A glimpse into this last week of 2023 as our family.
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| photo cred: Eva M |
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| photo cred: Ray |
Intentional Outdoor Hours (final count): 686+ hours for the year.
Not my best years' hours but not my worst count ever either. It was just meh. Some of my favorite memories from this year are those that were spent under the big wide open sky (they always are!) I am excited to try again another year!
Reading and finishing Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong. Loved it so much. I was really glad to follow along with the characters one more time after the first book (which was one of my top 9 reads of the year!) Thank you to my student Ruby for sharing it with me!
Final book count: 33 books. I included these as my top 9 to share on Facebook since everyone is doing it. These were my top 9 most engaging books - as in they had me most interested in ignoring my family (lol) and wanting to talk about to anyone else who read the books. A big thank you to Renee S, Jenn V, Jake R, and my student Ruby M who are always the most patient and kind when I want to talk books like a full blown nerd.
In case you want to go full blown nerd: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was the absolute best book I read this year and I convinced at least three people to read it (and love it) after I read it. I will be rooting for Demon for the rest of my life. Normal People by Sally Rooney has been on my TBR list forever (thank you Tare!) and thank goodness I read it. Also, good Lord, the chemistry in the book and on screen (IKYK - Kate T!) Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin was incredible and I needed emotional support after I read "the" chapter (thank you Jenn V for being there for me) and I provided emotional support after Brenna read "the" chapter (lol - she called my classroom from her classroom and we basically sighed into the phone like; yeah, I get it. your heart is broken). My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell messed my brain up and blew my mind; apologies to my Kate who I suggested it to and she read it and was also messed up (lol, love you). These Violet Delights by Chloe Gong was excellent and I loved talking about it to my student Ruby who let me borrow it - the Romeo&Juliet connections had me gushingggggg and also crazy, beautiful story telling. In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner was beautifully written and about Appalachia which I'm kind of obessed with right now and wonderful. Plus I read it with 10+ students and got to talk about it with them! Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid was storytelling perfection and Taylor Jenkins Reid is some kind of writing genius. I am convinced I can never go wrong with a book by her. If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin hurt my insides and I needed actual emotional support when I finished it. The student who lent it to me (Alyssa) was absent that day in school, so I literally called another student (Marisa) out of class to discuss the book with her and we both ended up crying in the hallway together (lol forever, I loved being your teacher!) Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score was the best spicy book I read this year; it was also my birthday gift from Violet (lol).
The annual planner transfer. I pulled out all my cute pens and filled in birthdays and vacations and school holidays and game schedules and filled in my beautiful, crisp, clear planner for the new year. What a thrill it gives me to see the whole year just waiting to unfold before us. It is INSANE that each year as the kids get older now the days are filled even more than the year before. I keep thinking it impossible to stuff more into our days and yet - here we are. I know it won't always be like this and that will be so wonderful and simultaneously so awful. So I'm focusing on the excitement and pride of being the captain of this crew of athletes and social butterflies.
Basically living in my Cozy Earth jammies that Brandon got me for Christmas. We don't do gifts for each other (because this life and this love is the gift every day!) but he surprised me this year with a real actual gift of a pair of bamboo pajamas from Cozy Earth. They are so comfortable and feel so luxurious. I don't have many things in this life as a full-time working mom of six athletes who volunteers for all the things - but these pajamas give me spa vibes even while I'm wrestling kiddos to bed. If you know me, I actually hate gifts (last place on my love language list) but these jammies are the exception to the rule.
Mini getaway with my handsome fella. We took our second annual...well, what can it be called. It's not a honeymoon since we are 15+ years married, but I like that vibe. Maybe a VanillaMoon? CinnamonMoon? SyrupMoon? CreamofTartarMoon(hahaha) Anyway - we spent three nights and two days in a tiny cabin in Raystown and it was perfect. That's all you're going to get because some memories are meant to be made and held precious between ourselves. The best thing I ever did was pair up with my fella.
The biggest thank you ever to the people who came together to make sure we could get away. Miss Emma & Kolten who played house and stayed with our kids and animals. Kolten took Rust to wrestling practice and helped coach too! The McDannells who had Vi for a sleepover & bowling one day this week. The Valentines and Rummells who each hosted Grey for sleepovers so that he could have fun and get to his practices. Uncle Kev who was chauffeur to a birthday party, Pappy who transported Rusty to and from his dentist appointment, and Coach Drew who picked up and dropped off Gemmi for basketball practice.
In the market for an additional nanny! Our Miss Emma is starting college two days a week in January and I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who is going to nanny for us Mondays and Tuesdays. Thankfully, my sweet friend (and former student!) Maddy Z sent me some contact information for someone who might be available and our fingers are crossed! Thank you Maddy!!
Ringing in the new year! We stopped by two parties on NYE. First stop was Uncle Ray & Aunt Marge's house to visit with our Gilmore cousins. The kids were cracking up while Reddy walked across them on the floor and we all got our snuggles in with Mimi and baby Ryder! [Fun fact - 25 years ago (on NYE 1999) I had my first official date with Brandon at his Uncle Ray & Aunt Marge's house with his Gilmore cousins!] Then we took cousins Audra and Reid to sleep at our house and left Rusty to sleepover with cousin Rowan. We stopped by the Valentines annual party for awhile and then made it back home around 10p to put on cozy jammies and ring in the new year with champagne and kisses at midnight.
Sporting with 2 wrestling practices for Rusty and his first ever matches at the Central Cambria Novice tournament on Saturday! He lost both matches but he had a full cheering section for his first attempt - both grandpas (thanks Pap & Chum), Uncle Buck (our only wrestler in the family!), Aunt Uch, cousins Wells and Heath, and our entire family! We all learned quite a bit at the first tournament (thank you to all the wrestling moms who are giving me tips and helping me find schedules - especially Deanna, Eva, and Megan!) Gemma practiced twice with the JrHigh basketball team and Grey had two basketball practices this week.
Making homemade mac&cheese (this is our family favorite recipe!) and sloppy joes, baked meatball sub sammies, and frozen pizza. While B and I were on our CreamofTartarMoon (LOL forever) - we had fried sauerkraut balls at a little hole-in-the-wall bar, we stopped at Boxer's Bar in Juniata for dinner, and we made our mini shopping trip to pick up Everything bagels, veggie cream cheese, Pub Mix snacks, Jalapeno chippies, and peanut m&m's to snack on while we were at the cabin.
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