Jan-Jan-January

The longest month of the year is over! Now just 8 more months of winter. (I am grumpy)

What We Did - 

We went sledding on the tiny hill by the pool. Thanks to our neighbors for sharing their sleds. I went to a bridal fair with Sara. A family trip to Ikea. I had dinner with Syd, Emily and Sara at Bricks (very good). We had a breakfast hang-out with friends. Family trip to the Planetarium. Had brunch with Jami and Ashley at Tradition (also very good). June stayed the weekend with my mom, and Norah and I went to pick her up in Ogden at the mall. 

Inspired by - 

The start of a new year. My new planner and "currently" journal.

Watching -

I finished OMITB. Started Fleishman is in Trouble. Playing House. 

Reading - 

Fleishman is in Trouble. The Unsinkable Greta James. Flying Solo. All bangers. Fleishman had so much good writing about motherhood and long term relationships. And Flying Solo was a new favorite. I liked Linda Holmes' first book, but I LOVED this one. 

Listening to - 

Midnights. Old episodes of Comedy Bang Bang to get through chores.

Dream life - 

I had a dream we went on a cruise with all our friends (and our kids for some reason) and Brian hated it. 

Researching - 

Ozempic. (Not to try. Just how it's the new phen phen and how alarming I find that.) Having an Abundance mindset. Cycle syncing. 

Organizing - 

The kids room. The toys in my new Besta. 

Cooking + Eating + Drinking - 

I've been reading a lot of cookbooks and hopefully that eventually translates to actually cooking new things. I was looking in a planner from 2020 and our meal rotation is largely the same as it was then and that bums me out so much.

Grateful for - 

My job. My kids. My husband. My parents. My friends. My apartment. My dumb cats. 

What the girls are into - 

Magnatiles (especially June). Still playing animal hospital all weekend. Witch School has been a new game in the rotation and they also just started playing Roblox together which is v cute.

What Everett is doing - 

Crawling around and being a dinosaur. Listening to Let it Go on the daily. We are experiencing a full blown Frozen renaissance over here. If he can get someone to do "ring around the rosie" with him it's the biggest highlight of his day.

Loves his friends, and a shirt>vest situation.

Continues to love accessories.

Magic - 

The kids all running around in the snow, just ecstatic. 

Missing - 

Still missing the sun! It's been so cloudy all month and it's ruining my life. 

Looking forward to - 

Spring break trip!

With a picture of my mom wearing the same dress.

Watching our kids descend on Ikea was truly a site to behold.

A busy November and a grinchy December

Whoa. I knew I needed to write a December post but here I am realizing November went so fast that I didn't post it either. A combined post it is!! Farewell 2022. I...won't miss you.

What We Did - 

I started off the month hot, combining a head cold and a Lizzo concert for my birthday! Luckily I had mostly recovered a week later, because then I went to LA with Jami and Ashley to see Harry Styles. We also had time to go to Venice, the Santa Monica pier, and spend half a day at the Getty. It was one of my favorite trips. My family went to Malad for Thanksgiving, and to the Natural History Museum with Brian's sisters. We decorated for Christmas and went back to the museum because we decided to get a membership.

In December we got hot chocolate a few times, saw our favorite Christmas light house in the Avenues, and went to Christmas in Color. We decorated a gingerbread house. Ev and I went to Norah's Christmas show and all the grades sang their songs twice because the principal had timed it on Zoom for every class to take 10 minutes. I never actually felt Christmassy but I was pretty good at faking it.

We did Christmas crafts with friends. We hosted Christmas with my parents and brother and the whole day is a blur of wrapping paper and cooking and eating and pieces of toys and presents EVERYWHERE. Ev went to stay with my parents for a few days and we took the girls to a movie one day and out to eat on another. For New Year's Eve we toasted with the kids and Martinelli's, ate some Crave cookies and watched Bob's Burgers. 

Inspired by - 

The canals in Venice. The beach. How excited the girls were to find Strawberry the elf each morning. 

Watching -

Love Life S2. Our new favorite show, Taskmaster. I binged both seasons of White Lotus. S2 of Sex Lives of College Girls. We also watched all three Princess Switch movies which I highly recommend if you're in the mood to see Vanessa Hudgens play three different characters. Which, honestly, you should always be in the mood for.  

Reading - 

Corinne and All of This. 'Twas a light reading month(s). To make up for it, I did watch a lot of TikToks. 

Thinking about - 

Why I don't feel Christmassy. A constant gift count for the kids. (THEY HAVE TO BE EVEN!) What summer felt like (I can't remember). 

Listening to - 

The four part Comedy Bang Bang Best Of episodes. If Books Could Kill. Up First. (Jami was listening to it on our LA trip and I subscribed immediately.) The new SZA album.  

Organizing - 

ALL. THE. TOYS. It's not going well. 

Cooking + Eating + Drinking - 

The best donuts of my life from Blue Star in Venice. The best THANKSGIVING THEMED ice cream from Salt and Straw. A nightly bowl of cereal.  A giant tin of butter cookies I got from Sam's club. Chocolate oranges. Drinking copper cow pour over coffee. The best hot chocolate from Hatch's. 

Grateful for - 

Happy kids. That we can give them a big Christmas. Getting to sleep in sometimes. 

What the girls are into - 

Norah - Calling things suss. (to be fair, this has been going on for moooonths). Her new dedicated art desk. Going to the Natural History Museum. The Nintendo DS she got for Christmas. But especially the new, very nice doctor's kit from Lakeshore Learning. It has gotten SO much use, and I wish I had been buying toys there from the beginning.

June - making "sharp nails" out of stickers. Making jokes about her butt. Going to the Natural History Museum. Very into drawing and writing letters. She is also getting a lot of time in with the doctor kit. They've seen a LOT of patients. 

Both - singing the opening line to Circle of Life. All the time. All day.

What Everett is doing - 

Dragging a chair over to the fridge and then sticking magnets in between the fridge doors. Drawing whenever he can. Singing Wheels on the Bus. Always playing with cars. Asking to watch/listen to "Let it Go." Wearing his fireman jacket for two weeks straight.

Magic - 

Seeing Harry Styles(!!!), Christmas morning, the kids all dressed as bugs in the kid area of NHMU. 

Missing - 

The freaking sun. 

Looking forward to - 

Not having to think about/plan the holidays anymore. The sun setting later. Tax returns. More trips to NHMU because clearly it's a hit.