Playful Rooted

Ben and I were talking the other day about our goals for the next six months, and he suggested one of mine should be to “publish two to three blog posts”. I SCOFFED and said, “Two or three posts in the next SIX months?! Surely I will be able to post way more than that.”

Hahaha. Ha. Here we are, and it’s been more than three months since my last post, so apparently – depressingly – he’s right on track. I need a nanny. And a cook. And a maid. Or maybe just a clone or two.

Since it will be who-knows-how-long until I post again, here are a bunch of updates about a bunch of things!

Five Books I’ve Read Recently

Last week, I got to pick up my mug for completing this year’s Winter Reading Challenge at our library (read five books in two months, get a free mug), and this always thrills me. I read every day anyway, but it’s always fun to get rewarded for it, and I love mugs.

Here’s what I read this time:

• The Rose Code – Historical fiction about British code-breaking women at Bletchley Park during World War II. Parts of it were really fascinating, and I enjoyed the history of it all, the sadness and the hopefulness. I thought it could have been 100 pages shorter, and the “twist” ending was fairly predictable. I’d give it a B.
• Atomic Habits – I LOVED this book! I’ve read a lot of personal development books, but only this and The Miracle Morning have been absolute game changers for me. There is so much wisdom and value in these pages! Whether you have habits you want to create or those you want to break, this book is absolute gold. A+!
• Lessons in Chemistry – On everyone’s “Favorite Books” list this year, I was really surprised by this one. Here’s a blurb about the book: Meet Elizabeth Zott: a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show. This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” and “witty, sometimes hilarious.” This made me feel like it was going to be a lighthearted read, and the title makes it sound like a romantic comedy. It definitely was NOT either. But I did really like it; I loved the unique writing style, and I loved almost every single character (Six-Thirty the dog was my absolute favorite), but I wish I had known going into it that the book would be a lot more serious than I expected. If I had gone in with different expectations, I think I would have enjoyed it more. That said, I’d still give it an A.
• Possible Side Effects – Now this is a book that did have me in stitches. Augusten Burroughs is so, so funny and has lived such a weird, fascinating life. He is brilliant at showcasing the complexity and absurdity of human nature and society. There were some really sad parts, some really satisfying, all of it told with his trademark wit. Solid A.
• Rock Paper Scissors – I thought I wasn’t going to like this book – in fact, I didn’t really like it until I got about 75% in. At that point, I literally said out loud, “Oh. This just got good.” This one is a thriller about a couple who “win” a weekend trip to a creepy old house in Scotland for their anniversary – until they discover they didn’t really win this trip and someone does not want to see them leave. I truly did not at all expect the multiple twists near the end of the book. It was totally worth the time spent slogging through the first 3/4 of the book for the ending. This one gets an A- from me.

Five Things We’ve Been Up To

Homeschooling – I need to write a post on homeschooling (the hows and whys and curriculum we’re using and all that), but for now I’ll just say that Luca’s kindergarten year has been so great. He’s learned so much – as have I! He paid me the highest compliment the other day when he said, “Mom, you’re a really good teacher.” Swoon. I am SURE that opinion will change over time, but for now, I’ll take it. 😉 We are focusing on reading and handwriting this year with a little bit of math sprinkled in, and that’s felt both sufficient and manageable for this season of life. We also started a kids’ book club with some new friends, and it’s been such fun to read good books with fellow lit lovers! And I just purchased a program that we’ll start in July (the homeschool year in Missouri runs July 1-June 30) which Sawyer will be heavily involved in as well. I’m VERY excited for that new chapter with both boys joining in!

Pria, clearly, will be involved too. 😉

Co-op Activities – In addition to the enrichment program Luca attends, we also joined two huge homeschooling co-ops, so we have had PLENTY of opportunity to socialize, make new friends, and try new things. Luca has gone to several classes (coding and robotics was a particularly interesting one), and we’ve attended a bunch of meetups at parks and museums with lots more events coming up. For everyone who says, “But what about socialization!?” when I mention homeschooling, it’s just not an issue for us. We are really lucky to live in a city where sooo many families choose to homeschool, and there are tons of activities for homeschoolers literally EVERY day of the week. The hard part isn’t finding opportunities for socialization; it’s picking which things to do and which things to miss out on!

Story Time – On the days Luca goes to his enrichment program, I’ve been trying to make it a priority to go to library story time with Sawyer. He’s been loving this routine, and it’s really sweet to see him start coming out of his shyness shell more and more. For quite a while, Sawyer didn’t feel comfortable anywhere if Luca wasn’t there to guide him, but he’s gaining a ton confidence and starting to become more social on his own. He’s my most introverted kid, and I would never force him to socialize if he didn’t want to, but it’s cool to see him start trusting himself more and making friends of his own.

Hiking – We had the most mild winter ever around here, which was weird and nice! It also meant I got to do a lot of hiking with the kids when the weather was unseasonably warm. (I know we could hike if it was cold, too. But as much as I want to be a “there is no bad weather, only bad clothes” person….I’m just not. I never will be. There IS bad weather. Don’t try to convince me otherwise.) Anyway, hikes. If I tell the kids, “we’re going for a walk,” they moan and complain and do NOT want to do it; if I say, “we’re going for a hike,” they cheer and jump in the car right away. It’s all about the marketing. We are lucky to have dozens of great trails within half an hour of our house, and we’re working through the list one at a time.

Skateboarding – Luca started skateboarding lessons last week, and it was love at first half-pipe! I had to drag him away from the skate park afterward, and he only stopped whining when I told him we could go back the next day. It’s so fun watching kids learn something new, especially when they’re having a blast while doing it.

We both had a great time at his lesson, and I’m really pumped to watch him progress at this!

Five Things I’ve Bought and Liked

Silicone straws that open – If anyone in your house drinks smoothies through a straw, you need these! These silicone straws OPEN RIGHT UP, which allows for such easy cleaning. I used to have to use a teeny brush to clean out our silicone straws after each use, which was such a time suck and never left me feeling very confident that they were actually clean. These are so much faster, and I trust that they’re clean because I can see it! And although they’re thick, even Pria is able to suck a smoothie through them easily.

Rose hip seed oil – I suffer from VERY dry skin in the winter, so I always find myself using a ton of moisturizer around this time of the year. I recently discovered this rose hip seed oil and have been amazed at how moisturizing it is! I sometimes use it as a first step under my regular moisturizer, and sometimes I use it all on its own. I’ve noticed a lot more “glowiness” to my skin since I’ve started using this.

Knockaround sunglasses – Props to my friend Sami for introducing me to Knockaround. These sunnies are the best because they’re inexpensive but also great! We have had a bunch of lost-sunglasses incidents this year (Luca actually dropped his right off the ski lift in Colorado, oops!), and it’s a lot less painful when we can replace them for cheap. And there are so many color and style options! I’ve lost track of how many pairs of Knockarounds I’ve purchased.

Embroidery kits – I asked for this embroidery set for Christmas, and it was such a good gift. I love many kinds of craft projects, but this is perfect for me right now because it’s both portable and foolproof. I can work on this while watching a show with Ben in the evening – it’s small, there are very few pieces, and it literally doesn’t matter if you mess it up, so you don’t have to pay close attention. I managed to keep this project to myself for several weeks while Luca kept begging me to let him try; I finally gave in, and I must admit, it’s pretty cute to see him embroidering and loving it.

Electric spin scrubber – It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I hate cleaning, BUT! I’m trying to do better and stick to a routine. And this electric scrubber has made my life so much easier! It’s truly magical for cleaning tubs, showers, the gross space behind/underneath the toilet (heyyy, little boys!), tile floors, just so many places. I use it every time I clean the bathroom, and it’s truly revolutionary.

Five Pria Updates

Oh our little Pria. She is simultaneously SO feisty and so sweet. It’s been a slow burn with her because her early days were just so full of stress and difficulty, but she is capturing all of our hearts more and more all the time.

Braces! Pria got her leg braces in January, and they’ve been so helpful for her. When we started with our current physical therapist (actually our fourth one! took a long time to find the right fit), Pria was 15 months old, and she was testing at an 11-month level physically. At her last assessment, she was 19 months old, and she was testing at 17 months – so, we’re closing the gap! She’s not exactly walking yet (though she does take about 5-6 steps independently), but she can stand unsupported for about two minutes, which is just huge progress. I’m really proud of how hard she’s working, and I’m eager to see her walking one day — although I’m trying to stay very zen about the whole thing because P does things in her own time, so it could be tomorrow, or it could be six months from now. 😉

Must. Do. It. Herself. In standard 20-month-old fashion, Pria will NOT allow anyone to do something for her that she could do herself. Do not dare hand her a cracker when she could reach into the bag and grab one. It’s very cute and often annoying when it takes her forever to do something that I could do in two seconds. Parents of toddlers everywhere can relate!

The Most Social Butterfly. While Sawyer is my most introverted kid, Luca and Pria are neck-and-neck for the title of Biggest Extrovert. Pria absolutely LOVES everyone she meets. She is constantly waving and saying, “hi!” to people on the street, in the library, at the grocery store checkout… everywhere, and she is usually rewarded with a “Wow, such big blue eyes you have!” 🙂

Chatting It Up. Pria’s starting to say lots of words and animal sounds (so cute). She also does a really adorable bunny face, and she gestures a bunch with her arms – like, she holds them up in the air to say “where did it go?” Ironically, the one food-related word she loves to say is the number one food she absolutely can’t have: “chee!” (That means cheese, guys.)

Not Fun Unless It’s Scary. Hilariously, my daughter LOVES to be scared. I say “hilariously” because both boys are huge scaredy-cats (as am I!), and it’s just so unexpected for one of my children to love a little fear. Nothing makes her laugh harder than being startled and/or chased. It’s so funny.

Five Things That Are Saving My Life

New laundry routine. After years of drowning in piles of laundry, I have finally organized a system that works and keeps the clothing situation under control. Here’s how it works: every person in our house gets a “dirty” laundry basket and a “clean” laundry basket. In their “clean” basket, each person has seven days worth of clothes, including shirts, pants, pajamas, socks, underwear, sports uniforms, and anything else they might need. Every day, I do ONE load of laundry. On Mondays, I do my laundry. On Tuesdays, I do Ben’s laundry. On Wednesdays, Luca’s. And so on. (Sheets and towels on the weekend.) In the morning, I grab the clothes from the “dirty” basket and shove them into the washer. When the washer dings, I put them in the dryer. When the dryer chimes, I take everything out and deposit it into the “clean” basket. IF I HAVE TIME, I will fold and organize things into ready-to-go outfits. If I don’t have time, that’s okay. The laundry is clean, and I know that person is stocked with clothes for the week; it just takes a little extra time to find an outfit in the morning. BUT! Even if the clothes get folded, they stay in the “clean” basket instead of getting shoved into a drawer. This keeps the laundry contained to a week’s worth of things; it also makes it very visible and accessible for the kids.

In a moment of attempted helpfulness last week, Ben broke my laundry system by washing Luca’s and Sawyer’s clothes together. While I appreciated the gesture…..I will never forgive him.

Trivia for Kids podcast. If you have kids who hate the car, you need this podcast in your life! Thirty minute episodes, and it’s hosted by a mom with three kids, one or two of whom usually join in. The categories are (obviously) catered to kids, so the boys get very excited when they know the answers. Makes the travel time pass a lot quicker!

Missouri Homeschool Planner – Obviously a very niche item, but I have to plug this a m a z i n g planner for any local homeschooling friends. It lays out literally everything you need to know about hour requirements, what “counts” as school and what doesn’t, etc. Plus there are tons of sections for curriculum planning, field trip ideas, book lists, goals and records – everything. I can’t sing its praises highly enough and I’m so grateful to have stumbled upon it so early in our journey!

Trip planning. We are going to Arizona later this month, and it’s our first big trip since Hawaii! I’m in full trip planning mode, which is one of my very favorite modes. I love finding cool hotels and planning driving routes and looking for good restaurants and coffee shops and quirky spots along the way. It is so helpful for my mental health to have something fun on the horizon. Not only will we get to see the Grand Canyon for the first time, we’ll also get to visit Ben’s grandma in Tucson – something we’ve been wanting to do for years! The kids are very pumped to swim and hike in the Sonoran Desert, and I’m just so excited to travel again! It has been far too long.

Spring! It’s the MOST WONDERFUL TIIIIME of the year! Christmas is fine and all, but. Spring! It’s when I truly come alive. Give me all the trees budding, blossoms blooming, and baby animals appearing. I missed out on a lot of my favorite spring/summer activities last year after I sprained my ankle, so my hope is to live it up this year! I can’t wait for camping, biking, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, taking Mocha to the dog beach, planting our garden…. all the spring things!

I will leave you with this gem that I found on the fridge the other day, courtesy of Luca.

(“Where is my coffee,” if that wasn’t obvious. He must hear someone say that a lot.)

xo!!