some fun recipes planned out for the holiday season that I cannot wait to share, including the gingerbread cookies.
The family is coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year, and I’m so excited! ♥️
Questions for you!
- Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?
- Have you had any holiday drinks yet?
yes and for the first time ever! granted, it’ll just be me, Mark, and my parents, but im still excited!
pecan pie is my fav 🤤
no! I’m like Kyle and am a big tea drinker, my “holiday” tea is roobios 🤣
I’m so glad you’re okay!!! that had to have been so scary – I hate health stuff! lol
I should have you do a photos hoot for Mark and I next time we’re at the beach 😊🤩
Thats the best! You’re going to do great hosting 😊
I can’t wait to make pecan pie this year! I found a to-do-for recipe that I’m going to bake.
Thank you! Yes, it isn’t very pleasant. Just happy to be home with my baby!!
Ahhh! Yes 😊 beach photos are the best.
Yes! I am hosting Thanksgiving and we average about 25 people each year.
Pecan Pie is my favorite!
Haven’t had any holiday cocktails yet, but just saw a cranberry margarita that I will make!
As always, love your recaps, and enjoy your baby!
25 PEOPLE? Wow, you go girl! Do you have to buy several turkeys?
I have pecan pie on my list this year, and I’ve never made it!
ohhh I bet a cranberry margarita is delicious.
We are traveling to Iowa (go Hawkeyes!) to spend Thanksgiving with my father in law and celebrate his 90th birthday. I don’t have a favorite Thanksgiving dessert since I’m not a fan of pies, and they seem to be the most common ones. I do love pumpkin bread which I always make the week before Thanksgiving, so I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t had any holiday drinks yet, but I did finally try the ever popular brown sugar oat milk espresso, and now I’m a fan! I love your recap blogs, and I’ll be here for them as long as they last. I also miss the old school blogging. In fact, yours is the only one that I follow anymore since the others are all about selling clothes and other crap that I don’t need. Thank you for keeping it real!
YAY HAWKEYES! (although they are not good this year 😆)
90TH birthday! What a celebration.
I used to be so anti-pie, but I’ve grown to love it. I also had the brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso and became obsessed. The chocolate one with a splash of peppermint is also delicious.
That is so funny! I also miss the old school ways of blogging. Maybe it’ll come back one day, but even if it’s not “in”, I love how therapeutic it is for me. Appreciate your sweet words!!
I’m sorry you had to go to the hospital. Have they ruled out your gallbladder? Sometimes it can act up after pregnancy. I just had gallbladder surgery myself and the surgeon said it was inflamed as hell.
Hey! I made the chicken parm with the tomatoes and it was wonderful! I didn’t make the broccoli because I didn’t have enough of the basil sauce left. I did a grocery order pickup and the basil they gave me consisted of only two measly stems! Oh well, it still turned out great.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, Lorri!
Yes, we did rule that all out with ultrasounds and CT. We originally thought that was the issue, but the gallbladder looks fine. Sorry you had to go through surgery!
I’m so glad you loved the chicken parm recipe! So easy to make 😊 I had to grow basil in a pot inside because I can’t ever get enough lol
Basil grows inside?
Hey, I was looking at the Greystone Inn on Facebook today, and did you know they have your wedding photo up? Small world.
Yes it does as long as it’s by a plant light / window!
Hi Taralynn!
I absolutely love your recaps and I hope you won’t give up on them because your blog is one of the very, very few ones which are truly worth reading. ♥️
I appreciate your authenticity and sticking around this long with your readers!
I hope you will figure out what is going on with your abdomen, I send you big hugs and once again, thank you for being here after so many years ♥️ I’ve been following your for around 10 years so it really feels like reading a friend!
Kisses for your beautiful family 🐝
Oh gosh, thank you, Milena!
♥️
Taralynn, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with unanswered medical issues. Praying you get your answers SOON & that it’s nothing serious. This is kind of how I live my life, honestly, except I work with a wellness chiropractor & take about a million supplements to feel good. I don’t like that they’re so uncertain with you. I hope you can get a second opinion! I just feel protective of you from afar ♥️
I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I am making several things for my husband & me since we’re gluten free (stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole (my FAVE), & pumpkin bars). It’s so hard to pick one Thanksgiving dessert. I don’t think I can so I’m going to say pumpkin pie, pecan pie, & pumpkin bars are my faves! And no holiday drinks yet, but I might have to break that soon because I love Starbucks’ holiday drinks. They’re amazing.
And I have to say that your recap posts are my absolute favorite. They are so fun & relaxing to read & it’s an honor & a pleasure to be invited into your world to catch-up on life! I’ve been following you now for about 10 years & it’s been so so fun!! ♥️
Thank you, Chandler! That is so sweet of you.
I finally had a holiday drink today, which I told myself I would wait until after Thanksgiving. OOOPS.
I hope you have an amazing thanksgiving, and all of those foods you’re cooking up sound delicious!
yikes – so sorry about the medical stuff. Hope you get concrete answers soon. I don’t have a baby but I imagine the pureed food option vs BLW is great because it probably helps baby digest better and I totally get being scared by BLW especially with a first baby … you’re doing great mama!
Thank you, Debbie!
It would be a sad day if you ever decide to give up blogging. I can’t imagine how it must feel when blogging has changed so much over the years. Like other commenters have said, your blog is truly one of my favourite because it’s like old style blogging as opposed to the content being put out there on other social media channels. I think as long as you are doing what feels right to you, that is all that matters. I don’t have any social media so I appreciate bloggers like you! You and Kyle make such a lovely family and have inspired me for many years <3 Have a great weekend, and I hope you get some answers to your medical issues soon. Sending lots of prayers your way x
Thank you, Shelby!
Hearing from readers in comments definitely helps me want to continue! It has definitely changed over the years. People want instant content on video/tiktok/instagram, but I feel so disconnected over there.
Thank you for such a sweet comment.
Love your recaps!!! Keep them coming! 😉
Thank you, Sarah!
6-year blog follower here, and I still love the recaps like I did back then! Sorry to hear you’re dealing with abdominal pain, I hope you get some answers soon. My endometriosis went misdiagnosed for 10 years, but for me that was the root of all my pain! I had the excision surgery and they also took out my appendix. That was a year ago, and I am still doing physical therapy which has helped A TON! I hope they figure out what is going on and that you find relief soon <3
I'm hosting Thanksgiving too and will be hosting the most amount of people I've ever hosted for a holiday–25! I can't wait! Having a house jam packed with family reminds me of holidays at my grandparents' house in Baltimore 🙂 It has been years since they passed away, so hosting feels like paying honor to them and the tradition they started! As for dessert, I will choose apple pie over anything else!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family, can't wait to see the pics! xoxo Kelsey
Thank you so much, Kelsey! ♥️
Sorry you went through all of that, but glad you had it taken care of!
Oh my gosh what a fun thanksgiving!!! You’ll be continuing those traditions for your grandparents. Apple pie is SO GOOD.
Thanks so much!!! xo xo
I have and will always love your recaps. They are my favorites. 🙂 Hope you find some answers soon!
Thank you, Katie! ♥️
I’m European so we don’y celebrate thanksgiving, but I’m so freaking ready for Christmas!! Can’t wait for your Christmas posts 🥰
Awww! I can’t wait for Christmas this year!
Keep posting! I’ve been reading you for ten years. So nice to see you happy and fulfilled in this new phase of life.
Thank you, Christina!
I love your recaps so much! But I totally feel ya about the blogging world- I miss the good ol’ days of blogging. I try to remind myself I started writing for myself and my family to record our memories & that won’t change no matter the landscape! It really is just so therapeutic, isn’t it?! Hope you get answers so soon regarding the stomach pain 🙏🏻. Also – how picture perfect is Union Exchange Farm?! You definitely made the most of such a gorgeous fall 😍 and Bugs’s first fall!! Thank you for sharing with us !
Hi, Mackenzie!
You and me both!! ♥️ Maybe it’ll come back in style 😉
xo xo have the best weekend!
I have loved your recap posts since FOREVER! I started following along with your blog back during the Tumlr days. These recap posts make me feel like I am talking to a friend! It’s been so fun to see your life and I always learn something new from you.
I am praying you have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you, Anastasia!
It’s been so long! ♥️ Time just needs to slow the heck down!!
xo xo
I love the recaps! I’ve been reading for years and always enjoy finding a new smoothie idea or plaything for my goldendoodle!
Thanks, Sarah!
I love love love your recaps please keep them up :)))) thanks and hugs to your wonderful family.
❤️ Thank you
OMG, Glad you’re doing ok appendicitis is no joke. I hope you get all the answers, the hospitals here in SoCal are insane. I am obsessed with the Irish Cream Cold Brew drink this year, but I also love the chestnut praline. That coffee flight looks great! Also wanted to say how much I love all your photos; fall looks amazing out there. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year since we just remodeled our kitchen, I can’t wait to see what you put together I hope you share! I am in charge of sides and appetizers, so I’ll be doing a big charcuterie board spread. I’m making Joanna Gaines chocolate cream pie for dessert and probably pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I always buy my pumpkin pie from Costco because why mess with perfection.
It’s my first time commenting, just to say that I absolutely love your recaps 🙂 they feel cozy and warm. Please keep doing them if you can 🙂
Thank you, Charlotte ♥️
Hoping you’re able to get some answers soon!! And feel better soon!! 💕
Thank you!
Glad your health is good!!
Random question…do you have a link to the rug in the background of your zoodles pic?
Hi Tara thanks you for the récapitulatif, I love, c’est mon plaisir et ma seule façon de continuer à te suivre grâce à la traduction. En France nous ne vivons pas de la même façon, pour la cuisine déjà et c’est toujours tellement agréable de voir votre style de vie. Je te suis depuis le début et c’est tellement formidable tu es une maman accomplie c’est beau.
J’espère que tu ira vite mieux. Désolé pour mon mauvais anglais
Hey Taralynn just wanna say I haven’t commented before but I have read your blogs for what must be about 9-10 years now. They are comforting to me and I just love your photography throughout the seasons! Also really enjoyed your vlogs on YouTube last Christmas! Looking forward to your Christmas posts this year and your holiday season will be extra special with your little one!💖
Awww thank you so much!!!!
Taralynn – I followed your blogs for years and just rediscovered you on here– yay! I’m so happy to see you’re still blogging! I’m currently 24 weeks pregnant with my first baby, so I’ve especially enjoyed reading about your pregnancy journey and your life with your new little one. <3
Hi, Caroline!
Happy you’ve rediscovered! 😊 Congrats on your pregnancy! That is so exciting 🙂
Hello from the other side of the world who loves your recap. No one feels like yours, only you can write a recap full of warmth! I do hope your health issue will be solved soon so you can feel better. Have a wonderful day with your lovely family. 🙂
That is the sweetest!!!!!
I absolutely love your recaps, Taralynn! They are wonderful!! I’m so sorry you’ve been dealing with abdominal pain and then having to do the hospital stay and not get any real answers at the end. 🙁 I hope they’re working things out for you! I know I’m a bit behind, so you may have an update in a more recent post.
I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving!
Make Life Marvelous