2022: Books of the YEAR!!

This year was an excellent year to be a reader. I ended the year shattering my reading goal, devouring over 122 print books and more than 100 audiobooks. I read more than 112 books from 2022, and as a self-important weirdo, I only include books from the current year on my top 10. I adored Lucy by the Sea and A World of Curiosities, but neither of them made this list because I needed to cut something, and I decided that books in a series was where I would draw the line.

All 10 of these books are terrific, but the top 5 are particularly amazing-- read them if you haven't already.

Bring on the boring

 Current status and future plan for the next few days, all summed up in one snap:

It’s actually been a busy morning, I had a manuscript review due to a journal, and Ben is working because academic administrators don’t get big cushy breaks (but they DO get actual vacation time outside of those big cushy breaks, so that’s really cool— all our travel has to be winter break, spring break, or summer boo hiss). I did my work while parenting all 5 kids (yes, actually, I am proud of myself). Now all I have to do is monitor grade submission for my large class that I direct and bake cookies for Santa.

All our food is bought; gifts are wrapped. Magic is ready to happen. 

We have a terrible cold spell and a possible blizzard, so that really made us speed up all our last-minute things, and the result is like 10 days with nothing to or anywhere to go, and we actually really can’t go anywhere today and possibly tomorrow, and I LOVE IT hashtag privilege. 

Welcome to the juggle

Also, she stole my breakfast:

Coop came with us to The Little Gym yesterday, and he took this cute pic of frowny grumpy dumpling Minnie

He also joined us for coffee and cookies after class and got a FROZEN SMOOTHIE when the temp was LITERALLY 3.

We ran home and scooped up the rest of the kids (Oh the magic of having 2 big kids who can supervise any stragglers— **ahem** Dorothy ** ahem**) and went to see dirty mall Santa because I am the fool who didn’t want to waste time at Epcot standing in line for Santa (and then had to fork over $40 for not even digital pics).

I told Harry and Jack they never have to do this again, but because of the pandemic, I don’t have a cheesy Santa pic of all 5 kids (we have taken pics with yard decoration Santa the last 2 years), and I really wanted one for my collection.

And now I am just trying to figure out if I want to prep cookie dough, frosting, and icing for my cookies today and do the rolling/cutting/baking/ decorating tomorrow OR if I should use a no-chill recipe ad just do it all today so I only have tp deal with cookie mess once. But it will be so much more mess. I’m torn. lots of mess quickly or more manageable mess longer? What would you choose?

We usually see Ben’s grandma on Christmas Eve, and she just turned 95 last week, so it’s a trip we really want to take and haven’t been able to since 2019 when I was just a few days pregnant with Minnie (well, a few days post-pregnancy test, so like 6 weeks pregnant, but you get the idea). Unfortunately, she isn’t feeling well, and other family members are sick, so, looks like we’re staying home and sending all the good thoughts to Illinois instead. 

Cheers to a snuggly end of the year, friends.

Kicking around a few goals for 2023

The idea of a 23 for 2023 list seems a little overwhelming-- that's SO MANY THINGS, and 23 is a prime number, so I can’t even, like, group them or use a smaller factor or something. BUT ALSO, there are THINGS I want to DO.

I **think** I want to switch to e-books. I KNOW. I cannot even believe I am saying this either. BUT!! I am not very comfortable reading in bed since I have started wearing reading glasses. Something about the angle I am at while also holding a book-- ugh. I think a Kindle would help with this. Also! I HAVE SO MANY BOOKS-- I really don't need to accumulate more. And!! It would be SO NICE to have immediate access to library books. PLUS!! Think how easy it would be to bring a book everywhere I go.

BUT-- I love books. LOVE them-- the way they feel, smell, etc. AND! I kind of NEED to go to the library so that I remember to take Minnie. If I wasn't constantly picking up holds, I might not remember to go. 

Another thing I **might** want to focus on next year is my nails. I am pretty good at getting pedicures on the regular, even though I never feel like I have time for them. I almost never ever get manicures, though, and maybe that's something I want to try? Like, can I go a whole year with manicured nails?

BEING ON TIME TO BABY ACTIVITIES is something I want to get better at.

Home improvements:

• I really was a dumpster so we can just RID OURSELVES OF JUNK and maybe finish a storage room as a den for Harry to use as a man cave. There’s actually a moving service in town that will haul your stuff away and decide what to toss, what to donate, what to recycle, and I think, actually, that is what I want.
• CARPET. WE MUST GET  NEW CARPET my goodness.
• Update Dorothy’s bedroom/switch Minnie to a toddler bed/redecorate my room/ get the boys beds before one of them crashes through the top bunk and kills the other one
• OR NONE OF THESE AND WE JUST MOVE.

As you can see, I have no idea what to focus on for the year ahead. Anyone have a good idea I can steal? 

My pedicure buddy would def be up for a mani-centered goal

Oh, the day I am having.

 At 4:45am, I was leaving Minnie’s room (after nursing her because apparently that’s how I am going to spend the rest of my life ) to crawl back into bed and sleep for another 75 minutes before my exercise alarm sounded, and I tripped in a hot puddle of dog pee, hit my wrist on the half wall by the stairs, fell down, and wrenched my back.

Then I had to clean it all up.

Also, the thud and my subsequent strangled yell woke Minnie all the way up, and Ben and I took turns talking to her on her monitor and sort of sleeping between bursts of her shouting “I waked up! It’s waked up time!” Until 6am. PERFECT start to the day.

THEN at baby swim, I got all the way into the changing room and out of my wet swim suit before discovering that I forgot to pack any underwear (I always go to swim with my suit under my clothes and put underwear in our dry bag for after). AND WE HAD TO GO TO TARGET ON THE WAY HOME which was terrible because it’s Christmas week and everyone at Target is just as scattered and desperate as I am and also I DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO WEAR UNDER MY JEANS AND IRONIC CHRISTMAS SWEATSHIRT.

(Minnie’s day went off the rails when she wanted to pick out a present for Ben (adorable) and really wanted to get him “tiny bracelets” that were actually Wild Fable hoop earrings, and I suggested a sweatshirt. I’m clearly the worst.)

Apropos of nothing, here is DOrothy decked out for ugly sweater/glitter day and so excited that winter break begins TOMORROW. She has hair glitter all over her hair and also all over the whole house.

Gingerbread Overload

Even though I am the one who bakes all the gingerbread houses from freaking SCRATCH, none of the kids ever wants to be on my team for our family gingerbread house competition (we are in teams of 2, which we will have to rethink when Minnie gets older) because I am actually pretty terrible at CONSTRUCTING gingerbread houses.

We build them and then take pics for FB to choose our winner, and this year, DOROTHY AND I WON!

Even though Ben and Jack’s house was WAY WAY WAY more solid, neater, and better decorated:

Look at that marshmallow fence! 

Dorothy and I had a royal icing frosting bag problem that we could never really recover from, and things got STICKY. Plus someone was really forceful with her marshmallow and gum drop placement, and OUR WALLS KEPT CAVING IN.

Moments after we took our social media photos, this happened:

Harry and Cooper’s house was also perfectly constructed, neat, and adorable, and they were … not happy with the results of our social media vote

They were happy with how delicious their house was, though, and they’ve both been eating it for the last 24 hours. Ben said it looks like they have a raccoon problem.

Dorothy was so sad about being on my loser team when we informally assigned teams that she insisted we draw names out of a hat to pick teams fairly, and then she got on my team anyway! HA HA HA.

Intense construction

SO CUTE THOUGH YOU GUYS

Why yes, she did swoop in to eat the house after the roof slid off. WHY NOT?

They know in their hearts that they’re the real winners, even though they actually got third in the FB voting.

Definitely the house made of bricks and so sweetly landscaped.

Drinking Coke and eating their decorations. Like you do.

No, but really, royal icing is gross.

OMG they’re twins.

(It was  pretty delicious).

Honestly, this year’s competition was a great way to talk to the kids in concrete terms about the differences between social media and real life. Dorothy and I had a house that crumbled to pieces, but we took a couple of excellent photos, so it looked like a winner. But also, what’s real life anyway? All the houses will be gone soon, and we’ll always have the picture. So meta.

Every year I am like ugh I should just buy kits and then no one will complain that they got the thick roof (Dorothy and I so got the thick roof), but then I smell the houses cooking, and I am sold.

Also, if you separate the prep from the decorating, it’s no more mess than a boxed house in the moment of decoration.

I made royal icing, but Ben also wanted cans because he had no faith in the glue-like properties of my icing, but that stuff dried ROCK SOLID. (Dorothy and I had an explosion out the top of our bag and had to use a knife instead of a frosting tip, and ours never dried. Blergh.) Coop put the extra frosting to good use

I made a double batch of dough, so there was plenty left for Minnie to get in on the gingerbread act the next day. I make the houses thin and crispy, but I like my people soft and fluffy with buttercream frosting— so delicious. AND SO ARE HER LITTLE HANDS AND WRISTS.

She selected her tiny rolling pin at the baking store we visited for more frosting tips and bags and our cardboard squares for the house, sugar trees, etc, last week, and she put it to good use yesterday. She also wanted to try the big one.

 

 

All of the kids have worn that little Company Store apron (it says naughty on one side and nice on the other), and we actually have 2 because we have always had toddler pairs before, but Minnie is the LONE TODDLER— sob!)

Luckily, Cooper (who takes a vacation from brushing his hair on the weekends) is always available for my frosting needs because I am actually getting sick of baking things— just in time to make Santa cookies **whomp whomp**

5 on a Friday: SNOW DAAAAAAY (Yesterday) Edition

 1. Our snow day started early. Well, mine did.

 Back story: For her ENTIRE LIFE, Minnie has woken up early any time I have set an alarm (which is why I have been soooo unproductive since her birth— I can count on ONE HAND the number of times I have set an alarm in the past 2 years), and yesterday was no exception. I needed to get up at 5:20 to make sure Jack got out the door with his dive practice carpool by 5:40, and Minnie was up to nurse in the mid-4’s and would not be satisfied with Ben’s offer of a bottle and hug LOL. I went back to bed at 4:53, knowing my alarm was going off in 27 minutes. And when it did? My body was like I AM AWAKE, which, blergh. 

While Jack and I were sitting on the couch (he was sitting— I was curled up under a blanket) waiting for his ride, we got a text, an email, and a phone call telling us school was cancelled. We were SHOCKED because if the city had actually plowed the streets, school would have been fine. It was above freezing by noon, and the roads were FINE. 

2. But I am not someone to look a gift horse in the mouth— SNOW DAYS ARE THE BEST. Telling kids that school has been cancelled is one of the very funnest parenting tasks.

(Minnie had nowhere to go, but she was also SO HAPPY to have all her people home all day— and also whipped cream on her waffles)

3. Dorothy and Cooper went sledding IMMEDIATELY, and I took Minnie to sled and play on the school playground after my 9:30 meeting (with Dorothy). Then Coop and Ben shoveled out our house and our neighbors down the street. I had more meetings, and Dorothy and Cooper went to play with brother/sister friends for two hours because their friends’ mom is a saint. Harry had bro time with his friend down the street and played some tennis while Jack listened to his audio book and just like, aggressively, chilled (SUPER JELLY)

4. Just when we were going stir crazy, Coop and Dorothy had evening activities, so I made an exceptionally lazy kid dinner, and we just sort of hung out peacefully until bath time.

5. To end the day, Ben and I had drinks and this amazing plate of snacks for dinner while we watched the Christmas episode of Murderville with the boys. Also! I am ONLY watching Christmas TV this month, and while I am not as serious about it as I was in 2020 we are watching some delightfully bad movies.

(Look at that jerk face dishwasher in the background— doing its job but probably planning its next vacation).

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