Currently in {April}

Planting... I mentioned before that I went to the "water" method of trying to keep my orchid alive after I learned that Big Orchid is just trying to get us to buy new ones every 4 months. I figure I have nothing to lose because it hasn't bloomed since early last fall. Meaning, we brought it home from the store in bloom and then it died and hasn't re-bloomed.

It's probably been a month and it's not dead yet so we'll see. (No pics because it's dark and I'm writing this at 6am.)

Cleaning... My trick is to do the kitchen reset in the morning. So yeah, I often go to bed with a messy kitchen but then I get up at 5:00am every day anyway, so I listen to the Bible reading for the day or a podcast while I spend 20 minutes loading/unloading, wiping counters, washing pots, and packing up lunchboxes. It's not worth doing at night if you're already tired. Don't let social media make you think you need to stay up til 11pm cleaning your kitchen. 

Eating and drinking....I ate more candy this past weekend than I've eaten in months. I could not stop. I actually had to detox yesterday. And then I ate some M&M's and had a diet coke before bed and, I'm not kidding, I slept better than I have in weeks (don't come to me for advice on anything). 

But really, Scott has been sick and not eating, the kids prefer pb&j for 2-3 meals a day, and so I've been grazing. 

Seriously, don't ask me for advice.

Reading and watching... I finished two books over spring break and I'm currently reading this:

I'm woefully behind on my yearly reading goal at this point but it is what it is. I'll catch up this summer maybe. My library card did not renew in Missouri (I haven't been physically there to renew), so that set me back a little and my Kansas library is acting weird ...my holds don't come in anymore?...Excuses, excuses, I guess. 

I've been rewatching Homeland. We are finishing out The Pitt season 2 and we finished season 2 of Paradise. I tried Marshals and I don't like it. I will wait for The Dutton Ranch and then 1944. I like Luke Grimes a lot but the premise of Marshals is dumb. 

We watched The Housemaid over the weekend and I tried to start The Madison but it just seems like a bunch of old rich people. 

I don't read as much because I love to rewatch shows. Since it's spring, it might be time to do my annual rewatch of Better Call Saul. 

Loving.... We really have had some delightful spring weather over the last two days. Windows open and a light breeze. 

But I meant to share this awhile back:

similar, but it's called the Electra 

I got this backpack in 2017 because I just "really wanted one". No idea why, just did. I didn't use it for much for years but now it's my "walking backpack" and I use it every single day while we walk the dogs. My friend found it on Poshmark because she really liked it too, but I got it on Amazon. It's just crazy how I never used it until, like, this year. It's just a testament to how we never know what we'll need in the future. 

Linking up VERY late for Currently!

Currently in {March}

Linking up with Amy!

Saving my life right now: Dark showers. This is the only way to take a shower, I promise. I just have a nightlight in there.  Fun fact: in this rental, we all started out with our own bathrooms (there's 3) and now we basically all use the same one for showers/baths at different times of day because it's the one that's set up the best. 

Cleaning/Purging: I added a ton to my Poshmark on Monday! If you're interested in the random assortment of, I think, higher quality items I'm trying to find new homes for, check it out. I love the way Poshmark has to disclose that the seller, in fact, is not for sale.

Planning (trip): I'm not personally planning a trip but my parents are coming to visit us for Sutton's birthday so I am planning what we can do while they're here. It'll be spring break. The only thing I have on the schedule is a well-check doctor's appointment for Sutton so I really know how to plan for a fun trip, I guess.

Taking a break from: I actually deactivated my Twitter/X account in December because I was sick of the homeschool/tradwife/SAHM/bread-baking/thrifting/tallow-using algorithmic loop I couldn't escape. I recently set up another account where I'm only following news/politics, which was my reason for using Twitter for 13 years before the last several months. I remember setting it up during the election cycle in 2012. So ...taking a break from the cesspool of reddit and slowing wading into the, hopefully better curated, cesspool of X. 

Loving: I am legitimately eating crow on this but I spent the last 2 school years drowning in professional development concerning phonics instruction and I loathed most of it. Now, I'm using that material daily again (post on that is incoming) and I want to say that LETRS training and Secret Stories and all that is the most valuable PD I've ever had. If you have a child who is learning to read or if you teach children to read, this is what you need to buy into....I don't make the rules, but it's a system that works. 

The value of these things also cannot be understated. If you have a laminator and need a project, make some. 

Currently {in February}

Linking up with Amy!

Loving: We have had a terrible time with our internet in the last two months. But... the company has sent someone out same-day within the hour to replace/fix/adjust both times I've requested a technician. So that's how I started my day today. At 7:30am, I was trying to get the internet to work, and just through the chat feature, they scheduled someone to be at the house by 9:00am. While inconveniences so small are plagues of modern life, I cannot complain about the customer service. The guy today even talked to the the technician who came last time, to get an understanding of what had already been done. Today, he had the issue repaired (gave us a new modem) in 30 minutes. Last time, they re-did all of the outside wiring and climbed up the poles to check the boxes, so that job took about an hour. 

Baking/cooking: I've been really into making cookies lately so I made up this browned butter chocolate chip cookie dough last night and stuck it in the fridge. I made homemade tomato soup over the weekend. I've made 4-5 loaves of sourdough in the last two weeks and I would like to document the recipe/process I use so I'm working on it. Right now, it's all in my head. 

Watching/Reading: I posted my January books yesterday and then I finished Everyone is Lying to You last night. 

I have been trying to finish Severance season 2. I had to go back and watch season 1 again in order to be invested in it. Other than that, we did watch the first episode of Bridgerton season 4 and Scott was like "what is going on?" because it's such a mix of the 1700s and modern life (with Usher playing in the background) and no one who hasn't seen all the seasons could even possibly understand it. I'm not super invested, but I like the Cinderella storyline. 

We are also ALL IN on Fallout. Ugh. Such a good show. Go watch it if you haven't on Amazon Prime. 

And I watched Interstellar for the first time last week. Scott loves it. It was...so-so. I wasn't wowed. Anyone who has read a lot of time-travel fiction (I recommend When You Reach Me) might not have their mind blown by it. It was fine, but I also really dislike Anne Hathaway so that might have muddled my judgement. 

Planning: To walk back at our regular spot today. I posted that they closed the local park due to snow and ice and then they did randomly have it open over the weekend which was a huge blessing because these dogs needed to run. We did notice some people walking on the ice at the pond and then, surprise, the park was closed again on Monday. I am assuming that the city saw that temperatures were warming up and people would be on the ice and natural selection would take hold and they didn't feel like a lawsuit. So it was closed the last two days. Now it's open:

And I just have to say: when the local government is talking to its citizens like they are preschoolers going out for recess, we are cooked as a society. Again, Ron Swanson was right. 

Savoring: Having a 3 year old. Sutton is almost 4 and she knows it but she also knows that she's "still 3!" so we absolutely give her the youngest child treatment.

And I really enjoy the age Wells is right now. I could never teach a class full of 7 year olds but he's so smart and has made so much progress this year. 

Currently in {January}

Loving: A new year. A fresh start. I don't mind January. It's always a great time to reset slowly. While I don't have big plans for drastic sweeping changes, it's the perfect chance to make some tweaks to my schedule and routines. Who knows? Maybe This Will Be The Year where I finally start getting up early. 

Lake Ontario last week

Resolving: I posted some resolutions here. I would also like to get back to posting actual food/recipes and some real content on this blog. Sometimes I cannot stand to be on the internet looking for recipes because I'm so tired of the ads on food blogs. I spent some time looking at actual cookbooks over Christmas and maybe that's the way forward, being analog again. So while I'm waiting for the Instagram bubble to burst, here's hoping the food blog bubble with pop-ups/clutter/ads/videos also bursts!

Planning: Planning out the 3rd quarter of homeschool. Here's where I reviewed Q2 and gave some thoughts on Q3. I feel a lot more optimistic about the workload, given that we did finish in just 3 hours yesterday. 

Eating/Drinking: Really boring stuff like drip coffee, oatmeal, granola and yogurt, chicken caesar wraps...On Sunday I made beef stroganoff, Monday was Indian butter chicken, tonight is chicken gnocchi soup. I found many recipes in this cookbook while I was at my parents' house but I have no idea where my mom got it because I can't find it on Amazon. 

Over Christmas break, I had the best buffalo wings in Buffalo and then this drink was a gin/sprite/cranberry something or other. 

Reading/Watching: I hit my goal for 2025 on Goodreads and bumped it up for 2026. Why not? 

As for watching...all the football. We just got a 7-day pass to Sling so we don't miss any college games this weekend. We were used to having ESPN at my parents' house. My birthday is this weekend and there's like 8 games on the schedule so I think that's what we're doing for Wild Card weekend. 

There's a lot of good TV coming back this month, so while we finished Mayor of Kingstown (very good), we are finishing Landman (meh on season 2), and we are rewatching The Night Manager (Prime) because after 10 years (!), it's back for season 2 this weekend. The Pitt (HBO) is back this week as well for season 2. 

Linking up with Amy for Currently!

Currently in January '25

taken through the screen. i wasn't going out there.

Loving. 

3 snow days in a row. I'd love to stretch this out for a week, to be honest. I'm going to spend today getting some schoolwork done, so I guess it's not wasted time. There's nothing so delightful as to add an extra week to Christmas break in this way. 

If you're interested in deep snow day thoughts, in the current landscape of education, I sent this out this morning on Substack. 

Doing to stay warm. 

In Missouri, we have "heat pumps". I grew up with coal and oil furnaces. In Wyoming, Alaska, and Pittsburgh, we had natural gas. But in Colorado we had electric heat plus a wood stove because it didn't actually get that cold. In Wyoming, we also had a real fireplace plus a pellet stove. In Alaska, we had an electric fireplace. In Pittsburgh, we also had two real fireplaces but we didn't use them. 

But anyway, I learned real quickly in Missouri that if it gets really cold, the heat pumps can't keep up. We had a pellet stove here and it's been a lifesaver over the last two winters. It keeps the whole end of the house warm (it was an addition not accounted for in the square footage of the heat pump range). Back in 2021-2022 before we had the new HVAC hooked up, it got really cold because the pellet stove also didn't work upon move-in (shocking, I know, with the track record on this place). But Scott repaired the pellet stove and now we rely on it. We also have a whole pallet of pellets to use up this winter, left over from last year. 

Resolving

I posted some habits I've working on the other day. But my Goodreads goal for 2025 is 40 books. I'm already about 4 books in, so I'd love it if we could follow each other on that platform! (this is where I'd link to my profile but Goodreads has the least user-friendly platform around and regularly, also, stops working so..)

Organizing

I've organized and reorganized this entire house multiple times over the last few months. I struggle with the kitchen because I don't feel like I have the space in the cupboards. But really: the kids' rooms. How do you organize the rooms of small children? I'm constantly wondering where I went wrong. 

Wearing

I have not changed out of sweatpants for the last week. Tomorrow is going to be real hard if I have to go back to work. 

**I couldn't stop watching the coverage of the fires in California last night. We've lived in many types of climates/weather areas over the years. There is nothing worse than fire weather. I'm certain this is where my weather-related anxiety originated. It's horrific, what's happening in California. We should all pray for the people and pray that those responsible for failed policies are actually held accountable. 

Linking up with Jenn!

Currently in JUNE. + Summer weekend #2

Feeling: sick. All four of us have managed to catch a summer cold within the first two weeks of summer. Wells has a nasty cough. When he gets a cough it lasts for two weeks. So we've been mostly staying home this week. 

Loving: I've also been sleeping until 8am most days. We've discovered that by letting Sutton stay up until 9pm, she really will sleep in at this exact phase of development. Truly though, I feel groggy and gross most days and, aside from being sick, I think my body went from 60 to 0 with the start of summer break and I'm having trouble adjusting. 

Lounging around in: I've bought myself like 3 purple shirts recently + a neon pink one? I'm confused.

Anyway, I got this hoodie at Marshall's and then this workout tshirt at the PX. If you feel like you're confused and can't find clothes, I'm there with you. I am not a large person, but both of these are an extra-large in sizing. I got the size I wanted it to feel like: I want to wear a hoodie, not a crop top. And I want to wear a tshirt, not a skin-tight spandex tee. This is why those of us who don't want to walk around in a crop top can't find clothes. 

Looking forward to: family visits this summer. Doing whatever I/we want for the next two months. 

Enjoying: Meal-planning and feeling like I have some control over my days again. Summer is already going too, too, too quickly. I canceled my Dinnerly subscription and started tracking food spending because I feel like I can think again. 

Reading: I've been tearing through audiobooks but I am currently reading these as well.

I got the Liane Moriarity as an arc and, I have to say, I might be done with her. Her writing is too circular, too unnecessarily mysterious, and too try-hard literary. Also, I remember trying to read Apples Never Fall while in my first trimester with Sutton (the trimester of headaches) and I get a headache just looking at her new books now. 

Watching: The new season of The Mayor of Kingstown was released so it's one episode a week and ugh. I just want to binge the whole thing. Cannot recommend this show enough. 

I did watch the first 4 episodes of Bridgerton season 3 and I don't know. I wasn't impressed. The first two seasons were so good. I feel like the characters are getting older and bitterer. Anyone else see this?

Drinking: Topo Chico is superior to any other kind of carbonated water. Mix it with juices or alcohol or both. Once you try it, you won't go back. 

Seeing: Friends! 

Over the weekend, I expected rain so I took the kids to the park on Friday and then we did not do much on Saturday. I got a call Saturday morning saying my friend was going to come visit from Kansas City on Sunday. I'm at the stage of life where 24 hours notice of all-day company will put the fear of God into me. But I wasn't going to turn her down. She was doing me a favor, bringing me some classroom supplies she didn't need anymore, and that saved me a trip to KC. 

So anyway. She brought her daughter and we all went to Cracker Barrel (Wells' choice) and then went to the PX on base.  

He was so annoyed that I took his picture. Okay, but he makes me drive around to different playgrounds on the base looking for the one with the most kids at it because he thinks he will have a greater chance of having fun that way. I do not think this child is mine.

This one did have about 10 other kids and Wells came running up to me with 3 strange kids and a bubble wand by the time I got over there with Sutton.

Wells also suggested Cracker Barrel ("we'll take them to my favorite restaurant: Barrel!") because he had a plan to take his own money from his piggy bank and buy a toy. He clearly had thought about it enough so I allowed it. When he found something he wanted, it didn't have a price on it. He said "I'll find out!" and he ran to the cashier with it by himself and then paid $20 for a battery-operated orange frilled lizard. 

Again, I don't think he's mine.

^I should've gotten this unicorn for Sutton. It's too cute. 

Lastly, the kind gentleman at Auntie Anne's always gives them a free lemonade to share. Sutton is getting too old to be simply placated and they almost came to blows over a lemonade. 

I hate to share food so maybe they are definitely mine after all. 

Linking up with Jennifer for Currently! 

Currently in May (late but that's better than nothing)

Loving. 13 days of school left. Long ago I started plotting for next year. But I've been waiting forever for May. I think we, parents/teachers/etc, make May so. much. harder than it has to be. We don't need 204840 activities happening at school or at home. Just, like, let summer roll in and begin. It doesn't have to be such a big deal. I mean, I'm glad there's a cute little kindergarten graduation and all, but we need to cool it on the 384 field trips, fun days, and celebrations. We had like 4 milestone activities and celebrations in the last week and it has broken me.

Looking forward to.  I'm looking forward to summer in a way I haven't looked forward to summer in years. 

Also, this week is our vet surgeon appointment we've been waiting a month for. I would appreciate prayers as I haul Jett halfway across the state to see if he needs surgery. 

Seeing. Ball pictures. We went to the regimental ball last Friday night. I try to take a similar picture at most balls we go to....

Reading. Books are posted here for this past month. I'm currently reading: 

And I've really embraced audiobooks again lately. 

Wanting. I really wish I could reform some of my worst habits. We all have bad habits. But my literal worst might be that I bite my nails will just not respond to messages. DMs, FB messages especially, texts. I just don't. It feels so heavy to have to have conversations when I'm not expecting to have conversations, if someone just randomly texts or sends a message. Like, I'm not choosing interaction at that moment and then the moment is gone and suddenly a friend sent an Easter text and I forgot to reply and then the only time I remember is when I'm driving or something so I just seem like a bad person. 

Does this happen to anyone else? 

Linking up with Jennifer!

Currently in April...

Loving... that it's cold out again. I will take snow and sleet over humidity and thunderstorms any day. I could really use another snow day too. Rumor was that they might cancel school on eclipse day next week so...fingers crossed. 

Looking forward to... Summer vacation. 6 more weeks. I don't love the crazy, jam-packed schedules that accompany the end of the school year, but I'm ready for a break and this is the only way to get there. 

Buying... I've been on a bit of a spending spree. Let's see, I got some sandals I'm still deciding on, a bunch of new bath towels (it's been 2-3 years), I got an order from JCrew Factory, some skincare items, and I ordered a few things from CJLA. No pictures yet. but what I really want is a new pair of white sneakers. I've tried several pairs and haven't liked any of them. 

Planting... definitely nothing yet. Again, I welcome the snow back gladly. 

Cleaning... We spent Easter Sunday cleaning up the yard because Scott is, he says, done with the hard part of the roof replacement and now just needs to put the metal sheets on. The company came to pick up the dumpster yesterday so we had gotten rid of a LOT of random big trash items (old windows, old falling apart toys, etc) while we had that opportunity. 

I also cleaned out a closet this past weekend and found one of the lunch boxes I was talking about. 

We've had a bit of a stressful (few) weekend(s) and this week has been a mess, so my posting is definitely delayed because effort is hard. Last week the roof leaked, we had a nasty storm this week, and we spend our overnight hours negotiating with Sutton and she does not see reason. 

Linking up with Jennifer for Currently!

Currently in March

A week late but listen: every time I go to write a blog post or I tell myself I'm going to write a blog post, someone is up all night or someone throws up. 

And then the blog post doesn't get written because laundry, carpet cleaning, and substitute plans take precedent. I cannot lie: someone randomly threw up last week but this child didn't look or seem or feel sick. We went to school anyway. I thought about how the day would look with a sub. I realized it. could. not. be. done. It simply could not. I am not irreplaceable at work and I would've enjoyed a day of working on things at home, do not get me wrong. But ... Luckily, said child was fine after all. If I didn't negotiate the rules, there would be no forward progress. 

Loving: I'm really loving my yearly rewatch of Better Call Saul. It's just so good. I cannot imagine a better-written fictional universe than the Breaking Bad one. 

Looking forward to: Spring break. One week will not be enough. I have so much I'd love to do, but we mostly just have doctor appointments and tasks to complete that week. 

Planning: Sutton's birthday next week. I'm glad it falls on spring break. I really just need to get the balloons and bake the cake. Luckily, she's too young to know the difference. (Wells, on the other hand, has all kinds of plans for birthday #6 this summer.)

Wearing: I basically hate most of my clothes right now and, no, I still haven't found that skirt. I've stopped taking outfit pictures because I don't care. I also have noticed some serious "shoe holes" in my wardrobe and I can't find what I want. I have bought and returned like 6 pairs of shoes in the last 3 months. I wanted Chelsea boots (waterproof ones), white sneakers, and black booties. I've found, I guess, black ankle boots, but I don't know that I love them. I do wear them though. My issue is that I've worn my tan booties to death and they're not gonna make it another school year so I need to get a new pair. I also like Tevas but I don't like the Tevas tag all front and center like a Colorado hippie. I saw some Reef sandals too but I don't know. It's really hard when there's nowhere to go to actually try on shoes either. 

I've grabbed a few major sale items from Old Navy and Gap recently just to give me some athleisure options for spring. 

Eating: I'm knee-deep in sourdough. Any time I'm like, hey, I'll sit down and waste time online on the weekends, I usually have to go prep a loaf or feed a starter or do the dishes from the last batch or something. It's a process. It's not nearly as easy as you'd think but not as difficult either. 

I'm sure that made sense. This is the recipe I use and then I usually get the best results in a loaf pan. 

Linking up with Jennifer for Currently!

HNY + Currently...

First: Happy New Year! 2024 marks 294 years of blogging for me and I can't believe I'm still tinkering away at this. 

*Actually, it's 14, not 294. I started reading blogs in the winter of 2010 and then started one myself to share about our military life. 

I plan(ned) to share about our Christmas(es) this week and I rounded out my book posts for 2023. 

Linking up with currently for today and also adding in a few of my own prompts.

loving- We got this sliding board you set up on a couch, or low piece of furniture. Both kids love it. Right now, it's on our coffee table. 

looking forward to- the possibility of some snow days. Remember: Missouri doesn't get a snow day. They usually do two or three in a row because they don't have the equipment to maintain the roads properly. 

resolving- to get rid of these coats. Will ship! 

This is an Abercrombie, size small. It fits bigger than a small but I probably need a medium post-Sutton. I only wore it maybe 20 times. Asking $65 including shipping. It's navy and hits mid-thigh (I'm 5'6").

This is Northface. Navy, size medium but I think it runs small. The shoulders are too tight so I never wear it anymore. It's 2-3 years old and I only wore it that first year I had it. Same length as the first. $65 including shipping. 

Love them both but they don't fit anymore in the shoulders post-Sutton. Sigh. 

staying cozy- I have to say, I kind of love it when it's cold outside. While my other coats don't fit, this one from Eddie Bauer has never let me down. One of the best things I've ever bought. I got a medium in white, 10+ years ago and I still wear it every winter. 

cooking- I made this chicken in the air fryer last week and it's a great recipe/method. Easy and tasty.

listening- Highly recommend this podcast. There's no huge production value or "full body chills" but they really know what they're doing. I've found that I like the true crime podcasts that are done by experts, not armchair detectives or wannabe influencers. The Jodi Huisentruit episodes were fascinating because I knew very little about that case. 

eating- At the kids' table. Well, not really. When there's a one year old involved (especially that one there in the bow), no parents are eating and I don't think she did either. 

reading- time to start those Bible reading plans! We'll see if I make it to the end of January this year. I posted the pluses and minuses of some that I've tried in the last few years on Instagram. 

watching- Jack Reacher season 2. And then I started Jack Ryan season 1. I've never seen it and Scott swears it's better than Reacher but I always just seen John Krasinski as Jim. Giving it a try though. 

seeing- somewhat finished concrete counters. One half of the kitchen is done but now we're doing the other side (staining and sealing). 

Scott said when he pulled up the (ungrouted!) tiles they had used to make the previous countertop, there was a layer of wet and mold underneath. This house is, truly, the gift that keeps giving. This picture is from right after we moved in: 

noticing- that I don't know how much I actually like this bag but I use it ALL THE TIME. It's the #1 throw-everything-in kind of bag that I own. I got it on major sale a few years ago. It's too big to be a purse and too small to be convenient if I have a lot to carry but I find myself reaching for it all the time. Again though, I don't LOVE it. But I stuff everything in it to haul from place to place and regularly lose things in it because it's so big (but not big *enough* if that makes any sense at all). Mine, because it was the sale of a particular color, did not have a cross-body strap or even hooks for a strap, which would make a huge difference, I think. 

I also grabbed this bag during a Black Friday sale and it is super high quality. Absolutely recommend if you're in need of a cross-body or sling (I refuse to call it a belt bag because I do not wear it as a belt, thankyouverymuch. I also do not wear it in the car like it's some kind of military gear.). I just stuffed it in my tote as a way to stay more organized because, again, I don't love this tote and hate being attached to it. It was more to carry around diapers, hats, snacks and, as you can see, some medicine. 

Wells and Sutton have both had colds and I've had sinus issues for weeks now. 

'Tis the season.