Hogwarts Sleepover

I may have mentioned it before, but long ago in a moment of pure genius, we decided that our kids would get birthday parties for the "major" ages. This is mostly because I'm an introvert, but also, as you'll see, because I go a teensy bit overboard with a theme. 

Since Averson turned 10 this year, she was due a party. She originally wanted to take friends to Great Wolf Lodge, but at 4 million dollars that was a little out of our budget. So then she asked for a sleepover. Specifically, a Harry Potter sleepover. 

It was THE CUTEST. And even though there were 7 9/10 year olds running amok, it wasn't too too terrible. Next time I maybe wouldn't plan it to coincide with Daylight Savings Time since I'm pretty sure no one has slept since, but other than that it was a huge success! 

We hand delivered personalized invitations. I fully acknowledge my ridiculousness

The Sweets Trolley. I stocked it with random candies from the bulk section and a plate of chocolate frogs I made. The kids loved it!

C painted a brick wall for the 9 3/4 platform and it came out so well! It was super rainy (thank you atmospheric river that keeps on rivering...) so we hung it inside, which ended up being way more fun to run through. 

She kills me. Seriously, she's just the cutest

You can't tell, but these are official Hogwarts PJs courtesy of Poshmark. I'm pretty proud of that little detail...

We forgot to eat the cake and no one slept, but no one cried, went home early, or wet the bed so I'm calling it a huge success :) 

And now a quick breather before our soon-to-be 13 year old's party!  

Ten years ago...

C tucked Averson in last night and told her that it was his last time saying good night to a nine year old, and suddenly I got very nostalgic for my squishy little baby. She's so excited to be 10 and is just the most fun, cookiest little creature. We're currently going WAY overboard on a Harry Potter themed slumber party and when I asked what I should tell people that she wants for her birthday she listed Harry Potter, Nightmare Before Christmas, Vintage, and Dragons. She makes the best morning play lists, continues to be fiercely independent, and claims to be dark and edgy while actually being one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. 

In no discernible order, a birthday retrospective. I love that she's picked the same birthday donut for three years running

 

A picture speaks a thousand words

 My sister sent me this picture from going through my mom's stuff and it cracks me up. From L to R, it's me, my dad, my brother, my sister, and my mom. Our group text was an awesome Rorschach of interpretation and I've never felt so middle child-ish (and I often feel quite middle child-ish). 

Sutters Fort x3

At our elementary school 4th grade is when the kids learn about local history, and specifically our class learns about the Donner Party and Sutter's Fort. Kids research a real person from the wagon train, including finding primary sources in our main library (one of my favorite parts). It all culminates in a trip to the actual Fort where they spend their time immersed in period-specific activities like rope braiding, baking in a fire oven, and everyone's favorite, hauling water. Eli and Sydney did their trips pre-COVID, so they also got to dress up and spend the night. Post-COVID, and much to Averson's disappointment, they don't dress up or spend the night. Her teacher tried to hide her grin when she broke the news. I suspect she didn't love sleeping on the ground in the kitchen as much as the kids did. 

C has volunteered every year, and is always assigned as "Fire Tender." He spends the day keeping the fires burning all across the fort. This year they were short on volunteers, so Eli got to go too! He was assigned to be "Wagon Master" He taught the kids all about covered wagons and also played a rousing game of stick and hoop. I thought he might be winging it, but he apparently watched the orientation video multiple times and when I stopped by and got his spiel he really knew what he was talking about. Like people didn't actually ride in the wagons, unless they were literally infirm and on their deathbeds. And the kids' job was to count the wheel rotations. 360 rotations = 1 mile. Every 4 miles they'd stop and grease the wheels. All the kids seemed much more grateful for their roadtrip accoutrements after that! I got two calls after the trip to tell us how great Eli did. This kid... 

Three generations heading out! I designed these sweatshirts for the class during my brief "get involved in all the things" moment but I really love them and I'm glad about it. 

The whole crew of pioneers

Both my guys showing off their injuries. C cut his finger (again!) on a saw and Eli broke his wrestling. They're a hot mess, the two of them. 

And look at these adorable blasts from the past. It made me a little sad to know that this is the last one, if I'm honest. 

 

Eli's trip, when they used to spend the night and wear full costumes

Sydney's trip. I forgot that Eli helped with that one too! 

Hello Anxiety, My Old Friend

 Guess who was up and awake MUCH earlier than necessary on a three-day weekend? Thanks to a combination of new medications, a change in schedule, and overall being in a better mindspace, it's been a while since I had the "stay in bed and ruminate or just get the f up" debate. But here we are...

This one kicked off because I had a dream that I had to buy my mom tires for a car that I'm pretty sure we've already sold (so let's through some executor anxiety in too!) Then I woke up intensely aware of my various credit card balances and various financial obligations. And here we are... 

BUT! There are things genuinely making me crazy related to my financial life. For one, I had this great system where all of my bills came up in my iPhone's calendar and I could scroll through them. Now that's gone and I have to look day by day. Does anyone know how to fix that? It was really helpful when budgeting out paychecks and now I'm finding that the extra step is a barrier. And the other thing is this: I know that I could curb a lot of my spending by eliminating my Amazon use (and other conveniences like meal delivery kits). It's become so easy to have a thought, then click "Buy Now." I've moved the app into a folder called "I am saving money" in an effort to use positive affirmations, but what I come up against is the cost of time vs the ease of buying on-line. For example, Eli needed specific school supplies and a pair of insoles. Without Amazon that errand would have taken mental energy (planning and executing the stop at the store) as well as more time and possibly more money. So I can kind of justify spending the money because it would have taken me many more days to complete if I had to actually add the things to the list (that doesn't currently exist) and then go to the store to buy them. Has anyone successfully curbed their Amazon use? Tell me your secrets! I don't want to trade my Amazon spending for Target spending, but I also think that maybe I'd be less likely to add-to-cart if I was physically touching the items. Maybe...

Sarah over at HarryTimes is tracking her spending and I kind of like that idea. There's so much evidence that tracking helps bring awareness, and I know I've used food logging effectively. I do become pretty self-competitive and neurotic about it, which was not so great with calories but maybe exactly what I'm looking for with finances? I'm also thinking that I'm going to take an Amazon break. There's nothing on there that I can't procure in real life, even if we do have to wait until I can stop to get it. At least to make it a little more intentional.

Tell me your tips! We make decent money and there's really no reason to be so problematic about it, and I'd love to get it somewhat under control before I'm facing down buying kids' cars and college tuitions (OMG.) 

Rain and Spoons

First of all, I just realized that my title suggests that I'll be discussing spoons in the therapist context and I can promise you that "spoons" will never leave my mouth intentionally. I don't know why, but that whole analogy bugs me so much. But I digress. This post is NOT about mental energy to complete tasks. It is, however, about how we basically are living in torrential downpours 24/7 now. Oh my goodness. I'm about three more rainy days from building an ark. It has been raining SO MUCH. Work gave us raincoats for the end-of-year gift, and I have never been so grateful for swag in my life. And I have had so many occasions to wear galoshes that I'm now rotating between my black knee high ones and Sydney's yellow booties. And on top of the rain, we're getting this crazy wind like gusts of 70 mph that shake my 50 year old, single pane windows in a way that keeps me up at night waiting for an implosion. Further adding to the whole "Is this the apocalypse?" vibe is that trees are falling down EVERYWHERE. 

Neighbor's house

Commute

My cute raincoat. Little did I know…

BUT all this inside time has been fabulous for my new obsession, spoon carving! It really is becoming kind of problematic but I love it so much. I blew through the wood that came in my kit though, so I decided that I'd go find green wood (as suggested by fine hobbyists everywhere per the internet). Then trees started falling down. So now I have a literal wood pile on my front yard. I bet the HOA is missing my bike rack now! 

This picture? This is a GIANT log that was procured for me by one of my staff. That's what kind of situation we're looking at. I picked up a 150lb block of cedar at work and then put it in my backseat like a hillbilly. I'm one hay bale  and a pack of Camel Lights away from returning to me circa 1996.  

I just love it so much. I've gotten pretty okay with a scoop, but my next goal is an actual eating spoon. Then a spork. Then a butter knife. If you need me I'll be over here whittling...

This is what my life looks like now. We're replacing the carpet soon and I wonder if they'll be curious why it's full of sawdust...

 

What I Read: 2022

 You can see my previous wrap-ups here: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

My goal this year was 65 books. I finished #75 (Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which I tried to read earlier this year and abandoned, then devoured this time) just under the wire on New Year's Eve. It was a good year for books! As I was looking back, it was hard not to put all 75 on this list. I didn't have any that I wouldn't recommend. But no one wants to read a wrap-up that goes on forever so I narrowed it down to my absolute must includes. 

I am declaring this "The Year of the Audiobook" I never really liked audiobooks until after my dad died and I realized that part of my trauma response was that I don't do great on long drives listening to music. I commute about 30 minutes each way, so I'm able to get a lot of listening in (and even more once I thought to speed it up to 1.75x) And while you may recall that I declared that I do not enjoy non-fiction or memoirs, it turns out that I LOVE them as audiobooks! So that's been fun to dive into. 

Top Audio Books: Audio books get measured not only on the story, but also the talent of the narrator. I have quit several because the voice of the reader was grating or annoying. These books, on the other hand, were such a delight to listen to. 

The Parasol Protectorate series is the exact opposite of that. It was such a delight to listen to that I even tried to find the contact information of the voice actress so I could send her a note of gratitude. There are five books in this series and I loved every one of them. Plus the premise is so fun; steampunk + vampires and werewolves + a protagonist who is full of moxie and feminist ideals and who loves to eat. 

Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci. Turns out that while I do not love reading a memoir, I do love listening to the author read their own story (for the most part. There were a couple this year that I did not love). Stanley Tucci talks about food and family and community in such a lovely way. I'm grateful that I found this via the Libby app because I 100% would not have picked it up in hard copy. 

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside. I originally tried to read this one on paper and couldn't get into it. In audio format though? I loved it so much. I would listen to Nick Offerman read IKEA assembly instructions. This book blended his voice with his unique take on environmental matters including history, conservation, and travelogues. 

Non-Fiction Books that challenged my assertion that I don't love non-fiction because I couldn't stop talking about them: 

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. Did you know that there are squads of people in India whose job it is to address rogue elephants? Or that elephants will sometimes kill people just for fun? Or that rich people mitigate the monkeys in Delhi with bigger monkeys, even though using guard monkeys is against the law? I got bored during the bear chapter because it seemed so straightforward, but then I learned all about why deer freeze in headlights and how they investigate animal attacks and a whole bunch of other fascinating things about animals all over the world. I'd never ready any Mary Roach and this was an awesome intro into her research

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World. OMG. That's a long title. I listened to this one and the narrator has the most delightful English accent. It's also full of fascinating information. Like did you know that aspen trees quiver so that their leaves can absorb sunlight on both sides? Or that there are trees that can attract certain insects in order to combat parasites (but they only call in the cavalry if needed)? 

You can't say I don't have a type, and my book choices are no exception. This year there were a lot of vampires, historical fiction, and curiously, Peter Pan re-writes. 

Historical fiction books I loved: 

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. I loved this one so much and it made me wish I could join a quilting circle. Or that quilting circles existed. It also made me feel a little weird about having my wedding dress sitting in my closet in it's ridiculous "Archival Box" 

The Huntress. WWII female pilots in Russia. SO GOOD. 

The Lost Apothocary. Sisterhood, lost souls, and just the right amount of vengeance and murder. 

The Rose Code. I do love a book about WWII code breaking women. Enough said. 

Peter Pan re-writes:

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook. This was SO GOOD. I love when a well known story gets flipped on it's head. Darling Girl. This one was fun because it focused on Wendy and her descendants. Fair warning though, it gets a little darker than I originally anticipated. 

Fail-safe books to recommend to people. 

Lessons in Chemistry. I loved this book and wished that Elizabeth Zott was a real person. 

The Ex Hex. Super cute. Witches and romance. The second one was good too, albeit steamier. 

True Biz. This book was so, so well done. I've been trying to convince all my kids to read it. It was a great story with realistic characters, and interspersed was a lot of history related to the Deaf community that I had no awareness of before. I hope this makes it onto diversity booklists

Books that I kind of obnoxiously insist that people read

The House in the Cerulean Sea. This is maybe the best book I've ever read. It's definitely in the top ten. It's just delightful and I've already given away several copies. I love to hear which of the kids is someone's favorite. 

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I kind of fell down a vampire rabbit hole for a minute and this book was so fun. I loved that it took a long time to figure out whether the vampire was going to be a metaphorical or actual antagonist. After I finished this one I read My Best Friend's Exorcism too. Both are good but I liked Book Club better. 

The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina. This one had a real Encanto vibe to it, and I love magical realism something fierce. Definitely lives up to the hype. 

I set my goal for 2023 at 70 books. I'm currently listening to Nevernight and trying to pick my next "read with my eyeballs" book from my embarrassingly robust backlog of Book of the Month picks.