Pre-Christmas Photo Dump

 Look at that smile! All she needs is a piece of paper taped to the wall!

Sisters reading. Cooper actually spied this moment and ran to get my phone to take a pic-- even he thought it was adorable.

Minnie is happiest looking at a book or having someone read to her.

Dress up day for virtual school-- super hero day. Dorothy was SUPER SPARKLE GIRL

Last! Day! Of! School!

Yes, I did Amazon Prime 5 boxes of Whole Foods truffles. WHY WOULDN'T I?

I cleaned my office! First time all semester.

Minnie eating cereal like a person is my very favorite.

UGLIER THAN USUAL. But also more delicious than usual.

Studious baby

Little elfie.

BEST FRIENDS.

OMG that FACE

Minnie loves to scream at Alexa until we magically intuit what song she'd like to listen to.

21 for 2021: Review

1. Cultivate healthier eating habits and expand the family palate. 

• Eat 7 servings of fruits and veggies a day (up from my current 5) YES

• Stop snacking before bedtime (maybe cram in a couple extra servings of veggies)  NO

• Make 21 new dinner recipes YES

2. Read for enjoyment

• Read 121 books in 2021(last year, I read 105; the year before that over 200-- I have been reading at   least 100 books/year since 2013, but I need to aim slightly higher than I did in 2020 YES


• Read Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series YES


• Read 21 minutes a day in 2021 (this is from Happier, and I LOVE IT. I walked everyday for at least 20 minutes because of that podcast, and this reading challenge is perfect for me because Minnie        disrupted my reading habits, and I am only just now getting back to a regular routine.) YES

3. Drink mindfully

•  Develop a special but sustainable morning coffee and nighttime tea ritual YES coffee/NO tea

• Drink at least 64 ounces of water every single day YES

• Aim for a mostly dry 2021 (because of pregnancy and nursing, this has been the case for 2020, and I really really love not drinking. That said, some long afternoons with the kids need a special snowflake craft beer at the end, and prosecco/champagne is a nice addition to a celebratory moment, so I won't be completely sober for the year). YES

4. Celebrate effusively

• Make kid birthdays extra special this year, especially if they can't have parties. YES

• Emphasize small milestones YES

• Focus on making family nights special YES-- games and dinner and move Fridays were clutch!

5.  Prioritize time to be creative

• Work diligently on Mean Girls manuscript (it's a book about adult women who are terrible to each other-- that won't be the title, obvi, but it's what I call it on my computer) and flesh out the next novel idea I have been kicking around and outline it NOPE

• Blog 21 days/month at least 7 months of the year (I want to have real, substantive blog posts like I used to...)  YES

• Start up POTY again and try to link episodes more closely to current events with interviews and also  op-eds. NOPE

6. Take care of my skin

• Replace products that run out YES

• Develop a face mask ritual/routine YES-- a Facetory subscription made this happen

• Solve my lipstick dilemma (I never wear it because masks and always being home; I have Napoleon Dynamite chapped lips on the regular and look kind of sickly-- I need to figure this out) Clinique Almost Lipstick solved this problem

  Save and spend with care 

• Make sure every bathroom has towels that aren't embarrassing (OUR TOWEL SITUATION IS DIRE. LIKE THESE TOWELS ARE SO RATTY I WOULD NOT WANT TO USE THEM TO WASH THE CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY BECAUSE NEIGHBORS MIGHT SEE THEM.) Down to one bad bathroom.

• Develop a large appliance savings account (we lost a microwave, a dishwasher, a dryer, and a garage door in the pandemic, but our house turns T E N this year, and I think we can expect more appliance issues. I want to be not even a little bit stressed about this-- and plus also, we need at least one new Chromebook and Ben has an ancient Mac, as does Dorothy. I mean large as in plenty of cash but also for large appliances, BTW)  NOPE. Still crossing our fingers on this one

• Buy no more than 21 items of clothing/shoes/large accessories for myself (I anticipate my bathing suit and rash guard wardrobe needing a refresh, and I hope to buy new jeans throughout the year, but I need to stop buying tons of cheap clothes and focus on fewer, better things.) NOPE-- I lost weight and got shop-happy

So, clearly the be creative and stop wasting money areas took a hit, but I am pretty happy with my overall progress this year. I love that I stopped drinking and got more creative with family dinners. I adore our small celebrations and happy family together time. I want to be more creative and a better saver, but dang. Toddler schedules and pandemic work life make both of these things harder than I expected.

Stay tuned for next year's list!!

 

WINTER BREEEEAAAAAK!!

 

Breaking news: FIVE KIDS IS A TON OF KIDS.

Good lord. SO MANY KIDS. So many interests. So many errands. So many presents. SO MANY PRESENTS YOU GUYS.

Something I have learned about myself lately that I already knew but apparently need to keep learning: everything about my day goes better when I GET UP EARLY and exercise. I still exercise again when I take Min Min for her morning walk, but an extra quick 30 minutes makes me feel better, burns more calories to offset all the candy I am eating, It's not always do-able in terms of when Minnie wakes up and what time Ben is leaving, etc. But on the days I can swing it: YES YES YES. Looking ahead to 2022, I am going to try to be more intentional about this practice.

I have been on a meeting for the past 90-minutes and have eaten SO MUCH CANDY. I need to NOT SIT BY A CANDY DISH ON ZOOM MY GOD.

Ok, guys. I think we made it to winter break relatively unscathed. I am ready to snuggle in for the next 2 weeks and bake all of the things, you? (2 weeks because that's when the kids go back-- I am breaking until the end of next month).

Stompy feet and all

 My computer is doing that thing where it does not sync my photos, which always makes me NOT want to blog. **shrug**

Also my LIFE is doing that thing where everything is exactly the same every single day. In a really lovely way, though. It is such a delight to have a toddler in the house. She finally has big fat stompy feet and a LOUD opinion about all of the things.

Now that there is an end in sight (that I am so worried about thanks to Omicron and vaccine hesitancy) to Dorothy and Cooper being home every day, I am realizing anew what a gift these last 2 years have been. (In some ways, obviously, and only to the really and truly disgustingly privileged). I will miss them so much next year, is what I am trying to say. Even though I walked shirtless out of my bedroom and past a camera leading to a third grade Zoom and Dorothy is on a AL math group Zoom right now in my bedroom because I am working in the kitchen ad Ben is working downstairs and there is laundry piled everywhere behind her.  

Cozy: it's a lifestyle choice

SO LOUD you guys. SO OPINIONATED. I love it SO MUCH.

We are total hot chocolate addicts.

Just hanging around.

The expression on her face here!!

She needs to practice her knife skills every morning #fifthbaby

I love how round Minnie is and how she is staring at Dorothy-- who is dressed for a come-as-a-video-game-character spirit day at virtual school. Minnie loves Dorothy SO SO SO much.

Randoms on a Monday

 All right, friends. In the shadow of Omicron, I filled out an electronic form saying that Dorothy and Cooper will attend in-person school second semester, and I am nervous. BUT! We have said all along that they need to be vaccinated to go back, and now they are, so... They are fully vaccinated today, in fact.

But for real: WHO WILL PLAY WITH MY BABY WHILE THEY ARE AT SCHOOL? She is going to miss them sooooooo much.

As you can see, I am super boring

I might be late to this party, but Weleda Skin Food is the BEST moisturizer ever. I use in on my cuticles, my rough heels, and my FACE. You heard it here last!

... Aaaaand here's Harry practicing his oratory in his Comfy.

I am trying to wrap up my semester this week, so I am more stressed than usual, which is saying a lot in COVID times. I am also looking for fun resolutions to add to my 22 for 2022 list if anyone has good ideas. Also! Any books I absolutely must read before the year is up?

Cocoa, etc

 Cooper is OBSESSED with creating the perfect cup of hot chocolate. He prefers mint chocolate and right now likes the Good and Gather brand from Target the best. He very seriously heats his milk in the microwave. While it is heating, he puts marshmallows in his cup. Then he adds the cocoa powder to the milk (in a glass measuring cup), stir, and pours it over the mallows. Next, he loads on the whipped cream, and, finally, he dabs on some chocolate syrup. In a perfect world, he would use a candy cane as a stir stick, be we have a problem keeping candy canes stocked in this house.

He makes this beverage at least once a day, and I order several boxes of hot chocolate a week form Target (in addition to the k-cup hot chocolate we have on our subscribe and save because Jack has a mini Keurig in his room just for cocoa purposes. Dorothy prefers stovetop hot chocolate or Starbucks, and Harry just throws chocolate milk in coffee like Ben and me).

Minnie's new thing is eating her Cheerios in a bowl with milk like an actual human being. It's pretty fun to watch.

She also really likes to color on big paper

At almost 16 months, her morning nap in the stroller is still going strong, but it has been so cold the last few days that we have had to do double fleece suits-- she has a pink one underneath this red one and is so delightfully stuffed

Eight Crazy Nights: The Conclusion

Night 5: VIDEO GAMES, always a huge hit. But Harry and Jack got controllers, which, while necessary, are less exciting.

Night 6: BLANKETS! Made less lame (no really) by the fact that it was also movie night, a night when you really need the perfect blanket.

Night 7: Random things we knew everyone would like.

Baby Uggs for Minnie, who loves shoes

A jewelry box with a charm bracelet and birthstone ring for Dorothy

New skates for Cooper and really awesome roller skate covers so he can get dressed at home and motor on into the rink

A football card hobby box for Harry

A movie theater Harry Potter poster for Jack (and a Hogwarts dessert cookbook that we are both excited about)

Minnie checking out the skate covers

We had latkes on night 7, and Ben ore gloves to flip them so he wouldn;t burn the hair off his hands for a change.

The last night is my very favorite-- sibling gift exchange night. They draw names out of a hat and then shop (with our money of course) for whomever they drew. 

Cooper bought Harry some UW stuff.

Harry got Jack Packers and UW apparel:

Minnie got Cooper some rockets to launch and some clothes that actually fit him (weird, right-- that's so not his usual aesthetic).

Jack got Dorothy roller skates.

Dorothy got Minnie a book and a dolly

Everyone loved their gifts, and they adored the buying and wrapping process even more.

We'll miss Hanukkah.

Also! I made these gingerbread bars, and Minnie hijacked mine-- so delish!