Last day of 8 months and also of 42 years

 Its a good thing Minnie is just barely scooting:

Also, she was late to the pull-the-books-off-the-shelf stage, but she got there:

OK. Here is how I hope my birthday goes tomorrow:

I hope I can slip away from Minnie at least 5 minutes before the other kids get up so I can have a cup of coffee briefly.

I hope I can take a super-sized walk because we are for sure having Greenbush donuts for breakfast.

I hope I can relax during nap and read a crappy thriller.

I hope to take a short walk at Picnic Point with my favorite people and then pick up Shake Shack for dinner.

I hope my Snickers cheesecake tastes better than it looks.**

I hope to end the day with champagne, presents, and a family walk around the neighborhood.

Doesn't that sound like the perfect day?

I forgot that you have to let cheesecakes sit for like 6 hours before you take them out of the pan, and now, I have Snickers cheesecake pudding **sad trombone** I was super sad when the cake collapsed and I realized my mistake, but I rallied fast and hope this is an omen for the year ahead.

Wow that was a WEEK

 Last week was... a lot.  Like, every committee I serve on had to meet. All of the things needed to be graded. I had lots of course management things to ... manage. I am hiring a fall staff and working on summer and fall course prep. AND ALL OF THE CHILDREN ARE HOME ALL OF THE TIME. So, you know.

Breakfast:

The tiny cup SLAYS me.

She tried peanut butter toast and liked it!

THESE ARE AWESOME.

Perfect Mother's Day dinner:

Pattern mixing

Minnie is obsessed with sunglasses

OMG I could eat her.

We spent Mother's Day afternoon at our favorite brewery, and it was PERFECT.

Minnie scooted for Pirate's Booty

Dorothy clowned around

We all relaxed.

Minnie tried to crawl for Sierra Mist

There was beer.

Hilariously, her birthday is 8/13:

The boys bought me that mug with their own money

My nap time dream of sitting on the couch and reading a book came true.

Dance party?

Dixie Cups are the funnest!

She cares not about selfies.

Lots of this these days:

Mask up!

I need to lay off the Minnie clothes but at the same time, how can I?

So! Busy! Coming Up (Briefly) for Air

It has been A WEEK, and I am pretty sure I am not going to sleep tonight because Minnie has a second tooth poking out, and she is angry about it. I gave her a little bit of Tylenol, but probably not enough. Speaking of sleep! last night, I heard Minnie on the monitor at 2 am. I turned the monitor off and instead of immediately going to get her, I laid back down for a second...and woke up in a panic at 4 am. I ran to her room to check on her, and she was peacefully asleep. But! When she woke up at 5:34, she had snot all crusted on her cheeks. So, I think 2 am was a sad time.

Minnie and Bea are huge fans of our new front door.

That! Smile!

Beatrix is also a fan of Minnie's growing desire to feed herself.

Between teething and 8-9 m/o separation anxiety, I cannot put her down for a second.

Luckily, she's the sweetest person in the world.

Ben surprised the kids-- and his baseball team-- by having Kina Ice stop by practice.

Dorothy is making the most of virtual school

Minnie has discovered the tupperware cabinet.

I have spent every nap time this week in this exact sport working my face off.

A baseball picnic-- like Olden Times!

Minnie really likes baseball, by the way.

She also enjoys beets.

And smoothie

She has to read to her damn self.

SUCH a mess

 

Minnie's Many Faces + No More Pandemic Hair

Her faces KILL ME. She has always been so judgmental and expressive-- one of the things I love most about her.

My pandemic hair! IS NO MORE!

Before:

After:

I bought ALL OF THE PRODUCTS, and I really love it.

 

April: What I Read

FINALLY this month I started reading (and even listening to) current books, and I have loved them! I also found some excellent older audiobooks to add to the list. My top pick was from last year, so it won't count toward my yearly best list, but damn was it good. And by a dude. I read 2 dudes and liked them the most. Who even am I? And I am reading another WONDERFUL dude book right now. I DON'T EVEN KNOW MYSELF.

You can skip these:

16. The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg: I cannot imagine a more unlikeable narrator. **AUDIO

15. Delancey by Molly Wizenberg: I did not love this memoir, but it was fun to listen to. It made me want to open a restaurant. **AUDIO

14. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh: Meh. This was a book club book, otherwise I would not have read it. **iBook **2021

13. The Woman Outside my Door by Rachel Ryan: This was a creepy little thriller **2021

12. Milk, Blood, Heat by Dantiel Moniz: I liked some of these stories better than others **AUDIO **2021

 Worth masking up for the library:

11. All Girls by Emily Layden: YES! I love books about preppy girls' schools, and this one did not disappoint. **2021

10. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles: Pretty OK WWII historical fiction. I really enjoyed the 1980s story line. There's a weird move in WWII fiction where people are like IT WASN'T JUST ABOUT JEWS. AVERAGE PEOPLE HAD IT ROUGH, and I feel pretty meh about those plotlines.

9. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas: The prequel to The Hate You Give--liked it a lot and LOVED the narrator's voice. **2021

8. Everything After by Jill Santopolo: Loved this sweet story and read it in one sitting **2021

7. The Last Anniversary by Lianne Moriarity: I was so happy to stumble on a Moriarity I haven't read! ** AUDIO

6. Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu: What a wonderful memoir! **2021

5. Rest and Be Thankful by Emma Glass: I loved this book that reads like a poem. It's sad and lovely-- check it out! 

READ THESE (or listen to them-- whatever floats your boat)

4. Outlawed by Anna North: This was wonderful-- such a terrific narrator and a fast-paced story.**2021

3. The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard: WOW. You need to read this (or listen to it-- the audio is great) right away. There's a narrator shift, and those always bug me, but there's SO MUCH happening here, and it so so beautifully written. **2021 **AUDIO

2. Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour: You should read this! So smart and funny. **2021

1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig: This is a last year book, but it is as good as everyone says it is. ** AUDIO

So that's 10 books and SIX audiobooks. I am glad to have abandoned podcasts for my daily walks and nightly kitchen cleaning rampages because I am devouring some excellent content! Check out your library's website and see what mobile app they use-- free audiobooks are the best audiobooks.