Monday again?

Not to be confused with "Monday already?".

Here's the thing: I spent most of last week in a Sunday Scaries mentality, knowing I have 44 days of school left. Plus I had a lot I wanted to accomplish with my spring break and I did...very little of it? I think I froze up. 

Monday, we had a vet appointment. Scout had an infection a month and a half ago, and they wanted to do one more recheck. Then we went to the chiropractor. Tuesday was Sutton's birthday. We went out for lunch, stopped at Aldi, and then had cake and presents at home. Wednesday, I woke up feeling awful...a cold? dizzy? ugh. But Sutton had her 3 year appointment so off we went. I don't remember the rest of the day. Thursday, *I* had my regular annual doctor's appointment. I do like my PA so it was just one more thing to check off the list (before I grab those medical records and run from Missouri). I was supposed to have an eye appointment too, to renew my contacts prescription but they had to reschedule. Friday, I finally made it to the library and then I went to get my hair highlighted. It was only my second time having it done professionally and it's such a nice treat. 

Anyway, the funny thing about Thursday and Friday is that Scott had taken off work to take care of some house projects and the kids wanted to stay home with him. All I needed him for when it came to watching them was for the hair appointment; I could, and have in the past, wrangled kids at all kinds of appointments and situations. They legitimately just wanted to stay home with him. I feel like I'm entering a whole new era of parenting with Sutton getting older now. 

Saturday was Sutton's birthday party and then Sunday was my day to catch up and prep for...another week. 

before:

                                                                            after:

I made a hard commit to that center part.

When she comes to the store, she gets a treat at the check-out. 

Post-doctor's appointment treat. for real though, I need to do something with my nails. 

Stages of annoyance, with me, at the pediatrician's office:

They give kids actual stuffies now, to keep them quiet, at doctor's offices. It's not just a sticker at the end of the visit. And she wanted so little to be there that they kept handing her more stuffies. We ended up with 3 and, when we left, she gleefully waved and yelled "bye!" to everyone. They were shocked because they thought she was mute and violent, I'm sure, based on her reactions to nurses and doctors. 

Cracker Barrel 

Aldi

Presents, cake, and babies:

This was Sutton's bassinet and we used it for about 2 months, give or take. It was definitely indispensable during that time. It's in excellent condition and I've searched high and low for a a new owner for it, hoping to find a good home. No one wants it and that's really annoying to me for some reason. Anyway, I've decided that Sutton can just have it for her baby dolls and this was a good idea. My friend originally suggested that a year ago but it seemed like it would just be clutter. But I really do think she'll use it as a toy. 

Alright: it's going to be a long and packed and busy 44 days, but 44 43 more wake-ups until school is over. 

Monday already?

Spring break started on Saturday, technically, but we have this week off. It's kind of weird because it's not like we didn't have 17 days off in January and February for snow and cold and ice, so spring break was not long-sought after this year. This year, our break began with a tornado warning and 4 days of 80 degree temps (last week). We turned on the a/c on March 13th, which has to be some kind of record. Sutton's birthday is tomorrow and, three years ago, we ended the day before spring break (she was born over spring break) with a snow day because we got several inches of snow on that Friday. 

(Will I be sad to leave Missouri? No. Not really.)

Last week was incredibly stressful just with life and trying to get things done. I had this thought on Thursday that it doesn't matter. it's physically impossible for me to get everything that needs to be done, done. so it is what it is. If you want context for Thursday, I had to get up at 5am, leave for school around 7am (entailing all the prep and getting ready in the morning for myself and two uncooperative humans), go to the post office during my prep, go to the store to get drinks for a potluck, come home, feed us and the dogs, go back to school from 5:30 to 7:30 for family game night, praying that maybe Scott could be home by 5:15 (he did make it home) so I wouldn't have to take Sutton with me. I also needed to somehow pick up the dog's heart medicine from the vet by Friday afternoon (20 minutes away) and finish my report card grades by Thursday morning. And it was 80 degrees and I had a cold all week. 

I personally am functioning this way because I see an end in sight and because I really enjoy my students and love teaching them this year. Also, this is how I'm contributing to the betterment of society. And Wells is doing great in 1st grade. I see the benefit coming out of all of this, even if it's hard in the moment. And obviously, this is my right now. There's been many experiences of right now in the last 15 years...teaching in all different places, deployments, moves/PCSs, remodels, settling into new places, etc. 

Army-imposed timelines are my friend and how I cope, is what I'm saying.

But here's the last few days:

Wells has two birthday parties (+ Sutton's) over spring break so we made a special trip to buy gifts. She wanted a daffodil in her hair. Fancy eggs are the same price as regular so we've been buying fancy. 

I went to get a massage the other day..it'd been scheduled since Valentine's Day..and they had a red light sauna. I've been following the red light trend for awhile but I'm not sure how worth it investing in one would be. 

Daycare picture.

While I think the Laniege lip mask is a rip off, my SIL got me this for Christmas and it's a perfect lip gloss. I'd completely stopped with gloss after kids because babies and toddlers are always smacking you in the face. This is such a good one. 

90 degrees when I turned on the car at 5pm

I bought a case of these teas at Aldi. They had one case. It was sitting with the alcohol. I checked it over multiple times to make sure it wasn't alcohol since it was for a potluck. They are so good. They are a variety pack of flavors and the peach is perfect. 

Packing lunches, always. 

Wells had to decorate a shamrock with things he's "lucky" to have. He wanted to put a picture of Jett on it. :( 

First try at Sutton's birthday cake: failed. (not the best start to Monday morning but I'm trying again). 

Yay or Nay: Product Edition

A few products I wanted to warn you about share. 

First up: 

Covergirl concealer. I bought this because the shade is absolutely perfect for me and I'm over that Maybelline kind I've been using for years. And I admit, it goes on smoothly and the color was great. After a day or two though, I started to break out and I remembered why I Do Not Use Covergirl. It's cheap. The ingredients are awful and it makes me break out. Unless you are good with CG products, don't. Nay. 

I've also been really into the idea of liquid blush. I don't like the heaviness of cream blush and I saw that powder blush makes you look old or something. So I got this pretty shade that is supposed to be for cheeks, eyes, or lips. ....It's Covergirl. Matched with the concealer, I had breakouts on my cheeks within two days. It's a shame. Nay. 

Next, I found this serum from Arbonne. I'm always into vitamin C products, especially serums, and I saw this as a free gift with a replenishment order. I snatched it up and then they told me it was no longer a free gift and "sorry". I complained and they sent it to me for free anyway. I was thrilled. This is a $110 product and I thoroughly expected it to change my life. 

Well, within a few days of use, I was breaking out (this was pre-Covergirl products). I pushed through because I was assuming there was an adjustment period and I wanted it to work miracles. (Or I wanted an excuse to buy Arbonne...one or the other.) I stopped after a a week and then went back to my regular products and my skin got better. Then I went and used those Covergirl products and doubled down by switching back to the Arbonne serum and...everything got worse. Nay.

And that was end of that. 

So really I'm coming off of 3 weeks of non-smooth skin that had a bunch of random breakouts. I even used tretinoin for a couple of days to clear it up and that dried my face out and, I swear, tretinoin can make things worse if you're not careful (for the love of goodness, stay out of the sun). 

Lessons learned.

What does work?

I bought this last summer, and am just finishing my first bottle. I already bought another one. I cannot recommend it enogh. Yeah, it has some citrus fragrance but I love it and it keeps my skin smooth. Bonus: It's $14. YAY. 

I'm also using La-Roche Posay moisturizer and this moisturizing oil from Adel. 

I think Arbonne is good for supplements but it will be awhile before I attempt their skincare again, if ever. And I think Covergirl is good for mascara but it's back to Maybelline for me if I'm looking for a drugstore brand. 

Failing and Flailing on Sunday.

1. This past week wasn't as insane as last week but here we are. The weather was an issue this week, even if the schedule was not. High winds, snow, trazodone for the dog. You get it. And now:

2. One good thing: I received my professional certificate from the state of Missouri. I've held teaching licenses in various states and age ranges over the years and every state has different rules and regulations. This is the first time I've been somewhere long enough to apply for the "career" license. This means I'll never ever (ever) have to worry about having an outdated license again. A huge relief. Did you know you can't renew in a state where you're not actively employed? This has caused me a lot of scrambling over the years. I couldn't renew my other licenses unless I went back to those states. Luckily, Missouri is the state where I hold the most qualifications because of how my college degree translated into their system. Pennsylvania gives K-8 degrees and then I'm certified in middle school for ELA and Social Studies.

3. Dress update:

I got one final dress in the mail last weekend and it was too big. I mean, it was definitely the most comfortable of the 3 I tried on but it was too loose on the top and, though Scott offered to sew it, he liked the red dress better. Again, I really need to get my colors done, but I think red is one of them. 

4. My order from Old Navy came in (seriously haven't ordered from them in a year). The shorts are the most comfortable thing I've ever put on my body. I got a medium. The swimsuit bottoms are good, and I'm going to size up in the top I think. The kids' suits will probably be fine. I'm putting them into their Easter baskets. 

5. The Iditarod started this week and our story in our reading text is actually about the Iditarod so I, with a dozen plus snow days affecting the schedule this winter, could not have planned that any better. So we've been watching the race updates in class. 

See the log cabin? 

I build a "model" of the "little house" on the prairie to go along with our novel study. 

6. Some TV things: We're watching Reacher and Pitt, still. Both very good. I may need to catch up on The White Lotus tonight but it's boring me. I don't feel the need to watch the Love is Blind weddings but I do want to watch the reunion. Like with The Bachelor, I prefer just an overview and some recap podcasts. We started American Rust on Amazon and I like it a lot. It was from 2021 but is on Prime. 

7. I did post February books this past week but I'm not in the mood to read right now. 

8. I'm in birthday party prep mode for Sutton. I experimented with some cupcakes last night. I like this recipe. I can never get the frosting quite right though. I hate making frosting. 

9. Other than that, I'm just scrambling to get my report cards done today and spring is sneaking up on us this week with highs in the 70s so I might need to dig out sandals. I had this grand plan of "posting on the grid every day in March". That lasted 3 days. All I could think to take a picture of each day was the puppy and 31 days of Mav is too many days of Mav. 

Chewing on a caribou antler from Alaska that he found in the yard. Jett half-buried that in the yard years ago, 100%. Tomorrow is Jett's birthday :/ ...3/10 is also Scott's dad's birthday. 

February Books 2025

What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

This is her newest, and it's a autobiographical novella. While I see what she was trying to do, I found it really sad. It was okay, and I wish her the best in her health journey. I've always loved her books so I hope she continues writing. 

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

I could say so much about this book. Essentially, the gist that I took from it was that, students are being sent to school and are not actually being taught anything. It struck me as significant back in maybe 2014ish when I realized what I did every day was about management, not about teaching content. This year, I've become overly concerned about making sure I'm teaching content to a fault. I'm cramming in every piece of knowledge I can; I've been blessed with a group of children who truly love to learn and I'm taking advantage of that. 

*I am a proponent of school and education but too often our schools have turned into community centers, holding pens, and needs-meeting-buildings that don't actually teach anything. I'm not saying kids should starve without free lunch (don't get me started...free lunch should *not* exist for all) but I'm saying when you're more focused on feeding kids rather than on making sure they're learning, you're not meeting your basic purpose. 

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley 

I'm not going to lie: I couldn't finish this. I've seen it recommended by many moms I know and I just don't get the hype. It's overly anecdotal. It's a bit self-aggrandizing. Honestly, I'd never heard of this guy before. I'm not sure what makes him an expect. Did you read it? 

The Four-Hour School Day by Durenda Wilson 

I feel like I can loosely count this because I did read most of it. It was too-too anecdotal without giving actual advice. Maybe I just didn't get to that part? Like, I get that kids have special needs and the school environment isn't always the best place for them (boy, do I ever!) but a story about an autistic child who was being locked in a closet at school doesn't help me make a decision about whether or not I should homeschool. What I'm saying is, she stuck to talking about fringe cases. I want the basics. I think it's a hard topic to give real actionable advice on, though, because every family's situation is so different. I've heard her on podcast interviews and like her a lot, but the book wasn't the instruction manual I expected by the title/subtitle.

In case you missed it: January Books

Friday things. 2/28

 All it took was 48 hours back into the routine for me to feel like I'm flailing and failing. Granted, we had something after school every single day this week which made it harder than usual to get back into the routine.

That's what I should call these posts: Flailing and Failing Fridays. The gist is, though: they have to be written over the weekend because there's no way I'm getting them posted on Friday.

1. I ordered two pairs of jeans from American Eagle. They are two different styles and the first arrived quickly. The second...it's been 3 weeks. I don't want to exchange the first pair for a different size if the second fits better and I decide to keep the second pair instead. So I'm in package-on-the-dresser-just-waiting limbo.

This is what I've got. I like them a lot but might exchange them for a 4 because I'm not sure how baggy they're supposed to be. If I weren't so lazy, I'd take actual pictures in front of a mirror. 

2. Speaking buying things and sending them back, I'm on the hunt for a dress again. It's that time of year for my one formal event.

This is the first one I tried. It fit and I could make it work but it was very heavy with sequins and the slit was very high. I think it'd be too much if I spend most of the evening sitting (which we do). 

This one is much better and I'll probably go with it if I don't like the third I ordered. It also has a high slit but it has a bunch of flowy material in front of it. I don't know my colors (I'd love to get them professionally done) but this shade of red always makes me look tan. 

3.  Also, did you see the spending boycott? Don't get me started on how ridiculous this is. All the folks who exclusively used Target drive-up because it's "safer" during Covid or still do grub-hub and Walmart grocery delivery because they're lazy and post affiliate links to their blogs ...well, they all decided to boycott spending money on February 28th. So, my goal was to spend as much money as possible. In the end, it'd been a long week (see: failing and flailing) so all I did was spend $35 paying the state of Missouri to renew my teaching license and then I went to Old Navy to buy our swimsuits for the year (to go into Easter baskets). I got some shorts too, just because I figured I'd go all out on February 28th, The Day of the 24 Hour Spending Boycott. 

Check out this graphic before you buy your kids' suits this year. I could not find a rashguard in a safe color for Wells. 

4. Lastly, before you spend 24 hours virtue signaling about not spending any money, lest we forget that 2/28 was pay day since it's a Friday and the people who the liberal, liberal, left leftists are trying to "help" get paid on that day..people who live paycheck to paycheck or who count on benefits to kick in so they can go to the grocery store, get gas, pay bills, rent/mortgages are due the 1st, whatever. Those people are supposed to do without because white liberal women who live in the suburbs and spend $$$ at Target, Amazon, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc on 2/27 and 3/1 are telling them it's a bad idea to go to Walmart on 2/28.  The hypocrisy is INSANE. As someone who lives in rural America and spends my days on the ground with real people, the people in the suburbs have lost the plot. 

February Recommendations. 2025

Kid thing. These magnetic animals. Kids loves things that are magnets and my sister-in-law gave these to Sutton for Christmas. While, holy cow, they seem like they could be a little disturbing at first, these are a HIT. Cannot recommend enough if you have a toddler (or a 6 1/2 year old, apparently).

Food thing. I tried this viral pasta and it is every bit as good as the reviews suggest. Usually if I make something like this, Wells calls it "fake macaroni and cheese" and no one will eat it. EVERYONE ate it. You also likely have all the ingredients. So much healthier than making a box of macaroni too. I'd add roasted broccoli if I were feeling like bulking it up. 

Clothing thing.  I got these "flared leggings" at Aerie last fall. Amazing quality. Highly recommend. They are what I reach for when I leave the house so I thought it was worth mentioning again!

omg ignore the streaky gross mirror. 

Also, this Free People quilted carry-all bag. I've used it as a tote and it's too much tote for every day. I think it's a great gym bag if you're into that and very useful to have around; I don't do backpacks, really, anymore and this can be worn as a sling. I like it a lot and its looks good but I wouldn't use it every day. I tried the Amazon dupe for $35-40 and sent it back. This one is actually a lot nicer looking in person.  

T.V. Things.  Love is Blind season 8 is something to behold if you like reality TV. The White Lotus came back to HBO Max (just MAX now, apparently) for season 3.We also started The Pitt which is stupidly entertaining. Go watch it now if you have MAX. And then Reacher came back to Amazon Prime last week. Such a great show if you like action. The Bachelor is on Monday nights and then we also finally finished Yellowstone this month (on a borrowed Fubo account..shhh). I found the end to be a letdown, but they really did try to tie up every. single. thread. I would start over at this point, but Scott doesn't rewatch things. 

And I've mentioned this before, but I cannot stop thinking about it: The show Ripley on Netflix. If you have not watched it, go binge it (please). I think about this show multiple times a week and I wish I could watch it again for the first time. 

Movies. We've also been on a movie kick. We watched Anyone But You on Netflix which was very cute and funny. After that, we rewatched The Equalizer, The Equalizer 2, and The Equalizer 3. (I cannot recommend those enough.) We. also watched The Other Guys, which is our go-to comedy a few times a year. We watched Midway last week and it was fantastic as well. Scott thinks I'm "into" war movies now so we also watched Fury. Very good. He said it's probably the closest depiction to what WWII was actually like, compared to something like Saving Private Ryan. 

Listening. This digital decluttering podcast episode spoke to me. Imagine if our digital space (our inboxes, clouds, etc) was in our houses as physical clutter. I, for one, would be on an episode of hoarders. This motivated me to set a 2nd quarter goal of cleaning up online spaces. (I'm doing quarterly goals this year because the months, to be honest, fly by too fast to make progress.) This includes drives, photos, desktops (omgdesktops mine is bad)...I have a system I've been using to go through photos (go to today's date in your apps and cull that date only, each day, at a certain time) but it's been kind of not-good because I have so many pictures of Jett and I'm not willing to delete them.

Reading. I haven't actually been reading this month. I know. I read 9 books in January and then just burned out. I am in the middle of The Four Hour School Day though. I hate to talk about how cynical and radicalized I've become, but when you miss 17 weekdays of school in two months (weather, district closing due to sickness), you have to wonder if there is a better way. 

Writing. I put this about professional dress in schools on my substack recently. I have ideas for what I want to do with that space. It just takes more thought than this one. 

Friday things (I like and don't like) 2/21

I don't like: 

Clip dot style/pattern/material.  J.Crew did this a few years ago. Lots of dresses and tops in clip dot and I think it's really weird. And there's a texture component I don't like. 

This is a toddler dress...Gymboree maybe?

Teach Your Child to Read. I don't like this book. I tried it with Wells. I find the fonts weird and unnecessarily confusing. We did like 20 lessons and then we were both bored. I believe I did it when he was in kindergarten, but by the beginning of first grade he was reading. I may try it with Sutton some day so I'm not ditching it, but I've seen a lot of discourse lately about how great it is. My professional opinion is that it's nothing special. 

Speaking of reading, Wells comes home with chupacabra books from the school library constantly. Great, whatever, build those nonfiction skills, but he's at an end of 1st grade, beginning of 2nd grade reading level and these are 4th grade level books. Why is no one checking what kids get and putting limits on it? He can't read them. Our librarian in Colorado used to let kids get two books a week: one had to be at their level they tested on, the other could be whatever they wanted. Our library now has board books for the little, little kids and I've had third graders come back to class with...board books. 

Corded mixers. For Christmas, I asked for a cordless mixer. It has a battery you charge like a drill or power tool. It's amazing. So much easier than a corded hand mixer and my very unpopular opinion might that that no one needs a stand mixer. I use mine once a year at this point. I've definitely gotten my money's worth over the years, but it lives in the cupboard. 

I went to Aldi the other day and remembered we needed some more hand soap. I thought I would just get this and then I looked at the back: it has blue dye and red dye in it. That's insane, right?

Moving on to things I like: 

Since we had snow this week, all of our appointments were rescheduled for Monday because all of Missouri locked down for 3 days. Scout got a recheck at the vet and his infection is all better. 

Since I had sent back my birthday present (a ring I didn't like when I saw it in person), I got this the other day at the PX. I was looking for a few things, but saw this and thought wow, a wallet is something that I do actually have a need for. The last wallet I bought was in 2012 in the Grand Cayman. Two years ago, I got a card wallet to make life easier since the 2012 wallet was kind of bulky. ...and so I've found myself using a card wallet as a wallet for the last two years and it definitely has never worked well but I didn't realize what a problem it was until I came across this. Weird right? 

(This a $200+ Coach wallet, it was half off because it's on the military base, and they were also having a 20% off sale.)

Sutton is really into "tutus" so my inspiration for spring looks something like this: 

I love this so much but it was completely sold out in her size.

My mom sent this for her birthday. 

To all the parents who say they will buy their kids neutral clothes, I see you. That won't last forever. She loves nothing more than things that are purple, have hearts on them, and preferably include tulle. 

Linking up for Friday Favorites...