1. SCOTCHAROOS: All caps is necessary because these long-forgotten treats of my childhood are delicious. A friend posted on FB about making them with her grandson, and I was like OMG I forgot they existed! I made them at 10pm on Sunday, and by 8 am on Monday, this is all that remained. I immediately bought more ingredients on my way home from work. Coop said they were the best thing I ever made, which, LOL because it’s all melting and stirring. I made TWO MORE batches before they lasted longer than 12 hours, at which point I figured everyone was satisfied and switched to oatmeal scotches.
2. Minnie saying popsicle.Harry Times...All Jacked Up
A vintage mom blog, written by a vintage mom blogger.
Friday, February 03, 2023
5 on a Friday : January Faves
Thursday, February 02, 2023
Thursday randoms
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January 2023; January 2022 |
We had SUCH a lovely day on Tuesday. Dorothy felt better thanks to the magic of antibiotics, but she still had a low grade fever Monday through lunchtime, so I kept her home to rest for one more day. Minnie was THRILLED to have her bestie back because Dorothy wore a mask and stayed in her room the whole time she was sick.
Dorothy got to come with us to swim lessons and take pictures for the Gram, and after, we all went to Target. I cleaned out Dorothy’s closet and drawers on Saturday (donations and stuff to pack away for Minnie— some of the boys’ clothes were unsalvageable even for donation piles when I would clean them out at this age, but Dorothy only had 2 pairs of sweatpants with ruined knees), but then she got sick AND we got like 14 inches of snow, so we didn’t have time to shop for the specific items she needed to replace.
She NEEDED black leggings (like, the athletic kind, not the cloth kind) for dance competitions (they wear them between numbers with their team jackets and shoes), and we found those (although I wanted to buy one to save for dance and one for daily wear, but she only likes high-waisted, full-length ones, and Target only had a single pair in a medium). She also really needed another pair of jeans because she is down to one single pair, and they are wide legged, high-waisted, and acid washed, in other words very memorable. BUT! She hates jeans and found zero that she could imagine wearing. She did find another pair of athletic leggings and a pair of joggers, though, so that’s helpful. Right now, her wardrobe is mostly dresses, and she hates tights **eye roll**. She also imprinted on a fuzzy fleece sweatshirt (she has a bajillion sweatshirts) and found 2 (you guessed it) dresses. I bought a pair of cheapy black leggings to wear under them, and she found THE CUTEST loafers.
We had fun, and she picked out some adorable things, but her wardrobe still has big gaps. That I plan to address with spring clothes **shrug**.
Meanwhile, in toddlerville, Minnie found a Little Mermaid sleeves tutu dress (SO PRACTICAL), Frozen Mary Janes, and a necklace/bracelet set that she HAD TO HAVE. She has worn the entire ensemble 2 days in a row (I washed after bedtime), and yesterday she lost the bracelet somewhere between the couch, the dance studio, and the salon for Dorothy’s bang trim. I HAVE ALREADY ORDERED A NEW ONE FOR TARGET PICK UP. And yes, my spending spreadsheet knows my shame.
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Cutest loafers— pretty sure I had them 30 years ago |
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She feels good as hell in this dress., so **shrug** |
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Caught her |
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Will wash hands for stamp |
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Will ONLY wash hands for stamp |
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Beatrix never judges me when the laundry backs up on a sheets day. She’s happy to help keep it company. |
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Living the impossible shrimp taco dream. |
Wednesday, February 01, 2023
January: What I Read
Welcome, friends, to a brand new reading year! I have one serious contender for BOOK OF THE YEAR and another 2023 book I really loved. The other 4 current-year books are just meh thrillers (although the Hendrix book is HILARIOUS).
I got 2 older (2022 LOL) feminist reads from Libby that I adored— Burnout, a self-help book that is both helpful and really, truly FEMINIST and The Change that asks the question what happens when post-menopausal women stop giving a shit about the patriarchy and answers SMASH WITH SUPER POWERS.
20 books this month, and here’s how they stacked up:
Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover: I am actually excited that this was a #1 of more. **Audio
Night Shift by Robin Cook: Terrible but also strangely addicting.
You Have a Match by Emma Lord: Cute YA book with deeper characters than I expected and a twistier plot. **Audio
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan: I listened to this one, and it was a lovely little distraction. **Audio
The Personal Assistant by Kimberly Belle: This one was entertaining and quick but also very predictable.
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez: Another lovely little audio romance. I will say, I do not usually like this author, but this one was darling. **Audio
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall: Bleh. This was … fine? It was my January Book of the Month pick, and really? I should have just skipped January. When nothing looks good, I default to the thriller, but I am rarely satisfied. **2023
Without Merit by Colleen Hoover: I ACTUALLY LIKED THIS ONE A LOT. **Audio
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli: This book was excellent. It’s about grief after suicide, and it’s very sad and raw. I almost started to get impatient with the narrator for being so sad for so long, which is how the character accuses her family of acting right after I felt that way- very well done. **Audio
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes: Ok, this was SO CREEPY. **2023 **audio
Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister: I FINALLY snagged this at the library, and I liked it, but it was very into its own technique, you know?
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman: This was a BOTM that I neglected last year, and it was GREAT— very twisty and suspenseful. Loved it.
Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore: I liked Oona Out of Order better, but I enjoyed this one. I really like the author's take on multiple universes (in both books), and I adore the way she plays with form. **Audio
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham: This one kept me guessing for quite a bit. **2023
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan: Like, listen. I understand the impulse to look down your nose at these books, but if you do that? I think you might be missing a really good time. Or there’s like some kind of intellectual virtue signaling (kind of like what I do with Colleen Hoover) like oh I read this but I am not of this. But you know what? I AM OF THIS.
The Change by Kirsten Miller: When women go through menopause, develop superpowers, and smash the patriarchy. **Audio
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix: Ha! So funny! So creepy! Liked it a bunch. **2023
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins: YES, PLEASE, MORE LIKE THIS. Love love love this writer (and her romance persona) and this one was great and so fun. **Audio **2023
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski: A feminist self help book that has systemic causes but believable personal solutions? YES YES YES. Their discussion of evidence based way to use gratitude journaling effectively was the best part for me, but I also like the way they describe patriarchy for the newbie. **Audio
Sam by Allegra Goodman: What a delightfully sad coming of age story.The characters are so well drawn, and the narrator grows up on the page in a really charming way. **2023
This Month:
6 books published in 2023
9 print and 11 audio
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Ingredient house?
I have a fun know yourself better question inspired by a friend’s Facebook post.
Are you an ingredient house or a meals house?
We are definitely mostly an ingredient house, although we do have a pantry cupboard of granola bars, pretzels, goldfish, etc. We stock frozen pizza on the regular and sometimes Uncrustables, but we generally are not a prepared meals/snack kind of place. Harry goes through Hot Pocket phases, and Ben bought a box of frozen cheeseburgers on buns (BARF) at Costco the other day, but generally, we just don’t buy that stuff. We do eat chocolate chips out of the bag and put frosting on graham crackers, so it’s not all clean living or anything silly like that. I just tend to buy ingredients at the store— which is why PB&J with Doritos or a salami sandwich with corn chips and mustard are 2 of my favorite snacks from childhood through college to now LOL.
Growing up was the same— as you can tell by my ridiculous sandwich penchant (unless my dad was shopping— then it was all Bagel Bites and mini corn dogs and frozen egg breakfast trays— but my mom was a SAHM so the groceries were almost always her responsibility).
I wonder if this is a gendered/default parent thing- do women or family caretakers buy ingredients? Are we socially shamed for selecting pre-made stuff in a way that the partner who is in the role of household helper is not?
What about you? Ingredients or meals, and is your partner the same? Is your shopping preference about gendered expectations or is it a result of the way you grew up?
Monday, January 30, 2023
Souvenirs
Other things we have: A SICK KID. It’s Dorothy, who spiked a 101-degree fever on Saturday afternoon but was feeling fine when I snapped this pic of 2 sisters choosing earrings (it was pajama day at school, hence Dorothy’s pajama pants. Minnie goes absolutely nowhere on Fridays, so she wears he princess nighties as long as she wants to).
She had dance, swim, and cheerleading on Sunday, so her illness simplified a busy day #silverlining
On Friday night, we got to watch Jack dive at a home meet, and he made the final round! It was so fun to watch him excel at something he loves. I can’t believe he’s a high school athlete already. HE WAS JUST A BEBE.
So, Minnie adores this library dollhouse so much, I kind of want to buy one for the basement. But will she love it as much if she can play with it every day?Minnie kept stage whispering I BE SO KIET (quiet) and I WEALLY KIET at the dive meet, so she and I watched the majority of the action from the lobby instead of the bleachers. Coop has a dive meet in Chicago in a couple weeks, and I think one of us is going to have to stay home with Min because despite her declarations, she is not actually so quiet, really quiet, or even KIND OF quiet.
She has had basically no practice at eating out, but we are sloooowly working on that, one plate of pancakes at a time.
Pro-tip: If you ever need your toddler to sit still for a few minutes, give them a mani pedi they really like and tell them to be super careful while it dries.
4th place in oratory!
Someday I will love telling Minnie that she liked to play in her teen brothers’ dirty sheets while I changed their beds.
Strings concert (that we got to watch on YouTube- thanks for real, COVID) on pajama day—ha!
We definitely ordered a sugar cookie appetizer.
Another thing I got recently? A really unfortunate dye job. I was just supposed to get my existing gray-covering high and lowlights retouched, but I ended up… a brassy blond. Probably I should have called the salon back the next day and asked for a fix, but is there one? And won;t that make everything awkward?
Friday, January 27, 2023
5 (new dresses) on a Friday
Amazingly, all of the super clearance dresses I ordered from LOFT are AWESOME, and I am keeping them. Well. I am keeping them all. A couple of them are not maybe awesome and one is super cute IRL but photographs poorly. I wore one with leggings to The Little Gym on Thursday, and it looked pretty terrible in the full-length mirror there, but I blame my hair and earring choices, really.
ANYWAY. Let me show these dresses because I can’t even believe I liked them all. We have a LOFT nearby, so I figured I would just return what I didn’t like, but I am pretty sure I liked them all. Enough to keep. For less than $30/dress.
Smocked flounce dress: I am a petite medium in this one, and I like it A LOT. It looks kind of meh IRL with leggings, and mini Uggs TBH, but I think it will be really cute in the spring with a jean jacket and Air Force 1’s.
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Yes. We have separate beds. |
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Cute |
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I think |
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Cuter on her |
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NOT LEOPARD— also NOT a tummy pooch but the pattern is questionable. |
Can I just say, I am using wrinkle treatment on my lips to help exfoliate and moisturize EVERY SINGLE DAY and they are still chapped little nothings?! Also, if you have proportionately heavy arms like I do, sheer sleeves are SO GOOD. Also, clearly I will not wear ANY of these with a sports bra IRL.
My class only meets once a week this semester, so this haul takes me just about to spring break. Definitely shop the LOFT super clearance— it’s so good. Anybody buy anything cute lately?
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Toddler life lately
Oh, Minnie. She’s the most wonderful thing to wake up to. After 6 am. She’s so boisterous and ridiculous. You should see her do yoga with me. It is such a joy to look at the mat next to you and see 35 pounds of toddler hugging her knees to her chest or holding her fat little hands at heart’s center. Today the video told us to feel our bodies, and she started patting her stomach. I can’t get enough. Which is good because she is my shadow.
Can you even believe she made me take this out and just do a plain old low braid over her shoulder? NOT ENOUGH VISUAL INTEREST IN THE FRONT, she said. (She is the funniest person I know).
Sometimes butterflies need to make a call, you know?
Have I shared this amazing lazy mom enrichment hack? Store all the puzzle pieces in one basket and dump them all out at once. (I keep the boards on the bottom book shelf) Not only does she have to do the puzzles (which individually are a little too easy for her), but she also has to sort the pieces. Takes a loooong time and holds her interest. WINNING.
She loves to bake. Every day she asks to make something specific, and I am here for it. This was a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
This week, she really really really wanted Ben to go to The Little Gym with her, and he was able to make it work on the way to a meeting (like he left the big red mat and went straight there— I had to tag team and help Minnie get her stamp, etc— as soon as Ben was done banging that drum (it’s a Little Gym joke--maybe too niche), he was OUT). How adorbs are these pictures? I forgot to mention to Ben that Minnie NEVER does the warm up, so he cajoled her the whole time and took her non-participation personally