not necessarily in this order

  Sometimes, it’s the week after a run of busy weeks that gets you…..   Lil Momma’s Show Recap To   recap the reason for the recap, Lil Momma was fighting a mighty case of the sads after New Year’s. Her musical theater school had an audition-only bonus show that rehearsed on the weekends that LM went back and forth about auditioning for. She finally decided to go for it and got in! (Only 20/60 kids got in and she was 1 of only 3 kids not on the competition team who did….)   Things got pretty hectic in the week or so before the show and with her other extracurriculars, LM had a run of 12 straight days without a break. Between dress and tech rehearsals for this production of  Dear Edwina , her regularly scheduled dance classes 3x a week, and bonus dance for her competition duo, we were doing our best to focus on recovery at home (hydration, fueling, sleep).    What’s Dear Edwina about?”  you may be asking… Well, per  Wikipedia : “ Dear Edwina ...

    One  This week has been oof. I don’t know if it was  residual tired from the time change, a wild work week where I had to be in office an extra day (and extra early) to co-lead a workshop, or just a really full brain and not enough sleep. Or, all 3?   Two  To jump back a week, Lil Momma and I saw  Frozen  the musical  at a theater in Rhode Island last Friday night. She loved, loved, loved it! I went in thinking I would be lukewarm about it, but ended up really enjoying how they translated it to the stage – and, SVEN WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!! Next season, this theater has a handful of shows that LM, the Mr. and I would all really enjoy and I’m hoping to lean into experience presents and keep this going. Three  We did have one  awkward   theater   experience , though, that keep haunting me. LM and I were spread out a bit because our friends who were supposed to join us could not, so I was on the aisle and LM was spac...

  Supporting my #NaBloPoMo friends! We made it through a Thursday without a fractured bone or an urgent care sick visit, so already a better Thursday than the last 2! Lil Momma has 15 days left in the wrist cast. As expected,  she’s adapted well and navigated the first half like a rockstar. Many friends have signed it - gold and silver Sharpies for the win! - and she draws little pictures on it in her downtime. Thus far, she’s survived her Matilda Jr. audition, multiple quizzes and tests, dance classes, Halloween, and multiple rainy days and we have high hopes for the latter half.  In the bummers column, showering is a family event as she doesn’t have the arm strength to hold it up for the time and we don’t trust the plastic wrap + plastic bag we have going in. I have to do her hair every day and our bicker about her love of  “founding father” styles ponytail vs. the high on the head, bouncy ones I tend to go for is getting intense. She misses recess and gym. I miss ...

5 things I did for myself this week One  I made a phone call I’ve been dreading  Two  I bought new hair elastics for me and Lil Momma  Three  I found out my mom’s bank has a walk-in notary and solved a months long problem Four  I ate a real dinner on Thursday  Five  I picked up my holds from the library!! 2 bummers from this week One  Lil Momma got sent home with the “bug” on Thursday - poor kid is having an oof end to October Two  my Chromebook is still MIA, so blogging and commenting is extra challenging ( but hoping to keep searching during what will be a quiet weekend due to #1 ) 2 things I’m looking forward to  One Lil Momma is doing Matilda Jr in her musical theater class for the next 6 months and the cast list should be out this weekend! Two I’m trying 2 new mystery series and my holds came in And one bonus anecdote  I have been buying random little fall decorations - skeleton dogs and dragons - that balance Luke’s lov...

  One  Florida was amazing. It was a quick trip and went by in a blink, but we left wanting to go back and that’s the hallmark of a great trip to me. Lil Mama had never been to a place like Universal Studios before so it was wonderful seeing her explore how big it was and try out some rides - she loved the ones that told stories, big surprise ha ha! We spent a lot of time on the Harry Potter ones, the Simpsons, and the Spider-Man ride. We even enjoyed the hotel and she and I got cookies and milk as room service the night Luke went to see the haunted houses. It was the memory-filled weekend we needed. Two  the only real mistake we made came on day two. We had attempted to go on the new King Kong ride, but it had broke while we were on it, and we were stuck for almost an hour. Very overwhelming for me and put my little family in a bit of a grumpy mood. However, these things happen and they gave us magic passes that let us go to the front of the line even on rides that didn’...

  “ No weeks off ” as a camp strategy for Lil Momma kind of blew up in our faces. We had a problem at one of the camps 2 weeks ago and then had to go back this week and had another issue. It’s been a bit of a bummer for my girl. Then, I made a   classic parenting mistake … Let me set the scene: I don’t want to send chills of despair through anyone who has been through this, but it was  THEME WEEK.   My feelings on having the final week of this specific camp require a different outfit for each individual day will be reserved for a later post when this season of life is over…   My mom crew and I found out about THEME WEEK the weekend before it began and divided and conquered; Monday was  Barbie  and we all had a pink shirt, Tuesday was  Disney  and someone found cheap Disney shirts for those of us who aren’t Disney families, Wednesday was  Luau  and we had leis from a Trunk or Treat last year, Thursday was  Color Wars  so to...

  One  These are the flowers that Luke gave Lil Momma after her performance of  Descendants the Musical  last Friday. He was so proud of how he explained them to me (and anyone else who would listen):  They are just like Lil Momma: bright, loud, and all mum, mum, mum, mum…   The man can’t resist a dad joke, haha sigh..       Two  One month out from seeing (and paying a ridiculous amount) for the nutritionist I had been seeing since October and I feel pretty good. Now, I would never recommend someone else find a nutritionist on Instagram, nor commit to seeing one for 6+ months out of pocket (in my defense, I was in a low moment feeling like I didn’t know how to eat like an adult and she was a RD and an NP); however, the initial months were incredibly helpful for me to break some deeply ingrained “food rules” I held, a lot from growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s in a specific food environment. I really learned so much and  eat so much mo...

the ups and downs of a week high . Well, kind of a preview of a high. I’m taking my girl to see the musical  Hamilton  in Boston on Sunday night to kick off February vacation. She has been asking to see it for years and was so excited to receive tickets for Christmas. I still have reservations about certain parts, but I’m hoping the more grownup songs go right over her head… She’s been singing her favorite tracks nonstop and already has her “fit” ready to go - and is taking over mine as well haha! Her excitement is real and such a joy.  moderate low . I felt so much better on Sunday and Monday that I attempted a Peloton hike on my of-a-certain-age treadmill (Bessie) to celebrate being “back in the game”, which was a huge mistake. I woke up Tuesday back in the COVID game with congestion and exhaustion; it lasted through Thursday ( my voice kept disappearing mid-presentation, oof ). Definitely a lesson learned and I’m going to ease back in with some walks and mobility work ...

some thoughts on the week that was  high . I am still overjoyed at how much I enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land . I love time jump-ish, connected timelines, "easter egg" media. Doctor Who  is my jam (though, lots of feelings about the last few years), I intensely read articles about comic book connections within MCU movies, I loved the Tana French Murder Squad  books because of how loosely they were connected. All to say that CCL was right up my alley. I love when sci-fi feels "real" - the characters felt like fully formed people (not devices) and the different "worlds" were vivid. It probably helps that the writing was contemporary throughout (I'm a lazy reader when asked to jump between historical language patterns and modern). It took me both outside of myself from a few of the narrators and also within thinking about decisions and regrets and plotlines. I'm a few books past it, but I still think about it all the time!! moderate low . I've read so m...

holiday baking edition The four cookies of this Christmas! Not only did we make cookie tins for close friends, but I also  dared not to make a centerpiece dessert for Christmas day , and instead  went all in on these four cookies  - which we’ve gone on to enjoy all vacation week*! high . #2 (top right) for the underdog surprise of this Christmas for us! Lil’ Momma asked me to find a Norwegian cookie to make to honor her and Brian’s heritage. I found this recipe for a Sandnøtter Christmas Cookies with Lemon , which was perfect as my girl loves lemon. However, I paused when it came time to bake them on Christmas Eve; they seemed too simple and the only lemon flavor came from zest; would that be enough? I went for it, though, and these are absolutely amazing - all 3 of us loved them ! The outside is crisp and the inside is as light as clouds; they dissolve in your mouth. Even better, they have a ton of lemon flavor! I will make these forever, and with all different types o...

Summer of 2021, I became a people leader at work (now that’s a story for another time), and in my desperation to be people-y, I started ending our late-week check-ins with “highs and moderate* lows”**of the week As we got to know each other and have more to talk about, H&MLs only pop up randomly, but I thought I’d resurrect them here.  moderate low .  I missed my walks this week (well, a more accurate statement is that I didn’t prioritize them enough). I am a significantly happier person when I move my body on a regular basis, and as someone on this awkward comeback from a neck/back/nerve/rotator cuff nightmare, I am also physically much happier when I move my body on a regular basis. It’s so easy to get caught up in work, or getting ready for the holidays, or just sitting down when there’s a moment of quiet, but I need to do the work on this next week high . I took the dog out at night in the cold and the rain, and she slipped her leash and started happily running aw...