A Day in the Life: March

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Sunday, March 30, 2025

5:30a wake up with B and Olive on the couch because we were watching March Madness and then fell asleep and never made it up to bed. I sneak off the couch and head upstairs to brush my teeth and try to wake up by scrolling for fifteen minutes. It didn't work, I was actually almost falling back asleep, so I just got up. 

6a. down to the kitchen to heat up yesterday's leftover coffee and start making the cake and cupcakes for Reddy's birthday party this afternoon. Happy that the chickens are producing so well because I need six eggs just for the two boxes of mix. I also start the laundry cycles and start a new pot of coffee. Then I sit in the oven chair (to hold the oven door completely shut) while blogging so that the cakes all bake properly. 




7:30a. Cupcakes and cakes are out and cooling. Morning chores like dog out and food and water. Guinea pig moved outside and water. Making my list for the morning that is for the whole family to see today's checklist and finishing a little gift I have for Uch since my nephew Wells has a surgery tomorrow. 


7:50a Kids are waking up and Reddy is all smiles for his party today. Olive wants a "macheet" (chocolate milk) and I make chocolate croissants and heat up leftover cheesy potatoes for breakfast. That means more sitting on the oven chair which feels like a time waste so I work on meal planning for this week (yikes, going to be a tricky one!) 

Monday - chicken & gravy mashed potato bowls
Tuesday (Reddy's choice) - Sheetpan chicken fajitas and pumpkin roll for Red's birthday dessert
Wednesday - Meatball sub sammies
Thursday - crack chicken sammies
Friday - grill (burgers / hot dogs / brats) and air fryer french fries
Saturday - continue to think about (first day of trout!)

I also set up the cooled cakes and cupcakes on the platter and put strawberry jam between the cake layers are Reddy's request. 

8:20a breakfast with B and the kids as we look at Reddy's baby book to laugh and smile about how sweet he was (and is!) Then Olive's hair needs a little refresh while B and Rusty clean up the living room from last night. I switch the laundry and cart up some stuff to our bedroom to get it out of the kitchen before the party to minimize party clutter (like my computer and school bag). 


8:45a Get ready for Sunday school and waking up Gemma. I get dressed and do her eyebrows real quick (because it's an emergency situation over here, mom!) and it's off to Sunday school by 9:10a!

9:15a Sunday school and today the parents were asked to be there with the kids who are going to get their first Holy Communion this year. I stayed in class with Rusty and Mrs. Sotosky is so great at leading the class and had fun activities and even bread and honey to try for the communion kids. After Sunday school, the kids and I stopped at Dollar General to grab the last few things we needed for the party (paper plates, tablecloths, juice bags) and then it was home just in time to wave goodbye to the insurance adjustor who was at the house checking out our siding that got ripped off by the last storm?!


10:30a Doing all the pre-party tasks: icing cupcakes and cake, sweeping, setting up tables, vacuuming, loading the dishwasher, and starting the crockpots. B had done a bunch of stuff on the list while we were at Sunday school thankfully, so we already had a bit of a head start. He and Grey had brought up tables, done all the animal chores, and cleaned up the backyard a big. I also had to do non-party stuff like switching the laundry and responding to texts with coaches and boosters (hah) because real life don't ever stop! 



1p Red's fifth birthday party at our house! B cooked hamburgers on the grill and we had baked beans and buffalo chicken dip in the crockpots. We are always blessed with people who show up with smiles and arms loaded down with goodies to share (we love and appreciate you!) Abba brought pasta salad, Mimi made no bakes, Heather brought little smokie pigs in the blankets and fruit salad, Miss Hannah brought her famous brownies, and Miss Emma brought juice bags. 

Even though it sprinkled most of the time, that didn't stop the kids from jumping on the trampoline, playing spies, and visiting the animals. It was a wild and fun time for the kids and lots of yummy food and chatting for the grown ups. We sang to Reddy (5) and Mimi (87) and the kids tried to cook smores in the rain (moderate success). Everyone was sufficiently tired and soaked through by the end of the party. 








5:30p Everyone had hugged goodbye and helped carry everything into the house. It was time to clean up and reset. Grey helped condense everything with the promise of a Sundowner hamburger for dinner (hah). Then he went and organized a game of indoor baseball in the living room with Reddy's new foam bat while I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and washed the big stuff. I texted photos to the friends and family who were at the party and said thank you again. 

It will be leftovers for dinner because we have so many random things left from the party and from the week in the fridge. B took Gemma to Gators soccer practice at 6p while I did a quick vacuum on all the pieces of grass that found their way into the house from wet socks during the party. 





6:15p Four loads of laundry needed sorted so I could switch the laundry again. I still have at least 3 loads to do before tomorrow (that would be ideal, but we will see). B hung out to chat with me while kids came in and out to talk randomly. The boys went back outside to try out Red's new rocket launcher and I tried not to cry while matching socks (hahaha, honestly will be the end of my sanity someday). I got Olive's, Red's, and all the towels put away after sorting the clothes. 



7:20p in the attic to find cleats and shin guards to see if we can assemble some kind of a season without having to buy anything else new. I also carried up St Patrick's decorations that needed put away but upon entry to the attic, I see the kids have been up there digging through bins of clothes...but that giant mess is for another day - so I choose to ignore it and dig on through the sports equipment. B went to pick up Gemma and I carried down the possible cleat options and as many shinguards as I could find (literally all mismatched which is classic and exactly how I feel about socks...so great). 



7:45p I heated up leftover pizza and ate it standing up while laughing at Red who is so thrilled about his back scratcher that my dad got him (the same one my dad has). Red said, "I wish my friend Jeremiah could see my back scratcher!" and then a few minutes later, "I just love this back scratcher!" Haha, it's always the simple things that kids like the best! I asked Rusty again to show me the cleats he has for tomorrow and he showed me last year's pair size 2. I was like, "dude. what size shoe do you wear?" and he was like, "what? a 4." babes. Not going to work. So it's back up to the attic again. 


8p. I found a size 5 but with socks they work for Rusty so I think we are covered enough for tomorrow's practice. I will need to order Olive some tiny cleats that actually fit but for tomorrow she's wearing 2sizes up because that's what we got. I got Queen Barb the guinea pig ready for bed (hah) and then made Grey his sundowners (hamburger, egg, mustard, cheese, chili). I reminded Rust to empty his backpack and got the rundown about practice from Gemma while she reheated some pizza for dinner. 

B took the kids up to bed (Olive needed carried since she was already asleep on the couch after such a fun day!) except Violet decided she was hungry. So she heated up a leftover cream cheese chicken taco. Gem came back for a piece of cake before bed and I realized I had only two dishwasher tabs left...add that to the grocery list. And then Reddy came down wanting to take his back scratcher up to bed...him and this back scratcher?!

I fed my sourdough Celebrina and put her down for a long Springtime Snooze in the fridge until we finish spring sports season. Eeek! goodnight Celebrina, we love you. Take a rest - you earned it! 





9p. B gave Bullet his old man pain medicine and I checked the laundry and realized the settings were changed today on the dryer and our clothes were not actually dry yet. Ugh..so I restarted the dryer and the wet clothes waited. Dishwasher started and B washed the last of the big stuff. Gemma wanted her hair in heatless curls and Then it was finally time for pajamas - Thank Goodness! and some time on the couch with B, my hot tea, and a book! 

We finished watching the last 25 minutes of the Joplin tornado documentary and then we both knew if we stayed down there any longer we would fall asleep on the couch never to make it to bed. So we forced ourselves up and checked on all the kids one last time and then yay for heated blankets and nighttime. 



A long busy day and tomorrow starts a full work week with soccer practices and baseball games and B's annual fishing trip. Sunday scaries for sure, but it was a good day and everyone was so generous and helpful. So very grateful for everyone who shows up for us everyday and in every way they can. thank you, love you, keep keeping on! 

Around Here Week 13: 03/23 - 29

Saturday, April 12, 2025

 A glimpse into what it is like to be in our family just this moment. 


photo cred: Megan M





















Intentional Outdoor Hours: 34+ hours (of 1000)
The weather was chilly all week and really bringing me down (for real - I need sun and warm, it's an emergency to my mental health at this point). I sat at Grey's baseball game under two blankets and with a winter beanie on and was still shivering. And then FINALLY on Saturday morning, the warm rolled in and it felt like a real glimmer of hope! Spring is that you? please, oh please, oh please. 

Reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Listening to Know My Name by Chanel Miller

A happy half birthday for Violet who was 10 and a half this week! We measure her, had her choice of dinner, and dessert and sang happy half birthday! She always has big expectations for everything so in general everything is disappointing to her (LOL - SAME girl) but we are working on managing disappointment with grace and figuring out a way to hold high expectations for herself but giving grace to everyone else if they can't meet our expectations....it's a work in progress! 

Solar panel installation! It took two long days, but all the panels are installed on our roof! We have to wait now for our electric company to come in and inspect them and when they give the thumbs up - they will get switched on and will start working towards collecting the sunshine to use for energy! 

Looking ahead to the April calendar and feeling like maybe it's trying to overdo it. HAH. We kick off with Reddy's 5th birthday (and Mimi's 87th!). Then it's B's annual fishing trip with Uncle Jonny, followed by the first day of trout (Grey's favorite day of the year). Then it's Grey's birthday, then my nephew Blairy's FIRST birthday (!!), and Easter! Don't forget about AYSO practices twice a week (I'm coaching 2 teams), Grey's high school baseball games, Violet and Gemma's Laurel Highlands fútbol games (Sundays), Rusty's first Holy Communion, and Gemma's first junior high semi-formal! Osa is getting spayed, two dentist/ortho appointments, and a doc visit. We have a 50th wedding anniversary party and a bridal shower in there too! Like April, you're doing too much, girl. 

Doctor visit for Reddy who has been battling a cough and fever all week. He has a bit of pneumonia and got on antibiotics which should knock it out of him in a few days (before his bday, I hope!) He missed a few days of preschool this week but was overjoyed to hang out with Chum and Pappy instead those days (thank you grandpas!) Reddy is usually my sickest kid, my little c-section baby who never got that last little bit of his momma's beneficial germ biome on the way out! Poor buddy! 

Thank goodness for Lamont who got almost everyone looking fresh with haircuts - Even Gemma and Violet got a much needed trim from him. We love and appreciate you 'Mont!! 

March Madness brackets looking a little rough at this point. B and I fell asleep and then woke up in the last few moments of the Houston/Purdue game to see that awesome out of bounds play by Houston. Bummer though because Grey and I had Purdue winning the whole thing! 

Youth Mentor Fishing Day! We got a great day with clear skies at fishing camp (it was cloudy and rainy at home). Pappy took Grey, Rusty, and Reddy out first thing in the morning. Kevin and the Moore boys met them out at camp along with Mr. Roberts, Jake, Uncle Ray, Butter, and Logan! It was a great morning on the stream!  (thank you Pappy! - me and the girls went to field clean up for the LHFC and B was at a football coach's clinic at Penn State). The girls (plus Violet's friend and teammate Bria!) and I headed out after volunteering with walking tacos, Gatorades, and cookies in tow. Red had a little meltdown (so tired and just wanted to fish nonstop - very grateful that Kev and Pappy could get him to calm down, he really just needed his momma "I just missed you!" he said when I got there). We had lunch over the fire, ran all around in the open air. Reddy is obsessed, Grey was so happy, and Rusty is nearly independent (only a couple snags in a tree, hah). 

Teaching at Eagle View some new spring vocab words with a walk-around the room discovery. My 8th graders finished up their last week with me and taking a real vocab test and then I got a new set of expo kids on Friday - the second to last group because Friday was the first day of Quarter4 which is awesome and unbelievable. Spanish 1 finished Brandon Brown Quiere un Perro and worked on the final projects and did a final conversational speaking assessment with me. They were all so nervous, but they did great and I was so proud. Spanish 2 learned about mentiras and cacahuates and Las Abuelas de la Plaza Mayo from Somos unit 16. 

Sporting with spring season on the horizon. Violet had two Sparks soccer practices, Gemma had a Gators soccer practice and lifted 3 days this week. Grey had one baseball game and three baseball practices. Brandon had a Franklin basketball game on Sunday, and on Saturday morning he went to the Penn State football Coaches seminar with Coach Chad and Coach Dig. The girls and I spent Saturday morning at the Kidsport fields helping to prep for the season. On Thursday, the kids and I attended the AYSO Meet the Coaches night where we got to see our teammates and review all the expectations for the season. I'm coaching Red & Olive's 5u team and asst coaching for Rusty's 10u team this year. Vi will play 12u and Gemma is playing 14u. I am slowly filling my planner with the game schedules as they roll in and it's going to be a doosie! Hahha, thank goodness for family and friends and team families who squeeze in to help us get a cheering face in the stand for all the kids! (we love and appreciate you!) 

Making copycat Olive Garden chicken pasta, take out pizza, pork & sauerkraut with cheesy potatoes (Aunt Dar's recipe - thank you!), Korean beef with rice and green beans, slow-cooker chicken taquitos, sloppy joes, shells&cheese and roasted broccoli.  I made a batch of peanut butter power balls for Violet's half birthday and for Mentor youth fishing I made walking tacos for lunch at camp. 

Sourdoughin a proper loaf for my sister Kitty and making another for our house. I made discard chocolate chip cookies for the week and then another batch for Mentor Youth fishing because they are so yummy, easy, and quick!