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!

Looking Back at April 2025

We started this month in Tennessee experiencing what felt like an early spring since it was cold and terrible at home while we were away.  Then we got home and spring eventually showed up here too!  April was that trip, Easter, and embracing warmer weather which is wonderful but always brings with it a slew of projects as well.  

Looking back:
1 year ago: {18} Dragon Picture Books (I miss doing these lists, one of the many causalities of starting homeschooling...)
2 years ago: Some Royally Good Reads
3 years ago: Travel: 40 Hours in Saint Louis
4 years ago: Book Love: Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
5 years ago: Painting the FINAL Kitchen Cupboard (my pandemic Good Friday)
6 years ago: Cloth Diapering, Again
7 years ago: A Star Wars/Lego/Superhero Party
8 years ago: Pairing Activities 
9 years ago: Dilemma: My Craft Area (the solution we came up with for this is pretty much how it still is today)
10 years ago: Getting My Sew On
11 years ago: Things I Like - April (sharing this because I wore #1 this week and am using #3 regularly right now!)
12 years ago: NYC
13 years ago: Frustrating but then Uplifting

 

1) The flowers weren't quite the color of the my hair but it was sorta close???
2) Souvenir shopping in Tennessee and they were using depression glass for display that was the exact same style of some of what we just received from my aunt's house/formerly my Grandma's set.  It was a fun find out in the "wild".  (We have similar bowls but not that exact size.)
3) The sunset view from our Pigeon Forge cabin, beautiful.
4) This is 2/2 on bad/no views from the top of Clingman's Dome for Matt.  It was comically bad this time.
5) Part of the Appalachian Trail and about as most of it as I ever plan to hike (and that was about 20 feet).
6) View from a cabin in Cades Cove.  I wouldn't want to live primitively like that but dang, some nice views.
7) Stopped at Buc-ees coming home where we spent 45 minutes at what is really a gas station.  Fridays in Lent aren't the best time to try to get food on the road.
8) Hyacinth in our backyard, these are usually early to bloom and smell amazing.
9) Continuing my posting of reading in different places, at the ortho office, again (we are there what feels like a lot).
10) SPRING!  On the walk home form school.
11) I forgot I planted tulips last fall until they bloomed this year!  Not counting on them lasting long before squirrels dig them up like they did my previous ones.
12) Dying eggs at home!  The boys actually spent almost 2 hours on this!
13) Easter bike ride downtown where, with late Easter, tulips were out!
14) Easter bike ride and our first bike ride of the year!
15) This is not our backyard but I forget where I came across whatever this flowering thing is.  I love and appreciate all the green we have right now but I really do love those ~2 weeks where everything is flowering and amazing.
16) Red buds being amazing.  Planting this was such a good random decision. 

Books finished: 14!
Miles ran: 16.60, better than last April!
Currently watching: Matt & I have started rewatching Brooklyn 99 (starting with season 3 which is where Netflix starts) because it's funny and we liked it the first time.  On my own I've started watching Nobody Wants This, about 1 episode a week while I fold laundry on Sunday night.  So it's going to take me a little time.
Most read post this month: March Reading Recap followed by Kool-Aid Cookies (my 6th most popular post of all blog time)

May is Mothers Day, our anniversary, and THE END OF SCHOOL which is nearly all consuming.  Even with NO sports right now (don't miss it) and only one kid in "regular" school (but one whom I am room parent for his class), it's probably less chaotic than it could be but still with some level of crazy.  May just has a different energy, wrapping up a school year and all the anticipation of summer.  It actually feels like a little bit of a sweet spot right now because I LOVE that summer anticipation but we also don't have to feel like we've wasted any of it yet.  Plus it's the point of the school year where NOBODY CARES anymore, learning is barely happening and it's kinda just soaking up all the hard work we've put in over the last 170 school days (to be clear, my homeschool kid is still doing assignments).  Just trying to enjoy the good parts of May and not let the harder parts weigh me down!

Looking Back at March 2025

March was busier than I expected with birthdays for both boys, their big party, our committee work culminating in the dinner auction we had been working on for 6 months, a family wedding, and heading out for spring break.  Every week it felt like I could only handle what I needed to for that week, very little looking ahead happened.  But now, I think?, April is looking a little calmer! We'll see if that holds true. 

Looking back:
1 year ago: Hobbies: Puzzles
2 years ago: Non-Parenting Books That Made Me Rethink Parenting
3 years ago: Simplifying Allowances
4 years ago: The Spring Switch (I still do this, pretty much exactly like I outline here, on March 1st every year)
5 years ago: Corona Quarantine - week #2 (so glad I documented this time!)
6 years ago: Dingle (still one of our favorite places we've ever visited)
7 years ago: Things That Makes Me Feel Like Me (fresh off getting Sam!)
8 years ago: Chairs With History
9 years ago: A Major Improvement to our Pantry (Cupboard) - still SO GLAD I painted all of these.
10 years ago: Covering Books with Fabric
11 years ago: Top Five...places I want to visit (international) - I've since been to...zero of these.  But would still like to someday!
12 years ago: Making room for baby & some other stuff (this is one of my posts that I randomly think about the most, mainly because Luke was already born but we didn't know it yet.)
13 years ago: Paperwork is In

 

1) Donut at work, there are frequently donuts which helps my mood.
2) Typical homeschool view!
3) Fantastic Sunday morning brunching with my family.
4) I didn't intend for this to be so breakfast food heavy but donut when setting up for our dinner/auction...
5) Which was the SAME DAY as a niece's wedding.  I made it to parts of both but was also exhausted by the end of the day (which was also 11pm...)
6) Making compost cookies!  I usually just make these once a year!
7) Solid cookie spread for the double birthday party.  I'm not a big cake person and this requires pretty much no dishes to serve and eat.
8) A miniature highland cow on a field trip with Sam's class (my Dad drove the bus!).  It was adorable.
9) Putt-Putt arcade for Luke's birthday! 
10) Skee-Ball is the BEST arcade game even though I am not great at it.
11) The start of spring here...
12) But then in Tennessee where it really was spring!  It was wonderful!
13) There is a Diana butterfly in the Sugarland Visitor's Center of the Smoky Mountains NP.  An presumably around the park but we've never seen one.
14) Not a great view, a lot of rain this day.
15) Flowering bush of some sort at the KOA!
16) Wonderful view from our cabin, even without leaves on all the trees.

Books finished: 12
Miles ran: 3.1 and that was over 2 runs...
Currently watching: Nothing!  We've had such busy weekends with weddings and traveling and birthday party that it's been awhile since we've watched something AND a really long time since Matt & I were watching a show or something consistently. 
Most read post this month: Reading Recap - February 2025 and then Kool-Aid Cookies (I have some of these in my cookie jar right now)

April has already had most of spring break and a nephew wedding and we are looking forward to Easter.  Hopefully just spring weather, flowers, and getting caught up on life after a busy March and cold winter!

Looking Back at February 2025

February was a month.  It was cold at times but got a little warmer towards the end of the month.  There's been a lot going on but also sometimes not.  I still try to get in all my reading, as you can see below, that means I need to read when and where I can. The boys had an extra long weekend mid-month which was nice.  February isn't my least favorite month (that's January) but it doesn't always have a lot going for it. 

Looking back:
1 year ago: Losing SAHM Status
2 years ago: Author Love: Katherine Center
3 years ago: {12} STEM {ish} Picture Books Series
4 years ago: The Molly Murphy Series by Rhys Bowen
5 years ago: Book Love: Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar
6 years ago: {11} Picture Books Featuring Food
7 years ago: Book Love: How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn
8 years ago: Homemade Goo Gone
9 years ago: Photography part 3 - Back That Up
10 years ago: Attacking the Problem Areas: Painting the Craft/Office Cupboard (finally)
11 years ago: Kool-Aid Cookies
12 years ago: Things I Like - February
13 years ago: Intake

1) Reading during swim lessons.
2) Really weird hail, it sounded weird.
3) Reading at the dentist while both boys were back for their cleanings.
4) Lots of hearts!  We've been making Valentines for years and I hate wasting the edges of the paper from cutting hearts so I've been cutting lots of increasingly tinier hearts from the scraps.  For years.  So now we have a lot but also have lots of options for making Valentines!
5) Reading at home, I did do that too.
6) The bathroom, I rearrange these shelves with some regularity but a few of those pieces have been there for nearly 11 years!
7) Reading at swim lessons (that was the best part of swim lessons, a guaranteed 35 minutes to read in my week, also the pool room was very warm which was nice when outside was not).
8) Finally hung a planter my Dad made us for Christmas over a year ago! Plant is still alive!
9) Kool-Aid cookies which we ate much faster than we should have.
10) Also have a disco ball planter which got hung as well.  That plant is also still alive.
11) Reading at the orthodontist office. 
12) Finishing a puzzle I had been working on for awhile! 

Books finished: 15!
Miles ran: 2.0 and it was terrible
Currently watching: Matt & I have actually been watching movies!  Pretty much what we can find streaming.  For Valentine's weekend we rewatched Crazy Stupid Love where we sat through Hulu commercials because neither of us wanted to walk all the way down to the basement to get the DVD...(it's not that far)
Most read post this month: Things Saving my Winter and then DIY Strawberries & Cream Oatmeal
Sam's favorite song: I've stopped asking the boys this but Sam volunteered "If you are doing that survey where you want to know my favorite song...it's 'Everybody Wants to be a Cat'".  We recently watched The Aristocats.

March is a birthday for each of the boys, lent, a joint birthday party, making it over halfway through the semester, our second niece wedding of the year, and hopefully some warmer weather!

Looking Back at December 2024

 

Last year I thought there was no way that any December could be crazier than that one.  I was wrong.  This December was a whole new level of crazy and it felt like it was over in about the blink of an eye.  In the course of ONE WEEK, the last week of school before break in fact, we had 2 family funerals (my aunt, my husband's uncle), I was in charge of class parties for each of the boys, I drove a field trip, Matt was in CRUNCH time for the end of his 16 month school program, and we made the decision to withdraw our oldest from school at the end of the semester (Christmas break) and to homeschool him starting in January.  THAT WAS ALL IN 8 DAYS.  Plus, the small fact that it was the week before Christmas and there were Christmas things that needed done AND the normal life stuff like laundry and feeding people (but also making sure we had all the necessary food for all the Christmas celebrations and the graduation party we had for Matt right after Christmas).  It's no surprise that I ended up with an infection (30 day antibiotic) and a pretty good cold.  

But the big news this month is that Matt finally did finish his program.  On December 27th, not before Christmas, but he is done.  The last 2 weeks were a real slog when we thought he'd be done and it felt never ending for a few days.  BUT...he is.  It still feels too good to be true that he really is DONE. (Besides boards...which will be a whole other thing.)

So December has been fun.  I would like NO funerals next December please.  Matt will definitely not be in school.  Who knows what will be going on in home school (we will reevaluate for next school year in the spring) but next December has to be less crazy, right??  I wouldn't like any year to try to top this one.  I would like to actually ENJOY the Christmas season, which is my FAVORITE season of the year, please.  Please.  Please.

Looking back:
1 year ago: Picture Book Flight - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
2 years ago: Things I Like - December 2022 (maybe my favorite of these I've ever written)
3 years ago: Christmas Season Decide Once
4 years ago: Christmas Media to Consume
5 years ago: Mixed Drink Monday: Cran-Apple Sangria
6 years ago: Book Love: I'll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller
7 years ago: DIY Strawberries & Cream Instant Oatmeal
8 years ago: The Senses of the Season - Christmas!
9 years ago: Paper Christmas Trees (kid craft)
10 years ago: Caramel Butter Bars
11 years ago: Raspberry Chocolate Layer Bars (these remain Matt's favorite)
12 years ago: Things I Like December 2012
14 years ago: Stairs are (almost) done!

 

1) Eating leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving with our partially decorated tree (it was like that for about 5 days just due to no time).
2) Cutting out cookies!  The number of things that had to fit in a very specific time frame was...pretty much everything until school was out.
3) Driving past downtown Santa.  I didn't do this as much as I would have liked but still a few times!
4) Nutcracker with Sam!  My friend's daughters both had roles and it was so fun to watch the whole production.  I cried.
5) The tree glows best at dawn and dusk.
6) I wrapped most of the new gallery wall except for 3 frames behind the tree I couldn't reach.  They aren't super obvious but I am still showing them here...next year I need to do before we get the tree.  But very happy with how this all came out (I also cut out 8 snowflakes).
7) Frosting cookies!  Fitting this in got rescheduled 3 times but we did it!
8) The sweatshirt I dyed in December.  Took a lot of stirring a boiling pot.
9) Driving through the lights at Franke Park.  We went on a very not busy night so actually stopped at the photo ops for the first time ever!
10) Doing a Christmas puzzle while boys & I watched The Polar Express on Christmas Adam (Matt was writing his final 450 page paper).
11) Christmas crackers for supper with my parents on Christmas.  So festive.  I hadn't been able to find them for a few years!
12) All our stockings together on Boxing Day!  We mostly got to be home that day! (Matt was still writing most of it.)
13) My favorite times - drinking tea in front of the tree.  Appreciate every time this happens!
14) Checking out the lights at Parkview Field just last night.  Took my parents and Matt's Dad.  It was a fun experience!
15) Also did our walking around all the lights post-Christmas, post Matt being DONE.  I love doing this with almost no crowds.
16) Under the wreath.  Christmas season wouldn't be complete without walking between the lights!

Books finished: Assuming I'm going to finish the one I've got about 100 pages in...20! 
Miles ran: 2.05!  Ran every month this year!
Currently watching: It's been a lot of holiday stuff lately.  We aren't in the middle of any series now.
Most read post this month: Kool-Aid Cookies (solid pick) then Hawaiian Lasagna

January brings homeschool, cold, probably snow, and the end of Christmas.  Mixed feelings about all of it!

Looking Back at November 2024

It's mid-December and life is full crazy.  I thought November was busy and then...December happened.  Luke really started basketball practice in November so that has made the schedule a little busier but (mostly) not terrible.  Matt is still trying to finish up school.  Getting so close but, man, this final crunch coming right in the middle of December is...not great.  But November had Thanksgiving and mostly beautiful weather.  We had a long, mild fall with lots of nice days.  That was great!  And Matt finished his clinical hours.  That was also exciting.  There is always something good!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Travel: Cocoa Beach, Florida (2023 me was more together)
2 years ago: Christmas Picture Books - Saints
3 years ago: {12} Cozy December Reads for Grown-Ups 
4 years ago: {10} Item Christmas Gift List (2020 me was also more together)
5 years ago: Fall Life Energy List
6 years ago: Viva Las Vegas! (Only a month after we went?!?!?  Was every previous me more on top of things??)
7 years ago: {25} Christmas Picture Books
8 years ago: Refinishing the Porch Floor
9 years ago: 4 Ingredient Home-Style Potato Soup (I just made a version of this today! But added carrots and some chopped ham from the freezer)
10 years ago: Helpful Hints: Make New Candles and Get Rid of the Old (I still do this every January)
11 years ago: Christmas treats: Jam Filled Butter Cookies
13 years ago: Kitchen project
15 years ago: On Vacation!

1) My blue morning glories, true to form, only showed up late in the season.  But then they were fairly regular!
2) Early November, beautiful weather outside!
3) See, blue morning glories!
4) My dahlias still going too!
5) A beautiful backyard sunset.
6) The first Christmas baking I always do...and the first thing fully eaten too...
7) Santa!!!!!  Always so exciting to see this up, even before it's lit!
8) Basketball games has meant the occasional pretzels & cheese again!
9) Snow and pumpkins.  The first snow that even kinda stuck!
10) And then my morning glories were still blooming.
11) We went to the zoo for the first time in November!  Had ride coupons expiring at the end of the year that I really wanted to use!  Chilly but fun being back after sweating there so often in the summer!
12) Got our ride in!
13) My favorite dessert in town to celebrate Matt finishing clinicals!
14) It really feels like the Christmas season when they are lit!
15) Addressing my cards the night before Thankgiving, as I've been doing for many many years.  Even though we haven't mailed them yet.
16) A tiny moment of peace and quiet (ish) on Thanksgiving morning! It was a busy weekend!

Books finished: 12
Miles ran: 10.05!  Definitely winding down for the year!
Currently watching: Matt & I just finished Ahsoka ourselves and in November finished The Mandalorian with the boys.  Now it's Christmas episodes!
Most read post this month: Reading Recap - October 2024 and then Kool-Aid Cookies

December will, FINALLY, bring the end of school for Matt.  Semester break for the boys.  AND CHRISTMAS.  It's magical and crazy, all at once.

Looking Back at October 2024

October FLEW by, hard to believe we were still in cross country season a month ago!  That feels like much longer ago.  It's nice that wraps up right as the sunset is creeping early AND the temps are dropping.  I'm always a little sad to see that one over but we're already into the next SPORTS season!  Also bought pumpkins, had some cookouts, went to a high school football game, enjoyed the fall colors, celebrated Matt's birthday, AND had Halloween!  It was a month with a lot!

Looking back:
1 year ago: {14} Picture Books About Saints
2 years ago: A Being Green Update (I need to get back to doing these)
3 years ago: Travel: Amelia Island
4 years ago: Basic Buttery Biscuits (I still love these and have a batch in my freezer at this moment)
5 years ago: Creating a Reading Culture at Home
6 years ago: {11} Christmas Things to Think About NOW (I've been working on many of these!)
7 years ago: Miramar Beach, Florida (apparently October is when I've posted about beach vacations...should have gotten OBX up last month...)
8 years ago: Grandma's Sewing Machine
9 years ago: Nurturing My Brown Thumb (I still have that fake plant in the owl planter! It's out right now!
10 years ago: 6+ Weeks on Crutches (this was terrible)
11 years ago: A New Bench for a Simpler Look
13 years ago: Miami!
14 years ago: NYC!

 

1) Trying to fit in some zoo trips while the weather was still nice!  Matt actually made it with us a few times this month.
2) My dahlias still blooming beautifully!
3) Our annual pumpkin buying trip where we always end up with more than intended (I didn't buy this stack)....
4) But did get this mum and at least one of these, I think we grew the smaller one.
5) First hike in the woods for the month...
6) My FAVORITE tree in the whole city in it's prime.  I low-key stalk it for WEEKS to catch it when it's perfect.
7) With my tree.  Obviously needed a selfie.
8) Fall break, spent nearly 2 hours doing Perler beads with Sam.  Yoda took FOREVER but he was so excited about it.
9) Walking home from school, so pretty in October and the weather is so nice!
10) Once again, my blue morning glories ONLY come in the late fall.  Maybe September once or twice but nearly always October.  They are still beautiful though.
11) Even the leaves on the ground are pretty.
12) This was probably walking home from school again, just a different tree.
13) Another zoo trip, fall has the most beautiful light.
14) Hike through the woods #2 for the month...
15) Again, probably walking home from school.  Luckily our neighborhood has a lot of pretty trees.
16) Working with my tree while watching a Hart of Dixie Halloween episode, windows open.  Not a bad way to work.

 

Books finished: 19! My biggest reading month of the year, by far.  Had some shorter reads for myself and got through a few easy chapter books with my youngest too.  That helped.
Miles ran: 33.95! Pretty typical for what I run in October, but, man, I am ready to be done running.  I'm just tired of the time it takes.
Currently watching: We recently finished The Mandalorian series with the boys.  Matt has given up on The Perfect Couple and I still need to watch the last 2.  We just did a bunch of Halloween episodes and also are partway through Ahsoka, which I'm not super into but I just work on my puzzle more while it's on. 
Most read post this month: Unexpectedly, Book Love: The Vanderbeekers followed by Kool-Aid Cookies (which my younger son has been asking to make but we need to have an empty cookie jar first!)

November brings Thanksgiving and A LOT of Christmas prep.  So excited for it!!!

Looking Back at September 2024

September flew by but in the way that Labor Day weekend feels like forever ago.  Lots happened!  Matt started his FINAL semester of school.  Cross country season was in full swing (6 or 7 meets this month?), I ran a lot, Matt & I did our race, Sam did his final mile (in a 16 hour period our family collectively raced about 16.86 miles), the weather finally cooled off, I've started dreaming more about Christmas, and we picked some pumpkins from the garden! (We grew fewer small ones this year, completely accidentally.)  It feels like fall and September was a good, if somewhat busy, month. 

Looking back:
1 year ago: {8} First of the Month Routines (I just did these!)
2 years ago: {9} Picture Books Featuring Ghosts
3 years ago: Travel: Alabama
4 years ago: Book Love: The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
5 years ago: {14} Picture Books About Space
6 years ago: Organizing Temporary Items
7 years ago: Letting Vacation Change You
8 years ago: {5} Things that Excite Me About Fall
9 years ago: Strawberry Applesauce
10 years ago: Perfect Blueberry Muffins
11 years ago: Becoming a One Car Household
12 years ago: Things I Really Like Right Now - September (the very first one!)

1) Putting away summer decorations at the start of the month, I really liked this shell with this potted plant in the bathroom.
2) Checking out the red pandas at the zoo!  We didn't get there nearly as much in September as in August.  School. Sports.
3) Flowers from the backyard!
4) Downtown for the Farmers Market!  Fall is my favorite time to go.
5) Embassy on Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown day!  I love doing this event, as schedules allow.
6) Rooftop of said Embassy.  We tried this one 2 years ago but it was raining.  Great views.
7) The start of fall color! This tree by school is always on of the very first to turn.
8) Checking out my favorite tree about mid-month.  I haven't been by in awhile, need to see how far it's gotten.
9) Lemurs actually out at the zoo!  We're glad they are back, less glad at how far we have to walk to see them.  We're about 50/50 on seeing them out when we do make the trek!
10) I still have one kid that will hold my hand (but not all the time), I treasure when he actually will!
11) Beautiful fall leaves!  Trees are still pretty green here, a bit behind of last year's color change.
12) My morning glories! I haven't gotten any full dark blue ones yet but lots of these light blue ones.
13) Checked out a new local indie bookstore on it's second day opened!  So cute, will definitely be back.
14) Downtown looking nice when there for a meeting last week.
15) I have countless pictures of my kids with Johnny Tincap.  I think maybe my first with him??
16) I've run 6+ miles many times this month but when I do it in a race...I get a frozen coke.  I don't drink much pop but still love my occasional frozen coke.

Books finished: 13
Miles ran: 80.60!  The first time since June that I've hit my goal!
Currently watching: We're getting close to the end of The Mandalorian with the boys.  Matt & I are watching The Perfect Couple.
Most read post this month: August reading recap and then Kool-Aid Cookies
Luke's current favorite song:
Sam's current favorite song: 

 

October means Halloween, fall break, changing of sports seasons, and Matt's birthday!   Immediately followed by the start of the holiday season!

Looking Back at July 2024

It is August.  Nearly halfway into August!  July was a blur of a month with Matt having an intense school week, the boys doing vacation Bible school at church, and also a vacation!  Plus trying to get ahead of back to school things and soaking up what we had left of summer!  I knew July would fly when I was planning our summer and it really did.  

Looking back:
1 year ago: Looking Back at June 2023 (my only post this whole month)
2 years ago: Things I Like - July 2022 (my BELOVED sweatshirt I still take on every camping trip and LOVE).
3 years ago: What to Do With Fresh Peaches (I am going to be making sorbet today!)
4 years ago: Backyard String Lights - a How-To and Shopping List
5 years ago: {5} Times I Got the America Feeling
6 years ago: On Fridays I Wear Blue (I've changed the blue shirts but I do still do this most every week)
7 years ago: {25} (More) Things About Me
8 years ago: Friday Five: Childhood Vacation Places I'm Most Looking Forward to Revisiting (we just went back to the OBX!) (And I wrote 22 posts this July!)
9 years ago: Things I Like - July (I just tried to wear #2 to a wedding this past weekend and one of them broke when we were already at church (but Matt could bring me a different pair of shoes).  Luckily, I think they can be glued and I can keep wearing them.) (I picked this post solely to tell that story.)
10 years ago: Reasons Why the Drive-In is Awesome (And You Should Go)
11 years ago: Getting Rid of Stuff (our basement is no longer this clean)

 

1) My flowers blooming so well!  They do not look quite this good anymore.
2) Got donuts to celebrate the 4th of July.  Donuts are good for any celebration.
3) Our 4th of July dessert tray.  I go ALL IN on the red, white, and blue for the 4th. 
4) See! Red, white, and blue!  All in.  Also, very in on blueberries on my cereal this summer.
5) Fireworks at my bff's annual BBQ.  Always fun!
6) I was delighted by all the blue in the picture (this isn't too hard, I surround my life with blue). 
7) The boys got really into crab apples when visiting Matt during his college week.  Were we supposed to be picking the crab apples??  Who knows.  We left behind WAY MORE than we took. (Which was like 2 handfuls total.)
8) Maybe the latest evening run I've ever done, I much prefer mornings, but the sunset was nice!
9) An afternoon visit to Notre Dame!  I had only been once before, in high school, and it was fun (and hot) to walk around.
10) The Basilica at Notre Dame is STUNNING.  Also, great air conditioning.
11) Renewed our zoo pass and made quite a few trips before school started!  Red pandas are always a favorite.
12) The Outer Banks!  I'll have more to say about this, eventually!
13) Bodie Island Lighthouse, I love a good lighthouse.
14) A rare morning reading before the boys were awake.  With running and various schedules...this didn't happen much this summer!
15) A peacock at the zoo, I am always delighted to see them in all their splendor.
16) Raspberries going CRAZY in the backyard.  Regularly picking a good handful and eating straight from the bush.  For bushes we got for free, this is pretty fun. 

Books finished: 13
Miles ran: 51.75, barely more than June but I had to give up on hitting my 60 mile goal after messing up my knee playing in the waves on vacation.  I'm back to running now but took a week off in late July/early August for it to heal!
Currently watching: It was a lot of Olympics!  We haven't gotten back to anything since that's been over.
Most read post this month: Fizzy Flamingo (I continue to be baffled by this) and then Kool-Aid Cookies (not baffled by that, those cookies are great).
Luke's current favorite song: "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.  This is very guitar related.
Sam's current favorite song:  "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.  This is solely because it's one of the few songs Luke can play (part of) on his electric guitar.

August has brought SCHOOL.  Also, a family wedding already (Matt, Luke, and Sam all had a part!) and soon Matt's final semester break!  Getting close to him being 75% done!!!!  He's even agreed that Christmas will be extra exciting this year.

Looking Back at June 2024

June is done! The year AND the summer are both half done!  June was much less busy than May (Mat is always crazy).  We had two camping trips: making 3 mid-week nights at our beloved Jellystone and then a weekend with (barely half, still 21 people) my family later in the month.  I front loaded our summer with doctor appointments - annual physicals and such, knowing how July always FLIES by.  So some of that.  But also a decent amount of time at home!  Which is what I want a lot of in the summer.  It's the rare day during the school year that we go NOWHERE.  I treasure those days when we get them! 

Looking back:
1 year ago: Things the Boys Like - June 2023 (I think the last one I did based on the boys??)
2 years ago: A Different Me After Vacation (but still mostly the same)
3 years ago: Vacation Ponderings
4 years ago: Things Luke & Sam Like - 7¼ & 2¼
5 years ago: Patriotic Kabobs
6 years ago: New York City #4 - day 3
7 years ago: 10 Things I Dislike About Our House (we have fewer toys in the shower now).
8 years ago: NYC Notes: Our 3rd {3} Day Visit
9 years ago: Festive 4th of July Fruit Pizza Cookies
10 years ago: Bathroom Update: We have tile in the shower (I was just talking to Matt about this, I was pretty sure it was 4th of July weekend when we could finally use our shower again)
11 years ago: A Big Cloth Diapering Post
12 years ago: Dingle to Cobh

1) Sam has regularly been picking me flowers for my desk and/or my nightstand! It's very sweet.
2) Jellystone.  It is our favorite campground and the only one we return to every summer.  We're just always delighted to be back.
3) Every trip I take a picture with my tea in front of the cabin we stayed in 3 times...even though we haven't stayed in that cabin our last 2 trips (luckily there hasn't been anyone else staying in those exact times either).
4) Rained but beautiful golden hour with the puddles.  I don't get these views walking back from the shower at home (....probably because I'm not walking back from the shower at home).
5) Just so many giant trees in the part of the campground we've stayed in for each of our 6 visits (although in 3 different cabins and 1 tent site).
6) Ice cream.  When camping we have ice cream almost every night. 
7) Daisies!  These were at church! I've never successfully grown them here.
8) Reading on the porch with my tea, I picked specifically this one because I am wearing jeans which means this wasn't the week it was 90°+ every day...
9) Sam was so excited to pull me away from dishes to see this hawk, or whatever this large bird in the alley was.
10) I finally made margaritas and they were delicious (this recipe).
11) Reading outside by the pool*!  One of my favorite things to do in the summer. (*inflatable kid pool)
12) I always appreciate when I can use my flamingo koozie with Naturdays (flamingos on the can).
13) Snack at the Farmers Market with Sam.  Our first outdoor market of the year!
14) My niece made me a bracelet that fits right in with my other beaded bracelets!
15) Camping with my family, our cabin with a nice patio.  We were right between two of my sisters! (We planned and paid for that arrangement.)
16) Walking over the little stream to get the pool and/or playground.  I had a kid who liked to play in this stream.  It's where we found him multiple times.

Books finished: 18!  A few trips in there helped as well as just the laid back parts of summer (which isn't every day).
Miles ran: 51.55!  My running just keeps ramping up until the fall now (as long as, fingers crossed, I stay healthy and injury free)
Currently watching: We just  finished season 2 of The Mandalorian with the boys and Matt & I are on to season 3 of Welcome to Wrexham.
Most read post this month: Same as last month, Fizzy Flamingo and then Kool-Aid Cookies
Luke's current favorite song: "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath - He recently bought an electric guitar and this is the song his cousin is teaching him to play.
Sam's current favorite song:

July is summer busy with my kids at Vacation Bible School this week, my birthday, and Matt has a lot of school!  I DO NOT want to think about how soon school is starting.  It's just way too soon.  Still lots of summer to soak in!

Looking Back at May 2024

Well May was a blur.  A BLUR.  We had a camping trip, our anniversary, Mother's Day, the end of soccer season, the end of Luke's school band, a baseball game, a run at the zoo, the end of school, Memorial Day weekend, a trip to Kings Island, and a few days at home.  There was A LOT going on and how the month started (Matt on semester break, boys in school) was very different from how the month ended (Matt back in school, boys on summer break).  We're nearly 3 weeks into summer break and we have had very few days just at home, or even just at home during the day.  Summer is off to a busy start but also appreciating the slower times we do have!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Day in the Life #14 (one of my very last days with just Sam home)
2 years ago: Sewing a Pennant (this is still hanging up!  Usually does from the boys' March birthdays through summer break!)
3 years ago: {10} Green Changes We're Making
4 years ago: Why I Log All the Books I Read to my Kids
5 years ago: {5} Surprising Benefits to the Pre-8am School Run (I think of this post towards the end of every school year)
6 years ago: Reflections on Mother's Day (I probably link to this every May but all the feelings are still very valid.  And I cry rereading it.)
7 years ago: Lessons in Adulting: Never Pass Up the Opportunity to Pee (I was JUST telling my boys about this, again, this weekend)
8 years ago: Painting my Drawers (these have held up pretty well, 8 years later!)
9 years ago: Cloth Diapers - 2 years in
10 years ago: Practically Free Organizing Boxes (I think I still have and use all of these that I made TEN years ago!)
11 years ago: An Ode to Our (former) Jet Skis
12 years ago: England Day 2

1) Camping in early May!  We had wonderful weather and all enjoyed returning to a campground we had previous enjoyed!
2) Beautiful early evening at camp!
3) Sam watching his brother play soccer...under a tornado watch.  They called the game once there was lightning...
4) Allium in the backyard!
5) At the drive-in for our anniversary date.  It got colder than I expected, Matt found one of the boys' winter hats in the car and I gladly wore it.  I thought my winter coat would have been overkill.  It would not have been.
6) At a baseball game with Matt's work way too soon after running a hot 5k.  It was very unpleasant to change from running clothes to baseball game clothes without a shower in between (we were trying to get to the free food before it closed!)
7) Peony!  Their season is so short but I was glad we had them!
8) Celebrating the last day of school downtown with pizza and...
9) Ice cream!
10) Had the park almost entirely to ourselves for a bit which is very rare!
11) At Kings Island, in line with Luke for the Diamondback!  My favorite roller coaster.
12) I ran over by myself to ride Orion (of their biggest that we didn't get to do until this year). It was a short line and fun experience!
13) Graeter's at Kings Island!  The only food we ever buy in the park and it always feels like college.
14) Made a super quick stop at UD on the drive back north the next day. Wearing my UD shirt in front of my old dorm! The tree I could see over 22 years ago now covers the window!
15) The chapel!  One of my favorite spots on campus, then and now.
16) A rare morning we were home AND I got in a run, shower, and reading before the boys were awake!

Books finished: 10.  Lots of things in May cut into my reading time!
Miles ran: 28.85 miles!  Getting back into a steady running routine!
Currently watching: We're still watching The Mandalorian with the boys (on season 2!) and Matt & I are still watching Welcome to Wrexham (on season 2!).
Most read post this month: Fizzy Flamingo and then Kool-Aid Cookies
Luke's current favorite song: "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath (I don't know that he has ever heard the real song, he just hums the opening to it ALL.THE.TIME.)
Sam's current favorite song: "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" by Toby Keith

June has already brought another camping trip and other fun summer stuff in the plan!

Looking Back at April 2024

Somehow it is May.  January was 1000 days long and every month since has flown.  We are now staring down the final few weeks of school and I'm in shock that this school year has gone by like it has.  Wasn't I just a mess about sending my baby to kindergarten???  April was plenty busy with spring break, the eclipse, Luke starting soccer (the most low key sport and I love it), Matt finishing up his second semester which means he's HALFWAY DONE (still a long 8 months to go), and real spring weather!  I've been running somewhat regularly, walking to and from school, opening windows, and trying to get ahead on things for the summer!  Matt will be in school all summer which puts a bit of a damper on plans but it's just this one summer.  All downhill from here!!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Some Royally Good Reads
2 years ago: 40 Hours in Saint Louis
3 years ago: {9} Picture Books About Actual Women
4 years ago: Painting the FINAL Kitchen Cupboard
5 years ago: What Happened When My Husband (Mostly) Gave Up Screens for 90 Days
6 years ago: A Star Wars/Legos/Superhero Party
7 years ago: When Recycling Isn't So Easy
8 years ago: Homemade Burb Cloths (I made over 200 of these over the years)
9 years ago: Perfect (and Easy) Cinnamon Rolls (these are still the ones I make)
10 years ago: Real Expenses: One Year of Formula & Diapering
11 years ago: Thoughts of a First Time Parent
12 years ago: Frustrating but then Uplifting

 

1) Dying eggs over spring break! (Easter season is 50 days long so this often happens after Easter here.)  But most of us don't eat hard boiled eggs so my sister's pigs got some of them!
2) FLOWERS.  I am always delighted by the beauty of spring.
3) A terrible picture of a real highlight of the year, the complete solar eclipse!!!  We drove 30 minutes (75 minutes home) for full totality and it was truly incredible and now I want to see more.  And will take a camera besides my iphone next time.
4) I am frequently distracted by flowers when walking or running around the neighborhood.
5) The summer of 2022 I really wanted a bird selfie after I spent so much time sitting right next to this feeder.  I finally got it on morning of the first day of school, in the final moments of summer.  And then this bird was the least shy bird we've ever had of the hundreds I've sat next to!  I took video, a picture, it did not care.  It just wanted to eat. 
6) Tulips!  One of my favorites!
7) My camera roll is mostly flowers right now.  This was at the park I think.
8) Our red bud being amazing.  Even though it's been blooming for many years now, it's still exciting many years after it was just a stick in our yard for a few years.  And I'm rather proud we planted a tree and have lived here long enough to see it get so big!
9) More tulips!  Around the neighborhood or at a park, the squirrels ate all mine a few years ago.
10) I don't know what this tree is but I would like one.  They are so pretty.
11) Would you look at that, more flowering trees.  They are amazing!
12) The red bud in it's fully glory in the backyard.  I definitely went down a rabbit hole finding pictures of it every year we've had it, turns out I found something I didn't obsessively document!  Probably because we had very low expectations for it.
13) Cut some lilacs for next to my bed and they smell amazing.
14) Yes, still our red bud.  It's our only tree and we get excited about it.
15) String lights up!  It's rare we've had them up when the red bud is still blooming!
16) And tulips downtown!  I take pictures of these pretty much every year!

Books finished: 13, a few bogged me down a bit this month!
Miles ran: 16.3!  Slowly getting back to running shape!
Currently watching: We're watching The Mandalorian with the boys and Matt & I are watching Welcome to Wrexham.
Most read post this month: Fizzy Flamingo and then NYC #4 days 1 & 2
Luke's current favorite song: "I Can Feel It" by Kane Brown
Sam's current favorite song: "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynryd Skynyrd

MAY! Our anniversary, Mother's Day, and the end of the boys' school year!  This month will speed by too!

Looking Back at March 2024

There was a time that I really didn't like March.  It felt like a transitional month that it was sometimes spring, sometimes winter, when I worked full-time it was FULL tax season grind, it's usually all or nearly all Lent...just not a lot to like about the month.  THEN...we got two boys with March birthdays and that significantly gives the month some more cheer.  As well as throwing their annual joint birthday party every year.  The weather is still very hit or miss and there is still (usually) the Lent of it all...but I can certainly tolerate it better than I used to be able to!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Non-Parenting Books that Made Me Rethink Parenting
2 years ago: The Hardest Working Rooms in our House
3 years ago: My FabFitFun Experience
4 years ago: {10} Series I'm Currently Reading
5 years ago: Dingle
6 years ago: Things That Make Me Feel Like Me
7 years ago: Chairs with History
8 years ago: A Major Improvement to our Pantry (Cupboard)
9 years ago: Covering Books with Fabric
11 years ago: Applesauce Granola
12 years ago: Paperwork is In

 

1) A bike ride downtown to celebrate our first March birthday of the month!  It was a gorgeous day! (We got ice cream.)
2) A backyard sunset!
3) Finishing up wrestling season!!!!  That was less than a month ago but already feels like forever ago. 
4) Taking fruit salad to our family monthly Sunday brunch and it was colorful and delicious.
5) Hyacinths at the grocery store, my favorite early spring smell.
6) Visiting my sister's farm to help out after she had a baby.  I took this picture of the baby bunnies to show my youngest but then never did show him because he would have been mad he missed them.
7) Sunset from leaving the wrestling banquet.  A beautiful end to a long season!
8) Reading on the couch with my tea.  My mental reset most days.
9) Hyacinth in our backyard!!!  This one is such a pretty color.  I am always so glad I planted these a few years ago.  They've been in bloom for a month!
10) Went to do my taxes at my parents' house and my mom played Monopoly (the regular LOONG one) with my boys and then served us homemade strawberry shortcake.  (Matt had a full weekend of school - some 28 hours over Saturday and Sunday.)  My tax seasons look very different now!
11) Doing a lot of math and measuring to mark for our new gallery wall that went up!  My goal was before the boys' birthday party and we finished hanging them between a wedding and reception the day before the party...  Also, repping UD here while their played their first March Madness game!
12) Daffodils in the yard!  We've always had a lot of these and they are so cheery!
13) Making Milk Bar Compost Cookies, got to the point where I had to mix them by hand so I didn't break my mixer but then broke a spatula (certainly cheaper to replace than a whole Kitchenaid Mixer!).  It's always fun throwing all the add-ins into these!
14) We've been skipping the birthday cake for a few years now and this year did mostly cookies, largely to save on dishes but also because I prefer cookies to cake and I'm the one prepping them.  I thought this was a pretty good selection and they were very well received (there are compost cookies, kool-aid cookies in lemon and strawberry, my favorite chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and Aldi knock-off Girl Scout samoa cookies)
15) I LOVE all the blooming bushes and trees right now!  It's so exciting to be outside!
16) I helped decorate church for Easter and purposely put tulips and calla lilies together in a pot since that's what I carried together in my wedding bouquet!

Books finished: 13
Miles ran: 2 and it was TOUGH.  I was still getting over a bug when we had nice weather early in the month so I wasn't running and it's just HARD to get back in running shape!
Currently watching: I've been slowly making my way through The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) on Disney+, while eating lunch or folding laundry.   But there are NO SHOWS we are regularly watching!
Most read post this month: NYC #4, Days 1 & 2, Fizzy Flamingo, and I am tickled that Kool-Aid Cookies are up there again!
Luke's current favorite song: "Jesus Can" by Austin French
Sam's current favorite song: "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

April!!!  Realizing how quick the end of the school year will be coming and all the things I'd like to get done before that happens!  But the 10 day forecast looks great and I'm excited to, hopefully, be through the bulk of the winter.  Time to make serious plans for summer! (Let's be honest...I really started that last August.)