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 August 2024

August was the big transition from summer to school.  Looking back at pictures, it feels like we got a lot into one month!  The month was nearly bookended with camping trips, had our best weather ever at Warren Dunes, many zoo trips, Matt finished a semester and ended the month on break, the boys started the month on break and are back into their school, had a niece get married where Sam was a ring bearer, we got 7 fish and successfully had 3 still alive at the end of the month, and Luke is fully in SPORTS season!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Being a Kindergarten Empty Nester (this transition was SO HARD)
2 years ago: Travel: Acadia National Park (remains one of our very favorite trips ever)
3 years ago: {10} Picture Books about Bees
4 years ago: Book Love: Florance Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland (I should reread this book)
5 years ago: Back to School Routine (when I still had a tiny Sam home with me!)
6 years ago: Thoughts of a First Time Kindergarten Mom (oh man, this was ALSO a hard transition)
7 years ago: Drive-In Love (Sam & I were just talking last night how we need to take the boys back to the drive-in.)
8 years ago: Turning a Door into a Head Board (this is currently not in use, some day, since the boys have bunk beds but still very happy with this project)
9 years ago: Every Month I'm Cupboard Painting (this project feels SO LONG AGO)
10 years ago: The Bathroom is Done!!! (basically)  This summer marked 10 years since our 6 weeks without a shower!
11 years ago: I made pillows!! (We still have these!)

 

1) Back home from trips and reading on the porch.  I just read out there this morning too!
2) And back to eating ice cream next to pools, we did this in the Outer Banks too.
3) Coloring while watching some Olympics at camp! Not the first Olympics we've watched from a camping cabin!  (This was a women's gymnastics event final, I forget which.  I scheduled my days around women's gymnastics that week.)
4) The best day we've ever had at Warren Dunes.  Water was 74°! Sand was hot but water was wonderful.  Some of those rare days Lake Michigan is actually tolerable.
5) Back at the zoo!  Made it quite a bit this month considering trips, school, and sports!
6) Picking raspberries from the backyard bushes we got for free! Not enough to do much with but a nice handful snack whenever we're out!
7) Morning glories are blooming! Although my favorite blue ones (which I definitely planted) haven't bloomed yet.  They are always last of all the colors.
8) Sno-cones to celebrate the first day of school!
9) Ice cream at a new place downtown to celebrate Sam's adoption day!
10) One of our surviving fish! Which isn't one of the 5 we bought but one we got from niece's wedding reception (we also had fish on the tables at our wedding!).  Only 1/5 of the ones we bought was still alive 4 days later...
11) Breakfast date with Matt after school started.  One benefit to that I guess.
12) Flowers from Matt!
13) Another ride at the zoo!  Took advantage of BOTH free zoo ride coupons for members. 
14) Not my sunflower, ours haven't grown in 2 years despite planting them.  But they are still so cheery.
15) Back at our beloved Jellystone, we are maybe collectively happier there than nearly any other place.  And in a fancier cabin since it was not prime season.
16) Golfing with Yogi.  I won. 

Books finished: 14, getting into a better reading routine with school starting.
Miles ran: 59.1, not as many as I wanted but took off a week at the start of the month to let a knee injury heal and then it was slow getting my miles back up after that.
Currently watching: Matt & I have been watching old (like 18 years old) episodes of It's Always Sunny for lack of any other shows and no time for a movie by the time we get the boys to bed.  Very open to suggestions!  With the boys it's usually Dude Perfect or a movie (often broken up over two nights...)  They surprisingly very much enjoyed Snow White!
Most read post this month: Fizzy Flamingo, I still don't get it.  Then Kool-Aid Cookies which I DO get.

September brings on fall!  In my mind, summer is somewhat over when school starts and REALLY over with Labor Day weekend.  Now we're anticipating fall, my biggest running month, Luke's biggest sports month of the fall, and Matt has already started his FINAL semester.  We're VERY MUCH looking forward to that being done.

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 February 2023

Oh February, looking back at these pictures I forgot about half of these things happened.  I'm chalking that up to a big event I had been working on for months wrapping up in February and then immediately diving into a rather intense wrestling schedule.  There has been so much wrestling in my life in the last 3 weeks.  So much. 

BUT...there was also a lot of good things like a date with Matt, reading, puzzles, Legos, quiet morning at home with Sam, the treasured no homework nights with Luke.  Plus some good spring cleaning AND many spring like days! 

Looking back:
1 year ago: Making Our Stair Travel Wall
2 years ago: How I Became a Planner Person
3 years ago: When I Make Time To Read (this has changed a little but mostly the same!)
4 years ago: Organizing Makes My Heart Sing (I was surprised this was 4 years ago!)
5 years ago: A Photobook Update
6 years ago: Homemade Goo Gone (still use this all the time)
7 years ago: Photography part 3: Back That Up (I still do this almost exactly the same)
8 years ago: Attacking the Problem Areas: Painting the Office/Craft Cupboard (finally)
9 years ago: "Before We Had Kids..." (I was just thinking about this as we started a new Lego set together last weekend.)
10 years ago: Things I Like - February (#4 made me laugh)
11 years ago: Intake

1) We bought an electric pencil sharpener and I cannot tell you the joy it gives me to have all of these colored pencils perfectly sharpened.
2) I believe a 2 hour delay was to thank for my getting to read in the morning with my tea.
3) A date with Matt downtown!  Even if it was just 90 minutes at a coffee shop.
4) Building Legos!  Took a break from puzzles to do a quick Lego set.
5) My pothos looks more pathetic in pictures than I realized.
6) Finishing the last Christmas cookie!  Only took a week-ish in to February!
7) Signs of spring!  I think these are daffodils but I could be very wrong about that.
8) DONUTS.  When setting up for our event in February!  That was a whirlwind of a day but such a relief to have it done!
9) Photobook fun with Matt.  The sticker is a quote from G.K. Chesterton "Marriage is an adventure, like going to war."  It made me laugh.
10) We got a quiet 10 minutes on Valentine's Day to eat our favorite ice cream sundae together and that was a miracle.
11) Doing some cleaning out and getting my sisters' opinion of if I could keep this jar of unidentified sand. 
12) Sunset in the backyard!
13) Puzzling while watching The Devil Wears Prada.  Rather enjoyable combination.
14) An icy and wet Ash Wednesday.
15) My puzzle work was very sporadic on this one so satisfying to wrap up!
16) Wrapped up one school/church committee and dove into another - sorting prizes for our parish carnival.  It was...random.

Books finished: 12! Less than January but if I had 3 more days I could have fit in another!
Miles ran: 0.00 but weather might cooperate to start again soon!
Currently watching: Matt & I just blew through Shrinking on Apple TV last weekend and really enjoyed it!
Most read post this month: {9} Things Saving My Winter - 2023 Edition
Luke's current favorite song: We'll go with "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n' Roses
Sam's current favorite song: He says "Shut Up and Dance" by WALK THE MOON

March brings SPRING.  Birthdays for both boys, three birthday parties to host, spring break, and the end of wrestling!! All fun things!

Looking Back at January 2023

 Happy February and the final weeks of winter (according to me and only me).  I am writing this though with the porch door open, it's 50° outside, and Matt WALKED to school pick-up, the first time either of us have done that since November.  However, I am fully expecting some more snow before March.  And probably in March too.

I just watched a story on Jenna Fischer's Instagram where she was talking about how she expected this new year to be less hectic than the Christmas season but that has not been the case.  I can completely relate to that.  We are deep into our first wrestling season with an intense 4 weeks ahead of us.  I am on FOUR committees at church/school (had 4 meetings for those in January).  One is wrapping up very soon for the year although maybe not soon enough for my sanity (there was a day this week I just texted Matt: "I am so stressed. I am so stressed.").  Life is BUSY but looking forward to about March when many things will settle down...other than birthdays and the parties that come with those and you know, general life.  There is value to our kids doing sports, just didn't realize the stress it would give me!

Anyways, life is good but full.  

Looking back:
1 year ago: Author Love: Sara Ackerman
2 years ago: Things I Like - January (I still wear #1 all the time)
3 years ago: Book Love: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
4 years ago: {18} Winter Picture Books (solid list, we've read or have on hold all of these for this winter too)
5 years ago: Book Love: The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (I've actually thought about this book A LOT lately)
6 years ago: Basement Pantry - Organized
7 years ago: Book Love: Big Magic (and why I think you should blog)
8 years ago: A big project: Photography organizing (I still do this almost identical to what I outline here!)
9 years ago: Office renovations
10 years ago: Things I Like - January (I actually still have 4 of these!  I reference one below!)
 

1) Puzzling!  A lot of puzzling in January.  Happy to have my puzzle table back for now. (It is taken down in the summer and fall, no time!)
2) Family fun day before Luke went back to school after Christmas.  It's an adventure!
3) Checking out Electric Works downtown and even the bathrooms were nice and redone!
4) Electric Works food hall, this whole place was cool and it feels like Fort Wayne will be getting some recognition for this.
5) My annual Christmas break frozen coke.  Mmmmm.  I used to get one every week but now it's only a handful a year and I treasure each one.
6) The saddest part of Christmas - taking it all down.  This isn't even all the bottle brush trees I had just in our bedroom...
7) Scone and reading on a Friday.  It's delightful.
8) I hate taking down Christmas but I appreciated the simplcity of this view once it was done!
9) January date with Matt.  Delicious tacos that fed me for 2 days.
10) More puzzles with Waitress.  I watch this movie every January and this was my first time watching it since I saw the musical last spring!
11) A snow day with e-learning.  This was cup of tea number 2 for the day.  It was A DAY.
12) The snow just kept coming.  There was a lot of it. 
13) Headed out on a walk in the snow with the family.  My moon snow boots are ridiculous but I've had them 14 years or something and have never regretted that purchase.
14) Coming home from somewhere...I don't often see this view in heavy snow because I am trying to leave my house as little as possible...
15) Blue skies and snow!  I love when this happens.  Also because it helps clear up the streets.
16) I bought these plate hangers from my sister a year ago, at least.  Finally used them to hang the plate Luke colored me in kindergarten and the plate Matt colored his mom when he was in kindergarten.  And then also an Alamo plate our goddaughter gave us for Christmas.
 

Books finished: 14, a respectable start to the year!
Miles ran: 0.0  Too cold and snowy/icy!
Currently watching: I've started Valentine's episodes and am still trying to catch up with The Office Ladies podcast.  Matt & I are back to the Marvel tv shows on Disney+ after catching up with Star Wars.  She-Hulk isn't great.
Most read post this month: Still Stripping: Laundry Style and then {9} Things Saving Me This Winter
Luke's current favorite song: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n Roses.  This one is fully thanks to our Guitar Hero 3 for PS2 that we have in the basement that Luke really loves getting to play sometimes. 
Sam's current favorite song: "Bad Boys" as in, the theme from Cops.  A show he's definitely never seen.  But he's dancing to it next to me right now as I play the Youtube video.

February brings the end of winter, SO MUCH wrestling, and Valentine's Day!

Looking Back at December 2022

It's (nearly) the end of December and another year!  Year recap coming (hopefully) tomorrow but have to wrap up December on the blog here, even if it's not actually wrapped up yet!  Noteworthy in December was, obviously, Christmas and all that entails.  Despite the cold, December is my favorite month of the year!  And, also, I broke my toe.  (Very likely, I did not get it x-rayed.)  Bringing in a recycle bin.  And I am still rather committed to recycling even though it, kinda, injured me.

Looking back:
1 year ago: Christmas Season Decide Once
2 years ago: Christmas Media to Consume (I still read/watch most of these!)
3 years ago: Mixed Drink Monday: Cran-Apple Sangria
4 years ago: What I Hope My Boys Remember About Christmas
5 years ago: Christmas Traditions
6 years ago: Christmas at Grandma's (I suspect I will think about this now finished tradition, every Sunday before Christmas, for decades to come)
7 years ago: Adorable Wooden Christmas Trees (the start of my mini Christmas tree obsession/hoarding)
8 years ago: Mixed Drink Monday: Carmel Apple Cider (I just drank this again the other night!)
9 years ago: Christmas traditions
10 years ago: Things I Like - December (I still own #2 although they've just been in my closet for years...too pretty to purge)
11 years ago: 2011 Goals (maybe when I really started on minimalizing?)
12 years ago: Stairs are (almost) done! (This was a horrible project.)
13 years ago: Long Thanksgiving Weekend! (This is how long I've had my office bamboo floors!)

1) Two of my sisters did some kid swapping so I had two school days to prep Christmas.  Which meant December 1st I did a lot of wrapping!
2) Trying to decide if I like my fake Target Uggs.  Turns out, I did and wear them A LOT.
3) The Christmas tree looking great!
4) Wrapping day #2!  These two days with no kids helped SO MUCH.
5) Cutting out cookies with the boys on school night!  Always feels special to do something fun on a school night!
6) Had a meeting unexpectedly canceled which meant Sam & I had surprise time to sew!  Whipped up a pillow cover from a blanket scarf leftover from my craft bazaar days!
7) My annual watching of Pearl Harbor while making baklava!
8) And more Pearl Harbor while doing a Christmas puzzle.  I made myself wait to start this one until I was pretty caught up on Christmas things. And by December 10th I was!
9) Watching The OC Christmas episode while catching up my bullet journal.  I probably watch more tv in December than any other month of the year.
10) The PERFECT blue when Matt & I were getting coffee on our date this month.
11) Drinking tea and reading in front of the tree.  I love it when I can make this happen.
12) About 3 weeks after I put them out, I finally put batteries in my mercury glass trees.  Guess what, they look even better with lights!
13) Onto another puzzle and of my favorite Christmas episodes (season 3 of American Dreams, I cry every. single. year.)
14) Headed to Christmas mass 75 minutes early so Luke could warm up with the choir.  Wearing heels with a broken toe in the ice/snow.  Hurt less than I expected. 
15) I think Luke offered to take my picture with my stocking on Boxing day!
16) And I matched my nails to my new purse (accidentally).  I am FIRMLY committed to a certain color family.

Books finished: Hopefully.....27.  I decided mid-December I was going to try for 175 for the year which meant cramming in some reading.  I read A LOT this month, but, also, many of those were shorter books!  I haven't actually finished that many yet!
Miles ran: 0.00, weather didn't work to run like I did last December!
Currently watching: We are cruising through the Star Wars series on Disney+!  Finished Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Kenobi, and are now on Andor, even though we don't understand what's going on.  Also, watched so many Christmas episodes and loved it all.  
Most read post this month: Stripping: Laundry Style but Cran-Apple Sangria got it's annual December bump in views for second!
Luke's current favorite song: Anything on the classic hits station!
Sam's current favorite song: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams.  We listened to it...so much in December.  

Enjoy these last few days of 2022!  It's one of the best weeks of the year!

Looking Back at November 2022

 

 

 

This month went really fast.  How is it December?!?!?  But then I look at pictures and realize I started this month picking flowers from my backyard and gasping, more than one morning, at how many BLUE morning glories I had blooming.  I'm ending it in full Christmas mode with chilly days and a tree in my house.  I RAN this month which was only a few weeks ago but also feels like a really long time ago.  

There was a lot of Christmas prep and some crazy weeks but also, a lot of goodness.  Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful and now I'm back to Christmas nearly all the time which brings me, mostly, joy.  BUT...how is 2023 in less than a month?!?!?!?

Looking back:
1 year ago: {12} Cozy December Reads for Grown-Ups
2 years ago: The Holidays Will Look Different This Years
3 years ago: The Best Target Black Friday Deal (they no longer do this and I lament that every year)
4 years ago: Viva Las Vegas! (look at me with a baby and getting travel posts up quick!)
5 years ago: {7} Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (I still use all these items, other than a few having been replaced for an upgraded version.)
6 years ago: Beauty in the Morning (I still miss this, all the time, darn school start times.)
7 years ago: Sew Me a Tote Bag (in 30 minutes of less) - I still use these all the time!
8 years ago: {4} Ingredient Home-Style Potato Soup (I still eat this, so much, in the winter.  Including 45 minutes ago.)
9 years ago: Helpful Hints: Make New Candles, Get Rid of the Old (I still do this, burning one of the consolidated ones right now!)
10 years ago: It's Almost the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
11 years ago: Kitchen Project
12 years ago: Guess What We Did This Weekend? (every time I see pictures from this project I remember how we got infertility news while we were in the middle of this and it was HORRIBLE to have that heartbreak on top of our house being a disaster)
13 years ago: On Vacation!

1) Picking flowers, many of them, from my yard in November.  That is crazy.
2) Still some gorgeous trees earlier this month!
3) My shirt almost matched the morning glories.
4) Seriously, so many BLUE morning glories at the start of the month.  It was AMAZING.  The most I've ever had, by far.
5) I decided to stop using the stroller when we just walk to pickup (we did run to pickup a few times still and used one) and it's lovely that he'll still hold my hand. 
6) Date with Matt to start on the will process AND try a new coffee place.  One of those was much cheaper than the other.
7) Rode our bikes downtown in November to see Santa going up!  It's not always it's still warm enough to do that by the time they are working on Santa!
8) Same bike ride, had a very tight schedule to make this happy, sun setting over the river!
9) Some rare and brief quiet time to read.
10) Photo by Sam.  I was probably working on my to-do list OR my secondary to-do list.  Never enough lists.
11) I WON Memory again both boys.  I document this every time it happens.
12) Making first 2 batches of chex mix of the season!  I just made the second double batch this morning!
13) Night of Lights downtown!
14) Addressing my Christmas cards while watching The Family Stone and this is one of my favorite solo evenings of the entire year.  I LOVE IT.
15) Black Friday and getting out all my bottle brush and other trees.  I honestly had fewer than I thought.
16) Occasional 50° day means we got to decorate outside without freezing!  Some years I can't feel my fingers when I do this!

Books finished: 13, respectable but still my worst reading year (quantity wise) since 2016!
Miles ran: 12.5, made it my 3rd most miles since I've been tracking! (8 years!)
Currently watching: We just finished The Book Of Boba Fett (which really should have been called The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian and Grogu) so I think we start Kenobi this weekend but we've also been sprinkling in Christmas episodes, I just finished the last of the Friends Christmas episodes last night!
Most read post this month: It's Stripping: Laundry Style, again!  So many people have read that post that it's making me think I should strip my laundry again.
Luke's current favorite song: "All Star" by Smash Mouth.  He sings this CONSTANTLY.  It's very much high school era for Matt & I!
Sam's current favorite song: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams

December brings ALL THE CHRISTMAS ALL THE TIME.  I am not ready to think about what happens when Christmas ends!

Looking Back at October 2022

October!  This felt like a very long month, in a good way.  There was also a lot going on, I stress cried more than once, and we went to Texas.  This month contained many things!  The biggest accomplishment might have been surviving Halloween, a holiday that I thought I was coming around on but then we had to get through trick or treating ON A MONDAY and I am back to hating it.  Maybe I like most things about Halloween other than the actual celebrating of it?  Because the anticipatory sugar energy and the consumed sugar energy and the hungover sugar energy is all A LOT.  AND ON A MONDAY.  But, happier days, meaning Thanksgiving & Christmas, are ahead and Halloween is behind us for another 360 days.

Looking back:
1 year ago: {9} Pumpkin Picture Books (read these all again this year!)
2 years ago: Basic Buttery Biscuits (I'm going to eat one of these in about 3 minutes)
3 years ago: Creating a Reading Culture at Home (I've read 1700+ books to the boys in 10 months this year...we're pretty successful at this reading culture)
4 years ago: Flying with a Baby - The Nitty Gritty (recently flew with a 4½ year old...less gear and no diapers or formula...but also a kid who can run.  I have THOUGHTS on which was easier.)
5 years ago: {6} Christmas Things to Think About Now (I've worked on all of these already!)
6 years ago: Sewing Clutch Time (I still use these!)
7 years ago: DIY Coconut Oil Face Scrub (I STILL use this daily)
8 years ago: My Current Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies (still my favorite, baking some today!)
9 years ago: A New Bench for a Simpler Look (still basically the same, 9 years later!)
10 years ago: Embrace the Conflict (this still applies today)
11 years ago: Miami! (Been thinking about this trip a lot lately!)
12 years ago: NYC! (This remains among my favorite of our trips)

1) The sunlight was GORGEOUS when we finished our 10k at the beginning of the month.  Chilliest run I've had there but we still had a good (for us) pace!
2) Kicked off October also with getting our pumpkins!  Only 3 rotted (we bought at least a dozen) before Halloween although we never got to carving them...
3) My Office Ladies Halloween mug is one of my favorites and I only get to use it in October.  Delighted to pull it out again! (And since put back away)
4) Picking flowers still in October (and even in November!).  I love the zinnias.
5) Doing a fall bike ride downtown to checkout the leaves!
6) Fall color was AMAZING (still is but not quite what it was a few weeks ago) and seemed to last a long time!
7) Hiking in Franke Park, we do this every year!
8) My yeast baking for October was making Matt baguettes for his birthday.  Not my prettiest work but Matt & the boys still devoured these. Baguettes take some time but I'd still rather do this for him than buy a watermelon.
9) Pretty snake at the zoo!  We managed two trips there in October and now they are closed until spring.  We loved seeing all their fall decor with painted pumpkins and such!
10) Double godchild outing day at Science Central, where they have the most gorgeous light from those huge windows.  I took my goddaughter and a cousin buddy and Matt took Luke with one of our godsons!  Knocked two out at once.
11) My FAVORITE fall tree which was amazing, once again.  We drove/walked/biked/ran past many times when it was at it's peak!
12) SNOW!  We had snow in mid-October, it started in the evening and even stuck around on the grass until morning!  The boys were DELIGHTED to play in it and I was amazed it didn't kill all our flowers!
13) The Lego Discovery Center in San Antonio.  This was made out of Legos and we tried so many times to have Sam take a picture with it since he exclusively calls fall "fall y'all".  He never cooperated.
14) The Alamo!  I am still a bit amazed that it's in the middle of town, just a few blocks from the River Walk.  We accidentally walked past it one night!  Also, it took me THREE tries to get this picture with only a ranger in it!
15) The San Antonio River Walk which was so fun.  We walked along it all 4 of our days there (not including the day we arrived at our hotel at midnight) and it was so fun.  Ate right beside the river twice too!
16) This was taken October 28th.  It is the LATEST, by far, I've ever had blue morning glories still blooming AND they are going CRAZY.  There are so many.  It's a delight in my life right now. 

Books finished: 19!!  A good reading month.
Miles ran: 33.35!  More than I expected!
Currently watching: We're not in the middle of anything!  Just finished Halloween episodes AND Stranger Things.  I don't know what we're starting before we pickup Thanksgiving episodes!
Most read post this month: September Reading Recap
Luke's current favorite song: "All Star" by Smash Mouth, he sings it CONSTANTLY and I am amazed at how many of the lyrics have stuck in my head for 2 decades.
Sam's current favorite song: "Tribute" (the clean version is all they've heard) by Tenacious D. 

November brings lots of Christmas prep, Thanksgiving, one of the best weekends of the year, and decorating for Christmas!  And our first full month at home since May!

Looking Back at September 2022

September was a wonderful month, lots going on, AND it felt really long which is really nice!  It's nice to feel like life is just speeding by!

We had our COVID recovery (I was in the ER on August 31st), then 2 days later we were in Indy for our nephew's wedding which was a whole weekend activity since Matt was an usher.  (I was well past COVID contagious by that point!  Just a bit weak and tired!).  Then we fit in some zoo trips, Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown (our first year and so fun, even with rain!), a date night downtown (I really like that husband of mine), hints of fall, and a camping trip!  There were a lot of good things happening in September! 

Looking back:
1 year ago: {15} Favorite Halloween Books - these are all excellent
2 years ago: Book Love: The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
3 years ago: {14} Picture Books About Space
4 years ago: Organizing Temporary Items
5 years ago: Letting Vacation Change You
6 years ago: Cutting the Clutter (always working on this...)
7 years ago: Strawberry Applesauce (it's become one of my signatures!)
8 years ago: After 8 Years We Finally Have a White TV Stand (we still have this with no plans to change it!)
9 years ago: It's Actually Pretty Easy Being Green (we still do these and much more!)
10 years ago: Things I Really Like Right Now - September (my first one!)
11 years ago: Camping in Friendship, Wine Tasting in Madison (we were JUST talking about this trip the other day, my favorite detail is that to go from Indiana to Indiana...we ended up in 2 OTHER states...I still don't understand how...)

1) Sam does a good job of making sure I always have flowers next to my bed.  It's the sweetest.
2) Matt was on a bus drinking beer between the wedding and reception.  I was in a hotel room with 2 boys making PB&J sandwiches.  Our experiences that weekend were a bit different. (I still had fun.)
3) A partially opened blue morning glory!  I've had more this year than any recent year!
4) SO MANY ZINNIAS! (Luke got 1st place in the school plant show for his 3 zinnias!)
5) I had a nice bruise for nearly two weeks from my ER IV.  It was very tender that whole time too!
6) Taking advantage of member appreciation month at the zoo with riding lots of rides!
7) Raspberries!  We got this bush from Matt's coworker who was getting rid of it and it's randomly producing berries right now.  We may have messed that up somehow?
8) Date night downtown.  2 of the 5 places we tried to go were closed but still hit up 2 great spots!
9) Be a Tourist day!  The courthouse where we finalized both boys' adoptions!
10) The Embassy!  I was a student usher here from 7th - 12th grades and this was the room we always reported to for our nametags and assignments.  I have such fondness for this building from that time.
11) At the zoo one chilly night and the boys were offered to feed the stingrays for free because not enough people had been through that day.  Luke wasn't interested but Matt & Sam did it!
12) First signs of fall!
13) I am always interested in reading on the porch with my tea.  And it happens so rarely now.
14) More fall colors!
15) At the zoo with cousins one morning and the sea lions were right up close!
16) Doing a little hike at our campground!  Beautiful weekend for camping!

Books finished: 11, a few less than I would have liked!
Miles ran: 61.6!  Not bad considering I didn't run the first 5 days of the month and had a stomach bug towards the end!
Currently watching: We should finish Stranger Things this weekend!  I don't know what is next!
Most read post this month: Stripping: Laundry Style is on top again and then August Reading Recap.
Luke's current favorite song: "Slow Ride" by Foghat (thanks to Guitar Hero)
Sam's current favorite song: "We Will Rock You" by Queen

Next is Matt's birthday, Halloween, and a heck of lot of things on the schedule.  Bring it on, October! 

Looking Back at August 2022

August contained a lot of things.  For starters, the end of summer and getting back to a school routine.  Also a camping trip, Sam's adoption day, and baptism of a new godson!  Then, 2 weeks into the school year, COVID finally got us.  And it hit me HARD.  Luke missed three days of school (and recovered over a weekend).  Matt was out of work a couple days.  As soon as I got over the fever I got hit with nausea that lasted about 3 days and put me in the ER for a morning.  It feels like we basically lost the last two weeks of the month, very little productive happened other than getting Luke to and from school the days he went (we followed all the rules the school said to follow!).  

We pretty much lived our lives normally since the local masking rules went away in May 2021.  Matt has to mask at work (at a hospital) and I do when needed but the boys hadn't worn one since we went up in the Arch in April, and I can't tell you the time before that.  We've been going to the grocery store this whole time and Luke's been in school since August 2020 (other than one day out for a stomach bug).  We've taken 5 vacations.  And it still took us 2½ years to get it (we credit gradual immunity from being out in the world for more than 2 years).  We had even only had one scare up to this point!  Anyways, it sucked, a lot.  I felt horrible with a fever and then exhaustion and then the nausea which was the worst.  (I lost 10 pounds in 5 days from that one.)  It really changed our month and it took almost exactly 2 weeks from my first sick day until I felt 85% normal again.  But now we've got some good immunity.  Omicron seems to be taking down many people!

So, that was our month.  Adoption day, back to school, camping, that weird time when it's kinda summer but also the school year, and then COVID.  Feeling pretty good heading into September now!

Looking back:
1 year ago: The Thing About Road Trips
2 years ago: Organizing the Legos (the top of this doesn't look nearly this clean now).
3 years ago: Under the Kitchen Sink: A Before & After (this still pretty much looks like this!)
4 years ago: Thoughts of a First Time Kindergarten Mom (been thinking about this a lot with Sam headed to kindergarten next year!)
5 years ago: ICOTW: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream (one of my favorites!)
6 years ago: It's the Small Things
7 years ago: Super Simple Strawberry Popsicles (we still have one of these in the freezer!)
8 years ago: The Bathroom is Done! (basically)
9 years ago: I Made Pillows!! (We still have and use these!)
12 years ago: California!!

1) My hibiscus are doing very well!  These make me happy.
2) An evening zoo trip before school started, sometimes we just need to get out of the house, bonus if it's outside.
3) THAT'S ME AND A BIRD.  I wanted a selfie with a bird all summer and I got it on the LAST DAY I was sitting out here before school started.
4) Zinnias are also doing wonderful!  These are so much fun to have in the yard and pick for the house!
5) Getting ice cream downtown for Sam's adoption day/Luke's last day of summer.
6) When we were downtown I told the boys it was just a little over 3 months before we are back in this spot for the annual lighting.  Seemed crazy when it was so hot that day!
7) BLUE MORNING GLORIES.  This is the best those have done in YEARS. 
8) Running home on the first day of school!  It was amazing what cooler temps did for my running pace! (Which has now been ruined with being sick.)
9) A BEAUTIFUL Friday evening at camp.  We shared a deluxe cabin with my sister, her husband, and their daughter and then my parents brought their camper too!
10) I picked the campground because of the lazy river.  Then it was never warm (or dry enough - it rained a lot) for me to want to get in.  We'll have to go back!  (The weather didn't stop the boys from swimming...they swam in the rain.)
11) Our cabin was adorable and I still love our camping coffee/tea mugs we bought at Jellystone this summer. 
12) Matt brought home a peach a patient had bought him because it was too soft for him.  It was PERFECT.
13) Thirsty Thursday with Matt's brother, sister, and their spouses.
14) A treat at the farmer's market with the boys!  Got in a quick trip there between rain storms one Saturday!
15) Our sunflowers ALSO did wonderful this year!  I had fun documenting them every week to watch them grow against the boys!
16) You can't tell but I was so sick in this picture.  This was between going to the doctor for nausea meds and before going to the ER.  It was a level of misery I hope to never experience again.

Books finished: 13!
Miles ran: 64, missed my goal of 75 miles with being sick.  I'm still disappointed in myself.
Currently watching: Stranger Things season 4 and House Hunters too!
Most read post this month: Stripping: Laundry Style and then July 2022 Reading Recap
Luke's current favorite song: The clean version (we don't let him listen to the original) of "Tribute" by Tenacious D.
Sam's current favorite song: AND...Sam said the same thing.

September is, hopefully, a pretty chill month after so much going on in August!  We've already had a wedding and then hopefully some relaxing weekends at home and getting back to our school routine!  Ready for a long stretch of 70° days!

Looking Back at July 2022

WHAT. A. MONTH.  When we hit August 1st a few days ago I was remarking to Matt that it was a month ago that we had dug the sandbox.  IT WAS ONLY A MONTH AGO.  July was packed full of fun, as it should be since it's the best month of the year (my birthday month so I am biased).  We had three camping trips (not entirely intentional, just how it worked when coordinating with others).  Celebrated the 4th of July, my birthday, Luke's adoption day, BACKSTREET BOYS concert, did a ziplining birthday outing for a godson, went to the drive-in, ate a lot of wonderful fruit, Matt had a bachelor party for his nephew (who is also in his 30s, this isn't like my nephews, the oldest of whom is 12).  It felt like a really long month in the best way ever.  I would say it was exhausting but we finished with most of a week on a lazy vacation to Michigan so...ended caught up on sleep!  

Now, I am in FIRM denial that school is starting in less than a week.  What the what.  I do not like anything about that and am excited about exactly zero parts of school.  ZERO.  No redeeming factors there.  But, Luke must learn so back into the school routine we will get.  First we have Sam's adoption day to celebrate, ANOTHER camping trip (not before school), and maybe a(nother) day at a Lake Michigan beach (if weather cooperates)!  Holding onto summer for as long as we can, as much as we can!

Looking back:
1 year ago: What to Do with Fresh Peaches
2 years ago: Backyard String Lights: A How-To & Shopping List
3 years ago: {7} Books About Space Travel
4 years ago: On Fridays I Wear Blue (still true)
5 years ago: Book Love: The Shark Club
6 years ago: Friday Five: Favorite NYC Reads (Contemporary Fiction)
7 years ago: Easy Peasy Coffee Cake
8 years ago: Reasons Why the Drive-In is Awesome (and You Should Go)
9 years ago: The Adoption Process

1) Sunset at the drive-in!  Packed that into a very busy long weekend for the 4th!
2) A fun few hours at the lake, boys loved swimming!
3) Fireworks!
4) I had a strange little companion to watch the downtown fireworks from our backyard.  First frog I've ever seen in our yard!
5) Camping at Jellystone, seriously a highlight of the summer, I love camping and we had a wonderful experience at Jellystone this year! (Rent a cabin, even rustic, doesn't matter nearly as much if it rains!)
6) BACKSTREET BOYS CONCERT.  This was the same weekend at Jellystone camping AND we had a family gathering between leaving camp at 9am Sunday morning and my BSB concert at 7:30 that evening.  It was a VERY busy day and I'm still a bit amazed it all worked out.
7) Backstreet Boys, I went by myself (with 25k other fans) and had a fantastic time.  Would highly recommend if you can't find anyone to go with! (Also helps that I paid for nicer (not nearly the nicest) seats so the people around me were pretty into the concert too.)
8) Sandbox DONE.  DONE.  Digging was hard work but getting the sand to fill it had complicated timing with Matt's work schedule and when places were open.  It was SO EXCITING to get that done!
9) A BLUE morning glory in JULY!  It's been years, maybe over a decade since I've had any blue ones bloom before late September/October and this year they popped up well before my birthday!  I always plant MANY packets of blue seeds and they finally bloomed on time!  Although, we had them for a few days and no blue ones since...
10) Blueberries!  Boys and I picked 10 pounds, they were delicious!
11) One of the highlights of my summer, reading on the porch, in this year, before the boys are awake.  I love it and will miss it dearly once school starts.
12) Those magical few days were the peaches are PERFECT.  I got 50lbs from The Peach Truck and ate SO MANY of them over the sink with juice dripping down my arm.  Amazing.
13) Back at the zoo!  Of course, we've only been that one time in mid-July since activating our pass again but hopefully this week again still!
14) Grand Haven beach on Lake Michigan.  GORGEOUS.
15) A birthday sunset at the beach, haven't had one of those since Hawaii 15 years ago!
16) This is the exact moment I came around on Matt's paddleboard purchase a few weeks earlier.  Paddling down the beach to get a selfie with the lighthouse we had walked out to the night before?  Yes.  I am now on board. (Literally.  HAH.  Although, to be fair, I sat on my bum to do all this paddling, Lake Michigan was wavy and it was my first time using it, Matt stood just to take his picture and got knocked in the water right away.  I stayed sitting.)

Books finished: 12, hasn't been a great reading year for me!
Miles ran: 64.7.  Hit my goal, got a lot of running ahead of me still this year!
Currently watching: We just finished The Right Stuff on Disney+ (enjoyed it) and now we just started a 6 month free trial of Discovery+ which means I have House Hunters in my life again.  I love me some House Hunters.  
Most read post this month: Fizzy Flamingo followed by Stripping: Laundry Style
Luke's current favorite song: I just asked him and his answer was "Bad Boys".
Sam's current favorite song: "Kids" by MGMT, we listened to this so many times on the drive to and from Maine.

Farewell July!  You were the best.  August, please be gentle, homework likely awaits somewhere in you.

Looking Back at June 2022

First full month of summer is done!  It was a bit of a whirlwind with 3 hotel stays, 1 camping trip and 3 good family adventures all in the first 20 days.  Now we are settling a bit into something of a routine which I, personally, hope involves more reading time for me by the inflatable backyard pool while the boys happily play together (a Mom can, and does, dream).  Here's what we've been up to!

Looking back:
1 year ago: Vacation Ponderings
2 years ago: Mixed Drink Monday: Pineapple Sunset Cocktail
3 years ago: Patriotic Kabobs
4 years ago: New York City #4 - day 3
5 years ago: ICOTW: Homemade Chipwich
6 years ago: ICOTW: Raspberry Crisp Ice Cream
7 years ago: Why Not Add Another Gallery Wall?
8 years ago: Bathroom Update: Tub, Walls, and Floor!!
9 years ago: Food DIY - Taco Seasoning (still use this recipe!)
10 years ago: Big Day in London - 1

 

 1) Our first hotel continental breakfast for the month AND drinking tea during the Queen's Jubilee celebrations!
2) Kings Island!  Matt & I went many years together though college and into our early marriage as well as a few trips with my family when I was younger. I have such fond memories of the place!  We took Luke 5 years ago and were overdue for another trip, it was SO MUCH FUN.  And I got to, briefly, see a college friend!
3) When I went at the age of 5 my favorite things were the Eiffel Tower and the Scrappy Slide.  The slide is no longer there but we go up in the Eiffel Tower every time!  This side shows the Diamondback (our favorite roller coaster that Luke was tall enough for!) and a large part of kiddie land (where Sam spent most of his time).
4) The sunset driving home from Kings Island, I sent this to my sister who would be traveling this same road, in the opposite direction, about 10 hours later!
5) Canoeing on the Pigeon with very high waters and very fast current.  We were home before we were on the river long enough to be exhausted!
6) Ice cream in the backyard.  I need to make more ice cream.
7) The boys huddled in the backyard under umbrellas in the rain.  A rare moment of getting along!
8) Strawberries!  Went picking with my BFF and ended up with 12lbs!
9) Loving the golden light with my flowers that are actually still doing rather well!
10) Tie-dying on drywall shortly before our big trip!  I was DELIGHTED that this all came together in time!
11) Early morning reading on the porch with the windows open, before the boys are awake.  It doesn't happen every morning (and I've been hiding in the AC lately) but I love it when it does!
12) THIRD adventure for the summer - Niagara Falls!  Matt didn't think he had ever been and I hadn't in almost 30 years.  We put 5 hours on the parking meter and fit in quite a bit, including attending Saturday night Mass!  It was fun.
13) Navigating through Maine with my journal, plans, and tea!  It was the RARE trip where nothing was a dud and we got to everything on my plan besides one trail closed for nesting birds! 
14) Acadia looking very Acadia-y.  I will DEFINITELY have A LOT more to say about this trip once I finish the pictures.  Short version: it was all incredible.
15) Replanting some flowers in the raised beds post vacation.  Rabbits kept getting to them (they didn't at all last year!) and I still wanted flowers!  We'll see what happens.
16) And a baseball game to almost finish out the month!  Watched very little baseball but still a fun evening!

Books finished: 12
Miles ran: 45.7 miles
Currently watching: The Right Stuff, about the Mercury astronauts.  We needed something much more normal after Moon Knight (which was horrible).  Next up is Stranger Things season 4 although I am a bit concerned with how scary I've heard it is! (I watch it solely for the 80s nostalgia)
Most read post this month: The Fizzy Flamingo!
Luke's current favorite song: "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle
Sam's current favorite song: "Kids" by MGMT (We listened to this SO MANY TIME on vacation.)

July has already brought the 4th of July, getting a long pending project off our to-do list, my birthday, a camping trip, and soaking in one final, FULL, month of summer!  We are in, no way, ready for August!