A few Minnie videos, just because I love coming across them in my archives.

As you can tell from photos, Minnie is a little squishy ball of delight. But it’s also fun to see her in motion:

 

Stealth Baseball

 After practicing every single day for 2 weeks and then playing baseball every night all week last week, Cooper’s district team lost their bid for state, and I thought maybe things would ease up, since that left Cooper with only one more baseball team (out of three). But then! The coach of that team signed the boys up for a last-minute tournament about 45 minutes away from home, so once again I single-mommed it all weekend.

Well, not really because the tournament was near an excellent little creamery that I love, so Dorothy and Minnie and I saw 2 games on Saturday and ate a very dairy-forward lunch. So fun! So delicious! So cute!

Matching H&M dresses

BEST grilled cheeses

Minnie insisted on swinging in a big kid swing, which really kind of freaked me out.

She could not believe her luck— a PURPLE TRACTOR?!

Oh my gosh— look at the teeny little bite marks on that pickle.

She’s just so sweet.

COW

Look at my nervous face as she lets go of the chain

The baseball field Coop’s team played on was right next to a toddler park, so I could see the games, and Minnie could get herself up and down the slide. It was ideal.

Even though it was only 78-degrees, it was aggressively humid and sunny. We all needed MUCH SUNSCREEN and also a snow cone.

Cooper hit SO WELL all tournament long, and he had a great time.

We brought a tent and lots of crafts, and Dorothy and Minnie were joined by younger sisters from many different teams.

Here’s Coop on the drive home— so cute!

His team ended up losing in the semifinals by ONE RUN in a game called for time (so close!!) and then taking 4th overall. Ben and Coop went solo on Sunday. We had plans to meet them for the championship game if they made it, but **sad trombone**. We could have watched the third-place game, but there was nap! And general housework! (Minnie ended up only sleeping for 45 minutes Sunday at home after a 30-minute car nap as her only siesta Saturday, and this makes me think we need to be very careful about her naps on vacay because I am not ready for life with a no-napper).

Still, I am glad it was a last minute tournament because I would have spent the week dreading it no all the solo house and kid work. Instead, I just had to deal with it (although I was kind of a jerk to Ben via text midday Sunday and left as soon as Ben got home to wander aimlessly through Old Navy and pick up a few grocery items I forgot despite 2 deliveries). Dorothy has softball this weekend (also a swim meet!), but otherwise, I think we are ball-free the rest of this week and should just have some practices through the end of the month with more tournaments to come August-October. 

And then it’s hockey season.

How did we get so BUSY?

 I have been solo parenting a lot (A LOT) because Ben’s job got unexpectedly busier this summer and he is coaching Cooper’s Little League districts team, meaning he has been on campus more AND he’s been at baseball every single night for the last 3 weeks.

GAH.

I know we only had a 3-day weekend, but I haven’t really known what day it is all week. Yesterday, for example, we just forgot to go to The Little Gym because I didn’t know it was Thursday. 

We’ve been doing lots of errands and dropping off of kids and tidying in the morning, followed by frequent work and housework during nap, afternoon water table and neighborhood walks, and evenings at the pool.

Ben and I see each other at about 9:15 pm for an hour or so before I pass out, and then we do it all over again. I thought baseball season was done, but then surprise? Coop’s travel team picked up a tournament for this weekend hashtag blessed. Swim and dive is over at the end of the month, though, so we really will have a few less busy weeks before the school rush (I say that now…).

I mean, it’s not all swimming with a toddler in the shallow end and waving goodbye to kids as they head out the minivan and packing and unpacking their sports bags. We also go to the zoo to spy on the new baby orangutan whenever we can, and there’s always sweet treat Tuesday to get us out of the house

I always forget how busy we are in the summer, especially since COVID summers threw a wrench on our routines. The first summer we did nothing except wait for Minnie to be born and go to the pool in 90-minute shifts we had to sign up for in advance. Jack had dive practice, but there were no meets. And then last summer, we did swim for 2 and dive for 2, plus baseball and dance team, but Minnie was an infant. Now she’s a person with her own schedule and ideas, and she can’t just be shuffled along with everyone else. Maybe what I forgot was 2 year-olds. Ha!

 

 

4th of July

We had a charming and delightful and delightfully Midwestern 4th of July weekend.

Here are Dorothy and Cooper making popcorn bags for outdoor movie night:

Here I am borrowing Minnie’s float:

Snack buddies:

(She never actually floated with this float, BTW, and, frankly, doesn’t seem to trust it)

BOY DID WE SLIDE.

This might be a totally different day. Who knows? She will only wear this swimsuit.

Popcorn bags:

Harry took her down the slide whenever he had a break

Floating Dorothy

SO CUTE:

I sure did borrow Dorothy’s floaty

No one lost any digits!

Movie night- classic cinema edition:

HBD USA. 

Typos: A Note

 Hi friends! Sorry that my typos are so much worse than usual lately. I have been writing these posts on my iPad, and the auto correct is... aggressive. Thanks for the benefit for the doubt, as always.

PS: My old lady eyes are terrible, and I can never find my glasses. It's a double whammy.

Halfway day check in

Pool pic apropos of nothing, especially since this baby has less than 2 months to go before she’s 2– way more than halfway there **sob**

In honor of halfway day, I am checking in on my 22 for 2022 list, and you guys! I forgot about some of these things, but I still want to do them. I also sort of bailed on designing my summer, so maybe we can cram a bunch of college visits and playgrounds into the rest of this summer and kill 2 birds with one stone (which is a terrible metaphor this year because we are finding dead birds EVERYWHERE which, in turn, is a terrible omen).

I am doing far better than I thought I was at crossing these items off my list, and I think the key is to fill the list with things I really want to do.

 1. Go to the library on a regular schedule-- every 2 weeks and/or to pick up holds. I was doing this SO WELL until I got COVID. I am back on track, though.

2. Manage library holds so they don't come in all at once or expire. See above

3. Read my Books of the Month the month I get them. This has been SO VERY HELPFUL. I am so glad I put this on my list!!

4. Read with my eyeballs for 22 minutes a day. Same as above! Committing to actual reading has been so refreshing. I do still rely on audio books more than I maybe should, but a definite improvement!

5. Exercise 7 days a week. Except for COVID time, I am doing this, and it feels excellent.

6. Learn crow pose: Working on it

7. Run a Thanksgiving 5K: I have made progress toward this goal in that I have recruited Jack. BUT we are spending Turkey day in FL, so I have to maybe move this to another day.

8. Watch all the Oscar best picture nominees: I decided I didn’t want to do this.

9. Go to Pekin: Hopefully when we take the boys to speech camp next month?

10. Eat Monicals pizza: Same.

11. Take the kids to 22 local parks: Working on it!

12. Visit at least 3 WI state parks: Forgot about this! Will do it.

13. Take a family trip to tour Ben's campus: Still need to do this and really want to

14. Tour at least 4 UW system schools: We have done 1 and can do another when we cross of #14, so we’ll have to figure out more.

15. Tour 3 MN or IA schools: Well, this was ambitious. Ben and I need to brainstorm this one a bit more.

16. Throw fun birthday parties for all: Dropped the ball for Harry. Ooops. Also forgot Beatrix’s birthday entirely, so maybe I need to move this one to 2023.

17. Print 2022 AND 2021 pictures: LOL. Nope.

18. Finish Minnie's baby book: Nope.

19. Blog at least 12 days/month all year: Doing it

20. USE MY PLANNER: Doing it.

21. Buy a new LV bag: YEP!!

22. Either move or refinance the house or BOTH. Did one but still realllllly want to move.

June: What I Read

Three of my top 4 are audiobooks.

It was hard to read with my eyes this month.

 I was in a bit of a reading slump. COVID really knocked me out, and one of the balls that I dropped was my library stack. I just sort of let it languish until I had over $100 in fines for late books. FINALLY I dragged myself back to the library, but I couldn’t really get motivated to go because none of my holds were coming in. After I returned my late books, I logged into my library account and saw that ALL MY HOLDS WERE GONE. So all the summer blockbusters I was at the front of the line for? Now I am number 704 on like 13 copies. WHYYYYYYYYY? Anyway, the moral of the story is return your books on time.

Anyway, here are the books I read in June:

The Anne Series:

Rainbow Valley by LM Montgomery: I wanted MOAR Anne and less preaching, although I forgot all about the Meredith children. Really, though, I want to see Anne and Diana cope with all the unpleasantness of getting older and losing parents, etc. Instead, we just see Anne as she drives by in a carriage with Gilbert a couple of times or listens to a child cry about something ridiculous and doesn’t laugh because she is the best mom ever. 

Rilla of Ingleside by LM Montgomery: Oh, this one is almost too sad, even though I know it’s coming. It’s especially sad to read when I have kids Rilla’s age in an unstable world. Also, Anne and Gilbert are getting old, but it’s the last book, so I have to imagine their decline.

Anne of Windy Poplars by LM Montgomery: College Anne is adorable, but working lady Anne is even better. I wanted more Avonlea news, and it was midway through this book that I realized Montgomery just sort of abandons all of those characters. Like, Anne goes to visit from time to time, but I want to know about Dora and Davy and Mrs. Rachel.

Anne of Ingleside by LM Montgomery: Again! I still want to know Anne. The last chapter where she’s mad at Gilbert and jealous of his old college flame? MORE LIKE THAT. I also think the way Montgomery romanticized marriage and kids and motherhood influenced me more than I can say. I actually think I cared less about college and may future career because part of me thought I would just work until I had kids and then I’d have my old big old house (but not my own Susan Baker darn it-- and the house turned out to be cozy and new) full of kids to take care of. I guess I should have married the town doctor? I am actually still made at myself for not going to med school— or for not even considering it as a thing I was capable of doing? And I sort of blame Anne Blythe. So many odd little details about marriage and motherhood stuck with me from these later books, only I didn’t realize they were Montgomery’s doing until I read the books again. What I am saying, even though it sounds very Anne-like and dramatic, is that these books shaped my world view. I read them a hundred thousand times as a little kid and tween, and I think they just sort of seeped into my consciousness. A feminist with a checkered past, indeed.

Anne’s House of Dreams by LM Montgomery: My favorite of the series. So heartbreaking, but it also does such a great job of capturing the potential of a young marriage.

After giving the whole series a thorough reread and examining my own ideology, here’s my definitive Anne Shirley Blythe book ranking:

1. Anne’s House of Dreams

2. Anne of Green Gables

3. Anne of Ingleside

4. Anne of Avonlea

5. Anne of Windy Poplars

6. Rilla of Ingleside

7. Anne of the Island

8. Rainbow Valley

ALSO! I bought the series on eBay so I could enjoy the same Bantam editions I read as a kid, and this added to my enjoyment, I am sure. And I had excellent vision when I was a kid-- dang are those pages teeny.

The rest of June:

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner: Believe it or not, I have only recently started reading Weiner, so I am checking out her backlist. **Audio

The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird: A completely serviceable suspense book. Liked it a lot. **2022 **Audio

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin: Not my favorite of hers, but I borrowed it from a friend and am delighted to have read a big summer book on time. **2022

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: Corey recommended this one, and it is a DELIGHT. **Audio

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C Ford: This memoir is outstanding, and you should read it. The author reads the audio book, which is also terrific. **Audio

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn: Solid meh. Although I, too, have a thing for plucky WWII lady fiction (no commas for more meanings). **2022 **Audio

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark: This twisty thriller was my June Book of the Month pick, and it was everything I wanted a light summer read to be.

Home or Away by Kathleen West: If your kids play hockey, you must read this. If your kids play another competitive sport, you should for use. Not great lit but very appealing. **2022 **Audio

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner: Yep. An excellent summer read. **2022

The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward: I really liked The Jetsetters, and this one was great, too. Very twisty and summery and about insecure moms, a subject about which I have a soft spot. **2022 **Audio

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub: I loved this book, but it made me cry.  A lot. And basically all the way through. I loved the main character's ironic stance on time travel even as it happened to her, and I really, really loved all the tiny stuff she remembered to remember after she started traveling. This book is a delight. But a sad one. **2022 **Audio

This Month:

16 Books

8 books published in 2022

8 print books and 8 audiobooks

This Year:

126 books

47 books published in 2022

64 print books and 62 audiobooks