{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2025

Not much blogging happening around here lately but still have a few things to say about the closing of one year and the start of the next!  This is always a fun one to think about!

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 1) Audio books with boys 
This was a big one for us this year.  I had only done a few audio books myself before this year but once I had my older son home with me all the time (homeschool) and I realized I couldn't listen to my podcasts much in the car anymore (since I am rarely alone in the car...) I decided audio books with him were the way to go. I had been reading Harry Potter to him so we started where we were on those (Order of the Phoenix) and while I still read aloud to him from the paper books as schedule allowed (I specifically read the final few chapters of Deathly Hallows to him), the audio books helped us get through those a lot faster.  Since we finished Harry Potter in October we've done another 4-5 (shorter) books together too (we spend a good bit of time in the car together going to appointments, the grocery store, etc.).  

Over the summer I also started audiobooks with BOTH boys for all the driving around town we did for swim lessons, the zoo, trips to cousins, etc.  It was amazing at how fast they stopped bickering with each other once I turned on a story.  We got through a good handful of books together including Holes for the whole family while on our big trip this summer.  My kids have been on playaways from the library for years but this is the first year I did some with them and it was fantastic. (Nearly all the ones we listened to we checked out through the library apps and connected my phone to the car bluetooth.)

2) Freeze Dried Apples
Maybe I knew about these before this year but this was the year they became one of my go-to snacks, especially to sporting events.  They are a healthy snack to eat mindlessly and a $2 bag per cross county meet is not a high price to pay.  Plus, easy to share because few people have problems with apples.  We are constantly trying to improve our food choices and these were also good for when I wanted something crunchy but also not chips or something.  We always have a stash of these in the pantry.

3) Going dye free
This was a BIG one this fall and now I'm wondering why we didn't do it sooner.  There are a lot of people with a lot more to say about this than me but the basics is that all those food dyes are terrible for people and maybe negatively some more than others.  It's a bummer that a lot of dye-free foods costs more (I'm looking at you, popsicles and cookie sprinkles) but also knowing we're buying things that may cause fewer reactions from our kids makes it worthwhile.  It greatly helps that we buy most of our groceries at Aldi which doesn't do artificial colors (although they do allow caramel color which we have to watch out for).  Our basic foods don't have dye and we try to eat fresh fruits and vegetables of course but it's special occasion foods that are the most likely culprit.  The aforementioned sprinkles for Christmas cookies, the popsicles we eat all summer, Twizzlers on family road trips, the kool-aid cookies we love, etc.  It greatly helps that 2 of my sisters have gone dye free as well, we can compare notes and know that what each other brings to family parties will be safe for all!  It's been a little more work & money but not terrible.  And the boys have gotten good at checking for dyes too!

4) LMNT electrolytes
These became my after run treats this summer and I don't know that I've noticed a huge benefit in my recovery with them but I do like how they taste and I do look forward to that after run drink and a few times getting one of these has been what got me out the door to run.  I do half a packet in about 16 ounces of water and stir well.  I think they taste great.  A worthwhile addition to my running routine. 

5) Scheduling emails
In all honesty, I didn't discover this this year but I forgot to put it on last year's list.  This is great for when a burst of motivation hits in the evening and I want to take care of a bunch of e-mails but don't need everyone knowing I was up e-mailing at 10:30pm or whatever.  This is mostly for things related to school, not family things.  Or if I know I need to email teachers a few weeks early for a class party or something, I can get that e-mail done when I'm thinking of it and then it'll send a bit closer to the event.  So instead of meaning to respond, then thinking it's too late, and then never getting to it...now I get some things done.  

6) Scheduling texts 
I'm pretty sure this was on an iOS update at some point this year and I had been waiting for it.  Same as scheduling e-mails except this one I can do from my phone (I only know how to schedule e-mails from my desktop).  Sometimes I don't want to text people at 11pm but won't always remember in the morning and thus...schedule it.  I even scheduled a text to my sister before she went in to have a baby very early one morning because I definitely wasn't going to be awake. (And did tell her it was scheduled...she knew I wouldn't be awake then.)  It has helped me out, many times. 

7) Teachers Pay Teachers 
This has been wonderful for my homeschool curriculum.  I've bought a study guide for nearly every lit book we've read on here, used a lot of free worksheets around holidays, and bought various other resources.  There are great teachers out there making great things.  I'm happy to pay them some money to not have to do everything myself from scratch.  It makes it much easier to put together our schoolwork!

8) Flip 7
After seeing this all over the internet, I bought this as a family present for Christmas.  We played it on Christmas with my parents who were over for dinner and had just played it with my sister's family the night before.  It was super helpful they were able to explain it to us, much easier way to learn a game!  It's quickly become a favorite and very easy to play a couple games during this lazy 2nd week of break.  I love a good card game we can all play and enjoy AND that's easy to transport for future trips!

9) Feather Christmas trees  
I have GREATLY cut back my buying of mini Christmas trees, mainly because my storage is maxing out.  BUT I saw these in store when I was browsing in early November and thought they were super fun.  I ended up buying 2 more when I caught them on a good sale in December.  I think I only bought 5 new trees this year (this is much lower than what I did in 2022-ish) and 3 of them were these feather trees. (Do I need 3??  No.  But I got 2 of them so cheap there is nearly no point in returning them.)

10) My ability to homeschool
Just over a year ago we made the somewhat impulsive decision to withdraw our older son from private school and start homeschooling.  I did not know how it would go or how I would be at teaching but I knew this was the right answer for him at this time.  It hasn't always been easy, far from it.  Getting our bearings took awhile and I still question constantly at how competent I am at it.  BUT I also know it's the right place for him and it's the right choice for our family at this time.  I look back at where we were a year ago and the increased confidence I have going into our 3rd semester next week.  I still question a lot of decisions but I know homeschooling is one thing I've done right for him.    

{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2024

{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2023
{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2022
{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2021
{10} Favorite Discoveries of 2020 

Things I Like - September 2025

It has been a minute since I blogged about anything.  Homeschooling really took over my life in ways even I didn't anticipate back in December and I have been working more for pay.  Plus, I'm running A LOT right now (September is my busiest running month of the year) and sports and life and all of that...blogging is something that has been pushed to the side with the hope to return when I'm not homeschooling any longer (when is that??  TBD.)  I do miss writing but this is one of the somethings that had to give. 

I always enjoy hearing what works for other people and I like sharing things I like, it's part of the reason I have a blog.  I've been doing these monthly posts for 10 years and they also provide a nice little snapshot in my life at a moment in time! See more here!  Some affiliate links may be included!

1) LMNT Electrolyte Sports Drink - Citrus Salt
These are quite literally getting me out the door on some of my runs lately because I enjoy them that much and only get when I run.   Citrus Salt is the only flavor I have tried and I see no reason to try any others because I like this one so much.  I put half a packet in about 16 ounces of water and thoroughly enjoy it.  Has magnesium and a bunch of other things that are good for me with no sugar and it's nice to have a "treat" after running, especially one I am considering healthy. 

2) Aldi Baked Potato Soup
This was a random pick up in the spring and now I buy my store out nearly every time I go.  Or at least buy a couple of them.  If I am having something else, like salad, I can make one container last 3 meals, otherwise it's 2.  I've had countless containers of this soup since May-ish and I still quite enjoy it.  Lunch has been a REAL struggle for me in the 12 years I've been home with kids (and really, even before then) and having I really enjoy without a lot of work really helps me out.  This is fantastic.  Should I learn to make my own similar soup.  Maybe.  We'll see what happens when I am running less and get some of that time back.

3) Aldi ice bucket
This was another impulse buy from the Aldi aisle I used to try to avoid but now can't because it's where baking supplies are (am I routinely buying baking supplies??  Not much, baking is another thing that seems to have largely, but not completely, fallen by the wayside.).  Anyways, ice has been a real problem for awhile, our freezer ice maker broke...8 years ago? 10?  I don't remember, it's been a long time and so we had ice trays that our boys like to use and never refill so Matt & I rarely got ice.  Enter this handy little thing that fits right under the broken ice maker and now the boys are mostly limited to whatever ice is in the bottom part since they rarely bother to break new ice into it which means I can break the new ice AND actually get some.  I am still the one doing most of the ice tray refilling BUT at least I am getting some ice out of it.  This has been a fantastic impulse buy that solved a pain point around here. (Yes, this was on clearance when I took this picture although it wasn't when I bought it! (Ours is blue.) but I'm still sharing because it's been very helpful for us.)

4) Aldi Freeze Dried Fuji Apples
These are a great snack and I like that it's all the same kind of apples, unlike the ones I bought from Target that had red & green apples and only the red ones were good.  These are an easy snack, easy to take to sporting games, relatively healthy.  I try not to mindlessly eat anything but even if I did eat the whole bag...the calories aren't a problem.  Plus, works in my son's lunch box!

 

5) Wireless headphones
Until I bought these, I had not worn headphones in maybe 10 years.  Maybe longer.  Long ago I ran with headphones but now I don't because I want to be able to hear anything around me (if I am running alone I do listen to music through my phone speakers but pretty quietly...I think you'd have to be within about 5 feet of me to even hear it and I try not to be that close to strangers anyways).  I've listened to everything through my iphone speakers or bluetooth connected to the car.  Only listening to "my" stuff when I'm alone or far away from my family (like if I'm down in the basement, alone, sorting laundry I'll turn on a podcast).  Anyways, with a homeschool kid now home nearly all the time and often with his ear plugged (both my boys are pretty devoted audiobook listeners through playaways from the library and often letting him listen to things helps him focus) and I decided I wanted the ability to listen to things of mine too without disrupting him.  ANYWAYS...so I bought headphones.  Sometimes we both are just home, working on our own things, with our ears plugged.  It's fine, we're together a lot.  I only use mine a few hours a week, if that, but they've been very handy and have worked well.  Also great for if I'm working on my computer in the evening (like now), after the boys are in bed and Matt wants to use the TV which is open to my office.  So I can listened to a podcast or work on my puzzle without our sound bothering each other.  I haven't actually done this yet but I like that I COULD.  (This is the color I got and I had hoped it would be more peach/coral when in reality they felt more red/orange.  But then I named them my flamingo headphones in my phone and now I feel better about the color.) 

There it is, my first blog post in 6 weeks and my last until...who knows when.  Maybe within 6 weeks!  I once had things super planned here and this is no longer that time.  It's a very "fly by the seat of my pants" operation for the blog right now.  

What have YOU been liking? 

Things I Like - July (travel edition)

I was very consistent with these until I started homeschooling at the start of the year and then slowly most of my blogging fell by the wayside.  Summer has had a similarly chaotic schedule, just in a different way.  A few of these items are repeats but we've been on the go so much this summer, these are what has come to mind recently! 

I always enjoy hearing what works for other people and I like sharing things I like, it's part of the reason I have a blog.  I've been doing these monthly posts for 10 years and they also provide a nice little snapshot in my life at a moment in time! See more here!  Some affiliate links may be included!

1) Neck Light
I bought one of these for myself 2 years ago and would take it on all camping trips, never sure what the reading light situation would be (most cabins have them over our bed but not all, and more than once at least one of them has been burnt out).  I now also use this to read in a camping chair in our rustic cabins at Jellystone (would have LOVED one of these back in our lake days when we had 1 or 2 boys sleeping in our room!  So much time trying to balance a flashlight just right!).  Both the boys have one for reading in bed and for travel.  I've even used mine to do outside dishes at camp when it's gotten dark before they are done!  (We all have the medium size.)

2) Pencil bag
Two years ago my boys got into playaways from the library shortly before our trip.  They listened to them SO MUCH on the drive to Cocoa Beach that we stopped for more batteries on the second day of that drive.  I happened to have this in my Target cart already, one of them needed it for school, and so checked out with that and the batteries.  I ended up using it that trip to collect receipts, brochures, any other pieces of travel paper I didn't want to lose.  It keeps all those receipts out of my wallet and then I had everything in one place when we got home!  I decided that one was mine and bought another one for the school kid.  Now I take it on every trip and it's super handy. 

3) Collapsible Kettle
This was a new addition to our travel supplies this summer and has worked out rather well.  Matt has his coffee and I, my tea every morning.  We'd always take our electric kettle from home but it's bigger and we'd usually be using it still the morning before our trip and it couldn't be packed early.  I learned about these on IG or FB and decided it would be super helpful, and it has been!  I can pack it days in advance and it's takes up much less space.  We do have to do 2 boil runs to get us both our hot drink or for hot water for dishes when at Jellystone but it boils quickly so not really a problem.  I even took it when we stayed in a house with my whole family over the summer, not knowing what the hot water situation would be (I never want hot water out of a coffee maker, guaranteed to have a coffee taste).  

4) Travel Pill Box
Two of us are on prescription meds and, like the kettle, the pill boxes would be something we'd have to remember at nearly the last minute.  This is more compact than our previous options and I can also fill it and pack it a few days in advance.  Matt likes to tell me we can replace anything at our destination if we forget it but meds are one of the few exceptions!  Plus, easy to throw in a bag if we are out and about for afternoon/evening doses.

5) Salt & Pepper Shakers
When camping for the last 19 years, we had been using salt & pepper shakers we had been given for our wedding.  We had not used these up in 19 years but they were prone to spilling when in our big tub for Jellystone which isn't messy (it's just salt & pepper, unlike the honey that broke open in my work bag this week) but annoying enough that I looked into a replacement.  These haven't broken open for us yet!  They seem VERY MUCH like Tupperware but they aren't (we had a lot of Tupperware with that kind of lid growing up).  Plus, easily refillable.  Maybe we're supposed to be moving away from plastic but there are some times it's SUPER handy.  (Also the only non blue entry on this list...believe me, I would have gotten blue if it was an option).  

Five things that have made our travel life a little easier this summer!  What have YOU been liking lately?

Looking Back at June 2025

June was a busy month.  I hate saying we're always busy but it was a lot of being on the go.  Of the 4 weeks that made up most of June, Sam had swim lessons for two of those and the other two we were out of town for 3 weeknights each week.  That adds up to not a lot of being home and just chilling!  I also had my 20 year college reunion, my parents 50th anniversary, and hosted a baby shower for my niece!  Summer is a different busy than the school year but in a (mostly) fun way!

Looking back:
1 year ago: {29} Beach Picture Books
2 years ago: Things the Boys Like (maybe the last one of these I did??)
3 years ago: A Different Me After Vacation (but mostly still the same)
4 years ago: Vacation Ponderings
5 years ago: MDM: Honey Lemon Margarita (we were doing a fire in the firepit just out of shot and it gave a nice effect for these pictures)
6 years ago: Patriotic Kabobs
7 years ago: New York City #4 - day 3 (this trip has actually come up a few times recently, I carried baby Sam in the carrier all over NYC)
8 years ago: The Senses of Summer
9 years ago: ICOTW: Raspberry Crisp Ice Cream (this was one of my FAVORITES)
10 years ago: Attacking the Problem Areas: Painting inside the kitchen cupboard (SO GLAD I did these) 
11 years ago: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (this is still the only banana bread I make)
12 years ago: A big clothing diapering post
13 years ago: Doolin to Dingle 

 

1) Fit in a few zoo trips too, red pandas are always a favorite.
2) Flowers are blooming very well so far!
3) My 20th college reunion and the first one I have attended (although I have been back to campus since).  It was fun.
4) Matt & I went down early and walked around campus, 20 years and 1 month to the day since we did that the day before I graduated.
5) At the zoo, again!  I feel like it was hot.  It's been hot most of our zoo trips.
6) Back at Jellystone, our favorite repeat spot every summer!  We love it.
7) Sunset over the lake at Jelly, we cross this on a swinging bridge to get to the "good" showers.
8) I've decided I get one frozen coke each Jellystone trip.  This was a hot day, it helped.
9) Cindy Bear, I take this picture with her at mini golf nearly every time.
10) Fit in a drive-in trip as well!  First time we had taken the boys in a few years!
11) The drive-in!  Matt & I go every year for our anniversary but fun taking the boys.  I think this was mine & Matt's 60th visit together to this one!
12) Peacock at the zoo, they are in my top 5 animals there (along with red pandas, lemurs, giraffes, and I'm still deciding on the last spot).   

Books finished: 10
Miles ran: 46.30 (June might be my favorite running month because I am in reasonable running shape but I'm not running crazy distances yet)
Currently watching: In June we were watching the new season of Welcome to Wrexham and probably some Brooklyn 99 too. 
Most read post this month: Kool-Aid Cookies and then To Work or Not to Work, That is the Question

July bring more adventuring, 4th of July (obviously past), my birthday, and, regrettably, thinking about school.  I'm not ready!!!

Looking Back at May 2025

May is sneaky crazy.  I always expect it to be crazy but then the crazy slowly ramps up in a way that I don't realize how crazy that last 2ish weeks of school is until we're in June, school is done, and we have a lot less demands on our time.  Then I realize how insane May was, even if this May was calmer than the year before (no sports for one thing!).  We had the end of school, Mother's Day, our anniversary, and even got our trip to Kings Island in there.  Really feels like summer and I'm enjoying pretty much anytime we get to be home for any stretch of time! 

Looking back:
1 year ago: My First SAHP(erson) Year (who knew that would nearly be a one and done thing??)
2 years ago: Day in the Life #14
3 years ago: Sewing a Pennant (this is hanging up right now!)
4 years ago: {13} Fun Romance(ish) Books
5 years ago: Our Quarantine Homeschool Process
6 years ago: {5} Surprising Benefits to the pre-8am School Run
7 years ago: Reflections on Mothers' Day
8 years ago: Balancing Work and Play
9 years ago: Painting my Drawers
10 years ago: A New Hope (Chest)
11 years ago: Dollar Decorating: Turning Toy Dinosaurs into Decor (these have been moved to the sandbox but we still have them!  And the paint has largely held up!)
13 years ago: Big Day in London - 1

 

1) Sno-cones at the Farmers Market!  We did this the first nice Saturday of what felt like the year and it was lovely.
2) Allium always surprise me in the spring, they are fun.
3) We did a glo run at the zoo which got interrupted with a severe thunderstorm warning but then we got to go back through the lights which was a bit chaotic (so busy) but fun.
4) Thirsty Thursday to use Sam's free reading program ticket the night before the last day of school.  It was so cold I was wearing my winter coat.
5) Celebrating the last day of school with a bike ride downtown!
6) Kings Island!  I was a bit anxious about this trip in the week leading up to it since the weather forecast went from perfect to wet almost as soon as I bought our tickets.  But the rain wasn't terrible and the emptiest park we've ever had during the day so we got in a lot!
7) Jackets worn all day but at least we weren't hot!
8) Stopped at the Wright-Dunbar Museum in Dayton on the way home, the Ohio counterpart of the Wright Brothers Memorial site we stopped at in the Outer Banks last summer.  Boys got another junior ranger badge!
9) Margaritas, got them in in May!
10) Planted flowers in the playhouse flower box, they are still alive as of this writing!
11) Within a week we went to the Wright Bros museum and then the Wapak Neil Armstrong Museum, and both places mentioned the accomplishments of the other!  This is the actual Gemini 8 capsule. 
12) A statue of Neil Armstong's actual space suit from the moon (you could touch it, nobody gets to touch the original).  
 

Books finished: 11 
Miles ran: 25.2 
Currently watching: Matt & I have started season 4 of Welcome to Wrexham which is enjoyable.
Most read post this month: Kool-Aid Cookies and then Opening & Closing Ceremonies.

 

June is such a slow down after May, no school, a few short trips planned.  Just enjoying the boys being off and I get to just be Mom instead of Mom & teacher!