A glimpse into what it is like to live in our just this moment of the new year: 2023!
Intentional Outdoor Hours: 2+ hours (of 1000)
A few unseasonably warm winter days made getting outside easy - especially with the kids after school and spending time with Osa in the yard. The pupper is getting used to my mini walks to the turn in the driveway and back to snag a few minutes when she goes out to the bathroom. It's like a little ritual for us and just enough time and space to encourage her to both pee and poop before we go back inside. Not yet fully house trained, but I know we are moving in the right direction!
Reading and finishing Jackal by Erin E Adams. I really enjoyed it and am so impressed and proud that she is a Johnstown native. Now I'm reading Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lean Coakley. It's a borrow from my co-worker and friend Jennie (thank you!)
Ringing in the New Year. I love being a loser on NYE and staying home and kissing all the babies in my house, kissing B, downing a glass of champagne and then snuggling into my own bed to fall asleep and wake up in a brand new, fresh, full of possibility and ambition in the new year. Grey spent the night at the Valentines (thanks for having him!) and Gemma was so happy to have her cousin Audra sleep over. But other than that, we were big 'ole boring and it was wonderful.
Taking the guinea pigs back to school after their holiday break at our house. Olive was the saddest to see them go. She held them and talked to them everyday of break. B and I took the kids into school on the Monday off to get them re-settled and get myself organized for the first day back.
Lady and Osa playdate! Osa is driving Bullet absolutely insane with her incessant puppy rough-housing, he's like "Child!? I am 13 years old. Leave me the heck alone." Poor old man. Trixie wants absolutely nothing to do with her and she's 11 years old herself. So Lady is the best playmate ever with her zoomy quick legs that Osa gets all the fun but can never catch her! Hah! And a Lady visit means a visit with my sister Uch so it's a win-win for me!
Welcoming Miss Emma back! We missed her and the kids love her so much. Her first week back in the new year and she's added Osa (a puppy) and baby Heath (3 months old) to her days of two toddlers under 2yrs and one almost threenager. GOD BLESS THIS GIRL. Do you understand what kind of superhero this 19year old saint is? I know this week was exhausting but she had a smile on her face and sweet things to say about the kids everyday. Oh Miss Emma, you are an inspiration and blessing to our family. You are so very loved and cherished.
Thankful to have a tween daughter who says things like, 'can we try making granola?' She and I looked up a recipe and made it one night spur of the moment and it turned out delicious and was surprisingly easy to do. My Gemmi loves yogurt parfaits but we always forget to buy granola topper, but now because of her, we know how to make it ourselves! Oh man, this big kid journey is going to be awesome in so many ways.
Laughing about how much Olive loves slime. It's actually hilarious how much joy slime bring this baby. Besides the slime that she gets stuck on her clothes, in her hair, rubs into the carpet and the couches - it's not so bad. LOL, I'm in slime hell. But it makes her so happy, right? #babyofthefamilyperks
Working on my daily mini goals! The first three days of the year I accomplished all four mini goals! After the school year started, I was accomplishing some daily goals at least. Taking it day by day and working towards them as best as I can.
Missing my laptop at home. We misplaced a charger and now we have a dead laptop which means no blogging and no writing in my novel on the computer. I know it seems like who has time to do that anyway - but writing is like a pressure release gauge on my non-stop buzzing brain.
Celebrating Orthodox Christmas. Pappy and Gigi stopped by on Friday night to give the kids some little gifts from 'Orthodox Santa' and then the kids all slept out under the Christmas tree on Orthodox eve for the last night it is up in the house (a Studer kid tradition!) On Saturday we spent the afternoon at my parents' house eating delicious food and enjoying the company of our extended Uzelac family to celebrate the holiday. We are Russian Orthodox on Brandon's side and Serbian Orthodox on my side. How lucky we are to be able to extend the Christmas season all the way into January.
Getting all the Christmas decorations down including the tree and our life-size Santa! Thank goodness for Grey and Gem who helped so much carrying boxes and heavy items upstairs for me.
Teaching and getting back into the routine again. ugh, we were all so tired this week - grateful it was only a four day week! Spanish 1 did their 2nd round of baseline writing and then got vocab words for Somos Unit 5. Spanish 2 worked on a Selena Song (my fav - el chico del apt 512) and we talked about piropos (lively conversations!) Spanish 3/4 watched The Curse of La Llorona to celebrate reading the novel. I put up a puzzle in the teacher's lounge so we could put it together like a community a little at a time throughout the month and we started the staff annual weightloss challenge that will last 12 weeks!
Sporting with 3 basketball practices, 1 baseball practice, and two basketball games for Grey. I had a chat with Grey when we took the 'long way home' after his game on Friday night. I will never fault him for having a bad or off game, but I don't have patience for not giving your all and or half-hearted leadership on the field/court. Sports are more than sports. Gem and Violet went to open gym for basketball on Saturday and Gemma had a basketball practice on Saturday too. I signed Gem and Violet up for AYSO soccer and got Rusty signed up for machine pitch youth baseball.
Making all the leftovers to try to clear out this holiday food! We had pork nachos, Navy bean soup, and pierogies & kielbasa with leftovers! We also had chicken fajitas, deer meat from Pappy (one of the kids' favorite!), and copycat chik-fa-la sammies. I made cheese danishes for breakfast on Saturday morning and overnight blueberry oats in Mason jars for me and B too one day. We brought mousse with teddy graham dippers to my mom's for Orthodox Christmas!
So for the slime everywhere- VINEGAR! It'll get it out. It's easiest if you can kind of dip (like if it's a shirt) into a little bowl of it, but even if you have to pour a little onto wherever it's stuck, it works! It's legit mom magic!
ReplyDeleteI am reading back on your posts- so maybe you talk about it- but I am so curious about the idea of mini-goals. With my going back to school (and then doubling up) my masters classes have taken over my LIFE! I'd still like to be getting some things done around the house, tho, even if they're tiny. You have my intrigued!
I am with you- New Year's at home is the BEST! I am usually asleep by 10 and only wake up at midnight if the fireworks in the neighborhood get too loud! Haha!
I found myself nodding along with your praise of having a tween/teen in the kitchen. My twins can fully make multiple dinners on their own, and I am not exaggerating when I say it is life changing. To have that hour back to myself each evening- to do homework with Carly, or my own homework, or to deal with laundry or something instead- it's just the best!!
And lastly, your nanny. Haven't met her (obv) but she must be AMAZING to juggle everything being thrown at her. The babies! The toddlers! The animals! I am so so so so so happy for you that you found her. She sounds like true perfection.
Hugs & love from Washington always!!!
XOXO