Intentional Outdoor Hours: 630 hours and 38 minutes (of 1000) - final count for 2019!
Calling the numbers for the year and despite not getting to the 1000 hours (again, ugh) I did earn over 100 hours more than last year. I'm proud of that fact and know that my kids about doubled my time for themselves (truthfully). Somehow keeping myself accountable allows me to realistically gauge the kids' time outside and it feels good to know that we're doing 'okay.' on the screentime vs. outdoor time for them in today's world - at least balanced for them. I would encourage (so much!) you to read about 1000 hours outside challenge and consider it for 2020 for your kiddos (or you!)
Reading not too much of anything, but I did share on my @senorastuder insta the full book count for the year. I read 27 books this year, many of which were YA suggestions from my students (and such easy, quick, interesting reads! How grateful I am that our young people have such incredible stories and characters to read in today's world!)
Having a little Christmas party in our Sunday school class using these I Spy worksheets. If you don't know about these from Paper Trail Designs, you must get yourself some printed! They are such a hit in our house and they have different themes for parts of the year. I love them and so do kids!
Celebrating 20 years of kissing this handsome bearded man I call my hubs. Our first kiss was 12/23/99 after our Christmas formal dance (my junior year and his freshman year!) It was the most perfect first kiss and I can to.this.day still summon the feeling of electricity that passed between our lips. It feels like a completely different lifetime and yet somehow like two seconds ago too. I don't understand time (if there's anything I know, I know it's that time baffles me) and I am daily astonished that I get to share this life with the cutest boy I have ever known.
Visiting my midwife for a check up and all seems to be good under the hood. Studerbabe5 is 24 weeks and kicking and swimming around like a little crazy man (he kicked the sonogram wand, hah!) After my appointment, I was able to snag a quick lunch with my sisters! We ran into family friends, Bob & Pam, who surprised us with picking up our lunch tab (thank you so much! you are so thoughtful!) and then I was able to do one last sweep for gifts before Santa.
Baking all the cookies like a crazy person (haha, in hindsight I'm all like - girrrrrrl, what is wrong with you?) In a last minute holiday frenzy of holly jolly, including Christmas even morning (!?), we made cherry thumbprints, sugar cookies, and pretzel/kiss/m&m bites.
Singing happy birthday to baby Jesus three different times this week!
Putting the girls' hair in rags like my grandma taught me so that they'd have ringlets for Christmas eve mass. I also used her recipes for sugar cookies and boiled icing and it felt like she was with me through this busy week. My grandma also had five kids, so I feel myself regularly leaning towards her in my prayers and it feels so nice to be able to do the things she taught me with my own babes.
Saying goodbye to Marco our elf, until next year little buddy!
All the Christmasing. We delivered cookies to our neighbors before heading out to Christmas Eve mass (Rusty slept almost the whole time!) Abba, Chum, and Aunt Kitty came to our house after mass for snacks, reindeer food in the yard and opening jammies tradition. We only stayed up until about 1a finishing gifts as Aunt Kitty stayed the whole time and helped (I love you! thank you!) Christmas morning started at 6am with the kids anxious to go downstairs. Then it was playing and slowly getting ready before we had Christmas lunch at Gigi & Pappy's house. Christmas early evening was spent at Aunt Dar's house with our Adams cousins and the day after Christmas was spent at Abba & Chum's house with Kitty, Uch, Kevin, and Lady with a quick stop at our Hagerich cousins' house.
Getting knocked down flat on my butt by a virus. Like, couldn't get out of bed Friday or Saturday. The virus included fever, chills, sinus congestion, and a terrible cough that would not let up (my deepest empathy goes out to people who suffer from asthma; it was an awful realization of how scary it is to not be able to catch your breath!) Of course, with this pregnant belly - it also meant peeing my pants every.stinking.cough which had me also cursing under my breath the entire time.
Bunking the girls' beds which made them very happy! The kids had a 'camp out' in the girls' room
Winter Sporting with just three basketball practices for Grey this week - no games for the holiday! We are also in full blown kitchen basketball mode and I send a prayer out DAILY for all the mommas raising athletes. Oh Lord, raising an athlete is relentless movement and sound, I just don't know how else to explain it. (I often think of this nike commercial that always makes me feel for the mommas). I guess I could say no balls in the house, but that would punish all of us (he's teasing if he's not practicing). So, instead... it's the sound of constant dribbling, it's tennis balls getting thrown and caught against walls, it's soccer balls being nutmeg'ed between your legs while you cook dinner, it's 'watch this move' a thousand times a day, it's somehow finding yourself in the middle of a game you didn't know you were part of, it's cups spilled because a ball hit it, it's water bottles everywhere and nowhere when you need them, it's sweaty jerseys and socks (dear Lord, the socks), it's basketball hightops, and baseball spikes, which are different from football spikes, and it's the favorite compression shirt that needs to be found at the bottom of the hamper. It's your planner mapped out with practices and game schedules, it's a negotiation for showers after games and practices, it's knowing teammates, and thanking coaches (and their wives), and registration fees, and game admissions, and concession stands, and the year by sports seasons. Mommas of athletes, I see you; I send you patience and hearts of steel.
Teaching nothing, we're on break!
Making mini meatball subs, banana bread, bbq chicken in the crockpot, and about a thousand mugs of little noodle soup. For Christmas eve at our house, I made maple brussel sprouts, buffalo chicken dip, jalapeno cheese ball, fried potato pancakes, and we had a shrimp platter.
Your second and third pictures look like magic. Those girls in the kitchen & a traipse in the snow. Christmas dreams!!
ReplyDeleteAnd that sunset? Gorgeous!!
I loved reading all the books you read in 2019. So many good ones!! Born A Crime is on my list for 2020.